Business Bedrock

Optimising your online presence for shorter sales cycles

 

 By Jill Riddiford, B2B Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting

 

Content matching with keywords

To better engage with customers we need to reach them with the right content at the right time. Buyers use different types of language, when looking for solutions, depending on what stage they are at along the buyer journey.

Businesses typically don’t have the mechanisms in place to attract prospects early in their buying journey, so using ‘late buyer journey’ tactics such as offering a ‘buy now’ incentive isn’t always appropriate. It certainly won’t help the buyer who is at the ‘search around problem’ stage and wants to first build their awareness of potential solutions to a problem.

So how do we increase the probability of buyers reaching us when they in the early stage of their buyer journey?

One of the best indicators of where someone is along the buyer journey is reviewing the types of keywords they are using within their searches - what people are searching for can provide a clue as to the type of content that could be developed.

For example the owner of a growing business wants to upgrade their phone network and types in: “upgrading small business phone system” which brings up a long list of suppliers and a few comparison sites, the “Search around problem” stage in diagram above.

The searcher takes a deep breath as he anticipates several hours of research ahead but notices on the first page of results, an article: “How to choose the right phone system for your small business.”

The article, authored by a Telco supplier, provides some useful information and the buyer is now better able to frame his requirements and the likely solution. The buyer narrows down the search to three suppliers which he then compares directly on their websites for features and prices, but he is more inclined to purchase from the supplier who provided the useful article.

Of course from the supplier’s perspective, throwing out a random ‘how to” article is not enough to ensure a high ranking in Google search results. Businesses need to build and nurture their online presence by regularly updating their website content, participating in social networks and using relevant keywords.

Using early buyer journey keywords in your website content such as white papers or blogs, means that buyers are more likely to discover you while still at the early stage of their buying cycle. At this point, buyers are unlikely to search for business names, and unless you are a major well-known brand, buyers probably don’t know who you are. But they may use generic words such as ‘review’ e.g. “cloud services review”.

However B2B buyers have become more sophisticated in their searches and are increasingly using “longer tail” keywords to enhance their SEO (search engine optimisation) process and increase the visibility of their website in organic, i.e. unpaid for search results. See example below, source: www.elliance.com

   

Long tail keywords are those that have less search volume but are highly targeted, e.g. “cloud services legal firms Sydney”. You can search for long-tail keywords with Google’s Keyword Planner Tool.

Or to generate ideas for long tail keywords, simply start typing in part of your keyword phrase into Google and keyword phrases will be suggested.

The SEO process doesn’t just apply to websites. LinkedIn profiles are also searchable so be mindful of the appropriate keywords to include on this platform to highlight the value you can provide to buyers.

By helping buyers to diagnose their needs — and at the earlier stages of the buyer's journey - businesses enhance their prospects of becoming a trusted advisor. To find out more, download our free whitepaper: Don’t let B2B buyers buy by themselves.

How do social and PR fit together for B2B marketers?

Social Media and Public Relations: “connecting the dots” 

By Jill Riddiford, B2B Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting.

We often hear the question: what is the difference between social media and PR?

Social media is the new kid on the block compared to public relations, but both are part of the same brush in your marketing palette.

Both social media and PR - when done effectively - are about people saying good things about your business or your products and services, and spreading the word to other people.

Both PR and social can also build your brand and reputation over time. However, social media allows you to amplify your reach in ways that marketing via the traditional media can’t do.

Public Relations specialists typically work with editors / journalists rather than your actual target market. Social media specialists, on the other hand, are the ones who (should) know the insides of your business and be out there in your prospect base talking to real people.

A good social media consultant will be a natural networker and have their eye on what’s happening in your industry and community - they are not there to sell your product or service per se. They also build relations with less traditional industry influencers such as bloggers who can have a significant impact on your ability to generate awareness.

Also, with social, while you may ‘own’ the messages, you have limited control over how responses to your messaging will be reposted or circulated. On the other hand, traditional ‘earned’ PR allows some degree of control - in the context of the media relationships you have fostered. PR can also provide valuable third-party endorsement and credibility.

