1) Marketing will adopt Big Data faster than sales as Big Data sheds light on buyers' journeys and what marketing programs deliver high quality leads and engagement. 2) As marketing's ROI and pipeline generation improve through the use of Big Data insights, they will convince sales to take a more analytical approach over time. 3) Prospects and customers now control their purchase processes, following self-directed and social influenced journeys, lengthening sales cycles. Big Data begins to provide insights into this new buying behavior.

1. 2013
PREDICTIONS
What's in Store for Sales,
Marketing and
Big Data in the New Year?
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2. What’s in Store for 2013?
THIS IS A TRULY EXCITING TIME FOR SALES AND MARKETING TEAMS.
Data about customers and prospects is practically exploding, granting tremendous
opportunity to those teams who choose to leverage that data into insight. As more and
more data becomes available and buying behavior continues to shift, sales and marketing
organizations must continue to discover new ways of getting in front of customers and
prospects at the beginning of the buying cycle.
So we wrangled up over 20 thought leaders, venture capitalists, analysts, editors and experts to
weigh in on the Big Data for sales and marketing landscape in 2013. The predictions we collected
span the whole gamut. Is it the end of cloud computing or the rise of Big Data? What new
challenges will sales and marketing teams face in 2013? What is happening to the sales cycle?
If you don’t agree or would like to add yours, please do—and please share this with
anyone you think would enjoy it.
I hope you enjoy reading!
shashi upadhyay, ceo, lattice
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3. 1 Sales Department Needs
to Generate Leads ‘
@gregalexander
REP PROSPECTING WILL BE A TOP CHALLENGE IN 2013.
In 2012, companies over rotated towards lead generation being the exclusive
responsibility of the marketing department. Marketing has to do its part, for
sure. However, marketing will not be able to produce enough leads to hit the
number in 2013. Sales has to generate their fair share of the leads. Failure to do
These muscles
have not been
used for a while
and reps currently
are not very good
’
at generating
so will result in a miss in 2013. Yet, rep prospecting has been neglected for sev-
their own leads.
eral years. These muscles have not been used for a while and reps currently are
not very good at generating their own leads. Sales departments got caught up Greg Alexander serves as
CEO of Sales Benchmark Index
in the hype cycle of marketing automation. (SBI), a professional services
firm focused exclusively on sales
THE TRUTH ABOUT B2B MARKETING. Unfortunately, 2012 revealed force effectiveness. He is also
the author of three critically
the truth about modern B2B marketing, which is we still have a long way to go. acclaimed books:The CEO's
There are more failed implementations than there are successful implementations. Guide to Getting More Out of
the Sales Force (2010), Making
the Number (2008) and
Topgrading for Sales (2008).
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4. ‘
THIS REQUIRES SALES TO MAKE A BIG DECISION IN 2013: Big Data tools
A. Trust that marketing will finally “get it” and fill the funnel consistently, or now allow sales
B. Take control of their destiny and generate their own leads. ops directors to
identify hidden
BIG DATA IMPACT? Big Data has the ability to transform sales ops from a
tactical department delivering limited value to a strategic department deliver-
ing lots of value. How? Before Big Data tools, sales operations directors were
reduced to basic report runners due to systems limitations. They were unable
’
growth opportu-
nities. Some of
these ideas can
be the difference
between making,
to make data meaningful because the process of capturing quality data was or missing,
very difficult and costly. the number.
IDENTIFYING HIDDEN GROWTH. Big Data tools now allow sales
operations directors to identify hidden growth opportunities. This encourages
senior executives to take action on ideas submitted by the sales ops team.
Some of these ideas can be the difference between making, or missing, the
number. This elevates the people in these jobs from “staffers” to key members
of the executive committee.
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5. 2 Where Have All
the Sales Reps Gone? ‘
@agaffney
A LACK OF INTERACTION. A trend making sales intelligence and data a 51% of buyers
necessity for sales teams is the fact that much of the traditional sales cycle is
taking place without any sales involvement. 2012 B2B Buyer Survey conducted
by Demand Gen Report found 51% of buyers said they didn’t interact with a
representative until after they had established a preferred list of vendors and
13% didn't engage until after they had put out RFPs or were ready to negotiate
said they didn't
interact with
a representative
until after they
had established
’
a preferred
pricing terms. list of vendors.
LATE TO THE GAME. By this point, sales teams are working at a disadvan- Andrew Gaffney is editor of
DemandGen Report, a targeted
tage and intelligence on the key pain points and areas of interest of a prospect e-media publication focusing on
are often the tools that can get teams back in a deal that would have been lost. best practices in lead generation
and lead management. Each
week DemandGen Report
delivers targeted content
to close to 25,000 sales &
marketing executives across
a wide variety of verticals.
