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Trend Spotting – 201341

By Tibor Shanto – tibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca

As we make our way back to work from time spent with family, friends and credit cards, we are about to besieged by a wave of articles, blog posts, tweets, and other sources touting the (new) trends for 2013. I have been approached by a half dozen or so outlets asking for my input. While I understand the purpose, I am not sure this type trend spotting adds much value to the discussion, or the ability of organizations or individuals to improve their execution.

For one thing, trends do not adhere to a calendar, they don’t bubble up around January 1, only to fade in time for the start of the next year. Fashion does, this fall’s fashion trends have already been decided in Paris, and oohed and aahed on by Jeanne Beker; and while those wearing them this Thanksgiving will feel trendy, real sales trends evolve, form and take shape based on market conditions and voids, rather than being ushered in on a schedule.

Like fashion, some “trends” are manufactured, there to promote a cause, product, or other thing with an intended predetermined purpose, as with most manufactured goods, the end goal is profit. Witness the social selling trend a few years ago aggressively promoted coincidentally by particular vendors with specific agendas.

While this type trend spotting has been around a while, it presents an added risk today when part of the daily practice and vernacular has people looking for “what’s trending?”. Trends by definition are short term:

noun
1. the general course or prevailing tendency; drift;
2. style or vogue;
3. to veer in a new direction:

In sales a short term focus often makes trends more of diversion than a benefit; long term success in sales evolve in response to real market conditions. So before you jump on any January 2013 trends, take a minute and review the outcome and accuracy of some of the trends hyped last year at this time. Give it the 72 day test, see which “trends” proved to be accurate and sustained, which delivered value to you helping you execute your sales better, and delivered consistent success; and which were just “trending” the way of the #KimKardashianpregnant pregnancy.

Be sure that you differentiate between “trends”, and real evolution in sales and selling; the former are distractions, while the latter presents opportunity.

I suspect that some trends being presented are a blend of prediction, wishful thinking, or self-fulfilling in nature. Take for example the one response I did provide to a request to share a brief prediction of a trend we in the industry see impacting sales in 2013. I submitted:

“The trend I see is benchmarking. As the economy improves, and sales improve along with them, some sales leaders will fall back into slumber riding the wave. The smart ones will want to know how much of the gain is due to rising tides, and how much is due to specific performance by their team. To that they will need solid sources to benchmark to, and avoid the temptation of using anecdotal sources.”

The above reflects my discussions with sales leaders who would like to have more to benchmark against than anecdotal – blind survey based – benchmarks as a means to improve the way their teams execute.

Will this become a trend, I hope so, but just in case, I do have a plan B.

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

While it is still early days, there are some definite ways social media is impacting selling and buying; some of this is good and has helped sellers better understand and meet the needs of buyers, others, well really not worth fostering, and should be nipped in the bud now.

One specific practice brings with it some risk for sellers, especially new younger sellers targeting more mature decision makers, even those active on social media, centers around communicating. Specifically, the real difference between connecting and communicating when it comes to selling. To some degree this is a generational thing, revolving around long formed habits, more specifically it comes down to each group’s view of communication, and expectations from that communication.

On one level it comes down to definition or semantics if you like, many social sellers blur the lines between ‘connecting’ and ‘communicating’, some go further and fail to understand the difference, and completely confuse connecting with actually communicating with potential buyers.

Connection and connecting is important, but it is only a step towards communication. Don’t get me wrong I am not suggesting or basing my statement on the notion that communication needs to be face to face, but it does need to be mutual, interactive and result oriented. The result does not need to be defined in a sale or moving the sale forward, but in delivering an enhancement of the relationship.

For communication to be meaningful, especially between two parties , it does have to be direct, one to one. There can be effective sales communication between an individual and a group, we have all done it on webinars, presentations at conferences, etc.; but again those fall more into the connect category; there still needs to be that one to one that results out of the initial connecting effort.

