Sales 2.0 Center
Sales 2.0 marries next-generation and Web 2.0 technologies and services with innovative sales processes to accelerate revenue growth, decrease sales costs and sustain a competitive advantage. Keep abreast of the latest 2.0 developments here.
10 Things to Amp Up to Sales 2.0
What is Sales 2.0?
Most likely, you’ve heard phrases like “Web 2.0”, “Enterprise 2.0”, and “Communities 2.0”. Now, the term “Sales 2.0” is capturing the attention of technology executives who know that staying ahead of the competition is mandatory to prevent their businesses from becoming road kill.
“Sales 2.0” is a concept that is currently being defined by technology vendors, sales and marketing professionals, and consultants alike. And, like “Web 2.0,” it can mean different things to different people. In essence, Sales 2.0 is a better way of selling for today’s buyers and sellers. It marries innovative Web technologies, processes and services with people and solid sales processes to meet buyers when and where they want to do business; to accelerate revenue growth, decrease sales costs and sustain a competitive advantage.
These technologies include software and services for web conferencing and contact engagement, social networking, website and email response tracking, community software, blogs, video, lead enrichment services, survey tools and next-generation customer relationship management systems ("CRM 2.0"), as well as technologies so new that their categories have not yet been defined.
If you are managing a quota-carrying or lead-qualification sales group and you’re worried about revenue generation, a Sales 2.0 approach can help you make your numbers and achieve sales results – results that are...
- Predictable – know what’s coming
- Higher Velocity – close deals faster
- Higher Volume – close more deals
- Higher Value – generate more revenue at lower cost
How is it done? Implementing Sales 2.0 means restructuring your sales strategies and centers on...
- Alignment – focusing (and possibly compensating) the entire company on sales results and customer satisfaction
- Process – understanding and tracking the steps of your sales cycle and your customers’ buying process to increase productivity and effectiveness
- People – hiring or retraining technology-adept sales professionals who embrace the new tools and technologies available for effective customer communications
- Technology – adopting next-generation productivity tools that assist in educating customers, automating tasks and closing deals
Evolution of Sales
Over the last 20 to 30 years we have seen changes in the way we sell. Most of the real changes have come over the last 7 years, largely driven by new automation technologies for both sales and marketing operations. This has affected the roles of these two organizations and the way they interact and support each other. Secondly, the change has been driven by economic factors that continue to lengthen and complicate purchase decision cycles and drive up the cost of field sales operations.
Sales 1.0 vs. Sales 2.0
Sales 1.0...Why It Doesn’t Work Anymore
“Sales 1.0” refers to the traditional sales model where field-based sales reps and executives conduct most of their business through face-to-face prospect/customer meetings and are accountable for the entire sales process from suspect to qualified lead to opportunity development to deal close. These sales forces are measured on the revenue they generate, so they are primarily concerned with making quota. In highly competitive markets, technology advances have changed the playing field, rendering the Sales 1.0 model too expensive, too slow, too unpredictable, and too hazardous to relationships for today’s businesses and their customers. Customer preferences, ever-rising cost of sales, and the availability of next-generation technologies are mandating change for companies that want to outperform the competition.
This chart, designed by marketing thought leader, Jeff Weinberger, who is in charge of WebEx's (Cisco) Sales 2.0 initiative, captures the key differences between Sales 1.0 and Sales 2.0.
10 Things to Amp Up to Sales 2.0
There is no more effective way to begin the journey to Sales 2.0 than by designing and implementing professional inside sales teams to complement your existing Sales and Marketing functions. Most customers are as concerned about their efficiency and productivity in the buying process as we sales people are about the sales process. No wonder we are doing more business by phone and the Web than ever before.
Implement either a sales development team to generate and manage leads, or telesales (if appropriate) or both. These organizations are no longer tactical “nice to haves.” They play a critical role in your company’s evolution to the Sales 2.0 objectives of increasing revenue at a decreased cost of sales, because they are fundamentally driven by key performance indicators, process and technology.
Once a Sales 2.0 culture and discipline are introduced through inside sales – and results are proven – you can begin to introduce Sales 2.0 practices successfully into your other sales channels and truly transform your company.
Here’s a list of things you can start doing right away to begin your transition to a Sales 2.0 World.
- Align marketing and sales efforts – “smarketing”
- Create multiple touch points, such as phone, email, IM
- Update web sites to become more interactive
- Take advantage of intelligent prospecting tools
- Increase “targeted” lead generation and cultivation
- Build social business networks
- Align sales compensation and company goals
- Structure your sales force with a divide and conquer approach
- Focus on customer SAT
- Encourage more interaction across all fronts
And the best thing to do is to partner with Phone Works to GET IT DONE!
Blogs
Sales 2.0 Advocate
By Anneke Seley, Phone Works CEO
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