"Collaboration" and "Community" are not just what we are doing here - they have quickly become a part of life in every function in every company. I hope that this blog will pose the question - how does this change our businesses and our relationships with customers and the market, and how does that improve what we do? Are there better, more effective ways of selling, marketing, communicating and engaging buy applying collaborative and community ideas and practices.
Hosted by Jeff Weinberger, Product Marketing, WebEx, featuring YOU.
Losing Focus
6/10/2008 | posted by
jeff.weinberger
I’ve been reading quite a bit about Sales 2.0 lately. This isn’t so much a surprise (the definition, as posted by Anneke Seley of PhoneWorks, originated here), but what I’ve been reading really is.
I think we’ve started to lose focus.
Whether it’s Sales 2.0, or the more general topic of how Web 2.0 is affecting the company-customer (seller-buyer) relationship, we’re still all talking about the technology and what you can do with this product or that one (yes ...
Read entire post
Last week, I was lucky enough to experience a microcosm of the new world of selling.
One of the biggest changes that Web2.0 has brought to the world of selling is how the people in your market (customers, prospects, and everyone else who you might want to sell to) get their information. No longer can companies (or sales reps for that matter) control the flow of information or place the spin they want on the information.
Everyone in your market is getting information from lots of sour ...
Read entire post
It's the time of year when everyone is making new year's resolutions. I trust you are, too. You're probably promising yourself to improve your life, your family and your health.
No, this is not another admonition about how unlikely you are to stick to them, and how you need support. You are and you do. You know it.
I want to ask what you're going to do to better in your selling life in 2008. Salespeople (at least I think) are the most likely to understand that small changes applied consistentl ...
Read entire post
Can you literally change your prospect's mind? According to research by Douglas Rushkoff as noted in this interesting post you can at least ask your prospect to re-think and picture the solution in a different way – one I have to hope is favorable to your proposal.
If you’re like us here at WebEx, changing your prospect’s perspective is an everyday activity. We talk to very successful sales organizations (and a few not as successful sales organizations, but don&rsq ...
Read entire post
Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco (more on that here, my presentation here). And with the leading-edge thinkers and builders of the latest Web 2.0 technologies in attendance, it might be hard to get an interesting conversation going about selling in a collaborative world.
But there was a very interesting conversation that started as I laid out the themes for Sales 2.0. As I talked about how sales reps, managers and organizations had to change to a ...
Read entire post
(If you're wondering, I'm practicing writing my New-York-Post-style headlines.)
Thursday, we held the first WebEx Sales ShowDown. We asked you - our customers, our community and anyone in sales - to come and bring your tough questions and challenge our panel of experts to help solve them.
The turnout was amazing, and the conversation fun, interesting and even rollicking at times.
Our experts were:
Mitch Tarica, VP, Corporate Sales, WebEx - Mitch runs a huge web-selling organization ...
Read entire post
This has nothing do to with selling in a collaborative world...or does it?
Last night I saw a presentation at the Society for New Communications Research (WebEx is on the vendor council). The presenter was guy who helps companies adopt new media in their communications programs.
He described a conversation with what he described as a "sterotypical old-line traditional media marketer": He asked "Do you want a blog?" to which the response was an emphatic "NO". ...
Read entire post
In the spirit of the blogosphere, I made a committment to offer useful, interesting and provocative content to anyone who cared to read this. In the last month, I've been ao busy doing lots of interesting and provocative stuff, that I haven't spent the time posting it here (no excuses - just sorry I missed this).
The good news is there's lots of interesting stuff going on! Here are a few things you won't want to miss:
- The WebEx Sales Showdown (July 19, 4PM EDT/1PM PDT): We've thrown down the ...
Read entire post
Thank you to everyone who participated in the WebEx Experience On-Line User Conference session this morning on Web-Touch Selling and how WebEx Sales Center helps you engage your prospects and close deals faster.
I've opened a discussion topic in the Web-Touch selling forum where you can share your thoughts, ideas, tips and tricks, and also ask any questions that were not answered in this mornings discussion.
The recording should be available for viewing and the slides available for downloa ...
Read entire post
Your prospects are using the web to buy.
Even if you (and your competition) don't use any form of e-commerce (some things just can't be sold on a credit card), your prospects are buying on the web.
Are you selling on the web?
Yes, you are.
Long gone are the days when your prospect responds to a call, and takes your meeting. Then learns everything about you, your product, your company from your mouth (and your leave-behinds).
Now, by the time you actually have your first conversati ...
Read entire post