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“57% of buying process is complete before sales interaction via @gerhard20 #s20C
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“Wow, >50% of marketers can’t track ROI on marketing spend. #lightmoneyonfire #s20c
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“Gartner: By 2020, 85% of buying process will be completed before salesperson is called. #s20c
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“iMeet cites a case study where inside sales staff increased conversions by 40% just by using a web cam in sales calls #s20c
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““When you have a challenge with a customer is the best time to show them you care” via @Kirk Mosher at #s20c
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“Average B2B field sales call costs $300-400, $25-70 per call for telesales #s20c
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“@steelbrick if it’s not in Salesforce, it didn’t happen, doesn’t exist, & you don’t get paid for it. #s20c
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“Video calls 101: Put branding (like your logo) in the background, dress nicely and clean up your office! #s20c
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“Marketing people should go to more sales conferences, and visa versa. @cahidalgo #s20c
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“Video in emails will drive more clicks. Email click-thru rates increased by 50% when video was included. Up from 18% without it. #s20c
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“Today’s buyer can self-educate online. Reps need visibility into digital body language to effectively sell via @jill_rowley #s20C
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“Disconnected, impersonal experiences come from companies that have misaligned strategies re: the customer #s20c
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“Personalize content for the buyer. Do not waste the buyers time. Right content, Right time kirkmosher oracle #s20c
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“#s20c only 13% of customers feel that salespeople really understand their business.
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“Booze Allen Hamilton says they made $5 Billion in 2011 through social selling. #s20c
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“Social Signals: Capturing Demand Instead of Simply Generating Leads heinzmkt.in/Halbcc via @robert_ns #s20c
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“Only 13% of #sales people understand a customers business issues via @gerhard20 @forrester #s20C
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“Customer satisfaction scores often just mean customers aren’t pissed off at you. Look at customer advocacy scores instead #s20c
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““sell how you customer wants to buy” = #s20c mantra. Anyone discussing how to scale customized process/relationships?
The Hunger Games is the #1 movie in US box offices with $155 Million dollars. I haven’t seen the movie but I have read the book and I couldn’t help but think about how the Hunger Games can be applied to business environments. No one should expect camouflage training a cornucopia of weapons and supplies when they start their job but their should be some training and tools provided.
The Hunger Games in Sales
The mentality of hiring a bunch of sales people and leaving it to them to sink or swim is barbaric. Your company will not benefit in the long run if that’s how you approach driving revenue. There are career sales people (Tributes) that have been trained for years that you will have to go up against and to compete, you need training. Great sales leaders understand that in order to build a winning sales team you need to invest in them and teach them everything there is to know. Not just about the product or service but advanced selling skills that give them an edge over the rest of the sales people they are in competition with. Even if someone is interested in what you are offering, they are extremet busy and there is a good chance you don’t even know they are a prospect if you’re not actively listening. 70% of the buying process is happening online and in order to stay ahead, sales people need to move faster and use better tools.
One that comes to mind is training from Vorsight around how to navigate company switchboards turning the switchboard into a prospect’s direct contact info. I’ve seen them train on this on numerous occasions and I have to say that it works. There has been a shift in the sales environment as described in this post called Sales 2.0 Redux. In the post Tom explains many of the typical sales tactics and how they have been reshaped by social media and technology.
Being the Tribute Winner in Sales
Just like in the Hunger Games, only one person can win. Your prospect needs a solution to a problem and probably only enough budget to purchase one. Instead of being on the losing side of the deal, you need to have a starategy that will deliver some key messages and position you to have an advantage.
Leverage connections: Just like the Hunger Games, you will need sponsors. Who do you know that can provide support to you when working with the opportunity? Chances are you should have identified a champion in the organisation that can help you navigate and give you insights on what’s happening. Hopefully you have a connection that also knows your decision maker on a personal level since we know that these types of connections are very important and helpful.
