The State of Social Sales 2015: An Industry Review

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The State of Social Sales 2015
An Industry Thought Leader’s Review

About the Author
Dale Roberts
2
The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review
www.artesiansolutions.com
This review has allowed us to listen to contributions from
around the globe about the changing world of sales, but the
buyer has changed and to me this is all rooted in buyers.
We can debate, discuss and dissect all we like but sellers
need to be where buyers are.
Introduction – a Perspective
Dale is VP Professional Services and part of the
founding circle of sales enablement innovator,
Artesian Solutions. He is also a keynote speaker,
blogger and author of Decisions Sourcing:
Organisational Decision Making for the Agile
and Social Enterprise. Prior to joining Artesian,
Dale worked with some of the largest European
and US businesses to build analytic and
performance management solutions in his role
as European Services Director for market leader
Cognos, now part of IBM.
Sales and Marketing: The Peace Process
One of the fundamental principles of a world dominated by social communication is
that customers connect with businesses on their own terms. That means the erosion
of traditional functional silos and the two caught in the crosshairs of sophisticated
buyers right now are sales and marketing. Buyers are reacting badly not just to poor
vendor experiences but also to inconsistent ones as they are fumbled between
marketing and sales.
What this means is that smart businesses are finding new ways to fuse the industrial
scale of Marketing with the deeply personalized, one-to-one relationships instituted
by Sales. This is no mean feat and will require that both teams put an end to their
differences. This goes way beyond proper process, formal handoff and agreement
about the definition of Sales or Marketing Qualified Leads. Not that these things are
not important but they are utterly inward focused. The customer experience,
including that of high-touch, consultative B2B customers will only be improved by
true integration and collaboration.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalesroberts
@DecisionHacker
United Kingdom
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3
Cold Calling
The death of the cold call is announced every other week. The only
thing I experience more regularly than these announcements are cold
calls from companies that did not get the memo. My prediction then is
‘dialing for dollars’ will continue, it will become even more ineffective as
buyers continue to avoid them and some businesses will therefore find
ways to do more of it at lower costs. This dumb logic ignores the fact
that buyers simply do not want to be contacted in this way. The good
news though is that we are reaching an inflection point. Better metrics,
repeatable results and more success stories from the world of social
selling will eventually put the uninspiring results of cold calling into
sharp relief. It will die, but slowly.
Maturity
The early adopters of Social Selling have been showing success for two
years or more and it is causing many of us to predict when it is about to
become mainstream. In Decision Sourcing, I posited that ‘Social is a
term rapidly on its way to becoming fleetingly ubiquitous, then
redundant.’ This was never going to be quick though. B2B Sales cycles
can be months, even years and predictable success attributable to a
new approach simply takes time. Like mountain climbers, sellers don’t
leave the old toehold until they have confidently lodged a new one that
will support them. I stand by my words though. The behaviours of sellers
will ultimately be transformed by the behaviours of buyers to such an
extent that social will be absorbed and the prefix dropped.
An IBM Institute of Business Value Study predicted that social would be
implemented by more than half of businesses in their sales function by
the end of 2014. Whilst our experiences would support this, many are
still experimenting. The coming months will see it become integrated
into processes and a rich ecosystem of new tools. We are proud
that the Artesian service is, and will continue to lead the way. As
experimentation ends, sales leadership and senior management will
demand that its success is measured like everything else. Time spent
on the new behaviours will have to be demonstrably more efficient than
the old ones. Budget allocated to software subscriptions will need to
show a return. The circuitous logic is that vendors such as Artesian will
have to continue to invest more in proving that the approach is
successful with their customer’s customers.
Finally
Sellers need to be where the buyers are. 2014 data from the IDC
suggested that three quarters of business buyers use social in their
purchasing decisions. Interestingly, the pattern is consistent across
Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. There are differences, of course
but they are not substantial. North America is slightly ahead of Europe
and Asia Pacific slightly behind but it is still two thirds tapping into their
online professional community before they buy. The business buying
experience is a high risk one. Reputations are made and lost and
careers are shaped by decisions that involve purchasing and
partnerships. To misquote Dan Pink, it would seem that the buying
experience is universal because To Buy is Human.
Thank you,
Dale Roberts
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Michael de Groot
Staying Alive
My focus is on assisting professionals and aspiring
professionals (students) to develop their personal
brand and reputation across their channels of choice
with a high priority focus on LinkedIn.
I am helping those professionals to practice Social
Selling techniques and teach them to share their
story. Furthermore and to underpin personal or
company branding I create whiteboard animations to
convey the brand’s story.
• A higher volume of content being created across LinkedIn with the roll-out
of long-form posts across LinkedIn’s membership. A clear sign that people
wish to be seen as thought leaders in their Industry/Sector.