Here’s an outline of some more similarities and differences:

• Relationship building is key to both:

PR – you may only need a few key media targets, but these need to be cultivated carefully

Social – relationship is with many and allows you to have a two-way conversation with your actual customers/prospects

• You need to have something to say:

PR – usually have a ‘hook’ or particular event, i.e. something that is newsworthy that you can shout about for a short period of time

Social –You need constant ‘hooks’ and messages to take to your community on regular basis in order to maintain engagement and a cohesive image over time 

• Understand that your audience is different:

PR – your job is to pitch your story to the writer for your target media outlet, so you need to ask what will interest their readers?

Social – you are speaking directly to your customer/prospect so need to know their world inside out. You will need to repurpose content – e.g. don’t post in a press release format – use words that speak to them in their language

• Everyone is time poor:

PR - journalists like business owners are time poor these days, media fragmentation has disrupted the industry – which means your approach must be sharply honed

Social - need to take into account where your potential customers are on their buyer journey and package up your content/messages to get their attention at each stage

• It’s a two-way street:

PR- it is possible for marketers to coexist happily with the media - journalists value reliable contributors and having experts on hand they can call on

Social – use the 80/20 rule as a guide to your ratio of providing content around your customers’ issues vs directly promoting your business or services

B2B companies with an active social presence have a greater chance of attracting the broader media, as industry influencers such as journalists increasingly rely on content such as blogs to find story ideas.

Researching and nurturing the best media contacts for your business can be time consuming, so having a specialist PR consultant can be valuable. And it is always a good idea to have a PR on hand to help manage any adverse issues that may arise around your business. Of course any PR expert or social media specialist you appoint should have a thorough knowledge of your company.

You don’t have to be a big business to benefit from using PR as well as social – so don’t miss opportunities to make a mark in your niche – think about how particular insights from your customers could gain traction in the wider media arena.

If you would like to learn how to implement a successful PR & Social Media strategy, get in touch to register for a 1 hour consultation with one of our experts (limited number available per month).

Should your employer fear your killer LinkedIn profile?

Top 4 concerns we have encountered from employers 

Our tips on the best way to write a killer LinkedIn profile are well documented, and in terms of number of downloads is our most successful piece of content ever!

Salespeople in particular are just waking up to the power of using their LinkedIn profile effectively - as well as their connections strategy, engagement in groups, and blogging on LinkedIn - to both attract and engage with prospects and customers.

Numerous pieces of research point to the fact that B2B buyers typically get at least 60% of the way through their buying journeys before engaging with a salesperson. That is of course unless during their web-based research when they are “Googling” the symptoms of their problem, they accidently land on a salesperson’s LinkedIn profile!

As Google is giving LinkedIn heavy weighting in their search rankings, salespeople’s profiles are appearing regularly as customers research their problems online.

The profiles of enlightened salespeople that used to be full of “I regularly make 120% of target” statements are now full of keywords and content relating to the types of business symptoms/problems they and their companies solve (especially if they are a Carpe Diem client!).

This, and regular refreshing of their profiles, can attract very high Google/Bing rankings which you would think employers are rejoicing about. Surely now we have “multiple company websites” that are attracting prospects as they embark along their buyer journey? 

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth and many employers are running scared.

Top 4 concerns and antidotes

Below we list the top 4 concerns we have encountered from “nervous” employers – and we offer our commentary as to the “antidote” for each concern.

Concern #1

If my salesperson connects with all my customers they might all leave with her if she goes and works for my competitor.

Antidote #1

It’s great that your salespeople are building strong personal brands, and that customers want to connect with them - but it shouldn’t just be about “relationship building".

If your customers are really going to follow the salesperson to their new employer – what does that say about the value you’re offering the customer via the salesperson? Make sure all your salespeople are mouthpieces for genuinely disruptive insights that are developed proprietary to your organisation.

Concern #2

My competitors will know who we’re talking to if my salespeople connect with our prospects. 

Antidote #2

In our “internet everywhere” world and with the propensity to post everything on social networks, it’s safe to assume that everyone knows everything:  what prices you quote at, who your customers are, who your salespeople are talking with etc.

