Social selling

The State of Social Sales 2015 An Industry Thought Leader’s Reviewwww.artesiansolutions.com

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisIntroduction – a Perspective About the Author Dale RobertsThis review has allowed us to listen to contributions from Dale is VP Professional Services and part of thearound the globe about the changing world of sales, but the founding circle of sales enablement innovator,buyer has changed and to me this is all rooted in buyers. Artesian Solutions. He is also a keynote speaker,We can debate, discuss and dissect all we like but sellers blogger and author of Decisions Sourcing:need to be where buyers are. Organisational Decision Making for the Agile and Social Enterprise. Prior to joining Artesian,Sales and Marketing: The Peace Process Dale worked with some of the largest European and US businesses to build analytic andOne of the fundamental principles of a world dominated by social communication is performance management solutions in his rolethat customers connect with businesses on their own terms. That means the erosion as European Services Director for market leaderof traditional functional silos and the two caught in the crosshairs of sophisticated Cognos, now part of IBM.buyers right now are sales and marketing. Buyers are reacting badly not just to poorvendor experiences but also to inconsistent ones as they are fumbled between https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalesrobertsmarketing and sales.What this means is that smart businesses are finding new ways to fuse the industrial @DecisionHackerscale of Marketing with the deeply personalized, one-to-one relationships institutedby Sales. This is no mean feat and will require that both teams put an end to their United Kingdomdifferences. This goes way beyond proper process, formal handoff and agreementabout the definition of Sales or Marketing Qualified Leads. Not that these things are 2not important but they are utterly inward focused. The customer experience,including that of high-touch, consultative B2B customers will only be improved bytrue integration and collaboration.The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisCold Calling still experimenting. The coming months will see it become integrated into processes and a rich ecosystem of new tools. We are proudThe death of the cold call is announced every other week. The only that the Artesian service is, and will continue to lead the way. Asthing I experience more regularly than these announcements are cold experimentation ends, sales leadership and senior management willcalls from companies that did not get the memo. My prediction then is demand that its success is measured like everything else. Time spent‘dialing for dollars’ will continue, it will become even more ineffective as on the new behaviours will have to be demonstrably more efficient thanbuyers continue to avoid them and some businesses will therefore find the old ones. Budget allocated to software subscriptions will need toways to do more of it at lower costs. This dumb logic ignores the fact show a return. The circuitous logic is that vendors such as Artesian willthat buyers simply do not want to be contacted in this way. The good have to continue to invest more in proving that the approach isnews though is that we are reaching an inflection point. Better metrics, successful with their customer’s customers.repeatable results and more success stories from the world of socialselling will eventually put the uninspiring results of cold calling into Finallysharp relief. It will die, but slowly.Maturity Sellers need to be where the buyers are. 2014 data from the IDC suggested that three quarters of business buyers use social in theirThe early adopters of Social Selling have been showing success for two purchasing decisions. Interestingly, the pattern is consistent acrossyears or more and it is causing many of us to predict when it is about to Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. There are differences, of coursebecome mainstream. In Decision Sourcing, I posited that ‘Social is a but they are not substantial. North America is slightly ahead of Europeterm rapidly on its way to becoming fleetingly ubiquitous, then and Asia Pacific slightly behind but it is still two thirds tapping into theirredundant.’ This was never going to be quick though. B2B Sales cycles online professional community before they buy. The business buyingcan be months, even years and predictable success attributable to a experience is a high risk one. Reputations are made and lost andnew approach simply takes time. Like mountain climbers, sellers don’t careers are shaped by decisions that involve purchasing andleave the old toehold until they have confidently lodged a new one that partnerships. To misquote Dan Pink, it would seem that the buyingwill support them. I stand by my words though. The behaviours of sellers experience is universal because To Buy is Human.will ultimately be transformed by the behaviours of buyers to such anextent that social will be absorbed and the prefix dropped. Thank you,An IBM Institute of Business Value Study predicted that social would beimplemented by more than half of businesses in their sales function by Dale Robertsthe end of 2014. Whilst our experiences would support this, many areThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 3

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Michael de Grootwitnessed in the field of social selling? Staying AliveThere are many indicators that Social Selling is startingto take hold. The main trends that I have witnessed are: My focus is on assisting professionals and aspiring professionals (students) to develop their personal• A higher volume of content being created across LinkedIn with the roll-out brand and reputation across their channels of choice of long-form posts across LinkedIn’s membership. A clear sign that people with a high priority focus on LinkedIn. wish to be seen as thought leaders in their Industry/Sector. I am helping those professionals to practice Social• A higher number of Social Selling trainers across the globe, who are Selling techniques and teach them to share their writing, tweeting, presenting and training sales and marketing personnel story. Furthermore and to underpin personal or as well as business owners in the theory of Social Selling. company branding I create whiteboard animations to convey the brand’s story.• LinkedIn do appear to be the main Social Network who are pushing the idea of Social Selling and as a result are publishing more research and http://uk.linkedin.com/in/stayingaliveuk insights on the subject. @stayingaliveuk• More software products and tools being developed to facilitate intelligence and listening integrated with existing Sales and CRM products. United KingdomThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 4