Have the right tools: I don’t just mean your phone and your computer but those are important too. How can you use technology to do most of the research for you? Set up watchlists on your prospects, find them on social networks that can give you insights to what they are thinking and feeling. Leveraging social media for sales can accelerate the ordinary sales process. Sales intelligence gives you information that will keep you positioned to win.
Surprisingly there are still a large number of companies that do not leverage sales intelligence. The Aberdeen study on the Science of Sales Intelligence shows that most companies deal with some very specific business pressures that sales intelligence can help with.
- 42% have insufficient knowledge of the business needs of prospects
- 40% do not have the ability to identify the most likely buyers of their product
- 34% complain of having a sales process that is too long
- 21% See an increased customer churn forcing them to focus on filling the funnel
All of these point to companies needing to be more nimble and enabling their sales teams to move faster with more targeted information.
The Hunger Games as a concept seems to fit with a sales organization. Are you going to win?
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Front row @ #CONV12 CRM keynote. Want to see the #insideview demo from up close 🙂 http://pic.twitter.com/pod47fST -
For the best experience with InsideView please use a monitor this big: #conv12 http://pic.twitter.com/sHFnLDph -
“The integration of InsideView with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the result of the two companies’ focus on reimagining CRM to create a fantastic and productive experience by providing useful, actionable insights about customers and prospects to sales professionals,” said Dennis Michalis, General Manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “Social CRM is changing the way our customers succeed. InsideView has a unique and powerful solution that reveals important insights that help our users have more powerful interactions with their customers and prospects.”
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“Microsoft says it will add social customer care and free integrated InsideView access to Dynamics CRM in a release later this year.
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Getting a sales intelligence demo from #Insideview #nlp engine drives content #scrm #CRM #CONV12 #Microsoft http://pic.twitter.com/YZBYL2y8 -
“Celebrating the @insideview’s social alliance partnership with Microsoft at the after party at Venue Houston. !!!
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Houston…we have a solution! @insideview #conv12 #venuehouston http://pic.twitter.com/BnZS5xs1 -
“Convergence 2012 in a (virtual) nutshell | Surviving CRM – bit.ly/GLJnO3 via @insideview #conv12 #msdyncrm #crm #scrm
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“Microsoft #msdyncrm invests in #InsideView, links to Activity Feeds. #conv12
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“Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers meaningful productivity results in terms of sales effectiveness, client relationships, sales team organization, and visibility across our teams’ activities,” said Barb Potter, Director of Marketing KnowledgeLake, a SharePoint ECM Company. ”The addition of InsideView makes Dynamics an even more comprehensive solution for us because it not only provides the full complement of CRM capabilities, but also company information, contact details, and relevant connections. Getting all of that in a single place has made our teams more productive. The integration of InsideView with Dynamics CRM is a great step forward for both companies’ customers.”
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Microsoft announces social intelligence Alliance with InsideView …
4 days ago … Microsoft announced a social intelligence alliance with InsideView Inc., a silver sponsor for Convergence 2012 and 2011 … -
“@conv12 Microsoft plans to add social customer care and free integrated InsideView access to Dynamics CRM in its later release this year.
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Checking out the #insideview booth #dynamics #CRM #CONV12 #SCRM http://pic.twitter.com/iMJBv1LA -
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“News from #CONV12 Congratulations to #insideview for officially becoming a part of the Microsoft Social CRM solution.
InsideView Announces Social Intelligence Alliance with Microsoft and Native Integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Joint Offering Provides Insights to Help Customer-Facing Professionals Reach the Right Person, at the Right Time, with the Right Message
InsideView, the only social intelligence provider to reveal the person behind the contact, today announced that they have finalized a Social Intelligence Alliance whereby Microsoft will integrate InsideView’s social selling solution into Microsoft Dynamics CRM. InsideView analyzes data from social media, news, and company sources and alerts sales professionals when opportunities for relevant engagement arise. InsideView helps sales professionals reach the right person, with the right message, at the right time. InsideView provides relevant information that can dramatically improve sales results for Microsoft Dynamics CRM users.