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6. 3 Modern Demand
Generation Is Here ‘
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW. In 2012, most sales teams
have come to terms with the fact that their traditional demand generation
tactics are no longer effective (i.e. cold calling, trade shows, unsolicited email,
etc.). They also understand that marketing holds the keys to modern demand
@markroberge
The biggest
challenges these
teams will face
is getting their
’
generation in the way of content generation and social media participation. content creation
engine going.
BIGGEST CHALLENGES? In 2013, the biggest challenges these teams Mark Roberge is responsible
for the entire sales and services
will face is getting their content creation engine going and aligning sales and function at HubSpot, increasing
marketing to work together to successfully attract, nurture and convert leads revenue over 6,000% and
into customers. expanding the team from 1 to
200 employees in five years.
These results placed HubSpot
#33 on the 2011 INC 500
Fastest Growing Companies
list. Mark was also awarded the
2010 Salesperson of the Year at
the MIT Sales Conference.
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7. 4 One Word for Sales
Teams: Alignment ‘
@gerhard20
THE TOP CHALLENGE OF SALES TEAMS IS ALIGNMENT.
As the economy picks up speed and as technology accelerates the sales
process more and more companies are out of alignment.
HERE ARE THE TOP 5 ALIGNMENT CHALLENGES:
As the economy
picks up speed
and technology
accelerates the
sales process,
’
companies are
1. Align the sales process with the customers buying process
out of alignment.
2. Align sales with marketing
Gerhard Gschwandtner
3. Align sales information with customer demands for insight is the founder and CEO
of Personal Selling Power,
4. Align newly hired sales talent with forever shifting job demands Inc., a magazine and book
and customer requirements publishing company located
in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
5. Align people, process and technology Today, in addition to Selling
Power magazine, Personal
Selling Power, Inc. has a book-
publishing division, an online
video division, a sales leadership
conference series and a website.
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8. 5 New Accounts: Three
Times the Effort ‘
@jimdickie
CAPTURING NEW ACCOUNTS IS THE NUMBER ONE OBJECTIVE. Selling to new
The preliminary findings from CSO Insights 2013 Sales Performance Optimization
(SPO) study show that capturing new accounts is the number one object for
sales organizations for the coming year. But the study also found that selling
to new accounts requires three times the effort compared to selling additional
products to existing customers. So how do we make it easier for our sales
accounts requires
three times the
effort compared
to selling addi-
tional products
’
to existing
teams to achieve that goal in 2013? customers.
BIG DATA IMPACT? Having benchmarked several firms that are effectively Jim Dickie is the Managing
Partner of CSO Insights; a
leveraging Big Data, let me share two ideas you may want to use for your own research firm that specializes in
sales organization for 2013. The first revolves around pointing your sales benchmarking how companies
are leveraging people, process,
teams in the right direction. A medical products firm shared with us that they and technology to optimize the
used Big Data tools to do an analysis of past wins, losses and no decisions. way they market to, sell to and
Using data from their CRM, ERP and support systems, they built a profile of service customers. He has over
29 years of sales and marketing
management experience.
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9. ‘
prospects that were more likely to buy from them than others. This included Knowing who
surfacing insights into certain stakeholders they were more effective at they wanted to
engaging, certain problems they were more effective at solving, a breakdown focus on was only
of which competitors to attack and which to avoid, etc. half of the battle.
Sales managers then met with each rep to discuss how to leverage these findings
to develop penetration strategies for each territory. The outcome was a clear
focus on where to best invest each rep’s selling time. The insights into prospect
demographics were also shared with marketing so they could develop much
to determine
would want to
spend time
’
They also needed
why the prospect
more targeted lead generation campaigns. engaging with
them as well.
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10. 6 Big Data Is Bullshit.
‘
BIG DATA IS MINISCULE. Twenty years from now, the thing we call ‘Big
Data’ will be tiny data. It’ll be microscopic data. The volume that we’re talking
’
@bfeld
The key is to
figure out where
about today, in 20 years, is a speck. The key for 2013 with Big Data is to figure you can make
out how you can make a difference. Don't let marketing noise obscure what's a difference.
real and what isn't. Brad Feld has been an early
stage investor and entrepreneur
since 1987. Prior to co-founding
Foundry Group, he co-founded
Mobius Venture Capital and,
prior to that, founded Intensity
Ventures. Brad is also a
co-founder of TechStars.
Brad currently serves on
the board of directors of
BigDoor, Cheezburger, Fitbit,
FullContact, Gnip, MakerBot,
MobileDay, Modular Robotics,
Oblong, Orbotix, SEOMoz,
Standing Cloud, and Yesware
for Foundry Group.
