Selling Through Someone Else: How to Use Agile Sales Networks and Partners to Sell More

Chapter 13

Using Social Media to Engage Buyers, Empower Sellers, and Reinvent the Sales Process

Kari Kaario and Jason Breed

Special acknowledgment to Tom Sjöberg for his contributions to this chapter.

 

Chapter Summary

• The demand for more complex solutions is, understandably, forcing sales organizations to rethink how they operate and engage with customers.
• Existing sales models impede the flow of information and collaboration among salespeople and other potentially relevant players, compromising the sales force's effectiveness and responsiveness.
• Social media logic and tools can be applied to the sales force to help salespeople target the right prospects, get access to key information quickly when crafting a solution, and share results and insights with the larger organization.

As sales-enabling technologies have evolved over the years, B2B companies have witnessed a significant shift in their customers' expectations. Customers increasingly want to simplify the buying experience and are looking for a company or group of companies to provide a single solution that meets their needs.

This change in customer mind-set has put pressure on many companies—especially those in the machine-building, construction, and technology industries, as well as other businesses that are dependent on an installed base—to make the transition from providing products to selling more comprehensive and multifaceted solutions that combine machinery and hardware, software and services. With this shift comes ...