Jonathan Farrington’s Blog

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Nigel Edelshain
Most of “Sales 1.0″ was invented by the founder of National Cash Register (NCR), John Patterson. John moved the sales profession from the level of (almost literally) “snake oil peddlers” to the first professional sales force.

Many of us who have been in the technology business for more than a few years have probably heard, at one time or another, that IBM’s sales force is (or was) the benchmark for any other sales force to measure itself by. John Patterson of NCR hired Thomas Watson, taught him everything he knew about sales then let him start IBM. So it was really John Patterson who invented much of IBM’s famous sales culture.

So many of the sales approaches and tools we use today date back to John Patterson and the 1880’s. Meanwhile technology has changed the world around us in a dramatic fashion.

It’s about time for a change!

Sales 2.0 is about taking the sales profession to the next level.  I don’t believe this is just another “2.0 “ either I believe the sales profession really needs to step up a level. 

My background is as a microchip designer.  Microchips are designed in a very precise methodical way.  A huge amount of research is undertaken every year in pushing the envelope just that micron further.  It makes sense that all this research is funded by companies because the microchip industry is measured in trillions of dollars so there is a lot of money to made in making it operate just that bit more efficiently.

Now look at the sales profession.  How much do we invest in sales forces around the world?  Guess what?  Trillions of dollars also.  And how precise is our process?  How much research do we conduct?  How well do we understand cause-and-effect in selling?

My assessment: very poorly.

If there’s one key driver in the long-term evolution of Sales 2.0, I believe it is putting more science behind the way we sell.  Let’s get to a place in sales where we know for sure that “doing X will get us Y”, investing $A will get us $B back.  Right now sales is too full of qualitative “hand waving” assumptions that have little, to no, proof behind them.  That is not the future in my opinion.

The Catalyst We Need is Here Now

Sales people in 2009 are a lucky breed.  We have been handed the catalyst we need to start to make this shift to Sales 2.0.  At first we thought this catalyst was actually bad for us.  It seemed to give even more power to buyers and take power away from us.  But I am happy to report things are changing fast.  And soon this catalyst will at least “level the playing field” between buyers and sellers — and even “tip the playing field” to our advantage.  This catalysts is: the Internet.

Changing the Biggest Sales Bottleneck

The Internet is already starting to change the game for sales people as it has done in so many other industries and professions (I buy my groceries and my kids’ diapers online!) 

The biggest bottleneck in the sales process for most companies is right at the start: prospecting.  Some smart Web 2.0 companies out there have already brought out tools that really help sales people sell more.  These are not CRM tools that help managers with reporting on how sales are going.  These are tools that put more power in the hands of sales people to generate more prospects.

In our company we’ve taken a look at the factors we believe influence whether a prospect will let you in the door or have an initial conversation with you.  We’ve narrowed it down to six factors.  And within those six factors we’ve isolated three that we believe are the most enhanced by the Internet. 

Those three are:

1. Prospect Lists: who you call.  At the end of the day if you don’t call the right people, you will not make any sales.  You can have a great product and great message but if you are speaking to the wrong people, no sale.

2. Trigger events: when buyers are in status quo they don’t buy.  Change is our ally in sales as change causes buyers to have needs that can be solved by our product.  Typical trigger events are: changes in executives, new product releases and mergers.  Calling into the right person at the time of a trigger event is way more efficient than calling buyers who are in status quo.

3. Relationships: in “old school” selling, relationships were built on the golf course or in the pub.  Prospects (and sales people) today don’t have time for that any more.  We can use Web 2.0 tools like social networks to build relationships from our desk far more quickly than we could at the golf club.  We can utilize these networks to crack into target accounts through a referral selling approach, eliminating the need for “stone cold calling”.  Greatly changing our probability of success.

Some of the “Sales 2.0 tools” already out there that can help you in these areas are:

1. Prospect Lists: Jigsaw, Netprospex and Spoke
2. Trigger events: InsideView and Google News
3. Relationships: LinkedIn, Facebook and VisiblePath

I believe it’s time for a change.  It’s time for sales people to use the tools to “level the playing field”.  To make their jobs easier.  To hit their numbers.  To have some fun. 

If you think that sounds right for you, please join the “Sales 2.0 revolution!”

Nigel Edelshain is CEO of Sales 2.0 (LLC). Nigel sets direction for the company and manages the company’s lead generation team.

He delivers consulting and training that provides clients with sales improvements of 2-3 times.

Nigel has sold millions of dollars of IT solutions to major Fortune 500 firms. He was head of sales for the financial services vertical for Starpoint Solutions (a 600-person system integrator). Prior to Starpoint, Nigel worked for Platinum Technology (now CA) selling IT professional services.

Nigel is the chairman of the Wharton Business School Club of New York – the school’s largest alumni association. Nigel graduated from Wharton’s MBA program in 1993 and has an undergraduate degree in microelectronics (chip design) from Edinburgh University.

Companies work with Sales 2.0 (LLC) to:
• Crack into new accounts and markets
• Launch new products
• Reduce the costs of running their sales organization
• Hit sales goals with less resources
• Speed up their sales cycles

Their services include: consulting, lead generation and training. What makes them different is that they are experts in Sales 2.0 tools and techniques.

Today’s News: We are just about to publish the next edition of the JF Journal, and I thought you might like a sneak preview of one of my guest’s articles…

YADDA, YADDA, YADDA AND BLAH, BLAH, BLAH
THE DOERS

“Boring, empty talk.

While many people have the potential for doing something of considerable consequence, something with measurable impact, there are far more of us talking about doing whatever it is, than those of us who are actually getting it done. Let’s call these two contrasting groups  “The Doers” and “The Yaddas,” shall we?

One day I was having a conversation with a British colleague about this very subject. Out loud, he wondered why we Americans spend so much time and energy on the conversation around our projects, rather than on completing the projects themselves.

I am witness to the remarkable volume of quality work he produces daily, and have been intrigued by his ability to say it, do it, and get on to the next thing.

Jonathan’s life looks much different than mine on the outside, which made it convenient, not too long into our conversation, for me to mentally drag out the excuses as to why he is so accomplished and I am so exhausted. More than once I’d observed that while he is working on his projects I’m over thinking mine. An example of this? I thought about writing this book for five years: I wrote it in three months.”

This is of course an extract from Nancy D. Solomon’s remarkable new book – details can be found over in the left -hand column - and you can read the full extract in the latest JF Journal, which will go out on Tuesday – not registered to receive it monthly? You can register here

Oh, and the smart “British colleague?” – no idea, sounds like my sort of  guy though:-)

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