Sales 2.0: It's the "Real Thing"?

I am really excited  about all of this great discussion around Sales 2.0;  the ability to leverage the incredible internet and latest social media to build buzz, generate web traffic, increase trials and drive revenues; while all the time measuring, and analyzing each move your potential customer makes.

This weekend on CNBC I watched a special on Coca Cola; they have produced a new high tech soda fountain which allows consumers to purchase over 100 of their brands all from one machine.

The unit is tied into the net, so in real time the good folks in Atlanta can tell who is pouring what drink, how often, etc.  It’s a long way from when I was a kid mowing lawns in Maine; I think the only person who knew what soda I was drinking was the nice man who ran the country store.

The episode reminded me of the current sales evolution faced by all, in Coke's case the shiny new machine was doing the selling; versus in the old days the nice man behind the checkout counter.

Recently we hosted a Webinar on Glance.net, called “Death of an Outside Salesmen”; it was presented by Steven Harper, CEO of Plan2Win; an automated Territory Plan for Sales Professionals.

In his presentation, Steve spoke of the changing selling and buying climates and specifically called out how this shift has impacted hiring and function of the sales professional;  particularly the strong growth of inside sales model and the drastic reduction of outside sales staff.
 
Both documentary and webinar are great examples of how we are driving into a world of blogs, tweets, Facebook posts; a time where others, perfect strangers, do the pitching of our own products, and even determine future direction for design, features, price, etc.
 
The Coke machine is pretty cool, kind of like Facebook or Twitter; but it does make me wonder, will this all stick, or will the pendulum swing back to a time where teenagers sat in the drugstore sharing “the-real-thing”, or possibly when a Salesperson will be required to have the skills of the trade, the ability to qualify, listen, pitch and close?

I’m not sure, but it’s going to be pretty cool to be part of it.

-- Tom Scontras, VP Sales & Marketing