PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE!™

You’ve heard it: Television will kill radio. Video killed the radio star. And social media and the Internet will eliminate the time-consuming, face-to-face aspect of sales. Um, no.

Marketing automation, CRM, social media, and other technology tools empower us to sell more efficiently and cost-effectively. But if you think back over your most successful business deals, I bet face-to-face, person-to-person, high-touch communication—a phone call, a video conference, or (best of all) an in-person meeting—accelerated your sales process time and time again.

Even in Sales 3.0, the most powerful tool in your sales toolbox is still you!

Relationships Still Rule in Sales

Technology has certainly changed the way we gather information about prospects. It’s also changed how they gather information about us and what they expect of us. And if you’re not active on social media, you’re about five steps behind everyone else. But when it comes to how we sell (you know, person to person) not much has changed.

Executives are busy people. Most don’t have “meet with salesperson” at the top of their to-do lists. Our job as smart, strategic sales pros is to deliver value—real value. And technology won’t do that for us, nor will it give us a huge advantage over our competitors, who (let’s face it) have access to the same gadgets, gizmos, and applications.

What will give you an edge is having a personal connection to prospects, understanding what our buyers want from us, delivering results, and having a well-nurtured network of people who are ready and willing to refer you. That’s right—it’s still who you know that counts.

Technology and Sales and Referrals

Success is Sales 3.0 is about the marriage of the old (relationships and referrals) with the new (technology). Each of these has its place in sales. In fact, they are interwoven, interdependent, and inextricably connected. The trick is leveraging the invaluable sales intelligence that new technologies provide—and knowing when it’s time to put away the toys, pick up the damn phone, and have a grown-up, face-to-face conversation.

In Pick Up the Damn Phone!™, you’ll discover:

• How everything (and nothing) has changed in Sales 3.0
• What Buyer 3.0 expects from you
• How to balance technology with the personal connection
• Why face to face matters more now than ever
• Why trust trumps technology
• How social media has (and hasn’t) changed the way we sell
• How to make LinkedIn work for you
• How to leverage social selling
• Which technology tools are worth your time
• How to enable your virtual team to better collaborate
• Why referral selling still trumps all other prospecting strategies
• How to nurture your referral network—online and offline