• A higher number of Social Selling trainers across the globe, who are
writing, tweeting, presenting and training sales and marketing personnel
as well as business owners in the theory of Social Selling.
• LinkedIn do appear to be the main Social Network who are pushing the
idea of Social Selling and as a result are publishing more research and
insights on the subject.
• More software products and tools being developed to facilitate intelligence
and listening integrated with existing Sales and CRM products.
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/stayingaliveuk
@stayingaliveuk
United Kingdom
4
There are many indicators that Social Selling is starting
to take hold. The main trends that I have witnessed are:
What are the key trends you have
witnessed in the ﬁeld of social selling?
4
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• A bigger push on ROI by the boardroom, pushing software developers to
automate more in terms of inbound follow-up and identiﬁcation of the
breadcrumb trail to better inform and change actions by sales and
marketing teams.
• The dividing line between Sales and Marketing will continue to blur further
giving both teams challenges on how to structure their responsibilities and
some brave teams may even integrate.
• LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator has to deliver results for the early-adoption
customers, as well as the stock market.
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/stayingaliveuk
@stayingaliveuk
United Kingdom
5
All the training, eBooks, articles, philosophy needs to be
put into action and deliver results.
I am truly excited about this new Sales
Revolution, which is unfolding in the market.
Not everyone are believers yet, but there
appears to be more traction developing. The
USA is clearly ahead of the UK and hopefully
2015 will be the turning point for UK
companies and professionals to adopt a
different approach to how they market and sell.
5
Michael de Groot
Staying Alive
A Forward Look
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Brynne Tillman
CEO of Social
Sales Link
It no longer matters if you are one sales rep among thousands in your
company, a solopreneur or somewhere in between, you get the opportunity to
get your message out.
In addition, the social selling revolution has changed they way people are
buying which, in turn, has redefined the sales process and sales training as an
industry. The traditional solution selling with a plethora of discovery questions
is no longer relevant. When the buyer has done their homework, they expect
that the seller has as well, so the first appointment is now an industry insights
conversation relating it to the needs of the buyer and positioning yourself as
the subject matter expert.
Which leads to my favorite trend which is the peace treaty between the
sales and marketing departments. The war is over, and they are now able to
work in synchrony. What the marketing department creates and implements is
now truly able to target the right decision makers and influencers that convert
to better leads and more business.
http://Linkedin.com/in/BrynneTillman
@SocialSalesLink
USA
6
Content Marketing, although has been around for over a
decade has moved into the mainstream. The ability to publish
on social networks has leveled the playing field for everyone.
Brynne Tillman is the CEO of Social Sales Link and
author of LinkedIn and Social Selling for Business
Development. Brynne links traditional sales training
with social media for lead generation and
prospecting. Brynne works with individuals, sales
teams, sales management, business owners and
professionals who are responsible for client
acquisition to prospect more effectively, make more
qualified appointments, reduce the sales cycle, and
close more business. Brynne teaches a unique
approach to leveraging LinkedIn and social
media for business development and is a National
LinkedIn Speaker.
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Brynne Tillman
CEO of Social
Sales Link
Social Selling is dynamic and with each new tool
the rules change so the sales rep needs to be
nimble and adapt quickly.
What I am most interested in is how quickly the traditional sales training
companies adapt. So many of them are teaching the “techniques” from
decades ago that may sound practical at a glance but are completely
unproductive and will bare no more fruit.
http://Linkedin.com/in/BrynneTillman
@SocialSalesLink
USA
7
I believe the trends are going to affect sales
professionals in very big ways. On the coat tails of CEB
research and The Challenger Sale statistics, the major
shift will be in sales training, sales management and
accountability and the expectations of sales reps. We
will see many less companies require cold calls and
many more tracking and measuring social engagement
and leads. The talk time and dials made will be over,
ﬁnally, and social selling will be embraced.
A Forward Look
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Jordi Gili
Execus
Jordi Gili has been considered in 2014 one of
the top 10 Social Selling experts outside the USA
by Salesforlife. In 2010 he founded Execus, one of the
top social selling consulting and training firms in
Europe, with the mission of helping sales teams
embrace professional social networks like Linkedin to
close more deals. Execus was named the first Linkedin
Sales Solution channel partner in Europe in 2013. Jordi
is an MBA by ESADE, Telco Engineer by UPC
(Barcelona Tech) and gained his experience of more
than 15 years in marketing, sales and customer service
within Telcos (ATT, NTT, COLT) and consulting for
different industries (IBM, RGP, Execus).
From the client’s perspective, early integrations are facing some challenges
and opportunities. Cultural Change of the salesforce (shifting away from
massive lists and cold calling into fine segmentation and warm contacts) is
becoming a major factor to take into consideration.
