Incorporating Twitter Into My Media Mix

I’ve been seeing more and more business contacts coming up on Twitter.  They’re following me.  Nice.  I follow them.  No question this is a fast-moving phenonemon—like Susan Boyle (with, as of today: 52,532,400 views on YouTube) and YouTube’s parent, Google itself, during its first few years of growth.
I presented today on a webinar sponsored by [...]

ESR’s Survey On Social Media Use in B2B Selling

With the assistance of The TAS Group, ESR recently surveyed nearly 400 users of the following technologies to determine the effects that these new technologies in helping them win B2B sales opportunities:

Jigsaw;
LinkedIn;
Twitter;
Plaxo;
Facebook;
Hoover’s or OneSource.

The pace of technology development today is dizzying. It seems as though a new sales-related technology appears daily. The question is, do [...]

The New Social Media (Wars)

I’ve been involved in a number of posts on The Customer Collective where there have been some personal attacks by a few social media zealots against some of us that have a more balanced view of the capabilities and tools required for effective B2B selling going forward in this new(est) economy.   Jonathan Farrington1, Dave Brock, [...]

A High-Level Sales Call Gone Bad – Really Bad

Years ago I was based in Europe, opening up operations there for Datalogix International, an ERP software company.  Datalogix “wound up” in Europe after selling a large deal to a Boston-based adhesives company, Bostik.  Bostik came to us with a problem: the were being sold by their parent company, Black & Decker, and Bostik had [...]

Miller Heiman. What A Brand!

When it comes to marketing, Miller Heiman leads the pack.  I recently spoke with Elizabeth Vanneste, their Chief Marketing Officer. Elizabeth brought Miller Heiman into four telecommunications companies where she had previously worked. She joined the Miller Heiman team last June as a sales VP and took over marketing three months ago.
Elizabeth shared with me that [...]

Social Media In B2B Sales: Is The Time Right?

There have been some interesting conversations taking place on The Customer Collective on the subject of the adoption of social media and the changes required in approach and skills for B2B salespeople.  If you’re interested in a little entertainment—snarking, social media-style—I would suggest looking at these two posts and more important the comment thread that [...]

I Would Buy From This Guy!

Although I met Charlie Green a number of years ago when we were both presenting at a sales conference, I’ve only recently gotten to appreciate his perspective, his integrity and his intelligence.
Rather than me tell you about him, I asked him some questions instead.  Read, learn and enjoy.
Dave Stein: You’ve created a fabulous brand [...]

No More Gifts From Drug Companies To Doctors. About Time!

What caught my eye about this story from the Houston Chronicle was the subtitle:

Voluntary rules cut out free gifts
sales reps use to influence physicians
The story lead: “The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the major lobbying group for drug companies including Merck, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb, enacted new rules governing how sales representatives in the [...]

Strategic Account Management: It’s Not Just A Sales Job.

One of the top firms among the 26 sales performance improvement providers ESR covers is Performance Methods, Inc. (PMI).  Founder and managing partner Steve Andersen is recognized as a thought-leader in the demanding and often misunderstood area of strategic account management. (Listen to Steve in an ESR/Podcast.)
To understanding what a strategic account management methodology is [...]

This Social Media Thing

I’ve been using LinkedIn for years.  Been writing about it and recommending it as well.  I’ve introduced some out-of-work sales leaders to some of my contacts, did some informal research, got connected to old contacts.  It’s a very useful tool for business.
During this past holiday, I decided to spend some time on Facebook and Twitter.  [...]