In a mad rush to achieve short-term sales objectives, and with many experts proclaiming that social selling is the panacea to get there, the heart of what constitutes sales success is often overlooked. From my perspective, what’s missing is a focus on the bigger picture. After all, it takes more than a well written social profile or a few connections, clicks and likes to achieve sales objectives.
Thanks to social networks and the internet prospects begin the buying process without the involvement of sales 60%-80% of the time. With the ability to educate themselves quickly and independently about products, solutions and the companies who sell them, salespeople are no longer primarily needed for early stage education. When buyers do agree to a sales conversation, they don’t want their time wasted. They need to know that you can help them solve business problems they cannot solve on their own. For many salespeople, this new reality is a struggle. They’ve been taught to do the feature/benefit/demo dance and that’s a tough habit to break.
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