Enterprise 2.0 | A Sales Guy

Sales Needed at Enterprise 2.0 Boston

I need your vote:

Back in November I posted how a Sales track was conspicuously absent during Defrag. I made a note of how Enterprise 2.0 companies have a very difficult road to hoe when it comes to selling their wares to companies. Most Enterprise 2.0 companies have been started by technologists and lack the experience, knowledge and understanding of B2B sales. So rather than chirping about it, I figured I need to do something about it.

I’ve put in to do a sales session at the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston. The session is called Enterprise 2.0-Someone Has To Sell This Shit.

It looks like not enough people read my earlier post, because it appears there isn’t another sales track at Enterprise 2.0 Boston.

Enterprise 2.0 isn’t like Web 2.0 or other consumer products. There is no “build it and the will come.” A decision must be made in order to penetrate a company and drive revenue. Someone has to say “yes,” I will buy your product. Getting to this stage takes effort, and strategy. With my partner in crime Paul Dunay and we will break down the sales aspect of driving Enterprise 2.0 into the enterprise.

So, do us a favor and go vote. Thanks!

If we make it, I’ll post our presentation here.

January 9, 2010 | Filed under: Enterprise 2.0,Uncategorized,Web 2.0/Social Networking,What I Think! | View Comments |

Is Sales a Cost?

I’m at the Defrag conference today and tomorrow. Today, Bill Arconati from Atlassian put up this quote:

“Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs”

– Peter Drucker

Where is sales in this quote? Do you think Drucker was including it in marketing or do you think he categorizes it as a cost?

I say it’s part of marketing. It gets customers. I think if you were to ask many of the start ups at Defrag today who are targeting the enterprise they would agree.

I’m watching many of these new Enterprise 2.0 start-ups struggle with sales. They are grappling with the sales process, client profiling, getting access and overcoming objections. Most of these new companies have been started by engineers and sales is not what they know.

One of today’s “Open Space” breakout sessions led by Gist.com CEO T.A. McAnn asked the question; “How do you create sales momentum in the enterprise?” and it spawned some good conversation. The key take-aways and I fully agree were, you have to be agile and flexible. You can’t disqualify your prospects too arbitrarily or too early. Let them say no. You need to find advocates internally to help you sell. You’re going to need someone on the inside to evangelize the reward or benefit of your product. You have to create demand.

Enterprise 2.0 companies are ahead of the innovation curve. There is little to no awareness in most enterprises, therefore the sell is almost ENTIRELY demand creation. You can’t rely on or expect the customer to realize they want it. To sell in a demand creation environment, or to create demand, you must be very good at overcoming objections. You need to be good at creating access to the people that can influence the decision and you must be aggressive. Demand creation is not for the weak at heart and it doesn’t follow paint by numbers. And . . . you have to have a killer product.

Peter Drucker was right, Marketing and Innovation get you new customers. I say sales is part of marketing in his quote because it get’s customers too. Enterprise 2.0 companies have both, sales and innovation and if they are good at both they’ll get customers.

November 11, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Enterprise 2.0,Sales Process,What I Think! | View Comments |

Ideas Don’t Come with Titles

I recall a story early in my career about the intern who saved the 1988 movie Gorilla’s in the Mist (I haven’t been unable to confirm its truth, but still a good story.) The story goes something like this. Gorilla’s in The Mist starring Sigourney Weaver as Diana Fossey a famous Mnt Gorilla expert living in the jungle studying the gorillas was hugely over budget. The studio was about to cancel it. The problem was they couldn’t get the gorillas to act in a way that fit the story line. Only allowed to shoot for an hour a day, days would be lost if the gorillas didn’t behave accordingly. To solve the problem and save the film, the producers, cast and director got together to determine what could be done. Ideas come in from using electronic gorillas to men in costumes. While the ideas were flowing back in forth a sole intern continually attempted to interject her idea. Continually over talked no one noticed her or paid attention. After several hours and little progress, she spoke up again. Exacerbated with little progress the group turned and asked her what her idea was. She mildly spoke up and asked a simple question. “Why can’t we scrap the story line, shoot as much footage as we can and then build the story around the footage?” Gorilla’s in the Mist saved.

I like this story because it illustrates the fact that good ideas sit everywhere in an organization. There should be no weighting of ideas based on title. Yet, many companies fall victim of this. Ideas are given priority based on title, operating from the assumption that best ideas come from the most senior people. Is your organization guilty of this?

It’s not enough to say your not. It’s not enough to say you value everyone’s opinions. Companies need to have the processes in place to actively seek out everyone’s ideas and opinions.