Again, if you develop a strong value proposition and adopt the Challenger approach by offering them unique customer insights – they’re going to stick with you anyway because of your superior value to their organisation.

Concern #3

What if my salesperson “says the wrong thing” online?

Antidote #3

Many organisations, particularly publicly listed ones, tie themselves in knots in case an active LinkedIn member “says the wrong thing” online, which gets repeated over and over again. But it’s no reason to not “do” social media – the pros can certainly outweigh the cons.

You need to educate your staff and have a social media policy in place - as part of a broader communications strategy - so you can limit the risk.

Concern #4

A prominent LinkedIn profile will surely attract recruiters, who will endeavour to poach my sales staff.

Antidote #4

Recruiters are getting canny – they can now largely see through the “sales journeymen” and are less attracted to statements around “personal sales brilliance”. More of them understand that the BEST salespeople are using their LinkedIn profile to attract customers. 

You need to consider - what is it that you are actively doing to keep your star employees even though everyone else wants to get them?

Sales coaching is a great example here. Don’t just coach your “mid-tier performers”, sales managers also need to coach their stars so they know they’re loved! As much as you need to market to customers, you need to ensure you’re “marketing” to your sales stars to ensure they recognise the value in staying with your organisation.

So - yes there are some downsides - but if all of this makes employers realise that they have to "up the ante" in terms of organisational value proposition and the attractiveness of the organisation to start sales employees - then the downside is worth the upside. Contact us to learn more about how to use LinkedIn to drive sales and marketing success.

Social selling - the jury is in!

Just as occurred some years ago with global warming, there are people both scared and dismissive of B2B social selling.

The reasons why executives are scared of social selling are well documented. That being said, there are some hugely successful global business leaders using social selling tactics incredibly well, some of which even admit they could not operate without it!

Increasingly though, there is a mounting case of statistical evidence to point to the success that social media can provide if successfully mixed into the sales process. We thought we'd share some of the most compelling statistics with you.

Consider the following:

• Some 72.6% of sales people using social media outperformed their sales peers, and exceeded quota 23% more often
• Social selling increases total team attainment of sales quota, improves customer retention rate, increases sales forecast accuracy and increases the percentage of sales reps making target
• Some 3 in 4 IT purchasing committees are ready to have a conversation with a new vendor on social media
• Some 68% of IT buyers are open to connecdting with vendors via social media and 76% are ready to have a conversation via social media

We could list countless more statistics - but the case is inarguable.

So - why aren't more sales teams getting on board?

In our view, the problem lies in the training strategy. The emphasis is usually placed on training sales teams on individual platforms ("Come on everyone - let's attend this course on how to use Facebook to sell") rather than on selling techniques that happen to include (relevant) social platforms. 

We need to constantly remind ourselves that we need to learn about selling - not about social media!

At Carpe Diem we've had great success training sales teams on sales workflows that include social media, even though these workflows might span a number of social media platforms. We concentrate on teaching about how to sell more effectively and only focus on platforms relevant to the business we're training. 

What are these workflows?

• Finding new opportunities
• Finding new prospects
• Being introduced to new prospects
• Tracking competitor activity
• Maintaining thought leadership and "top of mind" with customers
• And so on.

See how your organisation's social media adoption is faring against others in it's space by participating in our annual "social media trends in B2B organisations" survey.

If you want your sales teams to start winning more deals, we're holding a bootcamp "Leveraging social media for sales success" on October 24 in Sydney (also 21 November in Brisbane) in response to the hundreds of people who come though our doors armed with the stats that prove social selling is having traction. 

The bootcamp will introduce and build on the key new concepts and skills required to create and implement a successful social media strategy for B2B sales. You will walk away with an action plan that will be followed up by the instructor after the session to ensure you are implementing what you have learnt.

Qualifying prospects via social selling - did they read the info we sent?

I wonder how many times in the last century a well-meaning salesperson has been sent away “happy” from a sales call because the prospect asked them to “send me some information”, and they dutifully email off the company profile and some brochures.

