Ideas and Strategies on Applied Social Media, Marketing and Business Development
On Monday, March 14, 2011 it was announced that Social Business Consulting Group, a global social media consultancy launched with 17 founding partners. I am proud to say that I have joined as one of the founding partners. I bring manufacturing, professional services and technical product experience to the team blended with social media, social selling, product management and engineering expertise. [Read more...]
Axel Schultze, founder of the Social Media Academy, recently challenged Xeesm.com users to review their social
Xeesm - Social Business Relationship Management
visit graph generated by Xeesm.com, and compare with others by posting on the Xeesm Facebook page. I was surprised at what the visual said about the trends in where people go and which ones have grown or shifted over time. [Read more...]
I am continuing to chronicle my various efforts to use Xeesm and its business applications to replace my last ‘tool’ which was ACT!. I am a Xeesm Business Partner for the Upper Midwest.
My previous post covered data uploads and some of the mistakes that I made, before I finally had my big initial data upload complete. There are some additional nuances that I learned after that last post.
Clarifications on Tip 1: Export your contacts into a spread sheet prior to uploading into Xeesm.
Clarification Tip 2: Uploaded into Dispatcher
Sample worksheet for prepared for data upload
Clarification Tip3: Once in the dispatcher there are some symbols that are not explained well.
What was your social engagement this week? Could you have been more productive using a tool like Xeesm?
“Three CRM titans Bob Thompson, Paul Greenberg and Denis Pombriant are discussing probably one of the hottest topic in customer relationship strategies.
Bob Thompson raised a very controversial question: Can you do “Social CRM” without Social Media/Networks? Or Without CRM systems?
Paul Greenberg wrote a profound point of view, challenging the reader to think through what CRM really is supposed to do for an organization and their customers. “Thinking it Through Some More: More on What Else? ”
Social CRM. A pretty surprising – or not so surprising counter post was written by thought leader and analyst Denis Pombriant: Can you do social without social technology?”
via Social CRM a strategy, a philosophy has it also technology? – Axel Schultze Social Media Academy.
Wendy’s Note: With thought leaders like these weighing in on what Social CRM is or is not, I thought it worth sharing. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing my efforts in making the change to a Social CRM tool Xeesm.com.
You may have noticed my social link profile at xeesm.com/wendysoucie. The latest application on the road map just introduced in April 2010 is the Xeesm – Edge Social CRM which is the flagship product.
As a long time business development and marketing executive, CRM applications are what keep me organized – at least around the data I collect. With my deep dive into social media in the B2B space, how could I use anything else to manage my relationships with my audience.
Axel Schultze is a thought leader on social selling and community. Just read this recent post on social selling on his Xeesm blog:
Xeesm Sales Process in 2010
The sales process you follow was developed 20 years ago and it matched with the buying behavior from back then – but no longer today.
* Lead qualification is nonsense because there are not enough leads.
* Cold calling is less and less effective as nobody returns the call.
* You no longer see inquiries because prospects google their stuff.
* Email lands in spam filters and advertising is ignored
* Reference selling is old because clients find the real users of a product themselves in groups, online communities or blogs like this.
* Consultative selling is limited as you are no longer the most trusted person – nor is media or the “independent” analyst
* When a client comes to you – they know what they want and what price they are willing to pay.
via XeeSM.
I am currently using the Xeesm Pro version to change up my selling and connection process for 2010. I have first hand experience with traditional selling channels. Whether original equipment manufacturer, distributor, rep, professional services, technical consulting, or technical products, over the past 30 years I have sold the product or service, experienced the channel on both ends and then handled the marketing strategy as well.
I have clearly felt the change in the selling process and wondered how to counter the trend of lead generation going down – even as the marketing efforts have gone up. It was critical to be comfortable with traditional networking and understanding how to participate and engage with people in the important groups, not just join to get names. Even in that scenario trade and association members are aware of this tendency, which has driven them to caution every speaker at a meeting not to do any “selling in the presentation.”
The new social sales process recognizes the change in how the consumer/buyer educates himself before they make the first call. You must provide more value and knowledge to the relationship first. I have seen how this process can be managed with Xeesm.com.
So over the next few months, I will report on my progress and share with you my experience on social selling with applied social media.
What action will you be taking to change up your selling process?