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11. 7 Insight Selling Over
Solution Selling ‘
@brittonmanasco
COMPELLING AND PROVOCATIVE INSIGHTS ACCELERATE
BUYING DECISIONS. With a push from the Big Data movement, expect
to see B2B sales and marketing leaders put increasing attention on actionable
insights in the coming year.
The biggest
driver of B2B
sales perfor-
mance today is
a supplier's abil-
’
ity to deliver
WHY? Because the B2B sales field is swiftly moving from solution selling to
new insights.
insight selling. It’s now more critical than ever to bring prospects relevant and
provocative insights that challenge current thinking, provide new perspectives Britton Manasco
is a partner with Visible
and vividly make the case for change. As Brent Adamson and Matthew Impact, which works with
Dixon point out in their thoroughly researched book The Challenger Sale, the B2B companies to develop
compelling positioning,
biggest driver of B2B sales performance today is “a supplier’s ability to deliver elevate sales conversations
new insights.”But you can’t provide compelling insights that create a sense of and accelerate buying decision
urgency and accelerate buying decisions unless you’ve done the hard work of cycles. You can reach him
at 512-301-4881 or Britton@
producing them in the first place. VisibleImpact.com. Download a
free copy of the ebook
The Power of Visual Selling at
www.VisibleImpact.com.
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12. ‘
YOU WILL NEED TO LOOK TO MULTIPLE SOURCES. First, Are the discoveries
there’s the participation of your key sales and marketing stakeholders in the and experiences
creation of your context-setting and status quo shattering insights. In fact, of your existing
it’s increasingly clear that vivid, signature stories must be developed through customers
collaboration and consensus if they are to be expressed with conviction. Next, informing the
there’s the voice of the market. Are the discoveries and experiences of your insights you
existing customers informing the insights you offer to prospective ones? Such offer to prospec-
evidence is critical if your insights are to be considered valid in the eyes of your
prospect. Finally, there’s sales intelligence—key trends, triggers and trusted
connections that justify an initial meeting with a prospective client. Your
insights must be deeply relevant to your buyer to create sales momentum.
’
tive one? Such
evidence is critical
if your insights
are to be consid-
ered valid in the
eyes of your
BIG DATA IS BOTH FEEDING AND FORCING THIS prospect.
TRANSFORMATIONAL SHIFT IN SELLING. It’s a matter of signal and
noise. While prospective buyers can find vast amounts of information on their
own, they now look to forward-looking suppliers to bring new insights, new
perspectives and new directions. And, by providing rich and reliable guidance
of this sort, today’s suppliers become tomorrow’s trusted partners.
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13. 8 Marketing, Not Sales Will
Adopt Big Data Faster
@chriscrandell
Chris Crandell is President
PROSPECTS AND CUSTOMERS ARE IN COMPLETE CONTROL of New Business Strategies,
OF THEIR B2B AND B2C purchase processes following self-directed, a B2B market strategy
social-influenced and trusted based journey from need recognition through consultancy. She leads client
teams serving customers
post-purchase. The impact on vendors is that the average sales cycle is 22% worldwide. Widely published
longer than 5 years ago (Sirius Decisions) because of the mismatch between in BusinessWeek, Forbes, B2B
Marketing, Investor Business
today’s buyer expectations and habits that sales and marketing won’t let go of. Daily, CMO.com, Sandhill.
com and Forbes.com, she
has keynoted and spoken on
BIG DATA HAS BEGUN TO SHED LIGHT on the steps of buyers’ improving marketing ROI,
journey, the characteristics of the best deals and marketing programs that actionable buyers’ journeys
deliver high quality leads and meaningful buyer engagement. Marketing and customer loyalty. Her
thought leadership has led to
will more quickly embrace the insights from Big Data and change how they recognition in 2012 as one of
engage and enable prospects and build enduring relationships with customers. the top twenty women in Sales
and Marketing by the SLMA,
As marketing’s ROI and pipeline generation improve they will, over time, one of the top 15 leaders in
convince sales to take a more analytical approach to understanding prospect, social selling, and in 2010 as
one of Silicon Valley’s Most
customer, pipeline and deal behavior. Influential Women by
the Silicon Valley/San Jose
Business Journal.
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14. 9 Biggest Challenge
for Sales in 2013? Hiring. ‘
@keenan
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR SALES IN 2013 WILL BE HIRING.
With the economy improving (assuming the fiscal cliff is avoided) and the
election over, sales organizations will look to upgrade their sales teams. At
the same time sales people, feeling safer in the improved economy, will start
looking for new opportunities. In spite of this movement, companies will
Big Data
awareness will
grow substantially
in 2013 as success
stories from
’
early adopters
struggle at identifying the skills required to be successful. In addition to iden-
gain traction.
tifying who they need, companies will struggle luring and retaining “A” players.