Marketing and Sales collaboration is also being put in the spotlight since
social sellers need food for thought to be delivered at the client’s door and
they are not the best equipped to produce the materials.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordigili
@Jordi_Gili
Spain
8
During 2014 we are still seeing the early days of Social
Selling in Europe. The industry is taking form with
players from employee advocacy to sales process
automatization and from client insights alerts to social
activity reporting tools.
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Jordi Gili
Execus
On the providers side, I expect reﬁnement
propositions in the social selling area. I would
welcome (and there is an opportunity for those
willing to invest on) tools that help improve and
autotomize social sellers’ daily activities. For
instance, the need to gain actionable insights
that help sellers tap the potential client at the
right time and gain competitive advantage is
out there.
Another area of opportunity is social activity reporting tools, since sales
directors are in need of understanding and evaluating the ROI of their
investments in Social Selling.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordigili
@Jordi_Gili
Spain
9
Into 2015 I expect a major industry boom, it will be the
year that social selling goes mainstream. The tools are
out there, the industry is ready and early adopters are
showing results. B2B clients that have not adopted a
corporate formal approach will need to take action or
will be left behind.
A Forward Look
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Tibor Shanto
Renbor Sales
Solutions
Tibor Shanto, a sales leader for over 25 years, helping
companies achieve and improve their revenue goals.
Initially as a sales rep, then progressing to leadership
roles with companies including Globe and Mail, Dow
Jones, Factiva and Reuters.
Tibor has been called a brilliant sales tactician, helping
sales teams and organizations to better execute their
sales process. As a principal with Renbor Sales
Solutions, working with leading B2B sales organizations
improving critical aspects of their sales cycle, including
shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create
double digit growth through the execution of their
strategy by using the right combination of strategic and
tactical execution supported by metrics and our Follow-
Through Action Plan.
As with most sustainable trends in sales, it is less about the technology or the
tool, and more about the process and mind set. Many are beginning to not
only understand this but implementing it. In the end social needs to serve the
clients’ and the sellers’ objectives, and some organizations get that, and many
gurus and their clients don’t.
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/tiborshanto/
@TiborShanto
Canada
10
No doubt social selling “arrived” in 2014. The smart
sellers avoid the hype and look for something that
enhances their selling and expands their toolkit for
engaging and selling to customers. True social selling is
not about masking other problems that exist in your
sale or sales organization, but about leveraging some,
not all, social resources to enhance the buyer
experience, and by extension your sales success.
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Tibor Shanto
Renbor Sales
Solutions
Let’s un-hyphenate sales, get rid of labels and
camps, and just focus on how we can sell better
without camps, colours or tribe.
As a result, social will be forced to come up with better metrics and
benchmarks to be able to demonstrate it’s worth. If organizations and people
selling social products, or dare I say solutions, can’t empirically demonstrate
their contribution to the sale, they risk being the first to go at any sign of a pull
back.
The big thing for 2015 will be metrics that help sales leaders, and sales people
better understand which social tools have actually contributed and how.
Failing that, things will continue to concentrate in the big predictable players,
ones anyone can rationalize spending money on, and specialized niche
players who address specific needs, not the watered down, value diluted
also-rans.
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/tiborshanto/
@TiborShanto
Canada
11
The challenge moving forward is that with an improving
economy, and a lot of pent up purchasing power, it will
be difficult for some organizations to distinguish which
part of their success is market driven and would have
materialized on it’s own, and how much was actually
their doing. By extension, how much of the latter, their
own doing, is a result of social or just plain old selling.
A Forward Look
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Jeb Blount
Jeb Blount is a leading expert on sales,
leadership, strategic account management, and
customer experience. He is a trusted advisor to
many of the world’s leading organizations and
their executives. Jeb helps companies, teams,
and individuals leverage emotional intelligence
to transform, and reach peak performance fast.
He is the author of six books including including
People Buy YOU: The Real Secret to What
Matters Most in Business.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jebblount
@SalesGravy
USA
12
The most important trend I’ve witnessed over the past
18 to 24 months is social selling shifting from novelty
towards a core part of the sales professional’s tool box.
The myriad apps, CRM plugins, and Sales 3.0 services
emerging on the market place have accelerated this
process by making social selling easier to access and
apply by the average sales rep.
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Jeb Blount
Social selling will simply become an integrated
part of the process enabling more effective and
targeted prospecting that engages prospects at
the right time with the right message, improved
competitive intelligence, deeper connections and
relationship building, and pipeline velocity with
better data that keeps deals on track and
consistently moving to the next step and allowing
salespeople to disengage with prospects that are
clearly not going to buy (qualiﬁed) earlier in the
process.
Integrated is the key trend: despite the predicted demise of traditional selling
techniques and the sales process as we know it, salespeople will continue to
engage and move prospects through the sales pipeline much as they always
have.