“The integration of InsideView with Microsoft Dynamics CRM is the result of the two companies’ focus on reimagining CRM to create a fantastic and productive experience by providing useful, actionable insights about customers and prospects to sales professionals,” said Dennis Michalis, General Manager, Microsoft Dynamics CRM. “Social CRM is changing the way our customers succeed. InsideView has a unique and powerful solution that reveals important insights that help our users have more powerful interactions with their customers and prospects.”
“Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers meaningful productivity results in terms of sales effectiveness, client relationships, sales team organization, and visibility across our teams’ activities,” said Barb Potter, Director of Marketing KnowledgeLake, a SharePoint ECM Company. “The addition of InsideView makes Dynamics an even more comprehensive solution for us because it not only provides the full complement of CRM capabilities, but also company information, contact details, and relevant connections. Getting all of that in a single place has made our teams more productive. The integration of InsideView with Dynamics CRM is a great step forward for both companies’ customers.”
Industry research shows that 90% of executives never respond to cold calls or unsolicited emails, yet 84% will engage with a sales person when they are connected through a friend, colleague, customer, or industry peer*. Through the alliance, Microsoft Dynamics CRM users will have native access to InsideView right within Dynamics CRM at no additional charge. They will also have the option to upgrade to the premium version of InsideView at a special price. To turn cold calls into successful introductions, Microsoft Dynamics CRM customers can license full InsideView capabilities that allow:
- Enterprise-wide Connection Sharing—extends connections beyond social networking sites to automatically leverage the network of coworkers, executives and board members, previous employers, and customers. This allows all sales team members, even new hires, to instantly leverage their company’s extended network of professional relationships.
- New social and key business content—real-time content from social sources including Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, blogs, and other sources creates deeper insights for building profitable sales relationships. Key business content including industry trends, rich financial details, and competitive information gives Dynamics CRM users a strong advantage over less informed competitors.
- People and Company Alerts—track key people and companies so that the sales and customer management teams are the first to be notified about job changes, news mentions, social media chatter, and other key developments. These alerts are integrated with email and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM suite so that sales professionals always know the right time to make contact.
- Sharing Within Collaboration Streams—share breaking news and key business events about companies and people of interest within internal collaboration streams. A single click allows a user to push external news alerts about leadership changes, mergers, funding developments and more into the Dynamics CRM Activity Feeds. These alerts give everyone following a specific account the most up-to-date insights.
“Today’s leading companies are becoming social enterprises,” said Umberto Milletti, CEO of InsideView. “As a leading force in business, our partnership with Microsoft allows more businesses than ever before to benefit from the rich insights provided by Microsoft Dynamics CRM and InsideView. Together, we are helping these companies participate in and benefit from the social transformation we are experiencing today.”
InsideView is the Dynamics Marketplace Solution partner of the year, and has been certified by Microsoft for Dynamics CRM interoperability.
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“#is12 ask your prospects, what other projects do you have going on @referralsales (great comment) @BlythecoLLC @InsiderSummit
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“Pipeline, sales cycle duration, win rate, average deal value – key sales metrics to track @ddaly1 #is12 #sales20
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“#is12 quality not quantity when making your sales calls. @pauljones #franklincovey #bigmachines
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“@annekeseley understand the trends that lead up to revenue. #IS12
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“@NetworkHardware’s @michaellodato at #IS12: “We’re allocating sales leads now based on social proximity; trust networks are very strong.”
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“@NetworkHardware’s @michaellodato at #IS12: “Sales conversations are going from ‘I know someone you know’ to ‘I have competitive info’.”
