Sales 2.0 or Schmales 2.0?

I have a confession to make: I used to scoff at the phrase Sales 2.0.

I mean, for the entirety of human history were we really selling one way? And just now, have we taken a giant leap forward? Add to that the hordes of technology vendors liberally throwing the term around and you might see my point.

Then I read something from Mark Parker over at Smart Selling and it finally clicked. Here is an excerpt:

Sales 2.0 is not about technology - CRM or Marketing Automation
Sales 2.0 is about understanding and embracing the dominance of the customer's buying cycle. Their ability to be more informed, more knowledgeable, and influenced by a wider range of factors than ever before, and how that's forcing the rethinking of traditional sales cycle mentalities.
Sales 2.0 is about increasing sales productivity, but what is sales productivity? The emergence of this role, or this function, or in many places it's a concept called sales readiness.

Wow. I think I get it now. Here is what Sales 2.0 means to me:

It's about communication & collaboration between sellers & buyers.
It's about access to the right information during the sale for both sellers & buyers.
It's about real-time measurement of the entire selling ecosystem.

Net/net - Sales 2.0 is a strategy or philosophy that allows buyers and sellers to communicate more effectively.

Tools are a big part of that communication process so I thought it might be interesting if the authors on this blog shared some tools we are using today and how they support Sales 2.0.

I'll go first. Matt Bertuzzi

Salesforce.com
Beyond the concept of CRM & Software-as-a-Service, Salesforce.com enables some truly amazing integrations & customization that deliver huge value to Sales.
For instance, in our implementation we have an integration with Google for news on our prospect & client Accounts. It provides a scrolling ticker on what is being said by and about these Accounts in real-time. (see screenshot below for the Account - "Hubspot")

Here are 3 recent & relevant articles on Hubspot delivered to me in my CRM on the Account's screen. Consider the time this saves in pre-call planning. Think about how much more tuned in I am when I can speak intelligently to what is happening in their business today.

Gail Milton

Jigsaw
"I love jigsaw because it allows me to confirm email addresses, confirm titles and get direct dial information. This allows me to get to the prospect faster and personalize my messaging based on their role. Since the information is constantly being updated as changes or errors are found, the data is more up-to-date than many traditional list vendors."

Cindy Littlefield

LinkedIn
"Linked allows you to learn not only great information about your target prospects, but also who they know and any mutual connections you share. Like Jigsaw, LinkedIn gives incredibly up-to-date information."

Laurie Page

On-Demand Sales Presentations
"For example, Brainshark, CynoCast & others. The ability to record a presentation that prospects can view at their convenience is of value for both marketing & sales to use in their process. The result is insight into who is interested and what specifically got their attention."

Trish Bertuzzi

ConnectAndSell
"I just had my first hour using the service and they delivered as promised. 5 connects in one hour! Think about how productive your sales team could be if they could talk to 5x the prospects they normally do. We will be blogging more about our experiences with ConnectAndSell in the coming weeks so stay tuned."

So what does Sales 2.0 means to you? There are lots of people out there with strong opinions, so jump into the conversation.

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Sales 2.0 or Schmales 2.0?

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