It is also important to note that salespeople are not going to “embrace” social
selling en masse. Rather adoption rates will accelerate naturally driven by sales
technology that integrates social selling and social data into the sales process
via CRM and productivity apps. Rather than a “social selling revolution” we’ll
witness a “social selling evolution.”
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jebblount
@SalesGravy
USA
13
Over the next months social selling will continue to
become a normal integrated part of the sales
professional’s day.
A Forward Look
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John Dougan
John is a true consultant on sales effectiveness having
spent the past decade working in sales structure,
performance and strategy. This included 6 years
working for a sales assessment, placement and
training organisation before migrating into
professional services. John has a keen interest in sales
research and advisory services and shares thought
leadership around sales behaviour, sales training, and
sales analytics with a particular interest in social
media’s role in changing buyer behaviour . Having
worked in the UK and APAC, John is also asked to
consult and write for businesses across the globe.
We are certainly networking more, if anything the fact I no longer have
business cards on my desk is a leading indicator.
It’s no longer what you know or who you know, it’s what you know about
who you know.
We’re also moving away from the credentialing from a CV online to a view of
what problems you help customers ﬁx or avoid and what opportunities you
help them accomplish.
LinkedIn’s development as the premium business publishing platform. au.linkedin.com/in/socialseller
@intrepid_sales
Australia
14
Despite an increase in adoption from a sales point of
view there has certainly been a greater adaptation from
buyers. Buyers are certainly evolving faster and smarter
than sellers when it comes to utilizing social as a
component of research, education and indeed
communication.
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John Dougan
Data is the new gold but I’m afraid it is
irrelevant if you don’t know where to find it and
what to do with it to make it valuable. In this
sense I see more rigor and metrics around
what you do with the information you find and
what sales it brings in.
In sales, 2015 will be a year of bringing the perspective to the customer, that is:
• the skills and acumen to have a collaborative discussion with others
• the insight to know when to do what
• trust and confidence in one’s own ability, and the abilities of co-workers
and customers
• the ability to: – bring up problems that haven’t been uncovered – propose
solutions that don’t yet exist – provide unique insight – uncover new ways
to deliver value
au.linkedin.com/in/socialseller
@intrepid_sales
Australia
15
The differentiators moving into 2015 will be those who can
add perspective! As I said in my recent article ‘Social Winning’:
there is a huge amount of data out there available to sellers,
information about your customers and information that is
useful to their unique challenges – social offers us a superb
opportunity to find this information, analyse it and provide
perspective through relevant content.
A Forward Look
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James Crisp
Sales Director
at Zimbra
It’s all about the macro level and building relationships 1-2-1 not broadcasting
a message. You have to remain personal and create a genuine connection.
Social Selling is fast becoming the de facto route to market for all sales
individuals and buying lists will soon become the thing of the past...
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesecrisp
@JimmyCrisp
United Kingdom
16
Gone are the days of cold calling. We are now in the
period of connected calling – sales people have an
insane amount of market intelligence and software to
help them prospect to the buyers of today. You are no
longer searching from scratch to find a decision maker,
you only need to log in to Linkedin or Xing to find the
most relevant contacts for your product or services.
Over 10 years of progressive experience in direct
sales, channel sales, business development,
marketing, and consulting management in highly
competitive segments of the IT industry. An
experienced executive, proven producer of sales and
profit with ability to pinpoint business opportunities;
also plan, develop, and execute effective business
strategies under challenging market conditions. A
high-energy leader with distinctive people skills who
always puts his customers first and whose motto in
business is ‘make sure both parties walk away
happy, and stay happy’.
Currently Sales Director at Zimbra (formally
Telligent) running all outbound and inbound sales
activities for the EMEA region.
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James Crisp
Sales Director
at Zimbra
I believe Sales, Marketing and Tech will merge
into Smarketech to deliver precise information
when and where it is needed. If companies are
not participating in social selling then they are
not part of the conversation.
This is not just a sales role it’s the company’s role to adjust to the new way of
building a reputable brand online and building more meaningful relationships
with prospects.
Be found, listen and deliver.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesecrisp
@JimmyCrisp
United Kingdom
17
70% of the most intelligent buyers are doing research
on your products and services even before contacting
the sales person, therefore I expect to see a lot more
connected sales/marketing messages pinpointing
questions regarding products and pointing them to
answers or other people that cans help.
A Forward Look
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Barbara
Giamanco
Barbara Giamanco is a globally recognized thought
leader in Social Selling, Social Media Marketing and
Social Business. She’s the co-author of The New
Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media and CEO
of Social Centered Selling. Barb is consistently a
Top 25 Influential Leader in Sales, a Top 25 Sales
Influencer on Twitter and one of Top Sales World’s
Top 50 Sales and Marketing Influencers.
