Guest post by Sham Sao, CMO InfoGroup’s OneSource
Before you can win over your prospects with your charming personality and deep knowledge of how to address their business needs, you need to first open the door by getting in contact with them and holding their attention long enough to get them hooked – or at least hooked enough to continue the conversation. Sure it’s true that effective sales professionals need to be persistent, knowledgeable and confident, self-motivated and good listeners. But these qualities alone are not enough.
They also need accurate information that helps them get to the right person and gives them something valuable to say right out of the gate.
In a recent B2B SalesPulse survey conducted by Infogroup’s OneSource, sales professionals responded that they are relying on business information significantly more today compared to a year ago. It confirms that business information is becoming more and more critical for B2B sales. Using accurate, timely business information is especially important for sales professionals today who are under pressure to raise their quotas while sales staffing and resources remain tightly constrained, or are even being cut.
While sales teams need to access every relevant piece of information they can get from every source they can tap, they don’t just need more information – they need more information organized in a way that helps them get their job done faster. When sales teams spend inordinate amounts of time browsing the web and searching for those tidbits to help them get into the right company or to make a compelling pitch, they spend less time selling. The key is making this information actionable so sales reps can spend more time selling and less time researching.
This includes information from Social Media sources. Respondents to OneSource’s B2B SalesPulse survey rated LinkedIn as the most useful social networking tool, followed by blogs, Facebook and Twitter in that order (and closely grouped together). LinkedIn also showed the most growth with 48 percent of respondents saying they are using it more now versus a year ago. Surprisingly enough, even though LinkedIn showed the most growth, nearly a third of respondents are still not using it. To that third, it’s time to jump on the bandwagon – but don’t stop there.
Look to tools that help you consolidate information from social media sources combined with trusted and verified content that has detailed information on companies, news, industry reports, and other information. This approach helps get the information sales professionals need, organized in a way that helps them succeed. It helps them stay abreast of company changes and also provides great information for starting a conversation with a prospect.
After all, the most successful sales start with a personal connection. Having accurate, up-to-date business information on your contacts and their companies right at your fingertips can be one of the most important tools for helping you make that connection.
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As CMO, Sham Sao has global responsibility for Strategy and Marketing for OneSource.
Prior to joining OneSource, Sham served as Global VP of Marketing & Business Development at Deploy Solutions, where he helped the company grow rapidly to win a place on the D&T Fast 50 list and ultimately be acquired by Kronos. He has held previous executive management positions in Marketing & Business Development and he also served as a consultant at McKinsey & Company.
Sham holds a BS degree in Computer Science & Mathematics and BA in Economics from Yale University. He completed his graduate work at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, earning a JD in high-tech law.
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