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWwAihFtnaoetrswasraeerddthiLneotkohekeyfitereldndosf you have Michael de Groot social selling? Staying AliveAll the training, eBooks, articles, philosophy needs to beput into action and deliver results. I am truly excited about this new Sales Revolution, which is unfolding in the market.• A bigger push on ROI by the boardroom, pushing software developers to Not everyone are believers yet, but there automate more in terms of inbound follow-up and identification of the appears to be more traction developing. The breadcrumb trail to better inform and change actions by sales and USA is clearly ahead of the UK and hopefully marketing teams. 2015 will be the turning point for UK companies and professionals to adopt a• The dividing line between Sales and Marketing will continue to blur further different approach to how they market and sell. giving both teams challenges on how to structure their responsibilities and some brave teams may even integrate.• LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator has to deliver results for the early-adoption customers, as well as the stock market. http://uk.linkedin.com/in/stayingaliveuk @stayingaliveuk United KingdomThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 5

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Brynne Tillmanwitnessed in the field of social selling? CEO of SocialContent Marketing, although has been around for over a Sales Linkdecade has moved into the mainstream. The ability to publishon social networks has leveled the playing field for everyone. Brynne Tillman is the CEO of Social Sales Link and author of LinkedIn and Social Selling for BusinessIt no longer matters if you are one sales rep among thousands in your Development. Brynne links traditional sales trainingcompany, a solopreneur or somewhere in between, you get the opportunity to with social media for lead generation andget your message out. prospecting. Brynne works with individuals, sales teams, sales management, business owners andIn addition, the social selling revolution has changed they way people are professionals who are responsible for clientbuying which, in turn, has redefined the sales process and sales training as an acquisition to prospect more effectively, make moreindustry. The traditional solution selling with a plethora of discovery questions qualified appointments, reduce the sales cycle, andis no longer relevant. When the buyer has done their homework, they expect close more business. Brynne teaches a uniquethat the seller has as well, so the first appointment is now an industry insights approach to leveraging LinkedIn and socialconversation relating it to the needs of the buyer and positioning yourself as media for business development and is a Nationalthe subject matter expert. LinkedIn Speaker.Which leads to my favorite trend which is the peace treaty between the http://Linkedin.com/in/BrynneTillmansales and marketing departments. The war is over, and they are now able towork in synchrony. What the marketing department creates and implements is @SocialSalesLinknow truly able to target the right decision makers and influencers that convertto better leads and more business. USAThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 6

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Brynne TillmanI believe the trends are going to affect sales CEO of Socialprofessionals in very big ways. On the coat tails of CEB Sales Linkresearch and The Challenger Sale statistics, the majorshift will be in sales training, sales management and Social Selling is dynamic and with each new toolaccountability and the expectations of sales reps. We the rules change so the sales rep needs to bewill see many less companies require cold calls and nimble and adapt quickly.many more tracking and measuring social engagementand leads. The talk time and dials made will be over, http://Linkedin.com/in/BrynneTillmanfinally, and social selling will be embraced. @SocialSalesLinkWhat I am most interested in is how quickly the traditional sales trainingcompanies adapt. So many of them are teaching the “techniques” from USAdecades ago that may sound practical at a glance but are completelyunproductive and will bare no more fruit. 7The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Jordi Giliwitnessed in the field of social selling? ExecusDuring 2014 we are still seeing the early days of SocialSelling in Europe. The industry is taking form with Jordi Gili has been considered in 2014 one ofplayers from employee advocacy to sales process the top 10 Social Selling experts outside the USAautomatization and from client insights alerts to social by Salesforlife. In 2010 he founded Execus, one of theactivity reporting tools. top social selling consulting and training firms in Europe, with the mission of helping sales teamsFrom the client’s perspective, early integrations are facing some challenges embrace professional social networks like Linkedin toand opportunities. Cultural Change of the salesforce (shifting away from close more deals. Execus was named the first Linkedinmassive lists and cold calling into fine segmentation and warm contacts) is Sales Solution channel partner in Europe in 2013. Jordibecoming a major factor to take into consideration. is an MBA by ESADE, Telco Engineer by UPCMarketing and Sales collaboration is also being put in the spotlight since (Barcelona Tech) and gained his experience of moresocial sellers need food for thought to be delivered at the client’s door and than 15 years in marketing, sales and customer servicethey are not the best equipped to produce the materials. within Telcos (ATT, NTT, COLT) and consulting for different industries (IBM, RGP, Execus).The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordigili @Jordi_Gili Spain 8