Part of this tracks the ongoing evolution in sales, blending existing best practices with new evolving and sometimes better practices, a necessary process. Where we run into problems is when the discussion takes the tone of out with the old, in with the new, rather than out with what no longer works, and in with what does, and does better. Where we are now in sales, is that if you throw out the old, you end up throwing many of best potential prospects out too because they are not as tied into the new as you and the “prophets on the new” are.

The best approach is to use social in tandem with other mainstream methods. As someone pointed out, will ‘spray’ your message, allowing it to touch a wider audience, creating a connection, perhaps a curiosity about your message. This initial connection is like a seed that needs to be nurtured to grow fruit. It is very much talking at an audience, not communicating with someone specific. So be prepared to do both, but realize that one will bring you to the point of talking at someone, you still need to take steps, even like a follow up cold call to someone responding to or retweeting one of your tweets, to fully communicate and move the connection to a prospect.

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

Last week I got an e-mail from one of the traditional providers in the sales enablement business. It seems they have discovered social media, Sales 2.0, and felt they had to let the world know. Further, they shared a couple of “big reveals”; one was that “buyers” will go to the web and the social web long before they will “call a sales person or company”, in fact completing over 60% of the buy cycle. Second, that there is a whole lot more information available to buyers than ever before; according to these oracles of sales, a customer can access some “20 times more data about you and your competitors than they could 5 years ago”.

Let’s deal with the first one, for those buyers who have completed over 50% of the buy cycle before engaging, it is more accurate to say that the seller involved is an Order Taker, not a Salesperson. You can tell your friends and family that you are in sales, but if that’s you, you’re an order taker, end of story. I am sure order takers need training too, may I recommend George Clinton.

The second, is mistaking data with information, and information with knowledge and action. There is no arguing that there is a lot more data out there, but I would argue that rather than that being an impediment or reducing the role of the sales person (real ones), it offers the prepared sales person an opportunity to succeed further. With that fire hose of information/data, comes confusion, misinformation, and the opportunity to misdirect. Real decision makers are seeking clarity and judgement above all.

I see it as an opportunity for a seller to bring clarity, advice and recommendation and direction based on the buyers’ objectives rather than the buyer’s digital footprint. Sellers have to rise above the data, but many seem to feel more comfortable swimming in it, hoping it will lead them to a sale. Good sellers will filter the data, and present actionable advice to decision makers looking to change where they are as opposed to getting more information, real sellers provide better and more actionable knowledge.

More is not better, clarity and action are! In the last couple of weeks we have had concrete examples of this. Apparently on Monday night there were millions of tweets about the storm, great, were you better informed? There was also a whole lot more water out there too. Did you know more? During the presidential debates, there were millions of tweets, one media outlet counted how many tweeted out #bindersfullofwomen, it was in the millions, lots ha, but were people better informed? Knowledge and the ability to act on it have value, data is sold (or given away) by the pound.

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

This past Saturday, I had the great pleasure of spending the day with some of North America’s brightest sales thinkers. You can track them through my tweet stream @TiborShanto, and there is a list below. These 20 or so sales thought leaders are a subset of a larger group that has collaborated a number of ways online and in the socialsphere, I have worked with some for years, but this was the first (of many I hope) time we got together in one room to focus on and move a common agenda forward.

Without getting into detail, we made great strides in specific areas with concrete executables. While we had done things in the past, it paled in comparison to the quantum leap in progress made around the table in a few hours. This was not a surprise, nor a shock, in fact it was predictable, it just had to happen. People with a common purpose accomplish more together.

This is true for sellers and buyers, you can accomplish way more, especially at crucial points, working directly, together, in the same space.

Now this is not a negative post about social selling vs. traditional selling, or virtual selling vs. live direct selling; this about how things work together. Many valuable relationships start in the social media, but in most instances, especially in sales, it needs to progress to a direct interaction to fully flourish. The advantages to mastering both, the social and the direct interaction are many, especially when you perfect the timing of the transition from social and direct interaction. But there is no question you need to master both to win, and relying on one over the other, limits your options, repertoire, and success.

