Slides from a recent Focus Research webcast - http://www.focus.com/webcasts/sales/7-biggest-sales-innovations/
Rewind ten years and recall that sales tools such as Sales Force Automation were just seeing the light of day. Today, there’s a plethora of new sales-oriented technologies promising to help teams sell faster, better, and smarter.
But how do you know which sales innovations and best practices are the most effective and can give you the best results and how do you evaluate their potential impact on your sales cycle?
Watch this FREE on-demand webinar to hear the experts present the 7 biggest sales innovations of the past decade and learn how to unlock their value for your sales team! Watch now to find out:
Top 7 sales innovations from the last decade: unlock their maximum value for sales
How to use social media effectively to improve prospecting, gain insights, and close deals faster
How to further leverage timeless sales techniques using new technologies
How innovative technologies and solutions can help you build greater customer loyalty and service
2. Sustaining and Necessary Sales Force Automation (SFA) Software as a Service (SaaS) Analytics & Reporting Mobility Process Automation & Integration Transformational Enhanced Communications (IP & Web) Social Networking The Top 7 Sales Innovations of the Last Decade
3. Core application for Sales and Sales Management A necessity, not a differentiator No Longer Standalone (see #5) #1 Sales Force Automation (SFA) Well-implemented SFA is the key to implementing and reinforcing organizational methodologies and best practices
4. Ubiquitous Access Any browser, anywhere Reduced Up-Front Costs Setup, Training Reduced Risk Faster Time-to-Value #2 Software as a Service (SaaS) Analyst firm Gartner predicted that by 2011, 25 percent of new business software will be delivered by SaaS.
5. Qualify leads & understand customer behavior and motivations Increase the entire team’s performance Understand short- and long-term impacts g #3 Analytics & Reporting “Google has changed the face of how sales leads are generated” Ken B.
6. Increase Sales Productivity Be ‘in front’ of the customer Access to accounts, history, contacts, tasks, etc… Ubiquitous wireless & web - no more ‘sync’ #4 Mobility
7. SFA fully integrated with CRM All customer apps holistically integrated Front Office to Back Office integration SFA/CRM to ERP Consistency & Delivery Drives Loyalty & Profitability #5 Process Automation “Sales only manages the needs analysis/solution placement end of the buyer's buying decision.” Sharon Drew Morgen
8. Bring ‘presense’ to the customer – and the customer to you IP Telephony Video & Web Conferencing Enhance Field Productivity Voice & Speech Recognition Dramatically reduce the cost of sales #6 Enhanced Communications “We were losing money on every sale below $250K with a traditional sales model – I will only provision outside sales teams for deals with a value >$1M” Well-known technology CEO
9. The best salespeople utilize Social Networks to gain insight, build and deepen relationships. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Next steps - integrate with SFA/CRM Leverage personal networks for enterprise value Move toward ‘Social CRM’ (SCRM) #7 Social Networking “I am still amazed I can reach out to senior level people, reach them with or without mutual people in our network, and be able to pitch them in a new and dynamic way…At the end of the day – it’s relationships that make selling possible.” Jeff Hulton
10. Traditional Sales Tools are as important as ever Integrate across – and beyond - the Enterprise Anytime, anywhere accessibility More ‘table stakes’ than ‘competitive advantage’ these days Social Networks are changing the Selling game Sales is – and always will be – about people and relationships Build & enhance personal relationships – your best reps are Leverage their relationships – and knowledge - for corporate benefit Move toward SCRM “Sales 3.0” is the next big opportunity Leverage technology to supplement – and selectively replace – the traditional outside sales model Dramatically lower the cost and increase the profitability of Sales Key Points
11. Thank you! Chris Selland chris@sellandcapital.com(617) 500-3465Focus: www.focus.com/profiles/chris-selland/public Blogs: sellandcapital.com, stocktwitstech.com, siliconangle.com Follow me on Twitter: @cselland