The follow up phone call goes unanswered. How do we know whether or not the prospect actually looked at what we sent?

At Carpe Diem we prefer to talk about social selling WORKFLOWS rather than social media PLATFORMS, but every now and then the capabilities of a specific platform make us sit up and take notice.

We believe that social selling is really about “listening”, “publishing” and “participating in communities” – but tools such as Postwire interestingly deliver the “publishing” piece, whilst at the same time allowing us to “listen” to see whether the prospect is responding.

Postwire involves setting up individual web pages for individual prospects/customers and then posting information within that page that we believe is of interest to them.  The prospect/customer accepts the invitation to review the page (and is free to review the information we send to them) which we can regularly update over time.

What a great situation to be in if the prospect/customer accepts our Postwire invitation. We can regularly update the information contained in our Postwire page, with that page wedged into our customer’s browser’s bookmarks.

If we’re smart, we’ll AVOID putting information about our company and our products - information which frankly is extremely BORING to our customers.  We could however provide thought leadership pieces, case studies, checklists etc – using content marketing principles to position ourselves in the minds of the customers.

The trouble is, how do we know if they’re reviewing the stuff we serve up?

What’s great about Postwire (and other platforms such as SlideShare that has similar functionality) is that it reports back to us on whether or not the customer accesses our information. Furthermore, it tells us which pieces they access and when, as well as a convenient form for them to provide us with feedback.

In summary, if we accept that the knowledge as to whether or not a customer reads what we send them is a valuable qualifying tool, why wouldn’t we use these sorts of platforms to deliver information to customers rather than just “email it out”?

To learn more about social selling and how to increase your sales by using social media, attend our full-day training bootcamp: Leveraging social media for sales success, taking place in Sydney (Oct 2013) and Brisbane (Nov 2013). 

Digital Marketer of the Future – 4 trends disrupting the way we work

By Melanie McKinney, Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting. 

Last week's blog was all about the exponential change that is effecting the Digital Marketer of the Future. This week's blog is all about the 4 trends that are disrupting the way we, as marketers, work. 

1. New customer journey

• Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT)

Before consumers are purchasing, they use the web to talk to peers and find out information about the product or service they are thinking about buying. Find out more here: Zero Moment of Truth. 

• Consideration of Omni-channel rather than Multi-channel.

Multi-channel means different messaging comes from different channels all around the same product / company.

Omni-channel means a unified customer experience that acknowledges the different ways the product is marketed and purchased. All channels need to be fully integrated.

• Mobile landscape shifting rapidly

- In 2013 mobile internet usage will overtake desktop usage
- Australia has 2^nd largest mobile penetration in the world
- 41% use mobile as primary device for accessing social networking sites
- 36% use mobile as primary device for search
- The scariest thing about these facts are that in Australia, people spend 30% of media time on their mobile but the advertising industry is spending only 0.001% of their budget on mobile.

Impact?

• It’s never been more important to understand HOW your customers buy and how that changes your strategy. This effects B2B too – they way your customers buy has changed. You can learn more about this at our How to get on your buyer’s shortlist event, taking place all over Australia.
• It’s never been more important to understand how marketing activity translates into business objectives.

2. Social reengineering

• Social media shouldn’t be about “media” (which media platforms you use), it’s now all about the “social” part.  It is about changing the whole company’s relationship with consumers.
• Australians spend more time on social networks than anywhere else in the world. This creates a huge opportunity for marketers whether you are B2C or B2B. If your company isn’t social, you will miss out on sales.
• Read about the first crowdsourced Nissan Z

Impact?

• Collaboration is essential to make your company social. Cross-functional teams with shared decision-making.
• Marketers should stop trying to “own” social media and get everybody in the business involved. They should manage this process and facilitate this process – not get in the way.

3. Multi-screening  

Multi-tasking is standard.

 

80% use smartphones while:

• watching tv 48%
• using internet 34%
• watching film 29%
• playing video games 16%
• listening to music 46%

 Plus:

• People under 30 years old can do 5.4 things at once
• People who are 40+ can do 1.2 things at once

Impact?