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“Simpler for customer & more data for vendor! “66% of people prefer social sign-in for forms on your site.” #is12
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““Interactions are limited for a sales rep. You need the right message at the right time.” Brian Falkner of @BigMachines #IS12
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“@funnelholic “I got an email from a sales rep that said only, ‘I read your blog and we need to talk'” #IS12 @InsiderSummit #IVJAM
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…and it worked. Craig replied to the email because of relevance.
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““Do your homework prior to the call. Tailor the message around relevancy otherwise you’re bringing no value to the call.” #IS12
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“Customer network value is replacing customer lifetime value. #is12 @ddaly1
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““Too much scorekeeping – not enough coaching.” via @jshriber #IS12
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“#jonmiller2 says break your content into three stages: early, middle, late. Match your pipeline. Learning at #IS12
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“@SAPCRM’s @Nicholask71 at #IS12: “40% of the companies that were at the top of the Fortune 500 in 2000 were no longer there in 2010.”
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“Think about the biggest deal you’re working on, what happens if u don’t get it- what’s the most likely reason @ddaly1 @thetasgroup #IS12 ^KM
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“@insideview CEO says, it is better if you comment on what a prospect is saying in social media vs. sending them info #IS12 #IVJAM
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““Never call a name who just entered your system a lead” -Jon Miller of @marketo. Marketing needs to qualify leads b4 sales sees them #is12
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“@funnelholic: “LinkedIn is where people tell you what they do; the other social apps are where people tell you what they are feeling.” #IS12
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“The companies I work with don’t see the upside opportunities of social, still don’t care what “someone had for lunch” #IS12
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““As salespeople we must all inevitably suffer from one of two pains: the pain of effort or the pain of regret.” #IS12
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“Most customers buying experience are heavily influenced by social, in most cases they just don’t realize it. It’s “look what I found!” #IS12
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“It’s important to use the same medium your customers use when replying to complaints #IS12 ^KM
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Question #1
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“How does (or should) social media impact an organization’s lead generation and nurturing processes? #IVJam
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Answers:
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“#IVJAM daily and weekly quotas for our team to have meaningful social interactions to build the habit and skill.
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“#IVJam: customers use social media sources to make purchasing decisions more and more.
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“Before I go to a sales meeting I look up the prospect in @insideview #ivJam #IS12 @BlythecoLLC
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“Audience member: “Anywhere along the sales cycle, I find people have already looked us/me up on LinkedIn” #IVJam
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“I think ‘nurture’ is key with use of social when helping buyers buy. You must provide value to buyer. #ivjam
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“@Vorsight finds that social media has more impact mid-funnel to establish credibility before a discovery conversation @InsiderSummit #IVJAM
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“Increase lead generation opportunities from your social updates; generously sprinkle calls-to-action and offers with other content. #IVJam
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“At @Silverpop we have nice uplift and expansion with social integration #IVJAM
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““The need for references is going away the more our customers adopt social media” @InsiderSummit #IVJAM
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Question #2
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“What are some best practices for using social media to engage with customers? #IVJam
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Answers:
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“#IVJAM daily and weekly quotas for our team to have meaningful social interactions to build the habit and skill.
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“Put tools in place 2 measure perspectives of social, and be prepared to distribute those metrics correctly throughout your org. #IVJam
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“Listen before you engage with social media. Don’t cold tweet or use sales pitches, it’s meant to build relationships #IVJAM
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“#IVJam: customers use social media sources to make purchasing decisions more and more.