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Jordi GiliInto 2015 I expect a major industry boom, it will be the Execusyear that social selling goes mainstream. The tools areout there, the industry is ready and early adopters are On the providers side, I expect refinementshowing results. B2B clients that have not adopted a propositions in the social selling area. I wouldcorporate formal approach will need to take action or welcome (and there is an opportunity for thosewill be left behind. willing to invest on) tools that help improve and autotomize social sellers’ daily activities. ForAnother area of opportunity is social activity reporting tools, since sales instance, the need to gain actionable insightsdirectors are in need of understanding and evaluating the ROI of their that help sellers tap the potential client at theinvestments in Social Selling. right time and gain competitive advantage is out there. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordigili @Jordi_Gili SpainThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 9

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Tibor Shantowitnessed in the field of social selling? Renbor SalesNo doubt social selling “arrived” in 2014. The smart Solutionssellers avoid the hype and look for something thatenhances their selling and expands their toolkit for Tibor Shanto, a sales leader for over 25 years, helpingengaging and selling to customers. True social selling is companies achieve and improve their revenue goals.not about masking other problems that exist in your Initially as a sales rep, then progressing to leadershipsale or sales organization, but about leveraging some, roles with companies including Globe and Mail, Downot all, social resources to enhance the buyer Jones, Factiva and Reuters.experience, and by extension your sales success. Tibor has been called a brilliant sales tactician, helpingAs with most sustainable trends in sales, it is less about the technology or the sales teams and organizations to better execute theirtool, and more about the process and mind set. Many are beginning to not sales process. As a principal with Renbor Salesonly understand this but implementing it. In the end social needs to serve the Solutions, working with leading B2B sales organizationsclients’ and the sellers’ objectives, and some organizations get that, and many improving critical aspects of their sales cycle, includinggurus and their clients don’t. shorten sales cycles, increase close ratios, and create double digit growth through the execution of theirThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review strategy by using the right combination of strategic and tactical execution supported by metrics and our Follow- Through Action Plan. http://ca.linkedin.com/in/tiborshanto/ @TiborShanto Canada 10

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Tibor ShantoThe challenge moving forward is that with an improving Renbor Saleseconomy, and a lot of pent up purchasing power, it will Solutionsbe difficult for some organizations to distinguish whichpart of their success is market driven and would have Let’s un-hyphenate sales, get rid of labels andmaterialized on it’s own, and how much was actually camps, and just focus on how we can sell bettertheir doing. By extension, how much of the latter, their without camps, colours or tribe.own doing, is a result of social or just plain old selling. http://ca.linkedin.com/in/tiborshanto/As a result, social will be forced to come up with better metrics andbenchmarks to be able to demonstrate it’s worth. If organizations and people @TiborShantoselling social products, or dare I say solutions, can’t empirically demonstratetheir contribution to the sale, they risk being the first to go at any sign of a pull Canadaback. 11The big thing for 2015 will be metrics that help sales leaders, and sales peoplebetter understand which social tools have actually contributed and how.Failing that, things will continue to concentrate in the big predictable players,ones anyone can rationalize spending money on, and specialized nicheplayers who address specific needs, not the watered down, value dilutedalso-rans.The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Jeb Blountwitnessed in the field of social selling? Jeb Blount is a leading expert on sales,The most important trend I’ve witnessed over the past leadership, strategic account management, and18 to 24 months is social selling shifting from novelty customer experience. He is a trusted advisor totowards a core part of the sales professional’s tool box. many of the world’s leading organizations andThe myriad apps, CRM plugins, and Sales 3.0 services their executives. Jeb helps companies, teams,emerging on the market place have accelerated this and individuals leverage emotional intelligenceprocess by making social selling easier to access and to transform, and reach peak performance fast.apply by the average sales rep. He is the author of six books including including People Buy YOU: The Real Secret to What Matters Most in Business. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jebblount @SalesGravy USAThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 12