The current sales environment is shrinking the pool of “A” players. In 2013 sales Jim Keenan is the founder
and partner of A Sales Guy
organizations will struggle with team development and resource deployment. Consulting. A Sales Guy
Consulting helps companies
BIG DATA, BIG TOOL. For the most savvy sales organizations Big Data grow sales. We are a fun,
straight forward consulting
will be used to assess where the biggest opportunities are and therefore the company that relishes the
types of skills and sales people need to be successful. Unfortunately, few challenge of taking companies
from point A to point B in as
companies will possess the organizational savvy to capitalize on Big Data 2013. little time as possible. We get
it. It’s no fun when you’re not
making your numbers.
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15. ‘
THE BIG “A”. Big Data in 2013 will be about the “A.” However, the “A” is Big Data adoption
not for adoption but for awareness. Big Data awareness will grow substantially will continue to
in 2013 as success stories from early adopters gain traction. Larger companies avoid small and
and sales organizations with the available resources will implement small medium sized
trials or tests. Due to the complexity of Big Data implementations wide-spread
adoption of Big Data will be relatively low through out the general sales world.
Big Data adoption will continue to avoid small and medium sized business in
2013, yet awareness will increase substantially, potentially setting up a stronger
adoption in 2014.
business in 2013,
yet awareness
will increase
substantially,
potentially set-
’
ting up a stronger
adoption in 2014.
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16. 10 Intelligent Leads
@davidabrock
Dave Brock has spent
HIGH PERFORMANCE SALES HONE IN ON PROSPECTS. In 2013, his career developing high
high performance sales organizations will be starting to provide their sales performance organizations.
people with “intelligent leads.” Today, those companies are leveraging market- He worked in sales, marketing
and executive management
ing automation systems, lead nurturing, lead scoring and other techniques to capacities with IBM,
provide high sales accepted leads. Tektronix and Keithley
Instruments. His consulting
clients include companies in
BY INCORPORATING RICH ANALYTICS, these organizations will make the semiconductor, aerospace,
electronics, consumer products,
quantum leaps in lead quality/conversions. “Intelligent leads” will extend lead computer, telecommunications,
scoring into identifying people with a high propensity to buy. “Intelligent leads” retailing, internet, software,
will provide a rich profile of the individual, not only where they are in the nur- professional and financial
services industries.
turing process, but it will incorporate data from multiple internal and external
resources. “Intelligent leads” will provide the sales person not only the insight
of when to talk to the person, but what we should be talking to them about
and how we should be talking to them.
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17. ‘
BIG DATA IMPACT? Companies leveraging Big Data and “intelligent leads” Intelligent leads
will find this capability to be their competitive advantage and differentiator, will provide the
further distancing themselves from their competition. sales person not
only the insight
“INTELLIGENT LEADS” WILL DRIVE A MUCH RICHER CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE. Customers will actually welcome contacts from salespeople
because the timeliness and content of these discussions will be focused on
what interests them at the moments their interests are highest. Salespeople
will be relevant, creating value in the initial contact and every subsequent exchange.
the person, but ’
of when to talk to
what we should be
talking to them
about and how
we should be
talking to them.
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18. 11 Top Challenges
‘
@mpmccarroll
1. chieve/Exceed Revenue Targets (especially given the mediocre
A
economy). Growth targets are consistently set well above GDP growth.
Growth generally requires taking significant market share.
2. amp New Reps Faster. New reps have to be able to find targets,
R
Gaining the
interest and
time of channel
partners is an
immediate way
’
engage them and convert them much faster. to expand
sales capacity.
3. ngage More Clients Effectively Via Phone, Web and
E
Lower-Cost Channels. Cost of sales must reduce to accommodate more Michael McCarroll is the
SVP of Sales at Lattice. He is
reps and coverage effective engagement via lower cost phone or web responsible for developing new
channels is an imperative. relationships and expanding
existing relationships through
4. everage Channel Partners to Expand Sales Coverage. Gaining the
L the achievement of customer
revenue lift. Prior to Lattice
interest and time of channel partners is an immediate way to expand sales Engines, Michael was co-
capacity at low/no sales cost. founder and President of
SAAS-based analytics software
provider InformLink (acquired
by Computer Sciences
Corporation in 2003).
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19. ‘
BIG DATA IMPACT? Growth targets
1. Tells Reps What a Customer May Care About. Helps rep to infer
customer needs.
2. elps a Rep Start a Conversation. Helps rep to start a relevant
H
conversation.
GDP growth.
