I went to the Sales 2.0 Training session prepared to hear about how sales training will go extinct in this virtual and social era but was pleasantly surprised with the discussion. Sharon Little, Director of Global Field Communications for vmware shared how she addresses training from a Sales 2.0 perspective. She explained how customers are different, salespeople have more tools, they must upgrade their skills and sell in a fragile economy. She shared that large global sales kick-offs with her company are no longer feasible not only because of our economy but also because it is difficult to get everyone in one place. Instead her company conducts Quarterly Business Reviews by region. She also presented a wholistic approach to training and believes training must be aligned with the way salespeople want to learn. There must be a good assortment of video content, audio content, information that is easily digested and delivered just in time.

When asked how she measured training ROI, she said “it’s hard to measure something that is so subjective…it’s not black and white like measuring leads..you need to measure it on a gut level.” This is an answer from someone who watches, listens and pays attention to her sales organization- I appreciate her insight on this.

Then Gerhard asked the audience the big question: “Is selling a science or an art and what is the percentage?” Many answers and opinions came out of this but my favorite was:  the part of selling that is a science is when you provide tools, processes, methodologies, systems to do the job. The part that is an art is the skill development, the sales instinct and the managers who coach and mentor their teams. Success in sales requires 50/50 strength in both these areas.

The next session was a presentation by a little fireball, Clara Shih, Author of The Facebook Era- very brilliant social media expert. I was interested in what she had to say because I’ve been super lazy in building my Facebook profile. Something had to give on the social networking front and this just fell off the radar. After Clara’s insightful and thought provoking talk- I’m going back. In terms of sales prospecting, Clara made a good point that as the price of the sale goes up, the more we should invest in personal relationships with our prospects and clients. That means when you are trying to contact someone and notice their son just had a birthday or they just won a marathon, to include that in your introduction. 

Most decisions will be made through crowdsourcing which means one person asks the question and a lot of people jump in. This happened recently when a prospective client posted a question on LinkedIn about the best Inside Sales Vendors out there. It was amazing how many responses he received and although we had a proposal he was considering, he preferred to crowdsource his request and it confirmed we were a major player in the space.

I’m always fascinated with the level of influence someone has and we will all have a Social CLV tag next to us that defines our level of influence and our ability to make something happen. It includes:

1. The number of word of mouth referrals they can generate
2. The customer support cost savings
3. Sales resulting from and idea/contribution

My Monday Social Media Workout- New sales activities create different results.

Sales Productivity Sounds- The sounds of Sales 2.0 are different - you hear keyboards clicking, the tweetdeck bouncing, cell phones vibrating, and text messaging chirping.

Data Consumption and Digital Distractions- The most common complaint with all sales organizations today is time management- Sales 2.0 is about saying NO to distractions.

Dialing More but Connecting Less- The phone is no longer the primary tool simply because there are more tools to choose from and we are selling to a busy, distracted, slipper audience who tend to view the phone as an interruption.

The End of Voice Mail- We know the length of a voice mail message keeps getting shorter and shorter, but will it go extinct?

Cold Calling Dead or Alive- Everyone joins the conversation on this one- find out what I think.

Snippets of Sales 2.0 Conversations- Just a few words of warning as you meet people and network your way into the exhibit hall or the sessions, there is a different language out there.

Living in a mini bite-sized world- We all want smaller portions and more of them.

TeleTwittering- Ten ways twitter has totally changed the sales process

Is Sales 2.0 In/Out- Many are still wondering if Sales 2.0 is just a trend, a fad, a buzzword that will be overused and abused and will someday disappear.

Sales Forecast Meetings Revisited- Read this before your next Monday forecast meeting.

Is it about the list or about the salesperson? It’s no longer about buying lists and having call campaigns- how has it changed?

Smart Women in a Sales 2.0 Environment- Move over sales boys- Tracy,  Ziggler,  Hopkins, Bosworth, Gittomer, Alexander, Parinello- there’s some smart girls in the house.

Time for your Sales Skills Makeover- New skills to catapult you into the Sales 2.0 zone.

Is Prospecting a thing of the past?- Bulking up your prospecting muscle for Sales 2.0.

Are car salesmen Sales 2.0 Ready? Is there hope for Car Salesmen?

No More Finger Pointing- The long debate between sales and marketing.

The good- Forget preparing an elevator pitch when you can be filmed in living color with a video flip camera. Yes, that was the gadget du jour at today’s Sales 2.0 conference. And what usually followed were questions such as ”what does Sales 2.0 mean to you?” or “tell me about your book” or “do you think salespeople are ready to adopt some new tools?” This fun tool brings a new element to communicating. “

The bad- Attention speakers, presenters and event planners. It’s time to get with the program and design your content and presentations to be more Sales 2.0 centric. That means more dynamic visuals on stage, more live feeds and updates from the rest of the world, more bling bling.  This event has the brightest minds gathered in one room and they are not coming back unless they are highly entertained, enlightened and educated.

