by Anneke Seley

Though the slow economy is having a negative impact on sales in many companies, an improved approach to sales called “Sales 2.0” can help companies avoid disastrous business results in the coming quarters.   Sales 2.0, defined as “the use of innovative sales practices, focused on creating value for both buyer and seller, and enabled by Web 2.0 and next-generation technology” reduces cost, increases productivity and improves sales effectiveness.

Sales 2.0 produces measurable business results. One software division that is part of a $1 billion company increased its sales 12% while decreasing headcount 17% and increasing its sales team’s productivity 15% after reinventing its sales organization using Sales 2.0 practices. After embracing a Sales 2.0 philosophy, a medical device company increased its qualified lead volume by 20% and generated over $7million in incremental revenue, while increasing its average sales price by 25%.

Sales 2.0 requires a change in mindset and then a rethinking of strategy, an assessment of sales people’s skills and the implementation of a measurable sales process, enabled by technology. A Sales 2.0 mindset includes recognizing that sales is not just an art – it can be a measurable, predictable “scientific” business function when the right processes are implemented that focus on what our customers need to achieve by buying our products.

Data from CSO Insights’ Sales Performance Optimization Report (source: csoinsights.com) show that surveyed Chief Sales Officers in companies that practice Sales 2.0 are the best-performing companies in terms of percentage of company revenue achieved, percentage of reps making their sales quotas, and percentage of deals won.  Sales 2.0 practices include implementing consistent, dynamic sales processes, establishing long-term, trusted relationships with customers, and using the Internet in the sales process. Venture-backed companies with Sales 2.0 business plans are also having an easier time securing investments from venture capitalists. Gordon Ritter, founder and general partner at Emergence Capital, says, “Those companies employing Sales 2.0 practices give me the confidence I need to provide initial funding as well as continued investment.”

Furthermore, in many business-to-business companies, the cost of selling traditionally, using expensive field sales forces that travel, is no longer justified when many customers prefer to research and even buy products using the Web and phone.  One highly-effective Sales 2.0 strategy is partnering face-to-face salespeople with inside sales professionals that serve customers in the early parts of a sales cycle and build a pipeline of qualified leads.  This frees up the field sales professionals to work with only the largest, most profitable customers that are most likely to buy.  In this way, Sales 2.0 decreases costs and accelerates sales cycles, which improves revenue and profit.

IDC’s 2009 Sales Barometer and Top 10 Predictions report (source: idc.com) highlights the need for organizations to adopt Sales 2.0 best practices quickly. It states,  “savvy organizations will use the economic downturn as justification to replace direct sales “laggards” with well enabled inside sales. Customer (and employee) satisfaction and sales productivity will rise accordingly.”

Sales 2.0 – a rethinking of sales strategy, people and process, and enabled by technology – is a proven approach to improving business results especially in slow economic times.

Anneke Seley is the CEO and founder of Phone Works, a consultancy that helps large and small businesses build and restructure sales teams to achieve predictable, measurable, and sustainable sales growth. As the 12th employee at Oracle, she designed the company’s revolutionary inside sales operation. Her book, Sales 2.0: Improve Business Results Using Innovative Sales Practices and Technology, is available at online retailers including amazon.com, bn.com, booksamillion.com, and borders.com. For more information, visit www.sales20book.com.

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Social Media Can Help You Win

Barack Obama’s campaign team won an election with social media by mobilizing millions of people through social communities that united his voters. They created a social media machine that helped beat his competition on Election Day.

“Obama’s rise to the presidency will be studied for years to come as the textbook example of a new kind of electioneering driven by people and technology”, says Ralph Benko, a principal of the political consulting firm Capital City Partners, in Washington, D.C.

Social media’s power helped win an election. It’s also powerful enough to increase your business.

People and Technology

Customers are influencing companies to take a bottom-up marketing and sales approach. The shift is due to a change in power created by new media. The barriers to entry are being removed and everyone has a medium to be heard.

One tweet on Twitter can reach thousands of people in minutes. What if you could create a following for your company, or yourself on Twitter? Would that help you earn more business? You bet. The only question is how much?

Social Media Reinforces Your Message

Participating in different online communities gives your customers another way to interact with your brand. You can post links, articles and other interesting content that provide value in areas your business specializes in.

If your content is good enough, customers will come back for it or opt into it. When a customer opts in to receive your content you’re in a powerful position. You’ve created mindshare. Old school marketers spend billions each year to achieve this. Social media allows you to do this for much less, usually just the cost of your time.

Your Competitors Are Using It

If you choose not to use social media you will lose opportunities to those who do. Eventually you will be crushed by more savvy and creative sales reps. If your competitors are not using social media you should be thrilled. They’re giving you an opportunity to take market share. The first mover usually receives the most profits. Move before it’s to late.

