By Santosh Shukla, InsideView Hyderabad.
Is Sales 2.0 old wine in a new bottle? Is it all about technology, for technology’s own sake? Or is it about leveraging new tools to sell more efficiently? Here is my take on the term.
Sales 2.0 – One more buzzword? To quote Shakespeare for nth time: that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. In other words, the name itself is not important. However, to refer to this next level of selling with a common terminology, we would call it Sales 2.0
The game has not changed, the rules of the game have. Cold Calling has been taken over by Social Calling. Outbound Sales by Inbound Marketing, educating the customer is more important than duping the customer. More listening is required than talking. Cloud is preferred over on-premise.
But for all those new new tools and techniques, the objective of selling isn’t to use some fancy new piece of software for its own sake. The objective is to close deals. The most effective salespeople focus 95% of their efforts on selling and 5% on learning about new technology. If using the new technology takes more than that, it’s not worth it!
The next level of sales certainly encompasses (but not limited to) these:
- People, Process, and Tools
- Customer Engagement and Enablement
- Information as it is delivered
- Social Media – The voice of the masses
- Capacity and Velocity
- Effectiveness and Efficiency
- Convergence of Sales and Marketing
I am happy to see that all the Sales 2.0 companies have their own definitions of Sales 2.0, while still accommodating the evolution of the term Sales 2.0. I am also excited the way sales industry is evolving itself with the ecosystem, and that Customer 2.0 is forcing the development of Sales 2.0
Here is the crux. Salespeople are good at selling, and the Sales 2.0 companies are good at technology that helps salespeople stay informed and effective. And for the Etymologists, My Sales 2.0 Definition: Making sales better, whatever it takes!
Happy Selling…
26 comments
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May 16, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Versha Khar
this is a real boom to the marketing guys .. great idea. upcoming technology for sales too !!
May 18, 2010 at 1:27 am
Neetu Singh
The inbound marketing movement has realized that traditional “interruption based” marketing is becoming less-and-less effective and that era is coming to an end
Thanks Santosh, for giving information about Sales 2.0.
May 18, 2010 at 1:47 am
Satish
“Sales 2.0” is a concept that is currently being defined by technology vendors, sales and marketing professionals, and consultants alike.
Very true.. “The game has not changed, the rules of the game have”
May 18, 2010 at 2:00 am
Sanjay
According to me “Sales 2.0 is the marriage of innovative sales practices and advanced technologies.”
May 18, 2010 at 3:02 am
Joglekar
Sales 2.0 Easily provide with customer information and uncover business insight that was not readily available before and help us to Get the most relevant sales information when and where they need it – regardless if it’s enterprise, personal, or public data.
May 18, 2010 at 11:50 am
Shaun Priest
Agreed with you on “Sales2.0 has many definitions. Mine is “Making Sales better, whatever it takes”. I still feel that Sales2.0 is 95% about sales and 5% about technology.”
Thanks,
Shaun
May 18, 2010 at 8:44 pm
AAshish G
Sales 2.0 is about sales people using Web 2.0 tools and social media to sell more effectively.
May 18, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Sanjay
I believe inbound marketing and Sales 2.0 are natural playmates. Inbound marketing has been conceived by marketers for marketers. Sales 2.0 has been conceived by sales people for sales people. Both have been catalyzed by the Internet and all the changes it has brought about in buyer behavior.
May 18, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Ankur Srivastava
Great article! I completely agree with you Santosh. 95% sales, 5% technology is a good way to expalain Sales 2.0
May 18, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Avanti Dugane
“Sales 2.0” is capturing the attention of Sales executives who know that staying ahead of the competition is mandatory to prevent their businesses from becoming road kill.
May 18, 2010 at 11:44 pm
Neeraj K
If you are concerned with long-term success and viability of your organization and maintaining the pulse of your customer, one should definitely go for Sales 2.0
May 18, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Rohish
Sales 2.0 is a major trend that is approaching the tipping point.
May 19, 2010 at 1:56 am
Ankesh D Goyel
Sales organizations today are faced with the challenge of reducing costs while improving results. So in a climate of trying to do more with less, People should spend on Sales2.0 tools.
May 19, 2010 at 1:58 am
Raghu
Well said Santosh, the Sales2.0 tool should help you hit your number, and also be easy to use. As you rightly pointed out, if it’s good it should be easy to learn!!
May 19, 2010 at 2:16 am
Saurabh Tiwari
Sales 2.0 represent a real opportunity for sales management and reps to become more productive, close more deals faster, better aligned with customer buying behavior
May 19, 2010 at 2:45 am
Eshan
I think Sales 2.0 is a reality that we need to adopt as a crucial part of the future of sales, marketing and communications
May 19, 2010 at 3:09 am
Rakesh Kumar
People today are so busy and overwhelmed with their work; when you use sales 2.0 strategy, you make “warm calls” instead of cold calls. That means I already have an idea of what the customer’s involved in; I’m already equipped with the information I need to offer them a solution. The chances of closing are much higher.
May 19, 2010 at 3:35 am
Rathi Mahadevan
Thanks Santosh for sharing this. A very interesting point of this article is “If using the new technology takes more than 5% of efforts,than it’s not worth it!”.
May 19, 2010 at 3:47 am
Saajith bhaskar
Technology can help to manage the task which is getting increasingly complex with globalization, large offering portfolios and industry specific solutions. But at the end, applying Sales 2.0 provides the force in the field with up to date and relevant information and contacts to help them win their deals.
May 19, 2010 at 7:36 am
Charles Thomas
Listening has always been the key. Salesmen need to be excellent communicators and communication’s important aspect is Active Listening. Nice post!
May 19, 2010 at 7:52 am
Sarita Bhagle
Excellent post Santosh. I believe saying that Sales2.0 is a buzzword would be not correct. Sales2.0 has proved it’s worth and now above that discussion.
You bring interesting insight to the Sales2.0 world.
May 19, 2010 at 8:03 am
Dibyendu Ghosh
To the point. You nailed it!!!
Sales2.0: “Making sales Better. Whatever it takes”
May 19, 2010 at 8:23 am
Reetu Singh
Technology in itself is not the solution. Technology is the means to achieve end. Well said, 5% investment in learning technology reaps enough benefits to take care of 95% Sales.
May 19, 2010 at 9:20 am
Sayali
Excellent Post. A good piece of intelligent writing!
May 22, 2010 at 7:09 am
Sarika
I completely agree. Technology is the way to enable Sales. Too much technology is no good…
May 22, 2010 at 7:14 am
Shiv Verma
You could automate your tweets, you could automate the responses to your blogpost with technology. But is technology serving the benefits that we desire? No. We still need humans on social media. So, truly right. Sales 2.0 is more about Sales than technology.