One of my greatest take away from Saturday was the quality of the interactions. Again, not a surprise, but always great when it happens. People were open, shedding veneers and pretence, things that are easy to hide behind or get lost behind in a purely social media based interaction. People want to help people, and do that much better face o face, not that the intent is absent in social media, but live it takes on dimensions that fuel success.

So get social, but also get live, you relish the experience and success.

Thanks to:

@scoremoresales
@saleshorizons
@CharlesHGreen
@mike_weinberg
@CoachLee
@StevenARosen
@SalesDuJour
@RobertTerson
@donfperkins
@babettetenhaken
@TheSalesHunter
@douglaserice
@milesaustin
@fearlessselling
@iannarino
@BlueprintSMS
@ZeroTimeSelling

Next Step

Get Social
Get Live
Get Sales

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

It may be that you may not get this the first time around, not to worry. But if you do perhaps you can shed a little light.

I am a user of Foursquare, fun to see where people are, learn about new places, and support my favourite merchants. In the process I have become “mayor” of a couple of places, and have been displaced in a few places as people achieve more check ins than I, all part of the fun.

This morning, Saturday January 28, I was displaced as mayor at my favourite kosher bakery, imagine that!

Then I got to thinking, is this reflective of the level of accuracy and reliability the modern buyer can rely on when he/she turns to social media as part of their buying quest?

Next Step

Convert

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

Jan 28th, 2012 Attitude, Communication, Dependability, execution, Marketing, Reputation 2.0, Sales 2.0, Social media, Social Selling

Accountability, Attitude, execution, Kosher, Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., Sales 2.0, Social Buying, Social Selling, Tibor Shanto

“But we’re not IBM”47

The Pipeline Guest Post – Trevor Stevens

If you are in sales and your mandate is to sell to companies within your geographical territory, you have probably faced a scenario similar to the one that follows. Your company’s products and related services are utilized by companies of all types and sizes, Fortune 50 to mom and pop basement operations. Copiers as an example, you may refer to document management at one end, and sell copiers to the other end.

In the process of prospecting a small business, you bring up a recognizable Fortune 50 company as a point of reference. Could be something as simple as “our clients include IBM, Exxon, and Pepsi”. At which point the prospect interjects and says, “ya, but we’re not IBM, don’t have their budget, don’t have their needs”. We’ve all been there, and the astute among us quickly learn to develop a different approach based on the company we are selling, “note to self – don’t use big clients when selling small companies; don’t use small company reference when selling to multinational enterprise”. Doesn’t make sense, doesn’t serve a purpose, and could cause fatal disconnect.

It was with this lesson in mind that I had to laugh at a blog post I read earlier this week lamenting the extremely low number of sales organizations having a formal approach for engagement through social media. (Bridging the Massive Social Media Gap Between Sales and Marketing) Apparently, only 11% of companies in the report they were discussing had a formal approach, while at the same time 82% of the companies had a formalized approach for their marketing teams. For some reason the blogger was surprised at this, mentioning how IBM is leveraging social selling.

I sell to mostly small to medium business, my customers are successful, resilient, and they sell real products to real people, and in their own way are innovative in their approach. When I talk to them about social media, they understand it, many use things like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other leading social site for their personal use. But, when I ask them how it fits in to their business, they reflect the stats above, they see little value in it, mostly because their customers are not there. Sure they connect with customers on LinkedIn, but few of those are on LinkedIn or they are there with a sparse, incomplete and out of date profile. Their revenue is generated in traditional ways, they are able to create 1:1 relationships directly with their customers, they do not see the need for a social intermediary.

Maybe this is what the large and faceless companies are trying to compensate for, using social sites to have a pretend 1:1 relationship; sadly, it becomes a 1: many approach, how 1:1 can it be when Dell’s Facebook page has over 700,000 fans, which one is the blogger?