• Are you just promoting your products / services on one screen or are you building multi-screen experiences for the multi-screen consumers? 

5. The Singularity

Ray Kurzweil (The transcendent man): “Technology is progressing at such a rate that it will intersect and surpass the processing power of the human brain”. He predicts this will happen 2029.

Scary stuff? It’s actually happening.

Examples:

• Connected devices - Evrythng
• Smart technology – Start Cap and Outback Steak House birthday chair 
• Wearable technology – Neurowear   

Impact?

• Are you building a culture of experimentation in your company?
• Have you found the right partners?
• Are you ready to fail sometimes?

 Panel pointers 

A few key pieces of advice from the panel experts:

• John Batistich - Director of Marketing - Westfield Group
• Matt James - Managing Director - Mi9 Media
• Niall Mckinney - CEO - The Knowledge Engineers

What skills do people now need?

• Businesses need their teams to collaborate; marketers now need deep technology skills and a large mirage of skill bases including sales, technology, and analytical skills. Matt James.
• Skills are only part of the mix. Test and learn with a sense of urgency and have the ability to take people with you. Encourage curiosity, creativity and imagination – this will allow you to adapt through this change. John Batistich.
• Digital is no longer a department. Data and data scientists are now no longer a small group of geeks – they’ve gone mainstream. John Batistich.

How to find people with this kind of talent?

• Recruit through social networks. There’s been a big change in the way we recruit from recruiting only when we need it to on-going recruitment so we create a talent pool or a talent pipeline. Create relationships now, then when / if a role comes up, you’re ready to go. John Batistich.

How to get your senior management to build this culture?

• Find out who the blockers are and who needs to be convinced – then use doses of fear (to motivate) change. John Batistich.
• Talk to them in their own language – make it highly practical and highly relevant to their business. Don’t talk blue sky and make sure you empathise with their concerns. Overusing fear can disable change too. Niall McKinney.
• Quantify it – can we afford to lose $20M if we miss out on an opportunity? Matt James.

If you work in B2B ICT and you think you / your company needs help addressing some of the issues above, download our related whitepapers on the topic. These are all specifically created for B2B ICT Sales and Marketing staff. You can also use our useful tool to evaluate the effectiveness of your content marketing program against the needs of the modern B2B buyer.

To learn more about the new customer journey, come to our How to get on your buyer’s shortlist event, taking place in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne which is aimed specifically at B2B ICT Sales and Marketing Directors. Spaces are limited so register today.

Digital Marketer of the Future – exponential change

By Melanie McKinney, Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting. 

I went along to the Digital Marketing of the Future event last week - run by the IAB (Internet Advertising Bureau) and The Knowledge Engineers.  We were presented with insightful and forward-thinking content and a view we could not complain about (the venue was the top of Sydney Tower with panoramic views)! This week's blog is all about the changing digital landscape and will be followed next week with a blog identifying the 4 key trends disrupting the way we work. 

Speakers:

• Sam Yorke –  Acting CEO & Head of Regulatory Affairs - IAB
• Niall McKinney – CEO – The Knowledge Engineers 

Panellists:

• John Batistich – Director of Marketing – Westfield Group
• Matt James – Managing Director – Mi9 Media

The changing landscape

With statistics such as “Digital ad spend is about to overtake free-to-air TV” and “182% increase in mobile ad spend growth from 2012 to 2013” – it’s clear that the way marketers are interacting with their customers is changing – and this applies to B2B marketers too. This is partly due to the changing ways consumers (and businesses) purchase products. The progression and adoption of Digital – whether it’s simply Google searching or advergaming – has changed the way customers purchase forever. 

To set the scene, Niall McKinney, CEO of the Knowledge Engineers (and my brother!) shared a very thought-provoking quote from James Cameron who spoke with the Editor of one of TKE’s products (12ahead.com). He said: 

 “All the skills I have learned as a young film-maker have changed. Each tech skill I learned at the time is obsolete. But I am not obsolete. We created a brand new toolset to expand what we can do as story-tellers”.

Exponential change examples

“The computer in your cell phone today is a million times cheaper and a thousand times more powerful and about a hundred thousand times smaller” (than the one computer at MIT in 1965).

