Before I jump into the New Rules of B2B Sales, I want to talk a bit about the focus of the blog moving forward.
The New Sales Economy Blog will laser in on how to use the best of sales 2.0, social media, and inbound marketing as a B2B sales strategy for the Web 2.0 world. It is going to be an exciting ride and I have some AWESOME content planned.
I will be exploring some big ideas that are definitely going to raise some eyebrows. I will have my fair share of people that flat out disagree. This is a good thing. I encourage you to disagree with me in the comments of every blog post. If you don’t agree let it be known. If you agree let it be known too. It is in this type of discussion that we can learn and get better together.
Now let’s hop into the New Rules of B2B Sales that will be the backbone of everything we’ll discuss on the blog.
- World class sales skills are essential, but not enough anymore.
- You sell more than what your company offers.
- You are in the business of creating content that sells.
- If you are not visible physically and virtually you do not exist.
- Social media platforms can help you sell more in every industry.
- You need to give your buyers options in the way they interact with you.
- Trust, credibility and openness are mandatory.
- You are a marketer and a sales rep, the lines have blurred.
- Your buyers don’t care about your products or services, they care about their problems.
- You must move buyers into the sales funnel with great content.
- Measurement and metrics are mandatory.
- You need to have a personal website/blog to house your content.
These are the New Rules of B2B Sales in the New Sales Economy. If you look closely there is a common theme running through each new rule. The big idea is that sales and marketing have come together and there is opportunity for the sales reps who learn to become better marketers of content.
The rules of selling have changed because Web 2.0 has changed all the previous norms. At the center of all this change is content and how we interact with it. Buyers are looking for thought leadership and you create thought leadership with great content. Content is your most powerful asset.
I’m going to discuss each of the New Rules of B2B Sales and how you can add it into your sales process in an upcoming series of blog posts.
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Chad,
Thanks Chad! The list looks very comprehensive. Can you clarify your thoughts on, "You need to have a personal website/blog to house your content"?
@Nelson: Content is great, but it needs to have a home on the web where it can be found and shared. A blog or a website (they can be the same thing these days) is a great place to store your content. Once it is in a central location and organized in a simple way for your buyers you can begin using it as a sales strategy. More on this exciting topic in the upcoming New Rules of B2B Sales blog post series.
Chad, you're on the money here. This is good stuff; I'm with you.
Chris
Excellent post. Yes sales and marketing lines are blurred more than ever. Communications between the two therefor is more important tten ever. Easier said than done!
Great tips. Selling now involves more marketing than it ever did before, and a lot of that marketing is personal marketing, building trust and providing value to your prospects.
Mark
SalesQuest
This is a great start. If you want to take sales 2.0 to the next level to know when to sell, who to sell to, and what to say, you should check out SalesView by InsideView. You can check out the top 5 reasons you'll love the new SalesView here:http://blog.insideview.com/2010/04/29/5reasonstol...
Hi Chad,
I just found you blog and I like the way you think!
By the time prospects contact B2B salespeople today, they have read all the books and seen all the movies (old phrase for having seen it all). They know the technology, the vendors and have a good idea of what they need.
Along the lines of your thesis: salespeople need to become subject matter experts who can fill in any gaps in the prospects knowledge and help them solve problems.
I look forward to more great posts.
pat