LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Bing, CRM, SFA, Sales 2.0... I could go on and on. I have spent a large amount of time and effort over the last several months trying to navigate my way through the maze of new technology and social media tools. I have even had someone pitch me on a tool to automate the "follow up" process. My mind goes numb at some point because of the sheer weight of all these new tools and the buzz they have created. Nagging at me is the notion that if I could just get a decent handle on it all, I could make more money, and I could counsel my clients to make more money.
Looking back over my 2009 calendar, I have attended at least twelve webinars or seminars on social media and technology. All of them were informative, and most gave me something I thought I could try in my business that might be valuable. Most were rich in "how" to use the tools, but not so much on "why" to use them. The one piece still missing is how social media and technology drive sales revenues higher.
It appears that a lot depends on variables such as the type of industry, the sales cycle, the competitive landscape, the buyer's process and the size of the price tag. Also important is whether what is being offered is a product, a service or an intangible.
One thing is clear: For B2B applications, technology and social media can certainly help in producing more opportunities for deals. Many potential buyers are found lurking within cyberspace. But these tools cannot help get the deals qualified and closed. No matter how much you tweet, post, invite, IM or whatever, most business deals are still done face-to-face, or at least ear-to-ear. Only in low-ticket retail and a few other scenarios is it feasible to close most deals without actually having a give-and-take conversation with a live human being.
Why? Because people buy emotionally. Psychologists are in agreement about this fact, and can prove it physiologically. In order to engage the emotions of a prospect, you still must be able to use body language, voice inflection, silence and raised eyebrows. You still have to say things like "May I ask you a ticklish question, and you promise not to get mad at me?" and then ask them something that challenges their thinking. Try doing that with 160 characters and a $50,000 deal on the line.
Now I realize that this is going to raise some hackles out there. It is politically incorrect to say negative things about social media and technological advances. Keep in mind that I am in favor of using these new tools to do what they do best – connect people with people for specific reasons. However, most business people that I talk to who are enamored by these tools cannot say that they have helped them close much business, unless it was a commodity and they offered the lowest alternative. Technology and social media are tools. Like all tools, they work great only when used as designed.
It reminds me of a television commercial from many years ago. The scene is a business conference room, and ten or twelve sales associates are seated around the table. The sales manager is handing out plane tickets to each, saying that the company has lost a long-time client because the client feels like they do not really "touch him" like they used to. So, all of them are going to go have face-to-face conversations with their clients to solidify the relationships. And the manager? He's going out too – to see the ex-client.
Al Simon is president of Simon, Inc., an authorized licensee of Sandler Training. He can be contacted at www.SimonSaysSell.net.
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