The Web 2.0 sales model

In my view, one of the biggest mistakes a business could make is to think that Web 2.0 doesn't have any practical or direct implications. It has both.

I agree absolutely, that client engagement is the most obvious implication, but the more serious consequence is that prospective customers are increasingly relying on search engines to find solutions to real or perceived solutions. Coupled with that, they are rejecting all forms of approach be it by phone, email or letter. Thus the entire first part of the traditional sales cycle has been effectively re-engineered and with it the essential sales skills of matching need to benefit. In some cases this has gone to the extent that customers don’t even bother to do the preliminary search themselves (see the Olympic Delivery Authority’s ‘Compete For ‘site). They are using bots to do it for them (some call this Web 3.0, especially if their bot talks to your bot). This makes it extremely difficult to bring the attention of a prospect to a problem he may not know about or does not realize he has.

So the first consequence of Web 2.0 is that the old selling models (e.g. Quest or SPIN or AIDA) no longer apply. The second is that the sales cycle is likely to be far more reactive than ever it was in the past. Finally and most importantly, when a prospective client does make contact, he is likely to have already done a feature / benefit analysis from published information on your web site (and that means, by the way, that you have to have really strong content on your site or you will get filtered out before you even know he is in the market). It also means that he is likely to be in price comparison mode. Sales 2.0 salespeople are going to have to be far more skilled in taking control of that conversation and turning it around. It also means that they are going to have to be trained in how to get the best from environments where technology cannot intervene, i.e. in networking and exhibition selling situations.

The implications for businesses are huge. Firstly they have to hone their client engagement models to attract customers to their site in the first place. This is not easy and requires a complete rethink of corporate business development strategy. Secondly they have to plan carefully how they will interact with customers, even those who might be interacting with their site in a social networking mode and convert them into customers. This too requires a rethinking of traditional sales roles and models. This is not going to be easy, but companies who “get it” will be long term winners and those that don’t will go the way of all those brilliant things like VHS, squarials, morse code and a million other technologies that have been swamped by the tide of progress.

Web 2.0 in action

I suffer from arthritic pain in the left great toe. Last year I had a manipulation and injection to sort it out, but the pain has returned.

So yesterday I saw the surgeon and he offered me a choice of a repeat procedure or (what I thought was) a kylectomy. He took me through the various options but I didn’t feel confident enough to make a decision, so of course I Googled it.

It very quickly became obvious that I had misspelled the word. Changing to chilectomy, Google helpfully asked me: “Did you mean: Cheilectomy “and in just two clicks I knew everything I needed to.

So What? Well until yesterday I had never heard of a cheilectomy. And now I am an expert and can make an informed choice which suits me, my plans and my pain threshold.

So what if I was selling cheilectomies? (Which I suppose in a way my surgeon is).

I believe that to sell effectively in the Web 2.0 world, you need to know how to be found on the web and secondly you need to have the skills (and the infrastructure) to convert enquiries in a single step. As soon as the customer goes away he is lost and it is very unlikely that you will be able to recover him or her.

Compare and contrast this with the conventional selling model in which you would first have to find someone with a problem to solve, get on their radar, establish the details of their situation, propose a solution and then close (handling objections along the way). This conventional model with 5 – 10 steps looks very different to the Web 2.0 model which is much simpler but still needs considerable skill.

There are almost 2,000,000 hits on the subject of cheilectomy (depending on how you spell it) but only about 20 blog entries and it is interesting that Jeffrey Oster, has cornered the market in foot pain advice in that sector. If I was in Ohio, he would certainly be my podiatrist of choice.

Message for today: start thinking about how Web 2.0 will affect (is affecting) your sales effort

Perry Burns

www.sales101.co.uk

The power of persuasion

There is an interesting, if scary piece in this morning's London Times.

In it Daniel Finkelstein reviews a new book called Yes!: Fifty Secrets from the Science of Persuasion by Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin and Professor Robert Cialdini. Their research shows that as humans we are far more open to manipulation than we might have believed.

They discuss the principle of reciprocity and show that when you give something, people are more likely to give something back (Business Network International - BNI - call this principle "Givers Gain"). Similarly Cialdini and his colleagues show that if people believe that they are doing what others do, they are more likely to follow suit. They give an excellent example of reusing towels in a hotel or throwing coins in a fountain. Apparently if I tell you that most people who read this blog click on the link above and buy the book, you are more likely to do so too.

In the same vein they talk about people choosing professions linked to their own names, hence there are many more dentists called Dennis than there are called, say Jim.

Salespeople have known this for years of course. If you articulate a benefit by answering the question "What’s in it for me?" you are far more likely to win the sale. Therefore focus on personalizing benefits and make sure that when you explain why someone should buy your product, you make it as relevant to them and as personal as you can.

Perry Burns
www.sales101.co.uk

Why are screen writers striking?

2 Questions.

Firstly what is this strike all about and why does it matter to people wanting to improve business performance in general and sales performance in particular?

Hollywood writers have declared a strike because they want a share in the residuals for work they produced which is then streamed over the web and to to mobile phones. They also want a piece of home video sales and protection of their rights viz a viz their contribution to reality shows.

Meantime management argue that that because the market is changing, they need to use new channels to promote their wares, that it is too early to start designing compensation programmes around new technologies.

I started watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip with high hopes because I really like Bradley Whitford (Josh in the West Wing) and Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing in Friends). However I found after 2 episodes that I couldn't care less about the stresses and strains of writing, producing and directing a TV show, however iconic. Compared with the drama of The West Wing or the pithy humour of Friends it was irrelevant. That said I am very worried about the writers because they have exactly the same problem as the rest of us. The world they have known for years is crashing about their ears and they can suddenly see that others are enjoying the fruits of their labour while they are struggling by on relatively meagre pay scales which have become an accident of history.

Meantime Management is realizing that unless they find new ways to reach the market, they will find their business struggling to remain profitable. This is especially exacerbated by the moves by big production companies like Warner and Universal to make their product available on demand over the internet.

So why does this matter if you are trying to adapt your sales model to the new reality. Because it is an indicator that the shift is happening and that the consequences of not finding a new way to sell are serious.

I have been very influenced by a video on You Tube called Shift Happens. Although many of its assertions are questionable, the underlying message couldn't be clearer (actually the update is more accurate and believable but the music isn't as cool).

For businesses to perform better they need to be using the web more effectively to drive demand and make customers come to them. I am interested in documenting the shift in selling strategies to confront the challenge of Web 2.0 and next week I intend to look at some of the small steps that can be taken to start driving Web 2.0 business.

Have a great weekend

Perry
http://www.sales101.co.uk/