Sometimes it just takes some time. But in the case of Sales 2.0 I’m seeing much greater traction, much more quickly that I could have hoped. All that Web 2.0 stuff is beginning to make a difference to those of us who care about sales.
In the last few weeks we have seen announcements from Oracle ( Oracle preps first social CRM offering for Enterprise 2.0), salesforce.com and Google (Salesforce for Google Apps), lots of activity at Enterprise 2.0 in Boston last week and lots of continued venture capital investment in Web 2.0 related activities such as Yoono that enable great social media applications.
However, perhaps the thing that caught my attention most recently are the movements going on at LinkedIn – the leading business social network. (LinkedIn is a really valuable resource for sales professionals. Use the LinkedIn button the right here to join the LinkedIn Sales 2.0 Network Group.) First there was the investment of $53m, which in and of itself isn’t terribly significant. However, the valuation achieved for that investment was $1Bn. Then there was the appointment yesterday of a new CFO (ex Tivo) and I think we can expect that there will be an announcement today of an ex senior exec of Yahoo joining as VP of Marketing.
All of this supports the rumors circulating about McGraw Hill nosing around LinkedIn offices. There is a scent of acquisition in the air. As The TAS Group will shortly be providing LinkedIn integration in our sales effectiveness software applications, this is really of interest to our customers. If they get it right, we will be able to map a LinkedIn contact network right into sales cycle, just where you need to learn more about your buyer – and that would be really useful.
There’s no question but that Sales 2.0 solutions will become a core part of the most successful sales person’s arsenal. If you’re not on that track, it’s worthwhile getting started. If you’re not on LinkedIn – that’s a great and easy way to start.