Sales 2.0 is simply leveraging technology to be more efficient and ultimately more effective. Sales 2.0 allows for increased communication and collaboration (sales and marketing alignment starts to become inevitable) between the sales organization and others within the company (like financial or marketing) as well as between the sales person and the buyer. One major difference between Sales 2.0 and Sales 1.0 is the buyer. With technology the buyer’s behaviors and expectations have changed, so Sales 2.0 is an adaptation to how buyers buy in a Web 2.0 world.
I think Sales 2.0 as a result of Buyer 2.0 simply let’s us be more relevant and provide better value to our customers. Sales 2.0 isn’t about using new technologies to sell more, it’s about using new technologies to build better products and better, more relevant relationships. With Sales 2.0 we now have the opportunity to understand our buyers needs on a deeper level, and converse with them earnestly throughout their individual buying cycles.
While Sales 2.0 has brought about new technologies that make communication and segmentation easier, it’s ultimately a shift in methodology not just the use of new tools. Because the Buyer has evolved so much with Web 2.0, not only have our selling tactics changed, but our business processes, goals and objectives have changed as well.
Ultimately, selling 2.0 only reemphasizes fundamental selling principals that over time and through adjusting to technology may have been lost. Successful sales come from having a product people actually want, and in a B2B environment providing value and accommodating the needs of the buyer at all times.