’
are consistently
set well above
Growth generally
requires taking
significant
market share.
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20. 12 Seeking A Better
Customer Understanding
@heidimelin
Heidi Melin brings a valuable
BIG DATA WILL CAPTURE ONLINE BEHAVIOR. In 2013 I predict track record of proven success
companies will continue to seek a deeper understanding of buyers and the leading marketing teams at
foundation for achieving this will be Big Data. Marketers will leverage their some of the most recognized
brands in Silicon Valley. Her
ecosystem of technology and the insight it provides to further understand focus at Eloqua is on generating
their buyers’ ‘digital body language.’ The explosion of available data, beyond the brand’s thought leadership
in the SaaS sector and driving
demographics, that captures a prospect’s online behavior will help organiza- demand. Melin comes to
tions move potential customers through the buying stages by delivering the Eloqua from Taleo, which was
recently acquired by Oracle
right information at the right time in their journey from awareness to consid- Corporation, where she was
eration to, ultimately, purchase. If marketers can take advantage of Big Data, CMO. Prior to Taleo, she
companies will benefit from the insights necessary to drive revenue. served as CMO of Polycom
Inc., where she helped turn the
brand into a leader in unified
communications. Before joining
Polycom, Heidi was CMO at
Hyperion Solutions Corp. (now
Oracle Hyperion), where she
led a brand strategy that led to
renewed recognition within the
business intelligence space.
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21. 13 Online Sales Replace
The Sales Person?
@JFAssocs
THE VIRTUAL SALES TAKE OVER. To begin with, I think it is important Jonathan Farrington
is a globally recognized
we accept that virtually anything that can be purchased online with a credit business coach, mentor,
card does not require the input from a salesman/saleswoman—these are the author, consultant and sales
thought leader, who has
new “commodity sales,” including so many products that in the past have been guided hundreds of companies
sold traditionally, for example, I.T. equipment, software, financial products, mo- and more than one hundred
tor vehicles, clothes, food, etc. I estimate that 80-90% of all B2B transactions thousand frontline salespeople
and sales leaders towards
will be conducted online within three years, including high-end solutions that optimum performance levels.
require some level of consultation, which will be provided via video conferencing. He is the Senior Partner
at Jonathan Farrington
This is a harsh economic reality. Associates, Chairman of The
JF Corporation and CEO of
Top Sales Associates, based in
London Paris. You can also
catch his popular award-winning
blog here—The JF Blogit.
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22. ‘
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. The remaining 10-20% external sales The remaining
professionals that are left will become far more sophisticated—they will have 10-20% of external
to be in order to survive. Their basic skills-set will include very high levels of
commercial acumen, industry/sector/market knowledge. They will speak the
language of the buyer. They will be a rare and highly valued commodity!
JOE AVERAGE. But my biggest concern is for the “Joe Average” external
’
sales professionals
that are left will
become far more
sophisticated—
they will have
salesmen and women. These are the order-takers; the “just popped in for a to be in order
chat to see if there is anything going” people; the courtesy callers; the shelf- to survive.
stackers; the “I’m here if you need me” and the “He will always buy from me
because he likes me” operators.
WHAT IS TO BECOME OF THEM? They are going to be consigned to
the annals of sales history. They will become extinct—it is already happening.
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23. 14 Trust Is Not Enough
‘
BIG DATA ALLOWS US TO TARGET BETTER. Advocates will
say that the benefit of Big Data is that it organizes disparate sources of
information to allow us to target better, be smarter about our business
’
@CFrancisVoice
While we can't
ignore Big Data,
we do have to
and make better decisions. learn to sell
differently.
FOR SALES PEOPLE, I’M NOT SURE THAT WILL BE A BENEFIT IN Colleen Francis is the
2013. Why? More data. And more options. And more decision points. And founder and president of
Engage Selling Solutions and
more complex matrixed decision committee. And more opinions. Equals one one of the top 5 sales trainers in
confused buyer, longer sales cycles and more losses. the market—Sales Marketing
Magazine. Colleen is driven
by a passion for sales—and
While we can’t ignore Big Data, we do have to learn to sell differently in spite results. A successful sales
professional for over 20 years,
of it. This is the transformation I see smart companies making in 2013. she understands the challenges
of selling in today's market
and how traditional sales
techniques from decades ago
often fall short.
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24. ‘
THE RELATIONSHIP IS KING. For many years, developing trust and If a prospect
rapport was considered the hallmark of a great sales process. Driving sales trusts you more
required exposing your sales team to a maximum number of prospects and
developing trust and rapport with those prospects. Important is not the
exposure but the relationship.