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Jeb BlountOver the next months social selling will continue to Social selling will simply become an integratedbecome a normal integrated part of the sales part of the process enabling more effective andprofessional’s day. targeted prospecting that engages prospects at the right time with the right message, improvedIntegrated is the key trend: despite the predicted demise of traditional selling competitive intelligence, deeper connections andtechniques and the sales process as we know it, salespeople will continue to relationship building, and pipeline velocity withengage and move prospects through the sales pipeline much as they always better data that keeps deals on track andhave. consistently moving to the next step and allowing salespeople to disengage with prospects that areIt is also important to note that salespeople are not going to “embrace” social clearly not going to buy (qualified) earlier in theselling en masse. Rather adoption rates will accelerate naturally driven by sales process.technology that integrates social selling and social data into the sales processvia CRM and productivity apps. Rather than a “social selling revolution” we’llwitness a “social selling evolution.” https://www.linkedin.com/in/jebblount @SalesGravy USAThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 13

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have John Douganwitnessed in the field of social selling? John is a true consultant on sales effectiveness havingDespite an increase in adoption from a sales point of spent the past decade working in sales structure,view there has certainly been a greater adaptation from performance and strategy. This included 6 yearsbuyers. Buyers are certainly evolving faster and smarter working for a sales assessment, placement andthan sellers when it comes to utilizing social as a training organisation before migrating intocomponent of research, education and indeed professional services. John has a keen interest in salescommunication. research and advisory services and shares thought leadership around sales behaviour, sales training, andWe are certainly networking more, if anything the fact I no longer have sales analytics with a particular interest in socialbusiness cards on my desk is a leading indicator. media’s role in changing buyer behaviour . HavingIt’s no longer what you know or who you know, it’s what you know about worked in the UK and APAC, John is also asked towho you know. consult and write for businesses across the globe.We’re also moving away from the credentialing from a CV online to a view ofwhat problems you help customers fix or avoid and what opportunities you au.linkedin.com/in/socialsellerhelp them accomplish. @intrepid_salesLinkedIn’s development as the premium business publishing platform. AustraliaThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 14

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look John DouganThe differentiators moving into 2015 will be those who can Data is the new gold but I’m afraid it isadd perspective! As I said in my recent article ‘Social Winning’: irrelevant if you don’t know where to find it andthere is a huge amount of data out there available to sellers, what to do with it to make it valuable. In thisinformation about your customers and information that is sense I see more rigor and metrics arounduseful to their unique challenges – social offers us a superb what you do with the information you find andopportunity to find this information, analyse it and provide what sales it brings in.perspective through relevant content. au.linkedin.com/in/socialsellerIn sales, 2015 will be a year of bringing the perspective to the customer, that is: @intrepid_sales• the skills and acumen to have a collaborative discussion with others Australia• the insight to know when to do what• trust and confidence in one’s own ability, and the abilities of co-workers 15 and customers• the ability to: – bring up problems that haven’t been uncovered – propose solutions that don’t yet exist – provide unique insight – uncover new ways to deliver valueThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have James Crispwitnessed in the field of social selling? Sales DirectorGone are the days of cold calling. We are now in the at Zimbraperiod of connected calling – sales people have aninsane amount of market intelligence and software to Over 10 years of progressive experience in directhelp them prospect to the buyers of today. You are no sales, channel sales, business development,longer searching from scratch to find a decision maker, marketing, and consulting management in highlyyou only need to log in to Linkedin or Xing to find the competitive segments of the IT industry. Anmost relevant contacts for your product or services. experienced executive, proven producer of sales and profit with ability to pinpoint business opportunities;It’s all about the macro level and building relationships 1-2-1 not broadcasting also plan, develop, and execute effective businessa message. You have to remain personal and create a genuine connection. strategies under challenging market conditions. ASocial Selling is fast becoming the de facto route to market for all sales high-energy leader with distinctive people skills whoindividuals and buying lists will soon become the thing of the past... always puts his customers first and whose motto in business is ‘make sure both parties walk awayThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review happy, and stay happy’. Currently Sales Director at Zimbra (formally Telligent) running all outbound and inbound sales activities for the EMEA region. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesecrisp @JimmyCrisp United Kingdom 16

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look James Crisp70% of the most intelligent buyers are doing research Sales Directoron your products and services even before contacting at Zimbrathe sales person, therefore I expect to see a lot moreconnected sales/marketing messages pinpointing I believe Sales, Marketing and Tech will mergequestions regarding products and pointing them to into Smarketech to deliver precise informationanswers or other people that cans help. when and where it is needed. If companies are not participating in social selling then they areThis is not just a sales role it’s the company’s role to adjust to the new way of not part of the conversation.building a reputable brand online and building more meaningful relationshipswith prospects.Be found, listen and deliver. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesecrisp @JimmyCrisp United KingdomThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 17

