I recently spoke with Brian Carroll, CEO of InTouch, which is now one of the Marketing Sherpa companies. Besides a successful advisor to companies about their sales and lead nurture strategies, Brian is also author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, still one of the best books I've read on how to strategize and optimize your lead gen program.
Because selling is growing even more complex, particularly in the business-to-business area, sales people have to change their traditional role of information broker to information "filter," according to Brian. Where in the past they may have been the sole providers, in a wired world where so much information is available, savvy sales people can be the ones who interpret this data for their customers and prospects. Brian also sees that in a complex sale, where there is a multi-layered process involving lots of decision-makers and influencers, salespeople can be effective in creating networks at the prospect company and helping to champion their product on behalf of their internal advocates.
Please go to our Box.net at right or click here to listen to Brian. Our interview only skimmed the surface of Brian's vast knowledge, so I encourage you to connect here on TCC with Brian for more answers and insights.