BUILDING TRUST. The theory has always been that, all things being equal,
than another
when the time
’
potential supplier,
comes for them to
make a purchase,
if a prospect trusts you more than another potential supplier, when the time you've won
comes for them to make a purchase, you’ve won their business. But today, just the business.
knowing, liking and trusting a potential supplier is not enough. It’s important
that the prospect also sees you as an expert in their business. One that they
can trust not only personally but professionally to guide them through their
purchase and future business problems.
BIG DATA HELPS ORGANIZE. Advocates will say that the benefit of
Big Data is that it organizes disparate sources of information to allow us to
target better, be smarter about our business and make better decisions.
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25. 15 Sales People Will Require
More Data Initially
@kendraleekla
Kendra Lee is a Top 50 Sales
IT'S MORE THAN JUST LOOKING AT THE WEBSITE. The days Marketing Influencer for 2012
of salespeople educating themselves about a prospect's company simply by and Top 25 Influential Leader in
visiting their website are over. Because of the plethora of information available, Sales for 2012. She is a Prospect
Attraction Expert, president
prospects expect that any sales rep approaching them has done their research. of KLA Group, and author of
the award-winning book Selling
Against the Goal and The Sales
THE BENEFITS OF BIG DATA ON HAND. Having Big Data available Magnet (coming January 2013).
at your fingertips allows you to differentiate yourself from your competition Specializing in the IT industry,
KLA Group helps mid-market
immediately. In 2013 sellers will more carefully research top prospects to offer companies break through tough
valuable insights from their first conversation. prospecting barriers to exceed
revenue goals. Ms. Lee is a
frequent speaker at national
sales meetings and events. To
find out more about the author
and her “Get More Customers”
strategies, visit www.klagroup.
com or call +1 303-741-6636.
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26. ‘
BIG DATA WILL CONTINUE TO BE CRITICAL IN LEAD You can no
GENERATION. One of the most important things companies must do is longer expect to
to create lead generation campaigns that are personally tailored to the be heard above
segments being targeted.
STANDING OUT IN THE CROWD. There are more people conducting
email campaigns, hosting webinars and utilizing other Internet-centric
marketing vehicles than ever before. You can no longer expect to be heard
the noise without
a message that
distinguishes you.
Big Data allows
you to be highly
’
above the noise without a message that distinguishes you. Big Data allows relevant to your
you to be highly relevant to your target segments and will be a critical success target segments.
factor in lead generation throughout 2013 and beyond.
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27. 16 The Big Data Ecosystem
@agoldfisher
Alastair Goldfisher is
ANALYZE THIS: VCS, ENTREPRENEURS ALREADY ARE Editor of Venture Capital
BUILDING THE BIG DATA ECOSYSTEM. It’s easy to dismiss “Big Data” Journal, a Thomson Reuters
as just another saying that’s sweeping the national tech communities from publication that covers the VC
industry. He also contributes to
Silicon Valley to Silicon Alley. But Big Data is much more than the latest peHUB.com. Alastair primarily
catchphrase. It’s all about managing and making sense of a growing volume reports on venture capital and
startups—pretty much anything
of information and statistics that countless Internet companies and mobile app dealing with fundraising,
developers are collecting on their users. investment trends, personnel
news and other topics about
the VC industry. Alastair has
NOT JUST FOR STATISTICIANS. And what’s important to note is that worked as a business journalist
Big Data is not just for statisticians in white lab coats. The amount of business since 1994. He’s been at
Thomson Reuters since 2003.
intelligence that is accumulated affects every online company, no matter its Previously, he was the founding
size nor its sector focus. Marinexplore, for example, operates a Big Data editor of California CEO and
a reporter with the San Jose
platform to catalog information on the world’s oceans and has accumulated Business Journal. He lives in the
more than 1.2 billion measurements taken from a variety of devices. Similarly, San Francisco Bay Area.
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28. ‘
Practice Fusion, which has raised more than $65 million in VC funding, Companies like
operates a platform to manage health records. To date, the company Marineexplore
has amassed more than 50 million de-identified patient records in its and Practice
database, which is more than three times the VA (7.5 million) and Kaiser
(8.5 million) combined.
INTO THE HANDS OF ORDINARY USERS. Companies like Marinex-
plore and Practice Fusion are taking Big Data out of the realm of research and
Fusion are taking
Big Data out of
the realm of
research and
putting it into the
’
putting it into the hands of ordinary business users. Entrepreneurs should take hands of ordinary
comfort in knowing that more investors are paying attention to the business users.
notion of Big Data. In 2011, VCs invested nearly $2.5 billion in Big Data-related
startups, compared to a little more than $1.5 billion in 2010 and $1.1 billion in
2009, according to Thomson Reuters (where I serve as editor of Venture
Capital Journal). It’s believed that the flow of VC dollars will continue to pour
into the pockets of Big Data entrepreneurs in the coming years. Research firm
IDC estimates that Big Data tech spending will jump from $3.2 billion in 2010
to an estimated $16.9 billion by 2015 and several VCs are already getting in
line to fund future startups.