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Social Centered Selling
offers Social Media and Social Selling Consulting,
Advisory and Programs to sales and marketing
teams interested in driving sales results.
There has too much attention on tools and tactics versus strategy and the
basics of good selling. We are beginning to see strategic questions around
the right message, platforms and measurements being answered before
adopters blindly dive in. There is also a growing recognition that social
channels are only a fraction of what it takes to be successful in generating
opportunities and closing deals. Salespeople need to be great networkers,
referral builders, communicators and presenters, excellent listeners and savvy
business people. Many of those skills are on the decline. Technology can
open the door, but it doesn’t do the actual selling.
www.linkedin.com/in/barbaragiamanco
@barbaragiamanco
USA
18
Whilst there will continue to be resistance, sales leaders
have finally begun to accept that buyer behaviour has
changed. In turn, they have realized that their sales
approach also needed to change. Whilst it is not moving
fast enough, training budgets have been allocated and
I have seen a top down versus bottom up emphasis on
the important of social selling.
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Barbara
Giamanco
We will see the continued shift of resources
from field sales to inside sales teams. The
challenge though will be in finding talent with
the right skills set, which will mean more
investments in recruiting and training. As the
shift continues, inside sellers will become even
more adept at using social channels as part of
their selling activities.
More budget will be allocated for sales and social selling training, as sales
leaders come to realize two things: 1) Sales basics are at the heart of closing
deals. Investing solely in teaching salespeople product features or how to do
demos won’t be sufficient going forward. 2) Salespeople cannot be expected
to figure out how to effectively navigate in social channels on their own. In the
next year, I believe you’ll also see more sales leaders become more
personally engaged in using social in their own business activities.
There will be more emphasis placed on overall customer experience
throughout the entire lifecycle of moving someone from prospect to happy
customer for life. Research is clear that positive experiences lead to
increased revenue and profitability. Customers are willing to pay for a stellar
experience. Companies will investigate what it feels like to be a customer, to
try and do business with the sales, marketing and services. Competition is
pretty fierce in most industries so customer experience will become much
more top of mind. Every interaction counts.
www.linkedin.com/in/barbaragiamanco
@barbaragiamanco
USA
19
Sales leaders will approach social selling from a more
strategic point of view working with their marketing
peers to align activities.
A Forward Look
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Timothy Hughes
Tim Hughes is one of Top 35 UK Bloggers, Speaker
and Market Inﬂuencer. He has been mentioned in
@Forbes as one of the Top 100 Global Social
Sellers. His Blog on Social Selling is available
http://timothyhughesuk.wordpress.com/
Nothing says you have completely misunderstood the principles of social
selling than ‘I would like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn’.
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughes1
@timothy_hughes
United Kingdom
20
Social Selling has been building up momentum over
recent months but too many still believe that it is
synonymous with LinkedIn. Sending unsolicited, poorly
timed and badly targeted Inmails is still spam. Likewise
adding no context to connection requests is a little like
asking for permission to spam in the future.
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Timothy Hughes
Over time, we will see a shift from using
LinkedIn and Twitter to spam and an increase in
referenceable case studies of organisations
using social approaches and tools such as
Artesian to support the sales process.
Nevertheless, this is something that will have to change quickly. Once it is
out of the early phase of adoption, Social Selling will need to demonstrate a
return on investment like all other aspects of selling.
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughes1
@timothy_hughes
United Kingdom
21
Sales is a profession driven by metrics yet, right now,
there is very little measurement of social selling.
This is understandable because many are still only
experimenting. Feedback, success and learning is all
largely anecdotal.
A Forward Look
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Lori Richardson
CEO of Score
More Sales
Lori is CEO of Score More Sales. She is a mid-market
sales effectiveness consultant, trainer, and coach
who also writes and blogs a lot about sales.Most of
her time is spent in the field with sales development
reps and their direct managers. Lori’s new book,
“Sales Gems- How to Attract Buyers, Shine, and
Score More Sales” will be available early 2015.
www.linkedin.com/in/scoremoresales/
@scoremoresales
USA
22
They either try it without a plan or they don’t even consider it at all.
Neither of these approaches will be successful. Like anything else in selling,
first take time to understand what it is you want to accomplish and where you
want to go before committing. Then once the decision is made, plan, execute
and assess.
Likewise we are seeing teams spread themselves too thinly across social
platforms. We have even done this ourselves from time to time. No one can be
involved in all of the platforms all of the time. Instead, work out where your
customers are and focus on these.
All of this has lead to an inability to measure success. Early adopters who are
experimenting with social in an undisciplined way have had a very difficult time
measuring whether their strategies are working. Even if they have measured
success, few understand to what degree.
