The Sales Café

Everyone's got a LinkedIn account, right? If you are a sales executive and you don't, then hasten to LinkedIn right now and create one. I'll wait.

Let's face it, LinkedIn is the ultimate personal sales tool - meaning, it's an incredible tool for selling yourself and networking with business contacts. It's definitely the best resource and reference aid when you are job hunting. It's different from most social media outlets in that it's about social business - connecting with your industry and corporate contacts, rather than your family and friends.

As of May 2010, LinkedIn boasts more than 66 million members, with nearly 34 million in the U.S. alone. (See more stats here.) That's a big number, but I am often surprised at how many sales executives don't have LinkedIn accounts, or just don't use the accounts they've set up.

If you have put off creating one until now, you must be thinking either (a) it's too difficult to maintain or (b) you are too high up in the corporate ladder or too established in your current position to need one. Both are not true. It's very easy to maintain a LinkedIn account and it's becoming too vital as a tool in your networking belt to eschew. What's difficult is putting it to good use on a consistent basis even when you're not looking for a new job.

It takes only a little extra effort to get the most from LinkedIn. The key is automating your account so that all you really have to do is just keep adding contacts.

After the initial steps of creating your LinkedIn account [which are:  signing up, adding your resume highlights, posting your photo (yes, you really need a head shot), and connecting with as many of your contacts as you can find on the site], here are three actions that will propel you to the next level of LinkedIn.

1. Broaden your network. LinkedIn provides excellent statistics on your existing network of contacts. When you see a summary of your network, you get an instant picture of where you've focused in your career and an idea of where you might want to expand moving forward. You don the same with your business, right? To find the stats on your network, go to your list of Contacts and then click on the Network Statistics link.
2. Join groups. A LinkedIn Group keeps you connected in subtle ways. I get automatic email updates from my list of LinkedIn Groups. It's a quick reference to what people are talking about and what topics are hot within those groups.
3. Add your blog feed. This is an excellent way to add personality and thought leadership [industry buzz word] to your profile. I use a LinkedIn application called Blog Link. Every time I post to any of the blogs I write, the app automatically updates my profile.

There are so many more things you can do to become a LinkedIn power user - even beyond having hundreds of contacts in your network. These three steps will get you started.

Why bolster your LinkedIn? Because today, building your online presence is more important than it once was to build your local presence. What's the first thing you do when you're interested in working with or buying something from someone? It most likely involves Google. In the business world, it really should include LinkedIn.

Yes, I have a LinkedIn account and No, I don't use it enough. Connect with me on LinkedIn and then join me for the next few months in working just a little harder to get the most from using it. If you do, you'll be able to read the updates on my progress right from your news feed, automatically.

Have you ever seen the "Will it Blend?" video series? It's a series of videos of a guy named Tom Dickson in a white lab coat using a high-powered blender to blend  objects you never thought to blend. (Check out the sacrilegious blending of an iPhone 4 here.)

I think some organizations regard blending sales and marketing in the same way Dickson throws objects into his Blendtec blender - with disdain. (A vuvuzela?)

What really is the difference between sales and marketing? Aren't we all (salespersons and marketers) trying to achieve the same goal - more sales?

If that's true - that both groups are working toward the same goal - why is there such animosity between the two groups in so many organizations? I think that the end goal is the same, but the approach and mindset are different.

A million years ago, when I worked in the publishing world, there was a distinct, and stated, difference between sales and writing/editing, a veritable "separation of church and state," as we called it. As a reporter/writer, it was a wonderful excuse to remain objective about a topic. We turned a blind eye to the concerns of the advertisers and left it all up to the sales people. We didn't let the size of advertising budgets enter our consciousness - until we got some nudging from an editor.

That separatist thinking creeps into the relationship between sales and marketing groups, creating the schism that often exists between sales and marketing teams. I've heard so many times from sales people: "I don't do marketing. I don't believe in it." On the other hand, I've heard the same from marketing types (including myself): "I'm not good at sales."

In this separatist world, the marketing group creates the content, works on sales tools and collateral, often ignoring the fact that they are really acting as sales people.