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29. ‘
BIG DATA IS FLUSH WITH FUNDING. In early 2012, Accel Partners Accel Partners
launched a $100 million fund to invest in early stage and growth companies launched a $100
throughout the worldwide Big Data ecosystem, from next generation storage
and data management platforms to a range of software developers and ser-
vice providers. Similarly, Data Collective got started two years ago to invest in
companies that manage complex databases and provide faster processing of
information. The firm is currently in the process of raising its first institutional
’
million fund to in-
vest in early stage
and growth com-
panies throughout
the worldwide
fund, which industry watchers expect to reach between $50 million and $100 Big Data
million. VCs and entrepreneurs sense an opportunity, and are ready to jump ecosystem.
into the fray. The data doesn’t lie.
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30. 17 Machine Age Predictions
@shashiSF
Shashi Upadhyay is the
PUTTING TRUST IN THE SYSTEM. Sales and marketing professionals CEO and co-founder of Lattice
will become more and more comfortable with the predictions made by Big Engines. Since the company’s
Data systems. Most organizations will start small by experimenting outside the founding, Lattice has changed
the lives of tens of thousands
core, e.g., with new products or prospecting for new customers, but over time of sales professionals with
will gain the confidence to run a large part of their marketing and sales efforts award-winning technology
that enables them to be more
informed by machine-driven predictions. In a fairly significant change from the successful and their companies
Cloud transition, this Big Data wave will be driven by large enterprises first. to drive more revenue. Before
Lattice, Shashi was a partner at
McKinsey Company where
he advised several Fortune
500 clients on improving
their productivity. He has also
served as an expert resource to
CEOs of several companies to
help conduct operational and
strategic turnarounds.
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31. 18 Close Faster,
Reap the Rewards
@annekeseley
Anneke Seley has been a
TOP CHALLENGES. In 2013, as in every year, sales teams will be looking to champion of innovative sales
close more sales faster and find incremental revenue. thinking for over twenty years.
She is the CEO and founder of
Reality Works Group (formerly
BIG DATA PREDICTION. Without the sales insights made possible by Big Phone Works), a global sales
Data, sales teams will waste a lot of time and alienate a large number of buyers strategy and implementation
services and content develop-
who aren't ready to buy or will never buy. Forward-thinking “Sales 2.0” com- ment firm that delivers revenue
panies have recognized that selling strategies informed by data and enabled results in today's new Sales 2.0
reality. With expertise in phone/
by technology lead to measurably better business results and happier custom- online/social selling, Reality
ers. Big Data and analytics have already contributed to major advances across Works Group has helped over
industries and functions and it's time for sales to reap these rewards as well. 450 clients increase revenue
at decreased cost using Sales
There are tremendous opportunities to identify prospects and customers who 2.0 practices—measurable,
are most likely to buy fastest, engage with them in a way that is relevant and predictable, scalable selling
combined with better
meaningful and measure and predict sales productivity gains. Sales executives engagement and relationships
who embrace these opportunities will lead us into a future of better selling. with customers.
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32. 19 The End of Sales
As We Know It
Howard Stevens is
GET READY FOR THE RISE OF THE NEW “PROFESSION OF SALES.” Chairman and CEO of
University raised, multi-skilled, customer focused and accomplished in multiple Chally Group Worldwide, a
disciplines: personally adding value to their customers business and driving rev- research firm focused on Talent
Management, Leadership
enue and prosperity as never imagined before. Development and Sales and
Productivity Improvement.
Chally provides both talent
The new “professional salesperson” is versed in the emerging science of and productivity audits at
professional B2B sales. Supported by true sales analytics and personally a corporate, functional and
individual level as well as
providing added value, she is changing the game—not only in our national personnel assessments in
economy, but also across the global economic landscape. 23 languages. Our research
services support over 2,500
customers in 49 countries.
LACK OF SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT. Historically, sales had lacked the science Clients include such diverse
to support innovative solutions and reliable results. Sales executives had to rely international corporations
as IBM, American Family
on their own experience and intuition for many of their most critical decisions. Insurance, General Motors,
Verizon, Sara Lee, Siemens,
Xerox and Johnson Controls
as well as many mid- and
smaller-sized companies.