Finally we are seeing some improvements in the tools. There have been some
amazing developments in the analysis possible and there is more on the horizon.
There has been a great deal of confusion. People hear
about a tool and do one of two things.
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Lori Richardson
CEO of Score
More Sales
We anticipate seeing some consolidation of
effort. Businesses will narrow down their focus
on a smaller number of social platforms to be
more effective.
Finally, marketing and sales have always had a need to work more closely, to
cooperate and collaborate. Social will play a key role in this moving forwards.
www.linkedin.com/in/scoremoresales/
@scoremoresales
USA
23
We anticipate seeing some consolidation of effort.
Businesses will narrow down their focus on a smaller
number of social platforms to be more effective.
A Forward Look
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Jeff Molander
Sales Trainer
and Publisher
Jeff has been selling for 18 years. He was co-founder
of the Google Afﬁliate Network in 1999. Today, he is
a sales trainer and publisher of social selling book,
Off the Hook Marketing: How to Make Social Media
Sell for You. Jeff says the social media revolution is
mostly hogwash invented by gurus selling the wrong
answer to the right question. As a former sales rep,
sales team manager and (today) business owner Jeff
says the challenge for sellers is practical: Applying a
repeatable process to social technology that creates
more leads.
That’s why he teaches a process – a systematic
approach to combine copywriting with social
technologies that creates leads.
Sales require practical, pragmatic processes and outcomes such as leads,
appointments and sales. The notion that a complete reinvention of sales is
required has prevented us evolving ways to improve sales, and are preventing
us from evolving practical and pragmatic processes on new social platforms
such as LinkedIn.
Use of new tools and techniques are causing confusion. Content Marketing,
for example, is not being used to help prospects to navigate towards sellers.
In turn, sellers do not understand how and when to apply content such as
video or whitepapers to generate appointments. It is not just content that is
misunderstood, few grasp how to blend their personal and professional use of
social platforms or are repeating the mistakes of marketing. They are treating
social as a broadcast medium instead of using it to pique their prospects
interest and use it as an attraction model.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmolander
@jeffreymolander
USA
24
The hype and absence, for the most part, of a
defendable business case have resulted in a roadblock.
Whilst commentators make bold claims of a revolution,
senior management and sales leadership have been
skeptical and, in some cases, reluctant to adopt.
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Jeff Molander
Sales Trainer
and Publisher
Small business owners, individual sellers and
managers are evolving to adopt effective,
systematic approaches that produce leads and
appointments. The stories of these heroes are
already supplanting the “get on board, the train
is leaving” hype.
Success principles will become clearer and there will be a focus on process
and outcomes. Leads and appointments will become less elusive and more
success stories will emerge. B2B marketers will use automation to improve
the design and structure of content marketing to build bridges with sales and
generate more success. Sellers will also ﬁnd the right way to use social media
to establish a healthy combination of professionalism and personal voice.
Small business owners, individual sellers and managers are evolving to adopt
effective, systematic approaches that produce leads and appointments. The
stories of these heroes are already supplanting the “get on board, the train is
leaving” hype.
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmolander
@jeffreymolander
USA
25
Pragmatism will replace evangelism and adoption will
increase. We are starting to see strong use cases, proof
that social media can be used effectively and at scale.
The 2% of front line sellers increasing productivity via
social will likely swell to 10% in 2015. This will be driven
by adoption of social selling processes that blend direct
response copywriting with good, old-fashioned
salesmanship.
A Forward Look
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Jill Rowley
Keynote Speaker
6 years in Consulting
One of the ﬁrst Sales Reps at Salesforce
Top performing Sales Rep at Eloqua for over 10 years
Led Oracle’s Social Selling initiative – responsible for
enabling 23k sales reps
Currently delivering keynote speeches on the topic
of Social Selling
www.linkedin.com/in/jillrowley/
@jill_rowley
USA
26
Sales has always been social, it’s always been about relationships. Social
media is just a new channel to build these relationships.
Social selling doesn’t equal buying LinkedIn Sales Navigator for the sales
team. It requires looking at things through the eyes of the customer,
understanding who the customer is, understanding how that customer
wants to buy and aligning to them and their buying process. It is a shift in
mind-set from selling to serving.
Over ninety percent of buyers start their decision
through search on the web and over eighty percent
of the world’s online population can be reached through
social networks. Buyers have more access to things
that used to be controlled by a salesperson. We are
living in the age of the customer and no longer in the
age of the seller.
