I’ve been watching this coming for a long time, and I believe it’s really here now… and it’s a massive opportunity for SMBs (or SMEs for my Euro and Asian friends). Sales 2.0 finally does away with the ineffective and inefficient sales tactics that so many SMBs continue to use (as if they’re on auto-pilot). Cold calling and ABC (Always Be Closing) have been dead for years, it’s high time we gave them a decent burial.
In complex B2B sales, people still buy from people. I don’t want to give the impression that ‘Closing’ has gone away. It’s still extremely important, and the people who are ‘Closers’ are extremely valuable. More about this later.
Sales 2.0 merges Sales and Marketing to target prospects more effectively, using online technologies in innovative ways, to bring in more business at a significantly lower cost of sales. Information is available free (or close to it) today that you couldn’t buy for any amount of money five years ago.
Now we can find highly specific target prospects much more easily, AND we don’t have to interrupt them while they’re trying to do something else. Outbound sales messages, when they’re done via phone or even in person, are analogous to interruptive advertising. An Alterian poll determined that in 2009, 95% of advertising was ignored or disbelieved by its target audience. The old saw was that 50% of advertising didn’t work… you just didn’t know which 50%. Today, you can rest assured that 95% of advertising spend is wasted.
How do you build trust when your prospects won’t engage with you? Today’s B2B buyers want to engage in conversation where and when it’s convenient for them. That means social media. It’s not expensive, but it’s not free. It takes time and effort, knowledge and finesse. Increasingly, Sales and Marketing people are going to have to immerse themselves in social media (or hire a trusted resource) to do demand generation, lead nurturing and to build relationships… albeit digital relationships.
Now we get back to the ‘Closers’ I mentioned earlier. In B2B they’re essential, and they’re expensive. You don’t want them (and they wouldn’t do it anyway) spending time writing blogs, Tweeting, and trolling Discussion Groups on LinkedIn. The good news is they don’t have to. Once a digital relationship is established with a prospect, and the lead is qualified, whoever is handling social media for you should turn the realtionship/lead over to one of your closers. (You have at least one, or you wouldn’t be in business.) When the prospect is nearing a buy decision, they will want to speak with a sales person.
If the Sales 2.0/Marketing operation has done its job correctly, that face to face conversation won’t be focused exclusively on price. Your closer can spend their time and energy developing a personal relationship… and closing a profitable deal.
This is the first post in a series about B2B Sales 2.0. The next one will be titled ‘Sales 2.0 is Sales Enablement’.
Tags: B2B marketing, b2b sales, Bob Leonard, business to business marketing, digital relationships, return on influence, social media, social networking sites, trusted advisor
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Hi Bob,
Thank you for sharing your marketing expertise. I am one of the old school sales and marketing guys, who is trying to learn all I can about the 2.0 world. This post has helped me to jump start my 2.0 education. Super job… I cannot wait to see what information you have “up-your-sleeve” to share in your next B2B Sales 2.0 post.
Terry,
Be aware that these are my thoughts. Others may not agree that Sales 2.0 equals the merger of Sales and Marketing. I think most will agree, though, that first the internet and now social media have significantly changed the way prospects research and buy. Therefore sales and marketing professionals need to significantly change how they engage with prospects and build relationships.
Thanks,
Bob
Bob, this is an outstanding article. You’ve hit on some fundamental issues. Frankly, though, these have been fundamental issues ever since “modern” selling and marketing has been around.
For various reasons, sellers and marketers find all sorts of reasons to create walls between the functions. In truth, the functions have always required close integration.
Since selling/marketing began, the whole point of doing it professionally is to engage the customer on their terms – where, when, and how they want to be engaged.
I worry about applying the labels Sales 2.0, Marketing 2.0 or whatever 2.0 label we want to put on it. I think these labels tend to distract us from the root issues. I think these labels also tend to discard past (1.0 and before) practices that have been very effective and continue to be very effective. Finally, I tend to view the 2.0 discussion as an artifice created by software/services vendors to get people to buy tools and services, masking the fundamentals. It kind of reminds me of many of the old CRM discussions, where the tool became the end, not a means.
You raise many important points. I look forward to the next installment!
Dave,
Thanks for the kind comments. You’re right, of course, re the artifice of ’2.0′. Things are more complicated than that. I use it as a shorthand to signify a new way of effectively executing demand generation, lead nurturing and relationship building. No matter how the technology changes, we’re ultimately still dealing with people, and human nature is immutable. Social media helps to strip the artifice out of the interplay between vendors and buyers, and it lends transparency. It’s much easier to discern the wheat from the chaff (or the good guys from the A.H.s).
Bob
Hi Bob,
Thanks for sharing your expertise with us. I’m one of the old school, like Terry, and I’m working to evolve into 2.0 version. This info is like nourishment for me.
Thanks again.
Ciao!
Pierluigi
Pierluigi,
Roma è il mio preferito luogo sulla terra. Mi farebbe piacere a venire vedere voi, e di insegnare a leggere.
Molte grazie,
Roberto
Bob
I’m not sure that the survey you link to says that 95% of advertising is wasted. What they say is that people only trust 5% of advertising. Could it still be effective without being trusted? Because you’re worth it.
You draw some interesting conclusions on the convergence of sales and marketing. Not sure I would draw the same conclusions. It appears to me that sales and marketing are different beasts but they do need to greater alignment and cooperation. I summise that Sales 2.0 is a creation of Silicon Valley to try and sell us all more tin and code. I encourage my clients to work on their culture, language and people before they even consider throwing technology at sales and marketing.
Rod Sloane
Rod,
To answer your first question – No, advertising can’t be effective without being trusted. I can’t imagine anybody saying, “I don’t trust this (brand, company, product or service), but I’m going to give them my money anyway.”
Re Sales and Marketing being different beasts; I think it depends on the size of the business, and to some extent the industry. My clients are SMBs (which I define as between 20 and 100 employees). They are B2B companies, and many just didn’t do Marketing at all (or they thought they were doing Marketing when they had their logo printed on hats for the annual Chamber golf tournament). What I’m saying is that that’s wasteful. There are much better ways to spread your messages, with orders of magnitude better ROI.
We can and should eliminate the time wasted by Sales people cold calling and trying to influence with other intrusive and unwanted messaging (like advertising). They might as well take the money and set fire to it. I often see SMB CEOs knowingly blow money on advertising for vanity reasons.
I will grant you that the term ‘Sales 2.0′ may be used by sales and marketing vendors to sell h/w, s/w and services. I used it as a way to describe a paradigm shift that I see occurring in SMB Sales and Marketing departments.
Bob
Great article – quick question:
Why wouldn’t I want direct closers spending some portion of their time “trolling Discussion Groups on LinkedIn.” Isn’t that a great way to self-generate some highly targeted leads?
Keep up the great blog!