What is Sales 2.0?

When we sponsored the first Sales 2.0 conference in October 2007, the definition we put together for this emerging concept was pretty straightforward.

Sales 2.0 is a new category of applications that leverage
the Internet to increase sales productivity and velocity.

If our original Sales 2.0 definition seems a bit technology-centric, that's because it was (afternall, we are a technology company.) Then again the man who coined the term Sales 2.0, Nigel Edelshain, also focused on tools in his original definition, describing Sales 2.0 as "using Internet tools to boost sales performance". By early 2008 InsideView's definition of Sales 2.0 had evolved to include both technology and process.

Sales 2.0 brings together productivity tools and
processes that transform sales from an art to a science.

We have thought leaders like Anneke Seley, Trish Bertuzzi, and Nigel Edelshain to thank for this more enlightened position, having helped us come to the conclusion that tools & technologies by themselves cannot transform an organization from Sales 1.0 to Sales 2.0.

Sales 2.0 Definitions

Like any new concept, Sales 2.0 has many competing definitions that will continue to evolve and be shaped by the "media" (hey, doesn't that include all of us now?) In the meantime we have brought together as many different perspectives as possible on the topic of Sales 2.0, including everyone from industry experts to individual sales reps (lest we forget who this is all about!)

Trish Bertuzzi - President of The Bridge Group, Inc. (@bridgegroupinc)

Sales 2.0 is the effective convergence of people, process and technology. Regardless of the variations in verbiage, what remains consistent is the impact technology can have on the buying and selling process.

Nigel Edelshain - CEO of Sales 2.0 LLC (@nedelsha)

Sales 2.0 is about sales people using Web 2.0 tools and social media to sell more effectively.

Anneke Seley - CEO, PhoneWorks (@annekeseley)

Sales 2.0 is a more efficientand effective way of selling for the buyer and the seller enabled through technology.

Pelin Wood Thorogood - Board Member of Online Marketing Connect (@pelint)
Gerhard Gschwandtner - CEO of Selling Power (@gerhard20)

Sales 2.0 brings together customer-focused methodologies and productivity-enhancing technologies that transform selling from an art to a science. Sales 2.0 relies on a repeatable, collaborative and customer-enabled process that runs through the sales and marketing organization, resulting in improved productivity, predictable ROI and superior performance.

See the full list of Sales 2.0 definitions.

According to the original Wikipedia article (which now redirects to the main CRM article):

Sales 2.0 is a term describing changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications that aim to improve the speed, collaboration, customer engagement and accountability of the sales process. The Internet technology now commonly known as Web 2.0 has evolved to enable a new way of interacting, collaborating, and information sharing between sales professionals and their customers with the objective of accelerating sales cycles and increasing sales team productivity.

Sales 2.0 is the use of sales practices that are focused on creating value for both buyer and seller and enabled by Web 2.0 technologies. Sales 2.0 practices combine the science of process-driven operations with the art of collaborative relationships, using the most profitable and most expedient sales resource required to meet customers' needs. This approach produces predictable, repeatable business results, often including increased revenue through decreased sales operations costs and improved sales processes.

How is Sales 2.0 different than Sales 1.0?

Sales 1.0 refers to the traditional sales engagement model that relies on face-to-face interactions and was viewed as more of an art than a science. Sales 1.0 tactics are inefficient and difficult to leverage across multiple opportunities. In the sales 1.0 world, sales people relied on traditional face-to-face meetings and other networking opportunities like golf or athletic clubs and conferences for social activities that would help them build business relationships. They pitched their prospects without necessarily understanding how much they know about their companies or products - or even knowing if there was a compelling business event that made their product more relevant for their target. Sales 1.0 methods are now widely regarded as inefficient and non-repeatable across multiple engagements.

How is Sales 2.0 different than Web 2.0?

The term Web 2.0 describes the changing trends in the use of Internet technology to enable increased interaction, collaboration and information sharing on the Web. Web 2.0 has enabled many new trends and categories such as Social Networking, Video and other Digital Media sharing, and a boom in SaaS applications. Sales 2.0 is one of these categories enabled by Web 2.0 technology. Simply put, Web 2.0 technology powers Sales 2.0 tools and processes. Source

How is Sales 2.0 different that Enterprise 2.0?

Enterprise 2.0 refers more broadly to the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis and group messaging within the enterprise. This allows for companies to organize and improve their internal communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing processes within the enterprise.

Sales 2.0 and Social Selling Applications and Tools

• Online CRM solutions like SalesForce.com and SugarCRM allow leads to be tracked, prospected and closed.
• Social networking platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook show user generated up-to-date business contact information and key referral connections.
• Social information networks like Twitter show real-time updates of what's happening with business contacts and company changes
• Web statistics and trending aggregators like Compete.com allow you to get a close to accurate representation of website traffic and popularity
• Website blog search engines like Google Blogs search scours and parses blog posts across the web to give you recent stories, fresh updates and more about companies you are watching
• Sales intelligence applications and products like SalesView combine social media and company information with search filters called agents to find key insights that would typically be missed if not in an all-in-one solution.

The Sales 2.0 Cycle:

Traditional Sales Cycle	Sales 2.0 Cycle
Discovery - leads from a built list are scored by marketing, then analyzed and qualified and sales	Search - the new sales process begins with salespeople performing online searches for a target company from a built list.
Analyze - salespeople purchase business reports, search online company profile directories and use out-dated company website	Research - salespeople find and understand the critical information related to the target company - company news, funding developments, new product releases, leadership changes, etc - in a one-stop sales intelligence solution
Definition - through cold call or elongated email setup, initial sales presentation is pitched detailing the benefits of the product or service.	Contact - salespeople look up key company decision makers and contact directly.
Initiation & Negotiation - introduction, discussion and finalization of sales terms for the product or service being offered.	Negotiation - using traditional sales techniques leveraged with social media and sales intelligence insights, salespeople start the standard sales cycle.
Delivery - product or service is delivered and followed-up with evaluation	Close - impressed by the knowledge and understanding of the sales angle and the benefit of the product/service, the customer makes the decision to purchase.

Customers have changed - so should your selling methods

The time of selling on the golf course has come and gone. Technology is becoming more important than ever as big business are now online and using social media. Sales 2.0 allows salespeople to gain the most up-to-date knowledge and insight they need, without having to spend hours of research to do so. Win rates will increase and sales cycles will decrease and companies that did not make the transformational shift towards selling to customer 2.0 are going to fall behind.