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““critical to follow all social media platforms but to be educated on their strengths and weaknesses” #IVJAM #IS12 ^KM
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“Engage with influencers. Google & Bing have disclosed that authoritative people on Twitter lend their authority to pages they tweet. #IVJam
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“Someone at @microsoft: being a contributing member of an active community is better than just using Social to message people #IVJam
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“@insideview have fun with people! Have a personality and you don’t always need to discuss business. Make sure you are relevant too! #IVJAM
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“Consistently generate valuable content so people always have reasons to engage #IVJAM
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““The best practice I recommend for social media is to teach” Love it! #IVJAM #IS12 ^KM
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“@insideview have fun with people! Have a personality and you don’t always need to discuss business. Make sure you are relevant too! #IVJAM
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“To be successful In social – in any relationship – you must provide value to create a discussion. #ivjam
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Question #3
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Answers:
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“SM goals: measuring it! (many companies are moving SM marketing into Marketing Ops) #ivjam
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“#IVJam, 2012 we are looking 4 better engagement of our existing clients, & educating our internal teams. #is12 @BlythecoLLC #blythecolove
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Part of being a salesperson is having to stay on top of your prospects and active sales opportunities. This means that you need to make phone calls, send emails and even connect with them online to stay top of mind with the decision makers. Buyers are busy and they are getting hit from several different directs by the needs of their company as well as being contacted by other sales people.
I had a conversation with a few sales people about staying engaged with people and the discussion drove right into the topic of being pushy vs. persistent. I agree it’s a fine line and thought it would be best to ask our growing B2B sales community what they thought the difference was and if there really is ANY difference between being pushy or persistent when it comes to sales.
Bob Marsh This is probably one of the key things that differentiates the decent salesperson from the great ones. I’ve found that when done right, clients want persistence because your helping them keep you top of mind. I can’t tell you the number of times I kept calling/emailing a client with no response, and then when we eventually connected they thanked me for staying on top of them.
A persistent salesperson truly believes they are adding value for the client so are HELPING the client by following up with ideas, reminders, etc.
Grant Epstein I think it largely comes down to how your contact strategy affects the prospect. If your follow up it not intrusive, it is persistance. If it is instrusive or too frequent, it is pushy.
Michael A Brown Interesting timing for your question. Last week I had to send this to a guy who didn’t know the difference: “(Name), persistence is OK, but harassment is not. I responded to an earlier message with ‘not yet.’ That directive stands.” In my experience, the problem arises most often when overanxious sales people try to “leapfrog” their prospect’s consideration process. Seldom can peristence expedite that process. Attention and diligence CAN help keep the process going and bring it to a successful “yes.” But woe to the marketer or sales person who ignores the prospect’s preferences and timing!
Flyn Penoyer Yes, one is a positive trait, the other a negative. Pushy simply indicates disrespect an and improper approach.Persistence is a necessary and respected trait in nearly everything including selling. If you are truly persistent in your selling, you will get complemented on that trait.The clue is you don’t need to be persistent to be pushy.
Dan Nordquist A good deal of sheer “pushiness” comes from unrealistic sales quotas and other managerial browbeating in “boiler-room” environments. ( Such boiler rooms can exist in environments that are quite professional looking. ) Nevertheless, most cold callers have run up against the prospect who keeps postponing making a decision, and is giving mixed signals about the process of exchanging benefit info / priorities etc. If you sense that you are possibly overstepping your bounds in terms of intrusiveness, in a situation like this, you can either back off and put it in the tickler file, or say something like “If I seem aggressive it’s because you’re important” and then follow up with a question relative to something the prospect said was crucial to him/her, which has been left unresolved. Its a judgement call, based on how often you have received conflicting information, their perceived mood that day, etc.
Linda Bennett Hello: Pushy is obvious and redundant; persistence just shows good business drive and concern. You could develop a script that would cast your persistence in a good light.
Marc Zazeela Koka – Most Definitely. I think it is similar to the difference between aggressive and assertive. One is powerful, the other is annoying.
Barbara Giamanco Absolutely! And as soon as I said it, I was thinking to myself and what is the difference. How do you spot it? What are the characteristics? If someone is following up with me on a regular basis – say every couple of weeks – because I expressed interest in their service, I’m ok with it. That to me is persistence. After all, you can’t close business if you don’t follow up consistently. Pushy for me is the salesperson who uses tactics to try and “close” me, or, as in the case of one vendor they were calling me 2 times a day. Seriously! I finally complained to the owner. Pushy feels like it is all about their agenda and not what is best for me.Not sure if I’ve defined it well enough, so look forward to what others have to say.
