Page 63 - The Sales Acceleration Formula: Using Data, Technology, and Inbound Selling to go from $0 to $100 Million - PDFDrive.com

first, enabling them to stay one step ahead of the customer on feature fluency.

“The best-trained salespeople have experienced the day-to-day job of their
potential customers.”

In the early interactions with skeptical buyers, our salespeople would state,
“Listen. Most people are skeptical when they hear about inbound marketing for
the first time. I was skeptical too. I just joined the company six months ago. Like
you, I do not consider myself to be a technical person. I used to sell insurance
before coming here. I knew nothing about blogging, SEO, or social media. But
this stuff works! Look at this blog I developed in training. It literally took me a
few days of effort. Do a Google search for ‘best Italian food in Boston.’ That is
my website right there. The first listing in Google! Now try searching for
‘cupcakes in Boston.’ There I am again! You can do this. I can help you do this.”

Enable Your Salespeople to Build Their Personal
Brand with Potential Customers Using Social
Media

I'll tell you about one other tactic I used to manufacture a sales team that our
buyers loved. Every salesperson has the opportunity to be perceived as a thought
leader by his potential buyers. I turned my guys into true thought leaders of
digital marketing.

Here is a true story.

The VP of sales from a Fortune 500 company emails me one day. “Mark. We
need your help on our marketing strategy. I would like to go to lunch with you
and our VP of marketing.”

I responded, “Great. Shall I meet you at your office tomorrow at noon?”

“No. We'll come to you,” he replied. “Pick your favorite restaurant near your
office, and we will meet you there.”

So I did.

The next day, the VP of sales and VP of marketing showed up to the lunch with a
deck that perfectly framed their problem and proposed solution. They had
analyzed the past 12 months of their marketing funnel. They showed me their