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Barbarawitnessed in the field of social selling? GiamancoWhilst there will continue to be resistance, sales leaders Barbara Giamanco is a globally recognized thoughthave finally begun to accept that buyer behaviour has leader in Social Selling, Social Media Marketing andchanged. In turn, they have realized that their sales Social Business. She’s the co-author of The Newapproach also needed to change. Whilst it is not moving Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media and CEOfast enough, training budgets have been allocated and of Social Centered Selling. Barb is consistently aI have seen a top down versus bottom up emphasis on Top 25 Influential Leader in Sales, a Top 25 Salesthe important of social selling. Influencer on Twitter and one of Top Sales World’s Top 50 Sales and Marketing Influencers.There has too much attention on tools and tactics versus strategy and thebasics of good selling. We are beginning to see strategic questions around Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Social Centered Sellingthe right message, platforms and measurements being answered before offers Social Media and Social Selling Consulting,adopters blindly dive in. There is also a growing recognition that social Advisory and Programs to sales and marketingchannels are only a fraction of what it takes to be successful in generating teams interested in driving sales results.opportunities and closing deals. Salespeople need to be great networkers,referral builders, communicators and presenters, excellent listeners and savvy www.linkedin.com/in/barbaragiamancobusiness people. Many of those skills are on the decline. Technology canopen the door, but it doesn’t do the actual selling. @barbaragiamancoThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review USA 18

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Barbara GiamancoSales leaders will approach social selling from a morestrategic point of view working with their marketing We will see the continued shift of resourcespeers to align activities. from field sales to inside sales teams. The challenge though will be in finding talent withMore budget will be allocated for sales and social selling training, as sales the right skills set, which will mean moreleaders come to realize two things: 1) Sales basics are at the heart of closing investments in recruiting and training. As thedeals. Investing solely in teaching salespeople product features or how to do shift continues, inside sellers will become evendemos won’t be sufficient going forward. 2) Salespeople cannot be expected more adept at using social channels as part ofto figure out how to effectively navigate in social channels on their own. In the their selling activities.next year, I believe you’ll also see more sales leaders become morepersonally engaged in using social in their own business activities. www.linkedin.com/in/barbaragiamancoThere will be more emphasis placed on overall customer experience @barbaragiamancothroughout the entire lifecycle of moving someone from prospect to happycustomer for life. Research is clear that positive experiences lead to USAincreased revenue and profitability. Customers are willing to pay for a stellarexperience. Companies will investigate what it feels like to be a customer, to 19try and do business with the sales, marketing and services. Competition ispretty fierce in most industries so customer experience will become muchmore top of mind. Every interaction counts.The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Timothy Hugheswitnessed in the field of social selling? Tim Hughes is one of Top 35 UK Bloggers, SpeakerSocial Selling has been building up momentum over and Market Influencer. He has been mentioned inrecent months but too many still believe that it is @Forbes as one of the Top 100 Global Socialsynonymous with LinkedIn. Sending unsolicited, poorly Sellers. His Blog on Social Selling is availabletimed and badly targeted Inmails is still spam. Likewise http://timothyhughesuk.wordpress.com/adding no context to connection requests is a little likeasking for permission to spam in the future.Nothing says you have completely misunderstood the principles of socialselling than ‘I would like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn’. https://uk.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughes1 @timothy_hughes United KingdomThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 20

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Timothy HughesSales is a profession driven by metrics yet, right now, Over time, we will see a shift from usingthere is very little measurement of social selling. LinkedIn and Twitter to spam and an increase inThis is understandable because many are still only referenceable case studies of organisationsexperimenting. Feedback, success and learning is all using social approaches and tools such aslargely anecdotal. Artesian to support the sales process.Nevertheless, this is something that will have to change quickly. Once it isout of the early phase of adoption, Social Selling will need to demonstrate areturn on investment like all other aspects of selling. https://uk.linkedin.com/in/timothyhughes1 @timothy_hughes United KingdomThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 21

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Lori Richardsonwitnessed in the field of social selling? CEO of ScoreThere has been a great deal of confusion. People hear More Salesabout a tool and do one of two things. Lori is CEO of Score More Sales. She is a mid-marketThey either try it without a plan or they don’t even consider it at all. sales effectiveness consultant, trainer, and coach who also writes and blogs a lot about sales.Most ofNeither of these approaches will be successful. Like anything else in selling, her time is spent in the field with sales developmentfirst take time to understand what it is you want to accomplish and where you reps and their direct managers. Lori’s new book,want to go before committing. Then once the decision is made, plan, execute “Sales Gems- How to Attract Buyers, Shine, andand assess. Score More Sales” will be available early 2015.Likewise we are seeing teams spread themselves too thinly across social www.linkedin.com/in/scoremoresales/platforms. We have even done this ourselves from time to time. No one can beinvolved in all of the platforms all of the time. Instead, work out where your @scoremoresalescustomers are and focus on these. USAAll of this has lead to an inability to measure success. Early adopters who areexperimenting with social in an undisciplined way have had a very difficult time 22measuring whether their strategies are working. Even if they have measuredsuccess, few understand to what degree.Finally we are seeing some improvements in the tools. There have been someamazing developments in the analysis possible and there is more on the horizon.The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Lori RichardsonWe anticipate seeing some consolidation of effort. CEO of ScoreBusinesses will narrow down their focus on a smaller More Salesnumber of social platforms to be more effective. We anticipate seeing some consolidation ofFinally, marketing and sales have always had a need to work more closely, to effort. Businesses will narrow down their focuscooperate and collaborate. Social will play a key role in this moving forwards. on a smaller number of social platforms to be more effective. www.linkedin.com/in/scoremoresales/ @scoremoresales USAThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 23