Jacco van der Kooij It sits with the client to distinguish between the two, but in general I see it as follows; Persistent is when you act in the best interest of your client and sell in a way that shows empathy to him/her (e.g. do proper research, talk in her lingo, address his problem) Pushy is when you sell primarily in the best interest of yourself/your company on a timeline that suits you (this is what I got to sell, this is the benefit, have you secured budget yet?) Great interview question btw. will add it to my interview list for client facing professionals.
Ramon Garcia With your awesome pre-call planning you know that there’s a reason you think it’s a good fit. I feel as though if I don’t get a “NO” it’s still a “MAYBE”. So you can be persistent until they say “NO.” If its not a good fit you’re just being pushy.
Rini Das Perseverance is the characteristic you should look for. Nobody has lost a sales deal because the salesperson was persistent and/or pushy and persevered. If they did not buy its because they did not like value prop or perhaps usually was not a priority. If they bought it its not because of pushy and/or persistent. suggest focus on what makes the salesperson persevere. #justsaying.
Han Geskes CTC I consider this a difficult issue- you have no direct contact which makes it difficult to determine how your prospect or client views your message and options. I would like to a lead with a personal call and limit my e-messages.
Barbara Giamanco @Rini – I disagree slightly. Pushy can cause someone to lose a sale. Unless maybe they are the only one who sells that particular product or service, which would be rare. Pushy to the point of “pain in the backside” has caused me to say no to someone trying to sell me something. Persistent, I respect. Pushy (as in it is all about their agenda) is offensive.
MICHAEL F. CONTI reposting original response: I have said often that some sales people do not know when they are winning or losing. This can cause frustration for buyers if a) sales people keep calling and email and it is unwanted or b) sales people keep calling and have no agenda or clean reason for calling. If you not gotten signs of interest or buying and you continue to try and make contact that is frustrating for both parties. If there is an opportunity, you have a good offering and interested buyers, following up persistently and respectfully is fine.
From Ireland to the United Kingdom, sales people just gained more intelligence as InsideView announced the general availability of InsideView UK & Ireland edition. Working with eight of the leading integrators and resellers in the region we are already making an impact for over fifty businesses since we announced our move into Ireland and the UK.
InsideView gathers tens of thousands of information sources, filters what matters, and delivers the intelligence on UK and Ireland businesses directly into all of the market-leading CRM solutions. But what will the UK and Ireland Edition offer?
UK and Ireland Edition capabilities include:
- UK and Ireland territory maps for list building and prospecting
- Turnover displayed in GBP (£) or Euros (€)
- Individual profile setting for country-specific display of currency
- Expanded content coverage for companies, executives, public sector and government entities
What will the UK and Ireland Edition Offer?
With the UK and Ireland Edition of InsideView comes new Channel Partners. Together, InsideView and these partners are bringing actionable sales insights to teams of sales professionals in enterprises across the region. CGE Software, a specialist in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and a distributor of add-on CRM enhancements, highlighted the advantages that InsideView brings to its customers.
Content Sources – UK and Ireland Edition of InsideView
In response to the huge demand from companies selling to UK and Ireland businesses, InsideView is continuing its global expansion by bringing the industry’s leading sales intelligence solution to the UK and Ireland. We pull content from over 7,000 UK specific sources, the top 8 can be found here.
“InsideView is a powerful application that gives marketing and sales people great insights into the prospects and customers they target,” said Mike Spink, sales director of CGE Software Limited. “The most significant aspect of InsideView, is its ability to identify key people in millions of companies throughout the UK and the world — and deliver rich social profiles and connection paths to them. Of all the solutions I have seen, InsideView is the absolute best.”
