ibm spotlight session: social selling as a b2b prospecting tool
TRANSCRIPT
Social Selling as a B-to-B Prospecting ToolB-to-B SymposiumOctober 16, 2012
Douglas HannanBusiness Unit ExecutiveInside Sales Marketing
IBM North America
Your Presenters from IBM
@DouglasHannanUS
www.linkedin.com/in/douglashannan
@WhatSaidShe
www.linkedin.com/in/cmikovch
Cheryl L. MikovchSr. Marketing ManagerInside Sales Marketing
IBM Worldwide
Social networks have fundamentally changed the way clients buy• Clients discover, read, share news
and content on their own and on their terms
• Being “at work” is now a state of mind and not a statement about where you’re located.
• Clients are posting their needs, concerns, ideas at any time of the day or night….giving us the opportunity to listen and respond.
• Clients benchmark best-in-class experiences and share opinions
Current Social Media use with IT Vendor
Future Likelihood to use Social Media in
IT Purchase Process
PODCASTS
STREAMING VIDEO
Those >50 yrs. old are much less likely to have used social media (15%)
Over one-third have used social media to engage with their IT vendors.
US Report
37%63%
NO YES
not at allsomewhatvery likely
23%41%36%
77%
6%
15%
36%
52%
82%
15%
Source: IBM Marketing Insights Research 2011
IBM’s Client Buyer Preference research measured Social Trends
IBM at a Glance
Business Segments include Services, Software, Hardware, Research and Financing
170 countries
433Kemployees
IBM Inside Sales purpose
Inside Client Reps Relationship Coverage Reps
aligned by territory or account. Opportunity Identification 5 million calls per year
Inside Client Rep
Opportunity identification and Lead progression focused, aligned Marketing Programs
Flexible resource with no specific accounts or territory
55-60 Customer Calls per day
Lead Development Rep
Inside Brand Sales Reps Product sales specialists
aligned by Brand and Customer segment
Transaction focused 6 million calls per year
Inside Brand Sales Specialist
Online Commerce Sales Online Commerce Consultants and Brand Specialists Extend efficiency & reach leveraging on-line tools Decrease expense/increase revenue through ease of ordering;
improve customer satisfaction; capture opportunity
Through inside sellers and the web we provide end-to-end coverage for our clients
Clients- New ways to find and consume
Information- Connect with Experts
- Interact on their terms with trusted sources
Marketing- Programmatic Approach
- Repeatable Process- Professionally Crafted
Message- Maintain Brand Image
IBM’s Challenge – Unlock the potential of Social Selling
Sales- Add Personal Style - Authenticity of Voice
- Reach clients more easily- Skills Transformation
a new Sales-Driven Marketing
Ecosystem has evolved
Social selling required a change in behavior with our Inside Sellers and a transformation of the seller-client relationship
A two-dimensional phone- and email-based relationship
A multi-dimensional digital relationship leveraging digital & social selling capabilities and Online Commerce solutions
The Inside Seller of TODAY must be professional, well
trained, high performing and effective at using digital & social selling capabilities
Beginner Creator Collaborator Social Seller
•
Establish a web presence Be findable Easy to reach Find new contacts
Create personal brand. Listen to the conversation Send messages Understand customer
trends and how IBM can help solve problems
Two way collaboration Uses chat and video Adds value to
networks using microblogs, forums, and Social groups
Relevant leadership Clients contact you Constant mind-share Engaged earlier than
competition
Where we started: our strategy required a skills transformation
Social Selling Transformation
Digital contact tools are integrated into the B2B sales engagement model.
Digital Contact Tools
Text Chat
Video
Telephone
Social Media
IBM Rep Page / Web Presence
Marketing Content
Rep Driven Content
Contact Module with Real-time collaboration
Over 1000 sellersuse these tools
Social Media and video embedded
IBM Inside Sales capabilities are centered around enabling the client
Client NameClient Logo
Content Mgt./ Publishing Tools
Dig
ital S
ales
Cap
abili
ties
Client Web Portal Rep Page
New lead creation through increased coverage and reach
Progress leads to wins Deep expertise in products and
solutions
Global procurement Ease in contract and order
management Improved efficiency for clients
Online Commerce
Opportunity Management
Social networking& Social Messages
Intelligent Listening Monitor and capture client
intent from Social Networks Influence and develop
preference for IBM
Sales Coverage for clients Establish new contacts Drive transaction volumes Drive revenue growth
Campaign execution and follow-up Ability to understand issues and
match IBM products to client need Territory Management
Response Management
DigitalSales
Eminence
Personalized eMail Campaigns
Enable the client to engage how and when they want
Access to tools and people
• Clients connect socially to tap into IBM expertise • Industry SMEs contribute to professional network groups, blogs, publish
whitepapers, provide access to digital assets• Inside Sales Reps promote content to their clients and reach new prospects• Fostering social relationships yield new contacts, leads & sales – helping
reach new markets
Participation in social networks improves client access to experts
SMEs
ProspectsSales Reps
Customers
“70% of a customer’s buying decision is now made based on information he or she finds online, well before a salesperson has a chance to get involved.”Source: Sales 2.0 Conference, 2011
Our Journey to launch an innovative social selling program
Listening& Learning
Participate in Social
Conversations
Identify Influencers
Measure, Track, GrowSocialize Our
Culture
Focus on Content
Social Selling is Less About Tweeting…
Market Place Listening
Third Party Listening
Engagement Opportunities
and more about listening to what business issues individuals are talking about
Why is social listening important to sales?
Follow competitors Follow prospects List to what is being said Help shape
conversations Real-time monitoring to
intercept posts with expressed business need
Identify Industry Influencers
Listen to what is being said
Identify trending topics Engage in many key
conversations Establish credibility Build network Improve Seller Findability
Third-Party Engagement Opportunities
LEADS
Keyword combinations and recommended groups build social presence and enable sellers to mine microblogs for engagement opportunities
#Hashtag
Communities
LinkedInGroups
LinkedInGroups
#Hashtag
7-2-1 Rule guides seller social conversations, builds creditability and drives leads
Business / Industry
Issue
Business /
Industry IssueBusiness / Industry
Issue
Business / Industry
Issue
Business /
Industry Issue
Seller Rep
Page
Business /
Industry Issue
Business /
Industry Issue
Content is our focus. Quickly consumable, highly valuable
Shift in investment from traditional tactics
to more digital interactions
Evolve from static presentations to
dynamic interactions
Progress from telling what we have to offer, to providing content to
engage
Content driven marketing is the force behind customers initiating sales conversations…
Whitepaper
Is your content socially ready?
FAQsArticle
We’ve armed sellers with a social editorial calendar
• Calendar is maintained by marketing …executed by sellers
• Sellers are in complete control– craft their own message– retweet a message– mention a post– select from digital asset content
Socializing our culture is key to changing behavior…
…and learning from peers is essential to adoption
More than 200 Seller testimonials from around the globe validate the power of social
“Connect with CIO via LinkedIn, yielding $500K win”
“Utilizing my LinkedIn network! $1.8m result”
“Linkedin to Rep Page visit to $150K result”
The Results…
7 Sellers
900+
Sellers in 170 countries effectively using social to extend reach, build awareness and drive leads!
Case study: Connecting one of IBM’s public cloud offerings and specific social activities to our leads and revenue
Annual clo
ud wins a
ttributed
to so
cial
15%
Ask Yourself…
Is your sales team socially connected?
Are you capitalizing on theexplosion of data social provides?
Does your social content havea call-to-action?
Are you influencing and leading your clients?
Thank you!