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33. ‘
Over the past century, other business functions (unlike sales) were not only
innovating new products and services, but also applying Total Quality Man-
agement (TQM) to achieve significant cost reductions and product reliability.
had lacked the
science to
’
Historically, sales
support innovative
Initiating Process Improvement and six sigma principles to leverage global solutions and
resources to produce flexibly tailored products and services that fit precisely reliable results.
to an individual customer’s needs.
AS A RESULT, THE COMPETITIVE EQUATION HAS CHANGED
IRREVOCABLY. The parity of products, services, features and options has
diminished their competitive advantage.
THE MODERN VALUE DIFFERENTIATOR IS NOW THE SALES
FORCE ITSELF. Where value-added salespeople are absent, vendors are
only distributing commodities…although some have not yet discovered that.
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34. ‘
AN OUTPOURING OF TOOLS. Modern Data Analytics has upgraded The year 2013 will
traditional sales toward TQSalesMTM to drive a real sales science. The
year 2013 will see a continuing outpour of tools that measure, track and drive
success for an individual or the entire sales force. These tools monitor:
1. What Customers Both Need and Want at an individual level
see a continuing
outpour of tools
that measure,
track and drive
success for an
’
individual or the
2. hich Salespeople Can Deliver That Value: Detailed, precise
W entire sales force.
measures of critical competencies
3. hich Salespeople Will Perfrom: Motivation is a key. Who is
W
“hungry” and motivated to succeed according to the effort invested
4. How Well are They Performing: Bottom-line process tools
measuring tasks that directly and indirectly lead to revenue
• Are performed tasks matching the capability or potential?
• Are there areas of additional coaching or training required?
5. isk Factors and Derailers: With the position itself causing stress
R
and under performance. With their manager, team members or
support staff also causing conflict and reduced sales
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35. ‘
“BIG SALES DATA” BRINGS PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TO SALES, Big Data empow-
empowering salespeople, increasing success ratios, minimizing costs and ers salespeople,
providing the instant flexibility to design and redesign solutions to win the
business, retain the business and leverage that success to drive additional business.
increases success
ratios, minimizes
costs and pro-
vides instant
flexibility to
’
design solutions
to win business.
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36. 20 Bridging the Gap
@brennermichael
Michael Brenner is a
LEARNING WHAT THE CUSTOMER NEEDS. My biggest prediction senior director of Intergrated
for 2013 in marketing is that organizations will begin to address the gap Marketing for SAP. He is the
between the way our customers seek information during the buying process author of B2B Marketing
Insider, is the founding
and the gaps in the information marketers provide. This will create a greater editor of the SAP Business
need for new roles to be created in many more companies. Roles such as Innovation blog, and also is a
co-founder of the social news
Content Strategist, Chief Content Office, Data Scientists (in marketing) and site Business2Community.com.
Social Business Managers (Marketers spreading into other departments like Michael has been working in
marketing for nearly 2 decades
sales and customer support). These roles will help companies to bridge the in various roles where he has
gaps and address the changing buyer journey. used customer insights to drive
sales, return on investment,
and customer loyalty through
effective sales and marketing
strategies.
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37. 21 Selling Will Become
Even More Challenging ‘
SELLING HAS BEEN A CHALLENGING CAREER, especially for people
selling business-to-business. However, it is unlikely going to get easier. In fact,
in many ways, it will probably become even more challenging. Here are the top
three challenges I believe will plague sales people in the upcoming year.
@FearlessSelling
Selling is unlikely
to get easier.
In fact, in many
ways, it will
’
probably become
more challenging.
1. onnecting with Decision Makers.This has always been one of the
C
top challenges that sales people face. Corporate decision makers are Kelley Robertson helps
people master their sales
inundated with people trying to sell a product or service. Decision conversations so they can win
makers will be busier than ever which means it will become even more more business and increase
difficult to connect with them. And when you do connect, they will be their sales. He does this by
conducting sales training
more reluctant to meet with you due to the demands on their time. workshops and keynote
speeches at conferences and
sales meetings. Contact Kelley
G
atekeepers and executive assistants will become even more protective to speak at your sales event:
of their boss’s time so you will need a powerful value proposition if you 905-633-7750 or Kelley@
RobertsonTrainingGroup.com.
want them to connect you with their executive.
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38. ‘
2. ompetitive Difference. As we move into the next year it will become
C To many competi-
more difficult to differentiate yourself from a competitor, especially from
a product perspective. To many companies, your product or solution
looks exactly the same as your competitors even though they may be
vastly different.
exactly the same
as your competi-
tors even though
’
tors, your product
or solutions looks
Part of the inherent challenge with this is the fact that many prospects they may be
will do more preliminary research before they contact you. This research vastly different.
will educate them and also confuse them at the same time. As a result,
price will often become a differentiating factor unless you are able to
demonstrate exactly why your solution is worth more than a competitor’s.
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