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Jeff Molanderwitnessed in the field of social selling? Sales TrainerThe hype and absence, for the most part, of a and Publisherdefendable business case have resulted in a roadblock.Whilst commentators make bold claims of a revolution, Jeff has been selling for 18 years. He was co-foundersenior management and sales leadership have been of the Google Affiliate Network in 1999. Today, he isskeptical and, in some cases, reluctant to adopt. a sales trainer and publisher of social selling book, Off the Hook Marketing: How to Make Social MediaSales require practical, pragmatic processes and outcomes such as leads, Sell for You. Jeff says the social media revolution isappointments and sales. The notion that a complete reinvention of sales is mostly hogwash invented by gurus selling the wrongrequired has prevented us evolving ways to improve sales, and are preventing answer to the right question. As a former sales rep,us from evolving practical and pragmatic processes on new social platforms sales team manager and (today) business owner Jeffsuch as LinkedIn. says the challenge for sellers is practical: Applying a repeatable process to social technology that createsUse of new tools and techniques are causing confusion. Content Marketing, more leads.for example, is not being used to help prospects to navigate towards sellers.In turn, sellers do not understand how and when to apply content such as That’s why he teaches a process – a systematicvideo or whitepapers to generate appointments. It is not just content that is approach to combine copywriting with socialmisunderstood, few grasp how to blend their personal and professional use of technologies that creates leads.social platforms or are repeating the mistakes of marketing. They are treatingsocial as a broadcast medium instead of using it to pique their prospects http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmolanderinterest and use it as an attraction model. @jeffreymolanderThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review USA 24

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Jeff MolanderPragmatism will replace evangelism and adoption will Sales Trainerincrease. We are starting to see strong use cases, proof and Publisherthat social media can be used effectively and at scale.The 2% of front line sellers increasing productivity via Small business owners, individual sellers andsocial will likely swell to 10% in 2015. This will be driven managers are evolving to adopt effective,by adoption of social selling processes that blend direct systematic approaches that produce leads andresponse copywriting with good, old-fashioned appointments. The stories of these heroes aresalesmanship. already supplanting the “get on board, the train is leaving” hype.Success principles will become clearer and there will be a focus on processand outcomes. Leads and appointments will become less elusive and more http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffmolandersuccess stories will emerge. B2B marketers will use automation to improvethe design and structure of content marketing to build bridges with sales and @jeffreymolandergenerate more success. Sellers will also find the right way to use social mediato establish a healthy combination of professionalism and personal voice. USASmall business owners, individual sellers and managers are evolving to adopt 25effective, systematic approaches that produce leads and appointments. Thestories of these heroes are already supplanting the “get on board, the train isleaving” hype.The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Jill Rowleywitnessed in the field of social selling? Keynote SpeakerOver ninety percent of buyers start their decisionthrough search on the web and over eighty percent 6 years in Consultingof the world’s online population can be reached throughsocial networks. Buyers have more access to things One of the first Sales Reps at Salesforcethat used to be controlled by a salesperson. We areliving in the age of the customer and no longer in the Top performing Sales Rep at Eloqua for over 10 yearsage of the seller. Led Oracle’s Social Selling initiative – responsible for enabling 23k sales repsSales has always been social, it’s always been about relationships. Socialmedia is just a new channel to build these relationships. Currently delivering keynote speeches on the topicSocial selling doesn’t equal buying LinkedIn Sales Navigator for the sales of Social Sellingteam. It requires looking at things through the eyes of the customer,understanding who the customer is, understanding how that customer www.linkedin.com/in/jillrowley/wants to buy and aligning to them and their buying process. It is a shift in @jill_rowleymind-set from selling to serving. USAThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 26