Companies who capture the knowledge of the entire organization develop ways to bring everyone to the table. Processes are put in place to engage employees at all levels. They are given a seat at the table and are encouraged to speak up. Hierarchies are broken down, formality is tossed aside and replaced with participation and expertise. “Sandboxes” are created to allow employees to test their ideas with out fear of failure. 3M has been known for creating one of the best environments for this. Enterprise 2.0 is also changing the landscape in this area.

I think Enterprise 2.0 is going to drastically change how organizations collaborate. This change is going to make it easier for companies to tap the “intern” and save the movie. Enterprise 2.0 doesn’t require permission to speak. It doesn’t require an invitation to the meeting. It doesn’t require validation of title. Enterprise 2.0 and many of its collaboration tools dig deep into a companies knowledge base and extracts once locked information and puts it in play. Whether or not your company includes the “intern” or not, Enterprise 2.0 and the next generation of collaboration tools WILL and everyone will be the better for it.

Information, ideas, and knowledge are not strictly attached to the board room. They are everywhere in the organization. Like a mine, the key is to find the valuable stuff and make at as easy as possible to get it out. Start digging!

August 4, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Leadership | View Comments |

Is There A Future in Enterprise Micro-Blogging?

I have been a BIG fan of enterprise micro-blogging for the enterprise. Think Twitter for businesses. We use enterprise micro-blogging tool Yammer at Avaya and it’s been a great tool for collaboration and interaction, especially for an international company with a large virtual workforce. I use it everyday. It’s part of my work flow.

I expect micro-blogging within enterprises will be as common place as IM and email with in the next 5 years. Companies won’t be able to run their businesses with out them. (why? is a different post) Micro-Blogging for business is here to stay.

Despite my optimistic outlook for the platform. I think the space is in trouble. There are too many players; Yammer, SocialText, SocialCast, Rypple, Obayoo and more. Here is a list of the top ten. Beyond there being too many players, the barrier to entry is too low. It’s too easy for new players to enter the space. This is evident based on the large number of existing players so early in the game. There isn’t enough room in the space to support so many companies. The business models are too similar. There is little differentiation.

Adding to the pressure to survive, the pricing model has been pushed to zero by SocialCast who announced a freemium model for unlimited users with full administrative control. Add all these up and it’s hard to see how anymore than one, and maybe two of the players can make it. Even then, I’m having trouble seeing anyone make it due to the freemium model with out a substantial paying option.

If this isn’t enough to crush this budding industry, then the launch of Microsoft’s Sharepoint 2010 due out the end of this year and Google Wave due out next year will be. Sharepoint 2010 is expected to have a substantial number of Web 2.0 tools attached, including a micro-blogging tool. Although not traditionally considered an enterprise software company, Google Wave, in conjunction with Google Docs, and Google Voice are a compelling suite of tools for small to midsized business. The introduction of Sharepoint 2010 and Google Wave make it difficult for IT departments to justify supporting a one off platform for one purpose. There isn’t a significant enough value in the current micro-blogging tools to support their one off use, when you have the same feature already integrated with your existing collaboration, communication tools.

Not too long ago I traded emails with Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures about how Twitter could make money in the enterprise. He emphatically stated this was not a direction Twitter was going. I see why. Microsoft owns the desktop, companies like Cisco, Avaya and IBM could quickly add it to their Unified Communications platforms, Google Wave is attractive to small business, the business model has been pushed to free, and it’s a crowded field.

There is no future for the pioneers of enterprise micro-blogging. A lucky one or two will be bought within the next 18 months. The rest . . . RIP.

The good news, micro-blogging is here to stay and for that I am very excited.

July 23, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Enterprise 2.0,What I Think! | View Comments |

Yammer; You’re Yammering Too Much

Yammer is a microblogging tool for the enterprise. Think Twitter for business.We use Yammer at Avaya. It’s been a good product for us. Yammer is arguably the leader in its space. I like Yammer. It’s been a good tool for me. I use it everyday and it’s part of my work flow. Unfortunately Yammer broke the cardinal rule of Internet marketing. Not being authentic.

Yammer took a post by Former Forrester Analyst Gil Yahuda and made a case study out of it without Gil’s or Forrester’s permission. According to Gil’s post, Yammer went so far as to misrepresent him and give the impression he was endorsing their product. This is not the only time Yammer has taken liberties such as this.

Yammer has a good product. They are a leader in their space. Breaking the cardinal sin is the worse thing they could have done.

Authenticity is critical today. We are constantly bombarded by information, people, and companies. We rely on people being true, honest and reliable to weed through it all. We need to know that our online relationships are real. When this is violated our trust is undermined.