The ugly- Just because I’m from Northern California where there are group hugs and people go to Esalen and soak in communcal baths doesn’t mean I’m the only one who believes in kindness, goodness and consiousness. Which brings me to my point is- Sales 2.0 is all about collaboration, partnering and working for the good of sales and marketing organizations. I’m amazed at how some vendors  have drawn stakes in the ground against their competitors. They think nothing of asking that you not engage with their competition and make a point of letting you know they are far superior.  It’s a bloodbath with some out there against each other and being vendor agnostic, I’m very surprised to see this behavior.

Tomorrow is another day- lights, camera, action. Stay tuned.

Where does one start? Your welcome committee is the  Sales 2.0 Alliance. A group of 6 companies who are all well aligned to support the Sales 2.0 message at the team and manager level by supporting them with sales productivity web based tools. Other companies within the Sales 2.0 alliance include:

1. InsideView- Sales intelligence tool throughout the entire sales process

2. Marketo- Marketing automation and best practices (they also wrote a totally Marketing Cheat Sheet about Sales 2.0)

3. Kadient- Leaders in developing comprehensive sales playbooks for teams.

4. Big Machines- On-demand sales configuration, quoting and proposal software

5. Xactly- Sales incentive programs

6. Right90- On-demand forecasting and revenue performance management.

Then in October 2007, the first Sales 2.0 Conference happened and in Drum Roll Please…..Sales 2.0 is Here I made the official announcement Sales 2.0 had arrived and even presented at that conference. The first Sales 2.0 conference back in 2007  attracted too many “looky loos”…..(don’t worry, this term doesn’t mean I’m gonna go Sarah Palin “you betcha” on you) these were conference attendees who just snooped around with inquisitive minds asking “What does Sales 2.0 mean and how far from it am I?”

Years have passed and now two Sales 2.0 Conference are offered throughout the year- east and west coast and it attracts some of the brightest and most talented sales and marketing minds in the business. Clearly everyone knows about Sales 2.0- it’s not a movement that you must join, it’s not a disease that will just disappear, it’s not a manipulative ploy to sell more sales tools.  Sales 2.0 is sales as we know it today and it’s here to stay.

I enjoyed watching the talented Amy Black, from Kadient in her music video rendition of “I need a playbook sales hero” which explains why she is tired of living in ”sales portal hell” and believes if she has a “playbook” this will solve her lead nurturing process and make it more efficient. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

I agree that inside salespeople need a road map because the level of paralysis they struggle with isn’t getting them too far on the lead nurturing process. So next time you complain about not having any leads, spend time working what you have and work it right.

I know, I know . . .  You don’t like to read. And even if you do, your life is so busy you can’t find time to even open a book. Well, listen up sales warrior! Downloading audio is the way to go. Perfect timing, too—because my bestselling inside sales sourcebook Smart Selling on the Phone and Online is now available on audio.

And it’s all me. Now—whenever you want—you can listen to leading expert Josiane Feigon provide killer motivational sales tips that will earn you deals, explain how the new sales landscape works, and find out how you can turn the tide and win new business in this fragile economy.  

Put the Best Inside Sales Sourcebook in Your Ear

 We are proud to announce that 800-CEO-Read has voted Smart Selling on the Phone and Online one of the Best Business Sales Books for 2009. It belongs in every inside salesperson’s cubicle — and now it belongs in your iPod and your ear.

I receive rewarding reader emails like these on a daily basis:

• “Just listened to your book on my way back from sales kick-off and it is exactly what we spoke about this entire week. I’m ready to kick-butt!”
• “Your book convinced my team to remove No-Po’s off their forecast.”

 Free! “Smart Selling to People with the Power to Buy” eBook: This essential ebook dives into the latest sales 2.0 trends, putting social intelligence at the forefront of any new enterprise business development efforts. Download now.{LINK THIS}

New EBook Coming Soon- Smart Selling Tools for Inside Sales 2010- Two smart thought leaders in tools and skills – Nancy Nardin, Smart Selling Tools founder and President and Josiane Feigon, author of Smart Selling on the Phone and Online and President of TeleSmart have teamed up with their first ebook, sign up now.

