Having just attended the very first stop in the multi-city Customer 2.0 Roadshow – held right in the heart of Manhattan’s Theater District – I couldn’t help but think, “If they can make it here, they can make it anywhere.” And make it they did.
The event, co-sponsored by sales intelligence firm InsideView, marketing automation provider Marketo, and hosted by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals, was three hours of fairly solid ideas and a decent buffet. My thanks to InsideView, Marketo, Scott Albro, Bob Perkins, and all of the speakers. In the spirit of everything I heard there, I offer the following Top 13 nuggets about communicating with BtoB prospects of today:
Make lists (like this one….people love lists…Top 10…Best Five…whatever)
Vendors have not adapted well to a customer-driven marketplace
Vendors had better adapt to #2 (so said Sales 2.0 CEO, Nigel Edelshain)
Stop thinking in terms of the “Sales Cycle.” Now we’re in the “Buyer’s Cycle.”
3 Phases of the Buyer’s Cycle are 1) Awareness; 2) Consideration; 3) Purchase
There is a battle raging between sellers and buyers over information. For many decades sellers were in charge; now buyers are in charge. Deal with it.
Over 50% of Buyers think Peers are the best source of information. Conversely, sellers are the least trusted information source. How can vendors deal with this?
Always Be Helping (I loved Glengarry Glen Ross, but “always be closing” died).
Always be helping with relevant, contextual information.
Create value with remarkable content
Reach customers with long-term nurturing campaigns.
The biggest challenge today is attention scarcity. What can you do? (see 8 – 11). Sales and marketing need to help each other.