According to my colleague, Pete Krammer, sales people today must take on more of a marketing role to be successful. I believe the same can be said for marketing - to be truly successful, we need to think of ourselves more as sales people. That might mean that I extend marketing campaigns all the way through the sale to closing, not just handing off materials like a baton to the sales team.

I guess the bigger question is:  Sales and marketing, will it blend?

It seems that some people were born with the genetic makeup to do their job. A case in point is the New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz. Mr. Shortz has gained prominence in his job as the puzzle king for the past 16 years at The Times and was the subject of the 2006 documentary about crossword puzzles, Wordplay.

For me, reading his story (which you can see at Talk to The Times: Crossword Editor Will Shortz) brought up the inevitable question, can you excel at your job if you are not predisposed in some way to that job? Do you have to be "born to sell" in order to be a successful sales leader?

What do you think?

People buy from people. Trite but true, whether it's B-to-B, B-to-C, complex or simple business relationships. Successful salespeople never lose sight of that little fact. Talk to one and ask them. Look in the mirror and ask yourself!

What complicates things is how many options there are for meeting people, from Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook to plain old networking meetings held by local organizations, and everything in-between. Perhaps no matter how much your company spends on marketing, sooner or later, the buyer is going to check YOU out, on their own, without your knowledge. They want to see if you're the kind of person they want to do business with.

Knowing that, how will you position yourself? Do you want to portray a conservative persona on LinkedIn and a cool one on Facebook? Would you rant on Twitter or "keep your powder dry" knowing that your potential customer might be shopping you instead of your company? One thing is for sure, when everybody shops the Web, your presence is required and your privacy is not the buyer's concern. 

Companies spend an enormous amount of energy and money trying to control the buyer-seller conversation on their websites. However the trip shoppers take, of their own choosing, on their way to a buying decision tells us an interesting story. When we analyze the traffic on our own site, we see people moving from the home page to the blog, to the team page and then out of the site, moving on definitely to LinkedIn and probably to Facebook or Twitter. I think this is common.

So, the moral is YOU, whether you are the owner, CEO, VP Sales, or an account executive, may have more to do with how enticing your product or service looks to the buyer than any feature, benefit or research paper that the marketing department can come up with.    

ELA's lead generation survey results are in!  Nearly all respondents are from or with sales organizations where they are responsible for the relationship or partnership with their customers. Everyone expects salespeople to generate new leads, every month.

The best return on time invested included local networking/public speaking and asking for referrals.  Over 80% thought the lead generation approach used was vital or important to developing trust.

Respondent advice on lead generation ideas sorted into four primary buckets.

• 1) Reward lead generation activity as part of overall sales process
• 2) Focus on the Customer in all interactions
• 3) Be professional including making and keeping commitments to prospects
• 4) Always provide value by knowing your product and value proposition

Since relationships are based on trust, then the lead generation approaches like asking for referrals, networking, and public speaking must cultivate trust between the prospect and the sales person.  Let's create a list of tips for each approach that are both effective and build trust.  I will post a short ELA RTG blog entry on each approach over the next few weeks.  You can enhance the approach by adding your comments and ideas. 

Thank you to all who participated.

Creating a trusting customer relationship is at the core of every B2B or B2C salesperson's role. Sales is a company's face to the customer. Whether talking on the telephone or in person, the salesperson's goal is to make a connection with the customer. Through that interaction, the prospect and/or customer develops the trust that results in a buy decision. 

Salespeople are generally expected to generate their own leads in addition to those generated by marketing. Their ability to do so is the difference between success and dashed expectations. A salesperson who has confidence that their lead generation approach creates trust will be motivated to repeat the approach. 

What is the best way for salespeople to generate new leads while fostering a trusting customer/sales relationship? 

Please click on the link below to participate in ELA's six question Business Development Survey: Generating Leads and Building Trust. Share what you think is the role of a salesperson in arranging the initial customer meeting. Offer your ideas for approaches that lay the foundation for a trusting relationship. By sharing, you will receive a summary report of the results including a list of ideas to improve lead generation performance in your sales organization or territory.

Please click here to take the short (only 6 questions!) ELA Consulting Group Lead Generation Survey!