I am not saying there is no value, what I am saying is that vast majority of B2B buyers and sellers are not as connected or plugged in as the bleeding edge folks. Specifically SMB, which makes up the vast majority of businesses in the USA. For a great view on SMB, Social Media and internet marketing, just check out “SMB’s, social media and reality intersect” a post earlier this year on the SMEBS-B2B Blog. No doubt SMB needs to and will get to where IBM may be is vis-à-vis social media, but for the moment, they are serious when they say “hey, we’re not IBM!”

As business people they are pragmatic and follow the money, and most of the business owners and their sales reps tell me that for the most part it is not yet leading them to the social sites, specifically their customers are not there, remember there is a difference between a business buyer making B2B purchases and a B2C consumer; that difference adds up to different expectations, realities and results.

The reality is that when you get beyond the largest companies, or the companies that have to play in the social space due to their nature, most B2B sales people do not use or need to use social media, mostly because their customers are not there, yet, they’re busy working.

Again, this is not to say that there is no value there, it is just not at the mass level some want it to be. Think back to the first go around of the internet, yes some jumped on early, but most small to medium businesses lagged. And let’s not forget that small to medium business make up the majority of the market for small to medium companies that sell to them. They will get there, but it is usually when the money leads them there. Until then, you need to remember that “we’re not IBM”.

About Trevor Stevens

Trevor is a sales professional in numerous universes, but spends the majority of his time selling in this one. While not a blogger he does contribute when he has something to say.

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Sep 9th, 2011 Attitude, Business Acumen, Communication, Communication Strategy, Guest Post, Prospecting, Sales 2.0, Sales Strategy, Sales Success, Social Selling

Attitude, execution, Guest Post, Prospecting, Sales 2.0, Sales Success, SMB, Social Selling

Death Of Salesman 2.0?55

Ah, the poor 21st century sales professionals, if he/she is not getting it from their manager, they are being squeezed by what he thought was a “loyal” customer, wringing yet another concession to ensure they keep the business. As if all that were not enough, there is always a sniper, pundit or sales expert ready to threaten their existence and value. One such “end is near” piece was on SellingPower.com, entitled “How Many Salespeople Will Be Left by 2020?“, according to which the species will be all but extinct by the end of this decade.

While I think it is important for experts and pundits to challenge sales people to stretch and evolve, to stay on top and ahead of evolving trends and technology, it is also important to keep it real. Since the advent of technology, especially from the start of the last century on, there has been a debate about the impact of technology on selling and sellers. The recurring prediction that sales people will be replaced or diminished in importance by automation, seems a favourite among some.

Technology no doubt brings levels of efficiency that will make selling different and impact the interaction between sellers and buyers. And while this discussion is important, it also needs to be real. It is important that we pundits help and contribute to the process of evolution, rather than impede or distract with outlandish statements that serve a narrow and self-serving agenda.

The piece starts and builds from a question asked by the author at Sales 2.0 conference, relating to acquiring books from Amazon.com, and interaction with Amazon.com staff.

For me, and for all professional sales people, the piece has some short comings, not the least of which are it fails to address or distinguish the real difference between B2B and B2C; it fails to differentiate between transaction – interaction – purchasing and selling.

If there is the dramatic reduction in the species that the piece suggests, it is almost certainly to come in the B2C camp, not in the B2B. Buying a book from Amazon is as retail as it gets, even more so than the drive through at SONIC℠. There is a great difference between selling and buying, and more so between buying/selling and fulfilment, which is what Amazon does when it comes to books. The book was sold by the author, publisher, pr firm, Oprah, and these days social media, but Amazon, they just delivered it. Most people these days will go in to B&N look at the book, compare and then transact using the fulfilment facilities offered by Amazon, There is no more selling by Amazon there than going to your local Piggly Wiggly® for a tube of toothpaste. Just look at how Piggly Wiggly® describes itself on their site,”America’s first true self-service grocery store, was founded in Memphis, Tenn. in 1916 by Clarence Saunders.” Not much new there, it has been going for 100 years; the store has just shifted to my screen.