Audra Oliver, head of marketing communications for King Worldwide and InsideView customer offered: “We are thrilled to have InsideView not only for the company information, but for the contact details, news, smart connection feature, and financials. We sell everything from investor relations services to high-level crisis management consulting and being able to get relevant company information at the click of a button is very valuable to us. Moreover the InsideView team is helpful, responsive, and made getting started virtually effortless. I would highly recommend it.”
InsideView is also teaming with business information providers and gathering data from all major news, social, and company sources that are specific to the U.K. and Ireland. This information improves the effectiveness of sales professionals that serve these markets where more than forty-five percent of the population is active in social media.
Umberto Milletti, CEO of InsideView, commented, “As more businesses understand that they can get an inside edge by leveraging social, news, company and professional information, they are turning to InsideView. The delivery of InsideView for the U.K. and Ireland is an indication that we can rapidly respond to the growing demand for sales intelligence around the globe.”
Selling to people has not changed dramatically over the past hundred years. You have a product or service, identify a pool of prospects and then discover how many of them you can help. Sure thats over simplified but when it boils down, those are some of the key components. What has changed a great idea over the past few years is not so much the overall process but the details of how to sell to people.
Most sales people do not have the opportunity to walk into the offices of their prospects, see the awards on the wall, photos on the desk and bag of golf clubs in the corner. These were the details a salesperson would use to break the ice, find some common interests and start a conversation. Without these insights, a salesperson is left to their own devices and would be left with being just another sales guy with a pitch. Get beyond the contact data of someones business card and get to know your prospect as the person and not just a contact in your CRM.
People buy from people. Business is done not necessarily with the company with the best product but more often with the salesperson who has found a connection with their prospect through a shared interest or a referral. In the post on the 8 ways to increase sales we outlined some best practices to follow.
More than 90 percent of executives never respond to cold-call sales or unsolicited emails.
Sales intelligence can identify connections between colleagues within an organization and prospects to reveal opportunities for meaningful sales contact. By arming sales professionals with actionable information from social sources, media outlets, company information and changes in business dynamics they are more likely to trigger sales. Sales professionals can quickly identify relevant connection points and build profitable, trusted relationships with prospects and customers that win more business and drive revenue.
‘It’s like watching an Ancestry.com commercial’
You’ve seen the commercial, a site that starts connecting the dots between you and your family and then builds a map of your entire family tree. It lets you see your connections to people you may never have known existed just by following the trail of connections through out history.
How can that apply to B2B sales?
- What if you could identify connection across multiple social graphs and include people you may not be connected to through a social network?
- How valuable would it be to have social streams from your prospects so you could see the updates, pictures and interactions they share?
- Would it be beneficial to be able to follow these people so anytime they were mentioned in the news or online you would get an alert so you could show you are listening?
Early adopters of People Insights like Network Hardware Resale are already seeing an impact in lead generation, opportunities and revenue.
“Social media mapping is my favorite feature. It’s just so cool. It’s almost like watching that Ancestry.com commercial- it’s like ‘I got a leaf!’ It’s when you find that connection that absolutely breaks you into an account; and once you’ve done that, your energy in looking for more of those connections goes WAY up. That becomes your best lead gen strategy ever. Now you want to have and create personal relationships with people through social media so that you can leverage those relationships.” – Michael Lodato, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at NHR
Leveraging people insights isn’t just a good idea, it’s the only way you will increase your lead generation and create new opportunities in 2012. As explained in the post 5 ways sales intelligence can increase revenue, research shows that:
- 59% of the best in class companies have leveraged sales intelligence tools to identify or disqualify prospects with more accuracy
- 53% of companies have been able to identify existing customers that have upsell/cross sell opportunities
- 48% of companies have increased the quality of leads intheir pipelines
- 28% use technology to capture and share sales knowledge internally.
- 21% of companies reduce the amount of time doing sales research
For salespeople and sales leaders, understanding how to sell to people not contacts will be the difference between hitting or missing your number.