1. The average number (across all categories and all industries) of sources consumers use before making a purchase:

• 2010 it was 5.2
• 2011 it was 10.4
• For B2B businesses, the numbers are likely to be on the higher end of this spectrum. When a business is parting with a large amount of money they do their homework – and may have multiple people working on this homework at one time (as opposed to one consumer looking to buy a new teapot).

2. Volume of mobile data used by the average person (in the world) every year:

• 2010 it was 55MB
• 2011 it was 150MB
• 2012 mobile internet overtook fixed line in India (and in China this year).

3. Some 90% of the world’s consumer data was created in the last two years. The majority of this data is unstructured.  

What does this means to marketers and how we do business?

• Skills: The world has changed and our skills as marketers have to change with it. We are not obsolete – but we need new skills to keep on top of these changes.

• Speed: We need to be able to quickly change our business models and marketing / sales practice when it’s needed - rather than following fads.  

• Change: We need the ability to change - in our own roles and in our companies. Our places of work have to nurture this.

If you work in B2B ICT and you think you / your company needs help addressing some of the issues above, use one of our self-assessment tools to identify where your weaknesses are. These are all specifically created for B2B ICT Sales and Marketing staff: 

1. Evaluate the effectiveness of your content marketing program against the needs of the modern B2B buyer.
2. Assess your business to see if social media is being used to maximise your marketing & sales outcomes.  

To learn more about the new customer journey, come to our “How to get on your buyer’s shortlist event” taking place in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne which is aimed specifically at B2B ICT Sales and Marketing Directors. Spaces are limited so register today.

 

How to get on your buyer's shortlist - 5 key insights

By Melanie McKinney, Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting. 

Last Wednesday (29/05/13) was the first instalment of our ‘How to get on your buyer’s shortlist’ roadshow which is taking place in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane over the next two months. 

The roundtable took place over lunch for just 15 handpicked people from the B2B ITC sector and was led by Bruce Rasmussen, Founder and Managing Director of Carpe Diem Consulting. 

If you would like to attend the next roundtable, please register here. You can also download our relevant whitepaper ‘“5 tell tale signs your sales team don’t know how buyers buy” or talk directly to one of our expert consultants about our sales training courses.

1. We don’t sell how buyers buy.

The most effective way of showing how out of sync the sales process is with the buyer’s journey is this useful visual diagram we put together in 2011 which has only got more relevant as time has gone by. 

 

 

 

How to tell if you / your company is not selling how buyer’s buy:

1. Lower margins and win rates based on late engagement

2. Not enough “fresh” opportunities

3. You provide solutions to problems that may be misdiagnosed

4. You rely on building relationships to win deals 

5. Marketing generates leads – and throws them over the fence to sales

2. Identifying sales triggers

“Sales triggers” are the events that happen to buyers that move them from “calm” to “loss of status quo”.  This generally signals the start of a new buying journey.

Top 3 triggers:

1. Bad experience with current supplier

2. Awareness of need to change – to avoid a problem

3. Change of company or job role 

Download some free chapters from the book that defined “sales triggers” here.

3. Listen for sales triggers

If we can “listen” to hear when a buyer has experienced a sales trigger, then we can reach out to help them – well before our competitors. 

There are an array of tools and methods to listen to for sales triggers: 

1. Bad experiences 

• If people are unhappy with their current supplier – they talk – people love to complain when things aren’t going well!

• You can watch your prospects / clients on Twitter e.g. search for complaints such as “mobile phone network rubbish!” or “printing company sucks” etc.

2. Awareness of need to change / problem

• When buyers first recognise they have a problem, they will generally type their problem into Google – to see who else has that problem, to find out how to fix it etc.

• We want our websites packaged with the keywords used when customers type their problems into Google – we want them to land on our page (SEO).

• Customers will also often share their problems with their peers in online groups and forums – we need to be there listening and ready to help. 