Social Media Is A Piece Of The Puzzle

Many people give up on social media because they get frustrated and give up to quick. To gain a following it takes patience and persistence. Social media is not a cure all for your business or sales career. It’s another tool that can be used to build and maintain relationships and increase your business.

Anyone can do that and so can you!

If you enjoyed this blog post please subscribe to the Sales 2.0 blog here on Sales Gravy. You can also connect with me on Twitter @ChadALevitt and the New Sales Economy blog where I write about Sales 2.0 & Social Media tips to help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business.

And as always, please share your thoughts, comments and questions below so we can all learn from each other.

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Hi Sales Gravy members! My name is Chad Levitt and I’m the new author of the Sales 2.0 blog here on Sales Gravy. Before we get started, I would like to thank Jeb for the opportunity to contribute to the Sales 2.o blog and to be a part of the Sales Gravy team — it’s going to be a lot of fun!

My goal for the Sales 2.0 blog is to give you insight into the revolutionary changes that are shaping a new world and changing the sales profession. I also want this blog to be a community  and I encourage you to share your comments or questions on each post. Whether you agree or disagree with what I present here on the Sales 2.0 blog — please share your thoughts so we can all learn from each other.

Lets get to it.

What is the New Sales Economy?

The New Sales Economy is about increasing sales opportunities, the velocity of the sales cycle, sales volume, customer relationships and profitability. It’s an ecosystem of digital information and people that will be leveraged through new technologies into actionable information.

What will the New Sales Economy look and feel like?

It will be more measurable, accountable, professional and responsive. You will collaborate more and spend less time in a car or airplane. New processes have been created to generate more leads, keep your pipelines fuller, and help you close more business with greater consistency.

If you adapt to Sales 2.0 you will make more money. It will also be more fun and fulfilling!

Who is the New Sales Economy for?

Everyone!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a small business, entrepreneur or Fortune 500 company.  It’s about getting more customers, providing more value and creating a community. The technology of the New Sales Economy allows you to do this easier and better than ever before.

What’s in it for you?

Does a more fulfilling life and career sound good?

The New Sales Economy is about taking ownership of your career and doing what you love everyday. It’s about building a powerful personal brand with Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Youtube, blogging, video blogging and other new media outlets to create more opportunities.

From now on, the best opportunities are going to go to those who know how to use the web to their advantage.

Will you miss out if you don’t adapt?

Yes, in the New Sales Economy, businesses and sales pros that don’t have a meaningful online presence will lose opportunities to those who do. Your safety net in the New Sales Economy is your personal brand and social network. Start to build them now or you will wish you did later.

The New Sales Economy is here and will never go back to Sales 1.0. The technology to do every aspect of the sales cycle better has arrived. And it works. The proof is that people are using it and succeeding big.

What should you do first?

Subscribe to this blog so you won’t miss future posts and informative interviews with leaders and innovators in the fields of sales, customer relationship management, personal branding, marketing, social networking and blogging that will help you navigate the New Sales Economy!

Make sure to connect with me on Twitter @ChadALevitt and to check me out on the NewSalesEconomy.com blog where I write about Sales 2.0 & Social Media tips to help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business.

What do you think the New Sales Economy is? Please share your comments below.

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by Kathleen Steffey

 On my LinkedIn profile, I recently posed the question “How many of you categorize someone who is responding to web marketing leads, as a sales person?” The responses were fascinating, ranging from “I would not classify someone responding to web marketing leads as a sales person. At best, I would classify this as a pre sales function” to “without question, they are a salesperson. I assume they need to try to make a sale with that lead so they need the characteristics of a sales person. They may not eat what they kill, but still provide a significant sales function” and everything in between.

The debate generated by that one question also revealed some deep-seated biases when it comes to “true” sales people. Many felt that unless an individual was out beating the bushes for leads, meeting with prospects and closing deals face-to-face, they were inside sales reps rather than seasoned, strategically focused sales professionals.
From my perspective, that kind of thinking is a bit outdated in this Web 2.0 world. With as many as 60% of sales professionals now operating remotely when they aren’t visiting clients, and with such online tools as webinars, business and social networking sites and web conferencing at our disposal, we are limiting ourselves if we don’t take advantage of today’s global business environment.

As Thomas Friedman points out in “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century,” technology has changed the way we do business in the 21st Century. Used properly, it makes us smarter, more efficient and better able to respond to the changing needs of our customers.

We don’t have to be face-to-face to be strategic partners with our clients. In fact, I’m willing to bet that most clients would prefer it if we didn’t insist on so many in-person meetings. They, too, have embraced the power of the Web to maximize their productivity and streamline their days. And if we don’t demonstrate that we, as sales professionals, can function just as effectively in an online environment, doors will soon be closing.

That is not to say that we need never see a client in person again. There are some deals that simply require that personal connection. In fact, it is the ability to recognize when that is the case and go on to make the sale just as effortlessly in person as they do online that defines today’s true sales professionals.

Connect with Kathleen Stefey on Sales Gravy.

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