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Jill Rowley
Keynote Speaker
Social Selling training for your Sales team is
NOT OPTIONAL because a fool with a tool is still
a fool. Oh, and if you suck ofﬂine; you’ll suck
MORE online. #Don’tSuckHere’s how:
It’s no longer Always Be Closing; it’s Always Be Connecting. Your network is
your net worth. Nobody likes to be sold to. We’re living in the Age of the
Customer where buyers have choice and voice. · Sales professionals need to
read; read what their buyers read and share that content across their social
networks. · Sales professionals learn how to listen; listen to the conversations
being had on the social web. Social Selling is about ﬁnding and being found.
We are going to see new job descriptions, shifting roles and changing
responsibilities. Marketing and Sales will work more closely together to
enable the sales team to leverage social networks and build better
relationships with buyers. We will also see budget line items for Social Selling
tools and training.
www.linkedin.com/in/jillrowley/
@jill_rowley
USA
27
Sales professionals need to move from using LinkedIn
as their online resume, to managing their digital
reputation. Instead of optimizing for the recruiter;
optimize for the buyer.
A Forward Look
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Dorte Møller Madsen
Stormvind
Stormvind: A digital consultancy that specializes in
B2B sales. Stormvind with Social Selling specialist
Dorte Møller Madsen in front is driven by the passion
to develop businesses and especially their sales and
marketing to the “new reality”, where companies
need to be more engaged, transparent and
collaborative Social Business.
Stormvinds mission: To inspire and help businesses
and individuals to dare to act and operate
professionally online and to take advantage of the
digital possibilities. Stormvind is a network company
and draws other competent specialists in where it is
the optimal solution for our customers.
Denmark has a very different sales culture than the United States, for
example. Most sales people I talk to are only interested in implementing some
parts of Social Selling rather than implementing something wholesale.
Many still see LinkedIn as their personal professional social presence and
mainly as a place to sell to the next employer rather than the next customer.
This is changing but will require management support. Twitter is not as
signiﬁcant in some European countries including Denmark. Likewise it is not
used by every industry. This means that the potential is different, even if it is
growing, depending on geography and sector. However, the typical Dane
loves Social Media, LinkedIn and is naturally a solution seller. I see a huge
potential for Social Selling in Denmark.
dk.linkedin.com/in/dortemollermadsen/
@stormvinddk
Denmark
28
The term Social Selling has gone from practically
unknown at the beginning of 2014 to appearing on the
agenda of almost every sales department. Danish
people are slowly beginning to realise, the paradigm
shift in B2B sales and they are seeking alternatives to
cold calling.
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Dorte Møller Madsen
Stormvind
We will see cold calling become increasingly
unsuccessful. Instead there will be a greater
focus on relationships and partnerships.
Both sales and marketing will focus on content
marketing, the buyer journey and the world of the
customer rather than product and services lead
conversations. This will, in turn, mean that Sales and
Marketing people will need to be educated and
trained to gain the beneﬁts.
Finally we will see maturing software and tools to help automate and manage
these new approaches and behaviours.
dk.linkedin.com/in/dortemollermadsen/
@stormvinddk
Denmark
29
A Forward Look
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Craig Elias
In 2014, Aberdeen’s research that 63% of Best-In-Class
companies use ‘Trigger Events’ resulted over 60,000
hits on the Won Sales Analysis website – where
companies learn to identify the Trigger Events that
result in the highest win rates, understand the real
reason prospects buy from them, and how sales
professionals can make it even more likely they win
future sales.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigelias
@CraigElias
Canada
30
Craig Elias, author of the award-winning book
Shift along with another of our contributors
Tibor Shanto. Craig is the creator of Trigger
Selling an approach that, like Social Selling,
requires sellers to be focused on the customer,
their experiences, their changes and their
needs.
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Craig Elias
Best-In-Class companies know that analysing
your best wins results in having more core, loyal,
proﬁtable customers who generate more word of
mouth and research by McKinsey shows that
word of mouth outperforms every form of paid
advertising by a factor of two.
• The sale happened quicker that usual
• It was easy to reach, and have a conversation with, the true decision maker
• The prospect did not ask for discounts because they recognized the true
value of being your customer
• The prospects provided a testimonial, a referral, or agreed to be a
reference
https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigelias
@CraigElias
Canada
31
What I’m starting to see now, and expect to see a lot
more of in 2015 is companies understanding that
analysing all their wins is not best in class. Best-In-Class
companies start with Window of Dissatisfaction™
analysis to identity those sales that had three or more
of the following characteristics:
A Forward Look
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Chris Heffer
I believe all sales people can be more successful
using the internet.
I work with B2B sales leaders to drive behavioural
changes in their sales teams so they can sell in a
world where buyers do not want to be “sold” to.
As part of Artesian Solutions we provide a managed
software service to empowering sales people to
target more precisely and give them insight which
they can share with their buyers/colleagues to help
connect with buyers around their agenda not a
product led sales pitch.
I think I would have been the worst sales person in
1980 but I am aiming to be the best in 2020.