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Jill RowleySales professionals need to move from using LinkedIn Keynote Speakeras their online resume, to managing their digitalreputation. Instead of optimizing for the recruiter; Social Selling training for your Sales team isoptimize for the buyer. NOT OPTIONAL because a fool with a tool is still a fool. Oh, and if you suck offline; you’ll suckHere’s how: MORE online. #Don’tSuckIt’s no longer Always Be Closing; it’s Always Be Connecting. Your network is www.linkedin.com/in/jillrowley/your net worth. Nobody likes to be sold to. We’re living in the Age of the @jill_rowleyCustomer where buyers have choice and voice. · Sales professionals need toread; read what their buyers read and share that content across their social USAnetworks. · Sales professionals learn how to listen; listen to the conversationsbeing had on the social web. Social Selling is about finding and being found. 27We are going to see new job descriptions, shifting roles and changingresponsibilities. Marketing and Sales will work more closely together toenable the sales team to leverage social networks and build betterrelationships with buyers. We will also see budget line items for Social Sellingtools and training.The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Dorte Møller Madsenwitnessed in the field of social selling? StormvindThe term Social Selling has gone from practically Stormvind: A digital consultancy that specializes inunknown at the beginning of 2014 to appearing on the B2B sales. Stormvind with Social Selling specialistagenda of almost every sales department. Danish Dorte Møller Madsen in front is driven by the passionpeople are slowly beginning to realise, the paradigm to develop businesses and especially their sales andshift in B2B sales and they are seeking alternatives to marketing to the “new reality”, where companiescold calling. need to be more engaged, transparent and collaborative Social Business.Denmark has a very different sales culture than the United States, forexample. Most sales people I talk to are only interested in implementing some Stormvinds mission: To inspire and help businessesparts of Social Selling rather than implementing something wholesale. and individuals to dare to act and operate professionally online and to take advantage of theMany still see LinkedIn as their personal professional social presence and digital possibilities. Stormvind is a network companymainly as a place to sell to the next employer rather than the next customer. and draws other competent specialists in where it isThis is changing but will require management support. Twitter is not as the optimal solution for our customers.significant in some European countries including Denmark. Likewise it is notused by every industry. This means that the potential is different, even if it is dk.linkedin.com/in/dortemollermadsen/growing, depending on geography and sector. However, the typical Daneloves Social Media, LinkedIn and is naturally a solution seller. I see a huge @stormvinddkpotential for Social Selling in Denmark. DenmarkThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 28

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Dorte Møller Madsen StormvindBoth sales and marketing will focus on content We will see cold calling become increasinglymarketing, the buyer journey and the world of the unsuccessful. Instead there will be a greatercustomer rather than product and services lead focus on relationships and partnerships.conversations. This will, in turn, mean that Sales andMarketing people will need to be educated andtrained to gain the benefits.Finally we will see maturing software and tools to help automate and managethese new approaches and behaviours. dk.linkedin.com/in/dortemollermadsen/ @stormvinddk DenmarkThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 29

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Craig Eliaswitnessed in the field of social selling? Craig Elias, author of the award-winning bookIn 2014, Aberdeen’s research that 63% of Best-In-Class Shift along with another of our contributorscompanies use ‘Trigger Events’ resulted over 60,000 Tibor Shanto. Craig is the creator of Triggerhits on the Won Sales Analysis website – where Selling an approach that, like Social Selling,companies learn to identify the Trigger Events that requires sellers to be focused on the customer,result in the highest win rates, understand the real their experiences, their changes and theirreason prospects buy from them, and how sales needs.professionals can make it even more likely they winfuture sales. https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigelias @CraigElias CanadaThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 30

