Are You Human or Are You Robot?

In ‘the good old days’ if you wanted to buy something B2B you relied on salespeople to keep you educated – where else could you get detailed product information (outside of trade magazines, exhibitions and the like)?  As part of your education, they also educated themselves regarding your likelihood to buy what they had to offer and when.  The really good ones then ensured that you received appropriate information at the right time and, all things being equal, you bought something from them.  Happiness all round.

In a recent blog post, Gerhard Gschwandtner of Selling Power, quoting the Corporate Executive Board, said that “57% of B2B buying steps are completed before buyers connect with a salesperson.”

Clearly, purchasers are now educating themselves by some other means.  Step forward and take a bow, content marketing.

Do you understand your buyers?

I had never really thought about the answer to this question until I came across the Buyersphere Project a few years ago.  That was a real eye-opener in so many ways, not least because it showed me what can be measured if you put your mind to it!

It also helped me start to understand and rationalise some of what I was seeing in my own sales and marketing efforts.  More truthfully, in the resistance I was seeing from potential customers.  “Why can’t I get those appointments?  Ah, that’s the reason why.”

I was reminded of it again recently when I came across When Did You Last Map the Buying Process of Your Customers? by Tony Zambito on the Sales Benchmark Index website.

As Tony admits in his response to one of the comments, a better question might be ‘Why Haven’t You Yet…?’

Sales Growth - Two Opinions

To steal the introduction from one of the blog posts I’ll point you to in a second, “There are 1,525,124 sales books for sale on Amazon.  On April 24^th, McKinsey added “Sales Growth: Five Proven Strategies from the World’s Sales Leaders” to this crowded field.”

This quote came from Greg Alexander’s “Book Review: McKinsey’s Sales Book” on the Sales Benchmark Index blog.

By one of those strange quirks of Internet fate, on the same day I also read a post about one of the author’s of the same book on Bob Apollo’s Inflexion Point blog: “Exclusive McKinsey Interview: Finding the Mountaintops in Your Markets”

What a fascinating difference in two responses to the same book!

Buying isn't Selling

I recently read a very thought-provoking article by Kristin Zhivago entitled “Are your customers using social media to warn others to stay away?”  Yes, go and read the article so you understand what this post is all about!  Sheesh, do you want me to do ALL the work for you? J

In brief, this is the scenario – Kristin wanted to buy a voice-recording piece of software or app.  She had clearly identified a number of must-haves and don’t-wants so started shopping around.  Here’s key quote No. 1:

The buying process was PAINFUL

What are you going to do with all that knowledge?

I turned 50 a few months ago (no sympathy, please!)  I guess I’m not the first person to get all reflective around this time and I’m sure I won’t be the last so bear with me.

I started my first blog in 2004 but that quickly sputtered to a halt due, I think, to the total lack of response.  I started this current blog in April 2011 so you can see I’m not exactly bursting with ideas on this one either.  However, I do want to stick with it because (he said modestly) I do think I have a world view that is worth something to somebody, somewhere.  (Hello, wherever and whoever you are.)

Testing that hypothesis is what got me started on LinkedIn.  I wanted to test the waters with my thoughts and ideas and see what happened – did they have value or was I just another arrogant so-and-so kidding himself?

Going through the (selling) emotions

As is often the case in the blogosphere (at least it is in the part I frequent) I’ve seen contrasting posts on, nominally, the same subject over the last few days.

The first was from Jim Keenan, titled ‘Be Emotional’.  In it Jim makes a powerful argument that, to succeed in sales, you need to be emotional at least part of the time.

“When we truly feel what our customers feel, then and only then can we be the best sales person we can be.

Be emotional damn it!”

Dumb as a post – How NOT to use Twitter

I was amused last week to gain another follower on Twitter.  What tickled my funnybone was the fact that this guy has followed (and very quickly unfollowed) me at least half a dozen times before.

Clearly, he loves Twitter as he follows about 62,000 people.  What astonishes me is that he has about 58,500 followers.