3. Change of company or job role

• Interestingly buyers often buy something when they have a new company and/or job role

• Keep an eye on your prospects and clients so you never lose track of where they are

• IKO-System accesses your LinkedIn profile and sends you an alert every time someone on your “watch list” moves company or job.  

4. Sales profile types who can create sales triggers

Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson from the Corporate Executive Board report in their book that there are 5 main types of sales people. Which one can you identify with? 

The hard worker

• Always willing to go the extra mile

• Doesn’t give up easily

• Self-motivated

• Interested in feedback and development 

The challenger

• Always has a different view of the world

• Understands the customer’s business

• Loves to debate

• Pushes the customer

The relationship builder 

• Builds strong advocates in customer organisation

• Generous in giving time to help others

• Gets along with everyone 

The lone wolf

• Follows own instincts

• Self-Assured

• Difficult to control 

The problem solver

• Reliably responds to internal and external stakeholders

• Ensures that all problems are solved

• Detail-oriented

Only one of the above can truly create sales triggers – the Challenger. These sales people focus on pushing customers' thinking, introducing new solutions to their problems and illuminating problems customers overlook.  Instead of listening for sales triggers – Challengers create them. 

5. Shattering the status quo

Be different - TEACH

• Offer insight that no others can
• Communicate – and foster communication

Be knowledgeable - TAILOR

• Know what the customer values
• Know what drives the customer’s success

Be assertive - CONTROL

• Discuss the money
• Keep the customer moving

Next steps

If you want to know more about the buyers journey and other topics raised in this blog, register now for our ‘How to get on your buyer’s shortlist’ taking place in CBD Sydney July 30. We are bringing the roadshow to Brisbane and Melbourne in July too, so if you’re interested in attending or co-hosting, please email me.

Carpe Diem Consulting has a range of training and consultancy packages based on all of the topics raised in this blog. Our model has been tried and tested hundreds of times with some of Australia’s leading ITC companies such as Microsoft, Optus and CA Technologies. Some of our most popular courses in 2013 include:

• Social media for sales training

• Content marketing training

• Sales process development training 

• Challenger sales training 

Contact me for more information on any of these training courses. 

Social selling global insights - part 2

By Melanie McKinney, Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting.

My previous post gave an introduction to the scary stats which show a general lack of understanding of social selling among sales people and some insights from the Huthwaite Future Forum. For this post I wanted to share the most useful top tips for social selling from the event. Read part 1 here.

5 top tips for implementing social selling:

1. Once you’ve come to the party, you’ve got to stay – and track everything! (Christ Collacott).
2. Celebrate the small wins and make sure it spreads across the organisation. (Marie Sornin).
3. Go and talk to your customers and ask them how they use social media, where do they get their information from, how can you engage differently with them, should marketing be providing information in a more contextual fashion? (John Golden).
4. Trust is key to getting that meeting / putting forward a proposal and catalysing that into a sale. To get trust, share content that you know your audience needs. Remember people only care about what makes them better and stronger in their jobs, if we cater to this then they will reciprocate with trust – not in 2 days, but in time. If the content is consistent around what they need, they will trust you. Always put your own insight into the content. It may take a year to get that meeting, trust needs to be built up slowly and over time, but it does pay off. (Tom Skotidas).
5. Give stuff for free – don’t force people to give you their details every time they download a piece of content. If we hold back and don’t give them things, they will either find it somewhere else or they will just get irritated. Don’t "give to get" and try to let go of control. (John Golden).

 

5 expert insights for the future:

• Google+. Facebook now has to make money so is going backwards. Also Pinterest is one to watch (but only if your customers are on there). Remember it’s not always good to be an early adopter – listen and learn. (Danielle Di-Masi).
• We will see a resurgence in blogging – positioning people as thought leaders and experts. (Chris Collacott).
• Social and search (searchial) – predictive solutions. Digital and mobile platforms will be able to provide you with content before you have searched for it. Make sure we create our digital footprint now e.g. mobile, location based – then in the future we will have good foundations. (Marie Sornin).
• Emergence of personal brand. Providing your customers with insights and relevant information which blur the line between marketing and sales. (Tom Skotidas).
• The line between sales and marketing will be so blurred a new role will be created, maybe with a new name. Sales people have to know what’s going on in the industry and they have to know the businesses of their buyers. They don’t usually understand anything other than the selling process but they will need business acumen plus skills in research, patience, discipline, micro-marketing, AND the selling part. The successful sales person is going to be different from the one today and will require a lot of training and investment to ensure they have all of these different components. (John Golden).