Smart Selling Service Offerings 2010: TeleSmart provides a wide assortment of service offerings, ranging from on-site training to virtual webinars. Our training is all about inside sales, combining phone, online, and sales and social tools productivity. Invite Josiane for the following:

• Book & Brownbag Talk
• Smart Subscription Shots Webinar Series
• 2-Day On-Site Training
• Sales Kick-offs and Conferences

Now, training is making a comeback- a fast one.  Everyone wants it NOW but it must be different than before, virtual, updated, revised and translated for every global country in the western hemisphere by tomorrow. It’s this new NOWISM that I refer to as Corporate ADD (one minute we want it and the next minute we shelf it) and believe we must take this NOWISM very seriously.

Let’s apply these NOWISM pricipals to lead nurturing. I reviewed Lead Nurturing in Tough Times slideshare which estimates 70-80% of leads generated by Marketing are never followed up with by sales. As marketing and sales continue to work together and each does their part in generating leads (marketing) and developing leads (sales) under the lead nurturing umbrella. Whether it is lead nurturning, sales proposals, demos and presentations- it’s the 48-hours immediately following that present the most critical sales opportunites. There are  many unpredictable variables impacting the sales cycle today.   The disconnect is these crucial first hours.

Here are five ways you can develop the lead faster in the first 48 hours:

1. Be aggressive- don’t just save it and play hard to get

2. Capture the pain- that is what generated interest in the first place

3. Create a groundswell- get everyone involved immediately and hold them accountable

4. Keep it super simple- don’t throw more at them

5. Don’t discount- instead get your calendar out and talk about implementation.

The problem is that people are starting to equate sales trainers at the same level as car salesmen- there are so many out there and few are really any good. I agree there are many creating a slimy congestion in the field.  There’s nothing worst than someone who comes out of a dysfuctional relationship, hates their parents, has dealt with drugs and decides they now want to become a therapist. Same thing with sales trainers, most approach it with a checklist. Been in sales, sales management, done presentations, sat through long boring meetings, know how to engage and influence, like people and knows how to interact;….and voila, they are now a sales trainer.

The problem is not many are any good and few will ever get to Best status. Dave Stein agrees- especially in his recent post, Come on, Dave. Who’s the best sales trainer which he provides detailed questions to think about before hiring a trainer. These important questions are also a prelude to the in-depth needs assessment questions and discussions that must be addressed prior to the project. 

When I first launched my company 16 years ago, I had no idea what training was all about. There were lots of mistakes and blunders along the way and I still feel I am on this learning path. Because being a good sales trainer is like being a great salesperson, you must fully develop yourself as a person before you have hopes of developing anyone else.

Have I reached Best status as a sales trainer? I continue to learn and grow and over the years, I’ve learned about human behavior and especially salespeople under stress. I am acutely aware of the huge responsibility it is to deliver training to a group of know-it-all salespeople who are impatient, apathetic, mistrusting, distracted and very edgy. I must also learn their playground- their custmers and their company and their sales cycle. Lastly, I must stay fresh with content that is relevant, fun and timely.

Wish I could get out there and talk with you all- perhaps my newly released unabridged audio version of my book will help- I must say the sound quality is supurb- it’s really my voice all 30 hours of studio work- check it out.

I’m feeling generous so if you want to write an Amazon review of the book, I will enter your name for a drawing to win the audio version and also make a donation to the Haiti fund in your honor.

This uplifting video brings inspiration and gratitude. Happy Valentine’s Day

In the movie Up in the Air where George Clooney plays this hachet guy which is brought into companies with the lovely task of firing people.  We watch how some react to the news, the fear, the humiliation and even the promise of suicide after hearing the tough news. At the end of the movie, some of them are back in front of the camera sharing their journey being unemployed and they all have a sense of resolve about their situation. They sound hopeful and have unexpectantly found a new path they never expected.

My unemployed friend Bob has spent his entire career in sales. He was incredibly successful, always top of his game, the sales guy everyone wanted on his team. He quickly moved up the ranks to a Manager level, then Director of Sales, then VP and so on. He was traveling all over the place making tons of money and always in high demand. In the last few years, sales fatique and burn out have set in for Bob, he hasn’t hit numbers, his team members don’t think he is a good leader and he isn’t getting all the head hunter calls.

Bob admited he no longer wants to be in sales- says he’s done. My buddy is in his late 50’s and wondering what life looks like when you are done with sales. What is the next stop after sales? Do we run over to marketing to see if they’ll take us? What about finance? or engineering? or human resources? Really, where do salespeople go when they are done with sales? 

I don’t think anyone ever leaves sales- once you are a salesperson your entire persona is wrapped around sales. It’s the sales mentality that stays with us but the grind of generating revenue may not be sustained. What are your thoughts on life after sales?

Today most call centers or inside sales organization sound very different. It’s not the phone you hear but keyboards clicking, texting and instant messaging. Call activity is at an all-time low these days, not because your people are not on the phones but because prospects no longer want to be bothered by phone.

