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The challenge for today’s sales exec

Sales execs are under pressure now like they’ve never been before. They are increasingly under pressure to achieve higher revenues with less support, and they are in constant battle with increased competition. They are faced with the challenge of overseeing larger sales teams, and their roles have changed to take on more marketing functions. In such a world, old approaches to sales and sales management simply don’t cut it anymore.

As hard as it might be for some of us old-timers to believe, 2015 represents the exact 30-year mark referenced in Back to the Future Part II.  Makes you feel old, doesn’t it?  

The concept of time, beyond Hollywood's interpretations of traveling through it, is a core currency among modern B2B marketers and sellers: product developers are under constant pressure to reduce speed-to-market. Marketers are tasked with refreshing – and controlling – the brand more frequently than ever before, and delivering more quality leads, and faster than a DeLorean. Sales leaders are pulled in a million directions, and never have enough space on their calendar to ride along with their reps in order to provide proper coaching. Reps themselves are now required to act like micro-marketers, adding the stress of delivering the right message, at the right time, to the right person, to their already-metered selling time. And even clients are required to become smarter buyers, distilling terabytes of user-generated and Googled data into just-in-time, lean purchasing behaviors that minimize face time with traditional B2B sales reps who cherish that 1:1 encounter more than anything else.

The words we know and love require a vowel or two to function, and they most certainly do not include numbers. It’s no wonder that the majority of the Internet population takes a mental vacation when words like “HTML5” start cropping up.

Unless you’re one of those geniuses burrowed deep in an Apple store or you are otherwise technologically gifted (or burdened, depending), then you have likely decided that there’s no use filling your brain with technology terms that are thrown out every time you turn around. HTML5 might as well read, “skip this,” because you’re not listening.

#1 Misaligned Content

Originally Posted in FierceCMO: http://www.fiercecmo.com/story/top-5-b2b-marketing-predictions-2015/2014-12-16

We are all learning to cope with the new normal: a perpetual state of input overload. Most of us have a LinkedIn to check, a text message to send, directions to follow, a phone call to answer, an email to forward, an appointment to keep, and, yes, that’s right, someone special sitting across from us at the dinner table, and they would just love to look into our eyes for one moment!

OVERVIEW:

With the acceleration of mobile and cloud computing technologies, business is increasingly on-the-go. Mobility plays a crucial role in differentiating best-in-class sales teams from their competitors. According to a recent study conducted by Aberdeen Research, sales representatives of 40% of best-in-class companies use mobile devices regularly during client interactions. A company can invest in a fleet of tablets for their sales teams, but how do they ensure sales teams are optimizing mobile technology? To ensure ROI in the hardware, a company must make strategic decisions on the right apps, platforms, processes, and leadership.

When iPads and eDetailing first crept onto the pharma sales scene, iPads were new and interactive presentations were novel. Pharma reps had the “ooh, aah” factor on their side, and it helped them to sell. Now, tablets are commonplace, with everyone from toddlers to senior citizens wielding them on beach vacations, public transportation and dinner dates everywhere. Without the shock value of newness, do digital tools like iPads and eDetailing presentations still hold water for pharma sales reps?

Yes! And, because the novelty has worn off, the attention is focused right back where it should be: on content presented and the know-how of the individual pharma rep. iPads are still more convenient than lugging a laptop, and eDetailing still holds advantages like remote viewing, analytics and other perks that are unavailable with PowerPoint alone. When used properly, digital tools like these will cut cost per contact immensely, and will grow in favor with healthcare practitioners. Over the next decade, digital sales tools will become a must-have for all pharma reps. The tools alone will not provide the “ooh” or “aah” that makes a sale. But, the skilled representative can still find a leg-up by giving strict attention to three factors: time, content, and data.

As 2014 winds down, we find that the world of sales enablement remains largely in uncharted and evolving territory. It’s not a game of one-size-fits-all. This presents as an exciting adventure to some sales leaders, and as a baffling no-go to others.

Are you part of the second baffled party, but are ready to debut 2015 with an effective sales enablement strategy on your side? Ask yourself the following questions. They’ll help you get your bearings in the flexible and fluid world of sales enablement strategy.