 

Social selling global insights - part 1

By Melanie McKinney, Marketing Consultant at Carpe Diem Consulting. 

Last Wednesday (8/5/13) I was fortunate to be able to attend the Huthwaite Future Forum which was about the all-important topic of social selling. We were joined by our fantastic panellists: 

• John Golden, CEO & President, Huthwaite
• Matt Loop, Head of Sales Solutions, LinkedIn
• Marie Sornin, Social Media Director, Fairfax Media
• Tom Skotidas, Director, Skotidas
• Chris Collacott, Senior Digital Marketing Manager, Deloitte
• Danielle Di-Masi, Business Etiquette & Digital Relationship Expert

What follows is a selection of learnings, quotes and insights from the forum, created especially for our readers of the Carpe Diem Consulting blog. I’ve split this into 2 parts, with part 2 to follow.

Many of the themes brought up during the discussion were about taking back control of the buyer’s journey and interacting with your buyers in an insightful way at the right time. This is the theme of the series of lunchtime roundtable events we’re running at Carpe Diem Consulting: How to get on your buyer’s shortlist. For more details and to enquire about attending, please email me.

Scary “Setting the scene” statistics:

The results of the 2012 Sales Management Association survey of sales managers and sales leaders found:

• 96% use LinkedIn at least once a week
• 80% believe work would be more productive if social media was used properly
• 11% had formalised customer facing social media efforts for sales, compared to 82% for marketing  
• Majority thought customers were more astute with using social media than they were
• Few have had social media training  
• 67% disagree or strongly disagree that they have had sufficient training
• Social selling remains an ambition - not reality - at most B2B organisations today. (Adam Thorpe).

5 best summaries of social selling:

1. It’s still selling - you still need to find the right people to engage with, listen, then contribute something of value. If you’re not a skilled sales person offline, you wont suddenly be amazing in social selling! (John Golden).
2. It’s about building a brand, growing demand, and generating leads – all in a trackable way. (Toby Skotidas). 
3. Social media has changed selling into a cycle, not a funnel. (Marie Sornin).
4. It’s about being in a much better position to contact people in the right way, at the right time, so we can contact people in a consultancy way, not in a salesy way. (Matt Loop). 
5. Think about it this way - if you wouldn’t go up to someone at an event and just start suddenly listing out your products and prices, then why would we act like that online? (Danielle Di-Masi). 

5 biggest challenges to overcome:

1. Management: In B2B, social selling is a surgeon approach – providing stuff to people that is useful means we need reflection, and being being able to write in this way takes time. The time required to do social selling is at odds with your job spec – which is usually to sell stuff fast. Your manager needs to allow you to develop those skills and reflect. There needs to be an allowance for sales people to develop those skills and training must take place. (Tom Skotidas).
2. Mind set: There needs to be an evolution of thinking. Bosses allow people to go to networking events, but if they catch them in a LinkedIn group they are usually in trouble for not being “out there” selling. (John Golden).
3. Training: There needs to be a process in place which is on-going consulting or training, so that the learnings actually gets implemented. It’s a habit that needs to be built into the muscle structure of your company. Most companies don’t focus on long term – senior management need to change their thinking. (Tom Skotidas).
4. Blurring of Sales and Marketing lines: Marketing needs to go further into the sales process than ever before. And Marketing needs to learn some of the skills previously associated with selling. Marketing and sales have to be comfortable with the blurring of the lines. (John Golden).
5. Inauthenticity: If you think of something cool and immediately post it, it is spontaneous but not necessarily authentic. Identify content which is useful to a specific audience - Marketing can help Sales to distribute the content in the right way. It’s still spontaneous, but it’s also authentic and authenticity is more important than spontaneity. (Tom Skotidas).