Its definition to most people has been shaped by a mix of sales trainers and
marketing teams. As a result many sales people think social selling is not
something which will benefit them.
I agree with Gary Vaynerchuk when he says that “social media” is a phrase to
describe the current state of the internet just like “Web 2.0” did 10-15 years ago.
I think social selling is not just “selling using Twitter & LinkedIn”. My definition
would be more like “selling using the internet to do research and share
information to build trust/credibility”. If a sales person thinks that they can do their
job better without the internet than with it, then over time they will become
extinct.
Sales people will be successful if they target the right person, at the right
company, at the right time with a message which relates the buyers agenda
and is not just a product led sales pitch. But don’t take my word about how the
internet is forcing business to change, go ask Blockbusters, HMV or any of the
large chains of book stores that have been closing stores or gone out of
business.
linkedin.com/in/ChrisHeffer
@TheOtherHef
United Kingdom
32
Social selling has become something which means
many things to many people.
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Chris Heffer
The 90-9-1 rule of unequal participation on the internet
states that – 1% of an online community creates most
of the content (i.e blog posts, videos, tweets), 9%
create a little content and 90% just consume content
online. You could argue the percentages have changed
with the rise of social networks and more people create
content but the vast majority only browse, consuming
content without actually creating any themselves.
Therefore if you want to sell to the vast majority of
buyers who do not create or share information on
Twitter/LinkedIn then you need to raise your “social
selling” game. You need to ﬁnd new ways of engaging
in a timely and relevant manner with prospects and
customers who do not personally share much or any
information about themselves or their interests.
As Dan Pink said in his book To Sell is Human we are moving from a world of
“Buyer Beware” to a world of “Seller Beware”. More and more information is
becoming available on the internet about sales people, the products they sell
and the companies they work for.
You have to put your customer ﬁrst else you will get caught out - losing your
deals and customers. Sales people need to imagine their customer is sitting
next to them at all times. Instead of thinking how can we sell more stuff to
this customer, think how can I make that customer be more successful so
that want to buy more stuff from you. linkedin.com/in/ChrisHeffer
@TheOtherHef
United Kingdom
33
I believe the internet forces the business world to
become more honest, open and transparent. These are
three words that most people wouldn’t associate with
your average sales person. I think sales people will need
to become more customer centric and put the success
of their customers ahead of their commission cheque.
A Forward Look
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Chris Spurvey
Chris Spurvey writes at ChrisSpurvey.com, where
he shares ideas for living a better life while
growing revenues for your company or business.
To get strategies for boosting revenues while
growing a rich lifestyle, join his free newsletter.
1. The internet with its ever increasing rich content is providing an avenue
for buyers to educate themselves on their own terms – online reviews,
webinars, e-books, podcasts, blogs, social networks.
2. The buyer is armed with enough data to make their own decision based
on product comparisons. Traditional selling has left a bad taste in almost
every buyers mouth. Tactics to channel the buyer down a path in a
resistive way has created a very thick Callus in the minds of buyers that
make traditional sales people virtually useless.
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/chrisspurvey
@chrisspurvey
Canada
34
How consumers and business decision makers buy has
changed dramatically. Two forces are pushing this
change; the internet and the human psyche:
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Chris Spurvey
Social Selling is the answer to these two forces.
The new sales person educates and inspires
using the tools at their disposal. They are there
to answer their clients’ questions. They are an
enablers and facilitator.
http://ca.linkedin.com/in/chrisspurvey
@chrisspurvey
Canada
35
Tech savvy sales people and the death of the dinosaur
sales people who do not step up to the changes.
Increasing use of social selling by sales people to open
up networks of people to relationship with. A shift back
to the roots of building connections (value based
relationships) and not just growing a network.
A Forward Look
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To ﬁnd out more about Artesian visit :
www.linkedin.com/company/artesian-solutions
https://twitter.com/ArtesianS
United Kingdom
36
Artesian is the world’s most powerful social selling
solution for B2B sellers; it gathers and tracks
intelligence on customers, prospects and competitors
from millions of online resources including blogs, news
sites, editorials and social platforms such as Twitter and
LinkedIn. Artesian uses clever science to ﬁlter and
transform acquired information into commercially
valuable insights based on the companies and
industries that are important to users.
About Artesian
Artesian gives users the ability to, target, connect and share with customers
and prospects more successfully. With a built-in social seller score, Artesian
measures each user’s sales behaviour score and gives you personalised
tutorials on how you can improve your score. Artesian delivers on average
8.5 million actionable insights per month on almost 700,000 companies to its
18,000 users. Artesian customers range from the some of the world’s biggest
corporates such as American Express, Adobe, Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of
Scotland, Towergate, Willis and Verizon to start-ups.
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The State of Social Sales 2015: An Industry Review

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