Marketing Needed For Sales 2.1

The concept of Sales 2.0 comes to the forefront of any discussion about b-to-B sales automation technologies. Since its “breakout” in November of 2007, the Sales 2.0, technology-first mantra has drowned out the business realities of how sales and selling needs to adapt to an evolved buyer. Concepts like the buying cycle, sales and marketing integration, sales readiness, knowledge management, and collaboration all need to be interpreted and incorporated into the planning process before any technology can bring to these ideals to life.

Buying 2.0 is a better metaphor for the buying/selling interactions of today’s selling environment as the hunter has become the hunted. Buyers are more informed and seek information independent of sales. Buyers have access to overwhelming amounts of information, but seek intelligence they can trust to support their decision making process. How sales people want to sell has little impact on how buyers are choosing to buy. The knowledge-driven buyer has raised the bar for sales people to be more informed and better prepared to bring value to the interaction.

Technology is the driver behind the shift in buyer/selling behaviors, but more so in terms of its impact on the buyer rather than the seller. Buying 2.0 amplifies the power technology has given buyers and further increases marketing’s role throughout the buying process beyond demand creation. Buyers seek out knowledge in their education phase independent of a campaign or cold call. Content, collaboration and knowledge drives marketing’s messaging impact into the opportunity. Pipeline acceleration initiatives and nurturing strategies further influence the buying dynamic. Measuring marketing’s contribution and improving its ability to target their initiative’s puts marketing in the cross-hairs of sales productivity. Sales and marketing integration is a requirement for success in the next “new” economy.

In December of 2007, SiriusDecisions published our initial view of Sales 2.0 in the research brief, Sales 2.0; Don’t Believe the Hype. Just published this week to the SiriusDecisions research portal is our next piece, Sales 2.0; Time to Move On?, which elaborates on why marketing is needed for Sales 2.1.

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Responding to the Changing Buyer

Your post raises an important point and places emphasis on the correct direction of the evolution.

The nature of the B2B buyer has changed, and our marketing and sales strategies must consequently evolve ... not the other way around.

I discussed this in a talk I gave last week at OMS in Portland and Seattle -- which I (ironically) titled Engagement 2.0. The idea I was developing is that there is an increasing gap between buyers and sales, and sales if getting pushed further and further down the proverbial 'funnel.' So the new role for marketing is to not only engage with the buyer but also to re-engage with sales -- tying the two together and being the catalyst for the dialogue. But this is not happening as a sales/marketing 'push' ... it is instead responding to new buyer 'pull.'

And that is why the issue is more one of Buyer 2.0 than of Sales 2.0 or Marketing 2.0.

But I would stress -- consistent with some of your comments -- that this is not only a technology thing. Technology has supported a savvy B2B buyer, but it has been accompanied by new behaviors, as well. Our transition as marketing and sales organizations requires new, buyer-centric strategies as well as technology systems to support efficient buyer-centricity.

Yes our job is to make the process more efficient for sales nd marketing organizations ... but the real job of marketing is to optimize market potential and to develop revenues (more than it is to take cost out of the equation). That requires more efficiently engaging with the B2B buyer, developing a new, heightened capability for sensing and responding to buyers needs and engaging in real/substantive dialogue.

So it is critical that we keep our eye focused on the real issue -- Buyer 2.0 -- and build our sales/marketing 'machine' him/her.

Great post. Great dialogue.

Posted By: Adam Needles(visitor). [2009-07-09 09:44:45] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

Don't we need both?

Joe,
It's hard to argue that sales & marketing alignment is critical to the success of Sales 2.0.
As you point out, buyers have the power of the Internet at their disposal to be more educated. But what about the sales professional? Surveys say that more than half of them are not using social media & the Internet to be smarter about the needs of their customers.
Wouldn't a more educated sales professional make life easier for an educated buyer?
At InsideView, we think so, and we've made it our mission to help sales people become smarter.

Posted By: Umberto Milletti(visitor). [2009-06-29 19:06:09] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

How Marketing Can Leverage Sales 2.0 for Greater Sales Success

As the founder of the first Sales 2.0 conference in 2007, I totally agree that the Sales 2.0 umbrella has to be wide enough to encompass marketing so they can adapt to the “evolved buyer”. In fact at our last Sales 2.0 conference, in San Francisco of this year, I moderated a panel of CMOs and we explored ways that marketers are utilizing Sales 2.0 to better align with Sales and better connect with their customers. As you pointed out, it’s really all about the buyer and establishing a conversation with that buyer when they are ready to engage – whether that’s in response to an email invitation from Marketing to a webinar on a topic of interest or a direct tweet from a Sales rep responding to a question. The challenge for vendors is to continually expand marketing capabilities to encompass the broadening sphere of “conversations” (across social networks as well as via chat, web conferencing, etc.) while always keeping Sales in the loop, so Sales can connect with the prospect when the prospect is ready to engage.

Posted By: David Thompson(visitor). [2009-06-26 17:02:35] View Comments (0) | Add a Comment | Permalink | Top

History
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     Responding to the Changing Buyer [2009-07-09 : by Adam Needles]
     Don't we need both? [2009-06-29 : by Umberto Milletti]
     How Marketing Can Leverage Sales 2.0 for Greater Sales Success [2009-06-26 : by David Thompson]