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Craig EliasWhat I’m starting to see now, and expect to see a lot Best-In-Class companies know that analysingmore of in 2015 is companies understanding that your best wins results in having more core, loyal,analysing all their wins is not best in class. Best-In-Class profitable customers who generate more word ofcompanies start with Window of Dissatisfaction™ mouth and research by McKinsey shows thatanalysis to identity those sales that had three or more word of mouth outperforms every form of paidof the following characteristics: advertising by a factor of two.• The sale happened quicker that usual https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigelias• It was easy to reach, and have a conversation with, the true decision maker• The prospect did not ask for discounts because they recognized the true @CraigElias value of being your customer Canada• The prospects provided a testimonial, a referral, or agreed to be a 31 referenceThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Chris Hefferwitnessed in the field of social selling? I believe all sales people can be more successfulSocial selling has become something which means using the internet.many things to many people. I work with B2B sales leaders to drive behaviouralIts definition to most people has been shaped by a mix of sales trainers and changes in their sales teams so they can sell in amarketing teams. As a result many sales people think social selling is not world where buyers do not want to be “sold” to.something which will benefit them. As part of Artesian Solutions we provide a managedI agree with Gary Vaynerchuk when he says that “social media” is a phrase to software service to empowering sales people todescribe the current state of the internet just like “Web 2.0” did 10-15 years ago. target more precisely and give them insight whichI think social selling is not just “selling using Twitter & LinkedIn”. My definition they can share with their buyers/colleagues to helpwould be more like “selling using the internet to do research and share connect with buyers around their agenda not ainformation to build trust/credibility”. If a sales person thinks that they can do their product led sales pitch.job better without the internet than with it, then over time they will becomeextinct. I think I would have been the worst sales person in 1980 but I am aiming to be the best in 2020.Sales people will be successful if they target the right person, at the rightcompany, at the right time with a message which relates the buyers agenda linkedin.com/in/ChrisHefferand is not just a product led sales pitch. But don’t take my word about how the @TheOtherHefinternet is forcing business to change, go ask Blockbusters, HMV or any of thelarge chains of book stores that have been closing stores or gone out of United Kingdombusiness. 32The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Chris HefferI believe the internet forces the business world to The 90-9-1 rule of unequal participation on the internetbecome more honest, open and transparent. These are states that – 1% of an online community creates mostthree words that most people wouldn’t associate with of the content (i.e blog posts, videos, tweets), 9%your average sales person. I think sales people will need create a little content and 90% just consume contentto become more customer centric and put the success online. You could argue the percentages have changedof their customers ahead of their commission cheque. with the rise of social networks and more people create content but the vast majority only browse, consumingAs Dan Pink said in his book To Sell is Human we are moving from a world of content without actually creating any themselves.“Buyer Beware” to a world of “Seller Beware”. More and more information is Therefore if you want to sell to the vast majority ofbecoming available on the internet about sales people, the products they sell buyers who do not create or share information onand the companies they work for. Twitter/LinkedIn then you need to raise your “socialYou have to put your customer first else you will get caught out - losing your selling” game. You need to find new ways of engagingdeals and customers. Sales people need to imagine their customer is sitting in a timely and relevant manner with prospects andnext to them at all times. Instead of thinking how can we sell more stuff to customers who do not personally share much or anythis customer, think how can I make that customer be more successful so information about themselves or their interests.that want to buy more stuff from you. linkedin.com/in/ChrisHefferThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review @TheOtherHef United Kingdom 33

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisWhat are the key trends you have Chris Spurveywitnessed in the field of social selling? Chris Spurvey writes at ChrisSpurvey.com, whereHow consumers and business decision makers buy has he shares ideas for living a better life whilechanged dramatically. Two forces are pushing this growing revenues for your company or business.change; the internet and the human psyche: To get strategies for boosting revenues while growing a rich lifestyle, join his free newsletter.1. The internet with its ever increasing rich content is providing an avenue for buyers to educate themselves on their own terms – online reviews, webinars, e-books, podcasts, blogs, social networks.2. The buyer is armed with enough data to make their own decision based on product comparisons. Traditional selling has left a bad taste in almost every buyers mouth. Tactics to channel the buyer down a path in a resistive way has created a very thick Callus in the minds of buyers that make traditional sales people virtually useless. http://ca.linkedin.com/in/chrisspurvey @chrisspurvey CanadaThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 34

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisA Forward Look Chris SpurveyTech savvy sales people and the death of the dinosaur Social Selling is the answer to these two forces.sales people who do not step up to the changes. The new sales person educates and inspiresIncreasing use of social selling by sales people to open using the tools at their disposal. They are thereup networks of people to relationship with. A shift back to answer their clients’ questions. They are anto the roots of building connections (value based enablers and facilitator.relationships) and not just growing a network. http://ca.linkedin.com/in/chrisspurvey @chrisspurvey CanadaThe State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review 35

www.artesiansolutions.com Share thisAbout ArtesianArtesian is the world’s most powerful social selling To find out more about Artesian visit :solution for B2B sellers; it gathers and tracksintelligence on customers, prospects and competitors www.artesiansolutions.comfrom millions of online resources including blogs, newssites, editorials and social platforms such as Twitter and www.linkedin.com/company/artesian-solutionsLinkedIn. Artesian uses clever science to filter andtransform acquired information into commercially https://twitter.com/ArtesianSvaluable insights based on the companies andindustries that are important to users. United KingdomArtesian gives users the ability to, target, connect and share with customers 36and prospects more successfully. With a built-in social seller score, Artesianmeasures each user’s sales behaviour score and gives you personalisedtutorials on how you can improve your score. Artesian delivers on average8.5 million actionable insights per month on almost 700,000 companies to its18,000 users. Artesian customers range from the some of the world’s biggestcorporates such as American Express, Adobe, Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank ofScotland, Towergate, Willis and Verizon to start-ups.The State of Sales 2014/2015 – Industry Thought Leaders Review