As for the statement: “Gartner, a research organization, predicts that by 2020, 85 percent of interactions between businesses will be executed without human intervention. It is likely that of the 18 million salespeople in the United States, there will be only about 4 million left.” Gartner quotes interactions not sales. EDI has been around for a long time facilitating interactions between business, with the victims being more inventory clerks than B2B sales professional. Even when you look at concepts like Vendor Managed Inventories, the reduction in bodies have been related to warehouses and accounts payable staff than in the sales people who sell the service to begin with.

While we are all impressed with Watson’s success, that is a long way from creating demand, generating leads, dealing with all the variables that human interactions involve when it come to risk, money and emotion. I am not sure Watson answered complex questions as much as to chew through reams of data with breakneck speed. Dealing with a buyer afraid to pull the trigger on a change that is good for the company. Or responding and managing to emotionally based “objections”, are the same as searching a database at any speed. For an interesting examination of this read a Slate.com piece: “Jeopardy, Schmeopardy, Why IBM’s next target should be a machine that plays poker“. By Chris Wilson, Feb. 15, 2011.

Another puzzling aspect to this is that the same people who seem to harp on relationships, and “people buy from people”, seem to be the ones supporting the disappearing sales person view. I don’t claim to be an expert, but how does Watson fit into the social selling world of the future?

An altogether more practical view of the issue was presented by Jeffrey Gitomer, in a piece in his July 5th edition of Sales Caffeinein a piece titled “Death of a Salesman! How alive are you?“. He not only distinguishes between retail and B2B, but expands on the impact on the economy should all these sales people disappear. Rather than discussing how we will be replaced by machines, he outlines the advantage and opportunities presented to B2B sales people in the future.

The reality is that computers will continue to replace transactions, order fulfilment, and other commercial interactions between companies; they will continue to bring efficiencies to selling in many forms, but when it comes to B2B sales, both for mission critical and discretionary offerings, they will remain a companion not a replacement. It is true that sales people, like the products/solutions they represent will need to continue to add increasing value if they are to remain in the profession. But for those who do, the future is more than bright, and more importantly rewarding. For should it come to pass that our ranks are reduced by 75%, the remaining 25%, to quote a friend “will not only be in great demand, but be filthy rich due to our abilities”.

I know that as pundits it is our role to deal with issues in an exaggerated fashion to make an important point. To do that, perhaps the question leading to the premise of the article should have been: “How many conference sponsors have bought sponsorship online; how many of you have done that without speaking to a conference rep?”

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

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[table id=7 /]

The other day I got a note from someone I don’t know, from a site that ranks different blogs, informing that this very blog you are currently enjoying, has ranked on one of their “top blah blah list”.

Like most I like to see my name in lights, and have learned the need to ensure they spelt that name right, so I went over to the list to check things out. Having learned to lower my expectations over the years, but this list tested even my lowered standards. The list ranked sales blogs based no other criteria than the number of Twitter followers the writer has, what a joke!

I know a number of the people on the list, some have great content, others don’t, one or two would be luck to get an order right at McDonald’s, none of that is reflected in the number of Twitter followers.

I remember having a discussion with a number of sales bloogers, a couple of them on this list both above and below my rank. The discussion centred around the pursuit and quality of followers. One particular blogger, who has good content, stated that he will do what it takes to get followers, volume was king for him. He was going to leverage all the various “gobots” that deliver thousands of followers on a monthly basis. These are not hard to find, it seems half the tweets you see are touting ways to add 1000’s of followers.

I opted to be selective, looking to have followers who have a specific interest in sales, specifically B2B sales. I do not automatically follow back anyone that follows me, and regularly purge my list of questionable followers. Now I know this approach narrows the number of followers that I have, but the ones that do follow me and take the time to actually visit and read my blog, do so for a genuine interaction with the content, not just people who swell my followers’ numbers. I no more miss the 15 year old Brazilian transvestite looking for an American mate, than the contribution he/she makes to the discussions initiated on my friend’s blog, or the incilination to promote this list as they requested.

But this does highlight one of the realities of “social life” and by extension social selling, beyond the hype, beyond the noise, quantity does not make up for quality; no, who am I fooling, when it comes to “Social S_ _ _ing” it does.

