Are You A Sales 2.0 Robot?
Ok, time to put the robot picture on the right hand side of the blog! Why is this significant you ask? Because it represents a shift in my way of thinking. I resent shifts. I actually hate shifts. But they are required and I force myself to make them from time to time. This topic ties in with an upcoming guest blog post I am writing on the concept of evolution and how it applies to Sales 2.0. Look for it next week.
It’s been a busy month in San Francisco. The Sales 2.0 Conference was a blast! I got to meet really cool people and hang with the stars of Sales 2.0. It almost sounds like it could be a TV show! Stars included Anneke Seley and Brent Holloway who wrote the book Sales 2.0, Sales Strategist Jill Konrath and Sales 2.0 Shaker Nigel Edelshain. I had to be quick on my feet for Sales Evangelist Karl Goldfield for a quick on the spot interview. I think he talks almost as fast as I do! So as you can see – I’ve been busy.
This robot thing came to me after the Sales 2.0 conference dust had settled and I had some time to reflect on the show and all the folks I had met
Is there a danger we will all become Sales 2.0 robots? If the sales processes and tools are emerging and converging to support this evolution – what’s left for me to be me and for anyone to be able to differentiate themselves? Well – there are steps in a sales process which are robotic – like setting up a webex, (oh I hate that so much!) driving to a call, or getting bumped on your United Airlines flight – but the rest is all about you baby! We can and should always apply our personality and active reasoning to all parts of any sales process or methodology we follow. “Let’s keep it real” as they say. But let’s also “Get er done” in terms of correctly aligning with the customer’s needs and getting the business closed.
Apart from the conference and some night time tech events, we’ve been busy in Connectize Labs working on real time collaboration capabilities and content for the account wiki. I’ve been a little quiet with the community – I realize everyone is time challenged – so once we finish up and deploy a few of the major features we are working on – I will notify everyone and ask for your feedback. Unlike a robot – I will take feedback and actually roll it that into our product road map! I hope to be a good community manager but I need your support and direction.
Don’t be a boring robot. Be a Sales 2.0 Superstar!
Time To Light Up Your Sales 2.0 Strategy? Starting something new is always a pain isn’t it? Why bother…
Are you Sales 2.0 licensed yet?
Anneke Seley 10:27 am on March 18, 2009 Permalink |
Wow, Tom. I’m flattered to be called a Sales 2.0 Star! Thanks for emphasizing that Sales 2.0 isn’t just about the things we associate with robots: process, measurement, and technology. In my view, a key element of practicing Sales 2.0 is creating and strengthening trusted, authentic, and respectful relationships with our clients. Sales people in best-performing companies combine art with science.