Build your online presence with good content, great products, and strong engagement, but most importantly be authentic. Online; there is nothing more valuable.

Yammer, stop Yammering and let your community tell the story. You’re not very good at it.

June 11, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Enterprise 2.0,Marketing,What I Think! | View Comments |

Social Media: Are You Marketing or Selling? Part II

Yesterday I talked about Chris Brogran’s post The Best Fits for Social Media in the Sales Cycle. Chris’s suggestions were spot on. Social media gives us new tools to drive sales and accelerate the process.

Although good, I think Chris’s definition sales process was too marketing heavy

In my post I added two sales stages; the opportunity stage and the close stage to what Chris had already described.

1-Create Awareness (Marketing)
2-Identify Prospects (Marketing)
3-Generate Leads (Marketing)
4-Opportunity Pursuit (Sales)
5-The Close (Sales)
6-Customer (Sales and Marketing)
7-Evangelist (Marketing and Product)

Opportunity Pursuit is the process of moving a customer or lead to close. Opportunity pursuits include;

Assessment – what is happening in the client or buyers environment? What problem(s) are they struggling with that my product or service can solve?

Solution Identification – What solution am I offering? What is the value of my solution and how well does it deliver on the pain/problem of my customer/prospect?

Strategy – What is my approach to positioning my solution? How am I going to attack the process, what resources do I need, how will execute on the strategy?

Relationship – Who is responsible for the decision? How well do I know them? What is my relationship with them? What position am I in to influence their decision?

Getting to Yes – Every sales process is made up of a series of yes’s. Each yes, brings you closer to the closing the deal. The opportunity pursuit is all about getting to yes, and driving the deal to close.

The Close is the culmination of the above. It’s not a process, but a transition. Getting to the close depends on the opportunity pursuit. I give “The Close” it’s own place in the process, because of it’s culmination of the pursuit. Nothing happens with out it.

As Chris described, Social Media can help a sales cycle.

Social Media fits well into a sales process. As within a marketing cycle you have to know when and how to use them.

Assessment

The better the assessment of your customers environment, the challenges they face and the resources available to them, the better the chances to win the deal. Social Media can do wonders here. Finding and following employees from the company on Twitter will provide you with insight to what they are working on and the challenges they have. Following your customers competitors can give you visibility into positioning. It will point you to industry research comparing the companies and outlining their strengths and weaknesses. Industry Analyst blogs are killer for calling out industry gaps, player analysis and future opportunities.

This information gleaned from Social Media can give you a substantial leg up in framing your strategy and understanding your customers world.

Solution Identification

Because of it’s proprietary nature traditional Social Media is less effective here, however a crop of new Enterprise 2.0 applications, such as Socialcast and Yammer, are popping up, accelerating the movement of information within companies. A Socialcast type application allows you to quickly corral your company experts, brainstorm ideas, and share information in real time, therefore creating bigger, better, faster solutions.

Strategy

Blogs, LinkedIn, Industry Analysts via Twitter etc. provide tremendous amounts of company, industry, competitor, and solution oriented information. Grabbing this information and gleaning the subtle messages will help you understand the best approach to position your solution. Strategy heavily relies on assessment. Social Media makes a big impact here. Use it to ask questions on Twitter, find White Papers, Engage Analysts, or find former employees or your competitors who are willing to give you insight.

Don’t be shy to leverage Social Media for information to influence your strategy development

Relationships

This is an easy one. Use LinkedIn to find and learn about your buyers. Follow the tweets of the buyers. Become aware of your individual customers social graph, where do they live, what do they talk about, who are they friends with. Once you find them, listen, engage. Comment on their blog, retweet their tweets, comment on their LinkedIn status, join the forum they are on etc. By understanding their online presence, the offline becomes much easier.

Getting to “Yes”

Getting to “Yes” is understanding the unique gates or objections required to demonstrate increasing value of your solution. In the beginning of an opportunity pursuit, getting a “yes” to meet is your first yes. Using LinkedIn to find a contact of yours that can create an introduction will accelerate the process. Getting to “yes” is different in every sales process, across every opportunity. Social media is key in shortening the effort curve.

Blogs, Twitter, Socialcast, Yammer, Facebook, LinkedIn, RSS, etc, like any set of tools they each have their own value, solving different problems in different ways. The key to getting the most of Social Media in a sales process is to know what tools are available to you and wield them appropriately.

How are you using social media in your sales and marketing cycles? Share in the comments and I will post them.

