Social Media’s Rules of Engagement

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Telesales, B2B Telemarketing, B2B Inside Sales Agency and B2B Marketing Agency serving Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle) and all 50 United States. Partner with a client centric B2B Market Agency that puts skin in the game… from strategic Telemarketing Services to Experiential Event Marketing.

This week’s entry comes to us again from Lauren Carlson, a CRM analyst for the website Software Advice. Recently she chatted with an author about the rules of engagement in social media marketing:

Some people have gained so much notoriety in their respective fields that their names are almost synonymous with the field itself. When it comes to new media and social business, that person is Brian Solis. Principal of Altimeter Group, Solis has worked with many Fortune 500 companies and authored several books. I recently got a chance to sit down with him for the Software Advice website and talk social media and the evolving customer-vendor landscape.

image via flickr

We all know that social and mobile technologies have changed the way customers act and interact. This idea of customer centricity is not a new concept. However, Solis takes it a step further by calling this landscape or environment the “Egosystem.” The Egosystem is differentiated from traditional customer centricity in that the customer is at the center of, or owns, the experience. Yes, customers have always been the focus for companies, but it was the company that dictated the nature of the relationship and the rules of engagement, if you will. Thanks to social media and smartphones, the customer has immensely increased access to information outlets. They can ask product and service questions via multiple online and mobile channels without ever having to contact the actual vendor. They are in control. I think it is the shift of control that differentiates what Solis calls the “Egosystem” from tradional ideas of customer centricity.

But how do companies survive in the “Egosystem?” Customers do not want traditional communication and relationships. Instead they want engagement. Solis defined engagement by using six elements:

  • Value
  • Efficiency
  • Trust
  • Consistency
  • Relevancy
  • Control

I break down each of these individually in my original post.

Lauren Carlson, CRM Analyst

Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class B2B Telesales, B2B telemarketing and B2B Inside Sales strategies.  We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our B2B Telesales, B2B Telemarketing and Telemarketing Services to your specific needs.

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales

 


Sales Force Automation: Then and Now

Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Telesales, B2B Telemarketing, B2B Inside Sales Agency and B2B Marketing Agency serving Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle) and all 50 United States. Partner with a client centric B2B Market Agency that puts skin in the game… from strategic Telemarketing Services to Experiential Event Marketing.

This week’s entry comes to us from Lauren Carlson, a CRM  analyst of SoftwareAdvice.com.  We agree with Ms. Carlson’s talking points because any par or superstar embraced the tools of SFA. If you were subpar or not doing your job then maybe the case was you didn’t want to use anything.

The rate of adoption of sales force automation (SFA) software by B2B sales professionals has been traditionally low.  Many reps viewed it as a way for management to play “Big Brother” and keep a close eye on the team’s activities.  Additionally, the original SFA systems were burdensome, with poor user interfaces and data entry prcesses.

However, much of that has changed in the past 15-20 years. Many of today’s SFA solutions have a much sleeker look, can be deployed over the cloud and are flexible enough to match the individual’s needs instead of the other way around.  Now, instead of being a kludgy pain in the sales person’s neck, SFA has become one of their most powerful tools.  Lauren Carlson, a writer for the Software Advice website recently wrote an article about this.  Below are the four high-level trends she says have driven acceptance and adoption of SFA software.

1.  SaaS technology improved implementation.  Traditional client/server systems required long implementation times, as well as a large investment in internal IT.  Today, most SFA systems are deployed over the web, removing the need for IT involvement and a drawn-out installation.

2.  Cloud increases accessibility.  Many sales professionals are not operating from a single location.  They are out on the road, meeting with clients, closing deals and finding new ones.  Cloud technology has made it possible for these remote reps to take the power of the SFA system with them, no matter where they go.  This increased accessibility means no duplicate data entry and easy access to vital client information.

3.  Advanced analytics increases SFA’s value.  In the past, SFA served primarily as a contact manager.  Today’s systems are equipped with sophisticated analytics and third-party integration capabilities, resulting in a much more powerful tool.  Now, users can access valuable information on the pipeline, quotas and opportunities that weren’t available before.

4.  Improved processes compressed the sales cycle.  The key to sales force automation is that last word — automation. Newer systems have process mapping capabilities and built-in best practices to not only automate your existing processes, but enhance and improve upon them. This results in a reduced sales cycle and higher win rates.

These are just a few high-level trends that have shaped adoption of SFA software.  You can read about them in more depth on the Software Advice blog, SFA 15 Years Later Now Every Rep’s Best Friend.

by Lauren Carlson, CRM Analyst

Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class B2B Telesales, B2B telemarketing and B2B Inside Sales strategies.  We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution. Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our B2B Telesales, B2B Telemarketing and Telemarketing Services to your specific needs.

SalesFish Net of Sales Services:

  • B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
  • On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
  • B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
  • Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
  • Online Presentations and Webinars
  • Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
  • Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
  • Experiential Event Marketing
  • Pre and Post-Event Calls
  • Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales