Entertaining read by Guy Nadivi in Forbes. I would add to his empirical evidence with similar experiences lately. I have been hearing others talk about this same thing happening to them. Has it happened to you?
I have been on a networking role lately. Found this today in the WSJ which sums up what I have been learning and re-learning.
WSJ: How to Network – Live & In Person
Happy Monday
A “Know your customer” re-post. Have a great weekend.
“Know your customer” is the mantra.
When you know the customer, good things happen.
– Example, Client A increased user adoption to 70% of total call volume. ROI increase 25% in one quarter.
When you know your customer, you can spot trouble a mile away.
– Example, Client B re-organized and has a new executive sponsor. He has called the ROI model into question.
When you know your customer, the relationship goes beyond business.
– Example, Client C asks for advice on improving the ROI model and photography equipment for his vacation.
Solid read on the state of the cloud @ Fortune Brainstorm Tech: A kinder, gentler cloud.
Check it out.
Nice review of Gist on ZDNet: The business-to-business of Gist
I have been a beta user of Gist for awhile and have been pleased at the improvements that they have been able to make to a very cool product. I see Gist as a great Sales CRM play in the sales force automation area. There are Sales Enablement applications as well. For more of my thoughts on Gist, check my earlier posts.
Nice read on disruptive businesses by John Sviokla at Harvard Business Blog.
Check HBB: Getting Started with Disruptive Business Design
It made me think about the future of CRM. Salesforce.com over turned the market leaders and is now the market leader. What will disrupt Salesforce? Is it new technologies that rely less on the core product or those that extended it, such as sales enablement systems. One thing is certain, whoever does disrupt Salesforce will not intend to do so at first.
Sales Enablement offers some unique advantages to drive Sales user adoption. The ability to create new and custom collateral and to effectively collaborate on accounts address big pain points for sales. The CRM world has not implemented these technologies on an industry scale.
Sales Enablement also addresses today’s market realities. Customers and prospects today take more time to educate and filter themselves from the pipeline. Due to this change, Marketing now owns the early phases of the sales cycle. This is positive. Sales can now spend time adding value to the sale rather than educating a prospect about the company and product. Solutions to real business problems has been and will remain at the heart of the complex sale. Sales today needs the skills to focus on the complex sale.
I have enjoyed reading Steve W. Martin’s Heavy Hitter Selling. Having implemented CRM and carried the bag for many years, his message is right on. Sales Enablement will succeed or fail as a methodology based on user adoption. Marketing and Sales need to find ways to work together to make it work. As the article below describes, this is easier said than done.
Heavy Hitter Selling: Why Sales and Marketing Are Always at Odds
Happy Monday.
Interesting article and graphic on coffee in today’s Seattle Times. I am partial to Kona with price being the only major obstacle to drinking it daily.
Seattle Times: Taster’s Choice: Coffee experts describe the coffee they love
3 great coffee houses in the Belltown neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle. If they are on this list, they are worth checking out.
Uptown Espresso at 4th and Wall is a great meeting space with free WiFi. Home of the “Velvet Foam”.
Top Pot Hand-Forged Doughnuts has been a favorite for awhile now. Old fashioned doughnuts and great coffee. Very Seattle. Worth checking out when you visit. Free WiFi too.
Cherry Street Coffee House at 1st and Lenora is a great place to take in the city. Near Pike Place Market.
My $0.02 on questions you need to answer in mapping out your Social CRM strategy:
Any others?