May 13, 2009 | Filed under: Enterprise 2.0,Marketing,Sales Process,The Chase,Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |

Capturing The Invisible

the-invisible-man I had a great conversation the other day with Tim Young, CEO and Founder of Socialcast about Enterprise 2.0. During the conversation Tim talked about, what he calls, invisible and visible conversations. Invisible conversations are water cooler conversations, the conversations in our heads, the conversations that aren’t traditionally visible to an organization. I really liked the way he described it. I think there is value in capturing the invisible conversation.

We use Yammer at my company. Yammer, like Socialcast is a micro-blogging tool for the enterprise, similar to Twitter. About month ago, I Yammered about heading to NYC for a partner meeting. Before I got into the meeting, I had 3 replies asking if I needed anything and offering help. At the end of the meeting I Yammered the outcome as I was getting on a plane home. When I landed, there were 4 replies to my Yammer. The V.P. of product, and a cast of supporting folks had read my Yammer and had started developing the response and the strategy I needed to respond to the partner. It was amazing! Traditionally, it would have taken me several hours in calls and emails, with days of planning to collect the appropriate players, and formulate a response. By capturing the invisible conversation it was done in hours, on it’s own.

Yammer, Socialcast and other Enterprise 2.0 applications capture the invisible. Conversations that once occurred in our heads, with friends during casual phone calls, or while walking through a convention hall are now becoming visible and this visibility has value.

Enterprise 2.0 and tools such as Socialcast and Yammer put new information on the table. They flush out information normally hidden deep within our networks and casual conversations and allow companies to capitalize on that knowledge base. They speed the flow of information and allow for faster decision making. They can make companies more agile.

Agile companies that make better decisions perform better and performance is something you can measure. Can you capture the invisible? If you can’t, you should. There is value in it.

April 21, 2009 | Filed under: Business Performance,Enterprise 2.0,Web 2.0/Social Networking | View Comments |

Twitter’s New Business Model

There has been a lot of chatter lately about Twitter and making money. Suggestions have ranged from creating a Brand subscription model to Jeremiah Owyang’s suggestion Twitter engage in CRM.

Despite the 35 million dollars in new capital, Twitter needs a business model and the time for Twitter to strike is now. Twitter has tremendous brand recognition and are riding a tremendous wave and there is a business model out there. I think Twitter is just looking in the wrong place. Twitter should be looking to the enterprise 2.0.

A huge transformation is occurring in enterprise communications. Voice, once the central component of enterprise communications is giving way to Email, IM and other non voice centric tools. Users no longer rely on just phone calls. Users now compartmentalize their communication choices. They effortlessly move between Voice, IM and Email through out the day, depending on their need. Voice is no longer at the core of business.

Companies are investing 100′s of millions of dollars to capitalize on this transformation. With Microsoft’s OCS 2007 R2, Cisco’s purchase of Jabber, and Avaya’s One X portfolio enterprise communication companies are scrambling to capture this transforming market called Unified Communications.

Unified Communications is quickly gaining momentum. Displacing Voice as the core way to communicate UC integrates; voice, email, IM, mobility, applications, conferencing, collaboration tools and more. UC seamlessly connects user communication. Twitter has a play here. Yammer and it’s competition Qikcom and Present.ly are quickly capturing a piece of this market. Yammer gets a dollar a user. This is a real business model. Twitter needs to flex it’s muscle and it’s brand recognition to penetrate this space.

The benefits are many;

1) They have the muscle, and brand recognition to quickly penetrate the market and take enterprise customers on quickly. It’s a real market with real dollars

2) Brands would be able to watch how their internal users use Twitter; gaining insight in how to leverage “Public” Twitter. This would increase Brand adoption on Twitter’s public platform

3) User adoption would accelerate as enterprise users familiar with Twitter in the workplace begin to adopt it for personal use

4) Twitter could leverage their enterprise relationships and platform to create new products and services, allowing Twitter to become a legitimate enterprise 2.0 as well as a web 2.0 company, creating scale and diversity.

The enterprise is changing rapidly. Softphones, IM, Email, integrated mobility services, collaboration are all quickly finding their way into users daily work flow and the enterprise version of Web 2.0 — Enterprise 2.0. The opportunity is now. Twitter would win by developing a secure version of it’s application. They should partner with MS, Avaya, and Cisco to integrate with their tools and establish themselves as an Enterprise 2.0 company.

The enterprise transformation is real. The difference between web 2.0 and enterprise 2.0 is real revenue. Companies are paying and Twitters cousin Yammer is collecting.

I’m headed to Voicecon this week. If I were Twitter I would be there.

Twitter has a legitimate chance to be the first true Web 2.0 crossover company . . . that is if they choose to be.

March 30, 2009 | Filed under: Enterprise 2.0,Web 2.0/Social Networking,What I Think! | View Comments |