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

Jun 20th, 2011 Attitude, execution, Sales 2.0, Sales eXchange

Attitude, Communication, execution, how to sell better, Renbor Sales Solutions Inc., Sales 2.0, Sales eXchange, Sales Success, Social Selling, Tibor Shanto, Twitter

LinkedIn: Social-ism Meets Capital-ism – Sales eXchange – 9810

What happens when social-ism meets capital-ism? Or more to the point, can a publicly traded LinkedIn serve two masters at one time?

Specifically, now that LinkedIn has gone public, the first thing they need to buy with their new funding is a bigger bed to accommodate some new bedfellows, very demanding bedfellows; specifically the fellows from Wall St.

This piece is not about the IPO, it’s merits, or value; no it is about the fact that the expectations of the social propeller heads are very different, and probably entirely at odds with the expectations of Wall St., those valiant guardians of shareholders “rights” and “value”. Remember everything goes as long as there are profits at the end of the exercise, and the opposite is true, regardless of the social merits. There is nothing wrong with that, capitalism like socialism is not dead, even though it may smell funny over the last few years. After all, we in sales play a big role in driving revenues and profits, and ultimately cash flow.

There has been a gentle coexistence between the Social types (media or network), and the capitalists. The social purists get their playground, the illusion of a new frontier, they get to shade their avatars green while real people get crushed on the streets of Teheran, and a vicarious front line view to the birth of democracy in Egypt. Oops, scratch that, the “Tyrant” has been deposed, but no democracy yet, oh well, it may be different in Syria. All for minimal cost of 8 out of 10 tweets being about how to make more money using “proven” methods on Twitter and social media, or how to get thousands of followers overnight; FOLLOWERS who couldn’t pick you out of a line up, much less relate or benefit from your tweets.

Going public changes things, it makes one central mantra superior to all others, that mantra being profit; in fact it now has to be profits that exceed Street expectations, because merely meeting expectations is not enough. Community is nice, social is nice, networking is nice, but even combined they are nothing more than the red headed step child compared to profits, which now is the central and only goal. If you doubt that, just sit in on an analyst call and see which facts and which guidance gets top, no, only billing. Can you picture providing guidance that speaks to functionality that serves the demands of the community, but do not add to or diminish profits in a given quarter.

So what do you do? If the “Socialites” want or expect one thing, but the income statement expects another. I realize the problem may not be a big one yet, as long as recruiters and job seekers continue to see benefit and continue to use the LinkedIn, other voices will be quelled, save one voice, the voice of Profit.

For sales, this has been a much more fruitful coexistence, at least on the surface. First, it gave us Sales 2.0, that kept capital rolling, triggering the repurposing existing products for a 2.0 world, just add social links, and presto. Let’s face it that Sales 1.5 was just so last year. Then you get the Social Selling types, for them putting a number after the word Sales doesn’t quite do it, it has to embrace the whole Social experience.

However, there remains the problem of Promise vs. Realty in the social selling space, or maybe more accurately, the promise of something new versus the reality of a thin shiny veneer on the same old. Just in case you think I am being too cynical, consider a tweet earlier this week from a Social Selling type promoting a site as a boon for Social Sellers. The site, well check it out! Beauty eh? For a nominal monthly charge of $49 they will deliver 100 LinkedIn connections per month, you want 200, you get a discount price, only $89 per month. In case that is not social enough for you, they offer 500 Facebook Fans a month for $96 per month. According to the site “Most Popular” is 2,000 Twitter followers per month for $89. All 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed. That’s the kind of social circle I want to belong to.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s all good, especially if one can accept that despite the label, it is capital not social, it just has to be sold the social way. In case you think this time it will be different, just ask Pete Townshend, or better yet, ask yourself how many of the folks sitting on Yasgur’s farm in 69, were and are sitting in the corner offices of Wall St. during the excess of the 1990′s and early part of the last decade, and now. Depending on how you answer that will determine your perception of things, but not the reality.

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto

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