In this post, I interview Zack Miller, the author of the New Rules of Investing blog and he shares how he uses Sales 2.0 & Social Media to increase his business. He reveals why he is addicted to Twitter and some great insights into how to win in the New Sales Economy.
When did you first realize the value of Sales 2.0 technology and social media?
I began marketing online with my first job out of college in 1996 as the director of marketing for a firm selling high end-watches online. Our average sale was over $350, which is a large number today and a huge number 12 years ago online.
What we found was that many of our buyers were Wall Street types. When we figured out how to reach them where they were hanging out online it was a windfall for us. In our second year of operations, we were selling over $20m/year - with little to no marketing budget.
That's the power of Sales 2.0. Reaching the right people and pushing them through the sales funnel to a desired outcome.
Did you see Sales 2.0 as a fad at first or as a real value driver?
Like Web 2.0, Sales 2.0 is a very ambiguous term. It's like one of those things that you'll know when you see it and sort of defies definition. I've written extensively about what it is, how it works, and how to do it.
Like any set of tools, it's not about being a fad or not - it's really about providing value in our current business environment. Sales 2.0 allows me to expand my asset management business by using content hooks to bring me very qualified leads. Layer on top of this pretty easy to use analytic tools that I've written about and you have the perfect closed loop.
How are you using Sales 2.0 to increase the speed of your sales cycle and increase conversion ratios?
A Sales 2.0 toolbox can help increase cycle times in 2 ways:
1.) Automation: I spend most of my time creating content and allow the hooks into various Sales 2.0 platforms to work their magic. Every article I write shows up on my Facebook profile because I've integrated WordPress and Facebook.
My email auto-responders treat every new trial subscription to my research the same way. A series of personalized, automated messages go out, creating a conversion channel for my readers. RSS feeds are pushed out automatically via Feedburner. Feedburner even has an automated RSS-to-email plugin that allows me to offer email subs to my web content and continue the sales conversation that way as well.
Something worth noting is that many of these apps have taken software and turned it into a hosted web service. This means I just pay for usage. Implementation is really simple, and the service company takes care of updating the service, not me.
2.) Increase Conversions: The Sales 2.0 funnel is inherently stickier than its predecessors. Potential clients enter my wide-mouth sales funnel (the result of strategic content dissemination) and have access to my research, my blog and my real-time market commentary. It's not hit or miss advertising.
Instead, potential clients who don't buy right away continue to hear, see, and feel my messages. They stay connected to me longer and instead of just slipping through the funnel, they hang out for a while. While cycle times are sped up, more conversions actually take place.
What do you think the future will look like for your business?
With the financial crisis in full bloom and the consolidation it's causing in the money management arena, business is getting progressively harder. In that, I mean that it is becoming harder to attract a shrinking asset base. Sales 2.0 tools will help benefit those asset managers employing them. My blog, New Rules of Investing, is entirely focused to this next generation asset manager employing these tools.
Why are you winning and how can others get started?
Sales 2.0 is so easy and cheap. Anyone can start. Barriers to entry are almost nil. Once a business can determine its ultimate sales target is. 'd suggest coming up with a blogging/content strategy to reach the prospect where he/she spends time online (not an easy thing, by the way).
This content is SO hard to monetize - I wouldn't look to monetize your content. Instead, look at your content as the hook in creating a relationship with your prospects. Once you've created a vibrant community of people open to your message, you can start to implement traditional sales techniques with a Sales 2.0 twist to begin working these prospects through the sales funnel.
What is your favorite personal and business social media platform?
I've become addicted to Twitter. I'm not to proud to admit it. Ultimately, though, I see it as a platform to expand my reputation for being an expert in my field and to connect with other experts. I don't see many prospects adopting this platform for business purposes.
The same goes with Facebook. I was spending a lot of time on FB without a lot of success. I spoke about automation above - you can automate many social networks to publish your content hooks (blog posts).
What would you say to those who don't see the value in Sales 2.0 technology?
Keep banging your head against the wall. I don't see an entirely novel movement in Sales 2.0. It's not a technology for technology sake. Instead, it's about applying tried-and-true sales techniques to the Internet with Web 2.0 technologies greasing the wheels.
Where can people connect with you?
Check out my blog, New Rules of Investing. I'm at [email protected] and on twitter @newrulesinvest. Reach out to me. I'd love to hear about your experiences implementing Sales 2.0 techniques.
Thanks Zack!
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I'm Zack Miller, a full-time dad/investor/investment advisor/blogger/consultant. A couple of years ago I joined a young firm that was in the process of aggregating a new form of content at the time, financial blogs. In fact, there were just a few, really professional analysts, traders, and stock jocks writing good, opinionated content.
That firm, SeekingAlpha, has grown tremendously. With hundred of ongoing content contributors, a professional editorial team and content deals with online financial media heavyweights like Yahoo Finance and E*Trade, SeekingAlpha has taken financial blogging and made it mainstream.
I've got 5 great kids. I previously ran business development and ad sales at SeekingAlpha, the destination site for Internet-based equity research by asset managers, financial newsletters and bloggers. I was an analyst at Oasis Capital Management, a multinational, multi-strategy hedge fund. My area of expertise is discovering and analyzing undervalued technology stocks, particularly of small-cap companies. I have an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a B.A. from Harvard University in (unfortunately) economics
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