Sales managers are busy trying to increase call volumes in search of greater productivity- (remember they were once reps and the reason they got promoted was because of the loud buzz they created years ago). But they must take a step back and adjust their “activity” expectations and realize the Sales 2.0 world that are working in today. Prospects today consider the phone a rude interuption, barely respond to your email and prefer to research and buy a solution on their own instead of being held in a qualification headlock.

Instead of putting your sales team on plan for low call volume, managers must learn to listen to new sales productivity tools and create metrics to best support and reinforce these tools.  This requires you to upgrade your listening expectations and tune in to the following:

1. Can you hear me now? Replace your talk time with keyboard time.

2. Content is king- remember the reps you hired because they could talk? now they must learn how to write because content is king. Each week, team members must organize strong email templates and strategize on target list building and messaging to their prospects

3. Become part of the conversation- the days of sitting by phones and waiting for them to ring are gone, get your people trained on using social networking tools (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, as starters) and listen for the live conversation feed.

4. Tools knowledge- reward your reps who take the time to learn how to master and sell with their tools.

5. Targeted outbound- Call blitzes are a waste of time if they are not targeted. Reps must invest in organizing their target list and creating specific messages for their list.

6. Educate executives- I know you were just minding your own business when your boss walked in and asked you why no one is on the phones? Inside sales has been misunderstood long enough and right when you think you understand them, the rules change.

On the sales front, my prediction is that BANT is dead. This is a term is frequently used to in the Lead Generation circles to qualify a lead. The standard qualifying criteria includes asking questions from the following categories: Budget, Authority, Need and Timeframe. Usually once these questions have been asked, the lead is ”qualified” and enters the pipeline.

Here’s the deal- I’m all for sales and marketing getting along better and collaborating more and when it comes to lead qualification each brings their unique wish list to the table.  BANT sets the standards for lead qualification but as Marketing keeps adding more to the list, and Sales adds more to the list- too many questions that confuse and mostly turn off the prospect.

We cannot lose sight of our prospects and what they want or think they want. Do you really think that holding customers in a headlock and shooting a barrage of questions is heavy artillery they should respond to?

I don’t think so, prospects are tired of being held in a headlock and just don’t want to cooperate with questions anymore.  Especially when they can smell the BANT questions coming.

This Thursday, I will be speaking at the NorCal BMA Sales Roundtable breakfast series on Sales Realities in Lead Generation and we dive into this very interesting topic. We will discuss what questions to ask and what sales realities we need to be aware of in 2010. Please join me.

When I called my ISP, they told me about 40K emails were sitting on my server and that seemed to be the reason. They asked if I wanted to sort through these emails before they cleared the server and I thought to myself, how can I possibly waste any more time on email.

That got me thinking about data consumption in general and how much time we spent on phone, email, TV and other digital distractions.

This great visual explains it all. Artist Rob Vargas created this graphic using data from a study by the University of California at San Diego. Americans consume 3.6 zettabytes a day. A zettabyte is one billion trillion bytes.

Can you relate to this?

Tomorrow is a big day for me as I will be delivering a Smart Selling with Curiosity session for the CitrixOnline global inside sales teams. Part of my presentation is all about Sales and Social Prospecting Tools. I know when I look out to a room filled with 250 salespeople and ask them how many spend time on social media tools such as Twitter or LinkedIn or Facebook for their prospecting efforts, they will all respond with “who has time response.”

But social media is becoming an essential sales and prospecting vehicle and incorporating it into your week or your day is critical. For example, Monday is the day many people go back to work after a long weekend and I make Monday my social media day. I like reaching out to people to request appts, register for webinars, download ebooks and read white papers- it’s a  fantastic day for getting a true social media work-out. Here is how I build muscle and tone with my Monday Social Media Work-Out:

Morning- start with a cardio workout and visit various blogs to post comments and read the latest trends everyone is writing about. I may review some of my target audience and prospects’ blogs and make comments so I stay visible as a vendor. My blogroll is where I usually look for well written content that is newsworthy and informative and inspirational.  

Mid-morning- body conditionining with a blog post on something important and relevant I would like to discuss for the week.

Late morning-Get on the TweetDeck and retweet a few people and send traffic to my blog post and any upcoming marketing announcements that are happening this week.

Lunch- I get my fuel food through LinkedIn discussion groups, I answer questions, send introductions through 2nd and 3rd degree contacts, request appts with people in my network and keep up with updates on any new promotions.

Early afternoon- Get back on the TweetDeck and download new information, register for upcoming webinars, read new white papers. Retweet key centers of influence and work my way around the crowd.

Evening- Long day and my brain is fried so I may want to watch some YouTube video of some motivational speaker or sales message.

The most important part of social media is to be consistent and selective.