The Customer Collective - The world's best thinkers on sales and marketing

The Super Bowl’s Intended Receivers

deniseleeyohn — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:57:50 +0000

Super Bowl advertisers could learn a thing or two from Eli Manning. The Giants’ quarterback threw some crisp, clean passes in Sunday’s Super Bowl because he was crystal clear about who the intended receiver was.

Show & Tell: What Kindergarten Taught Me About Selling

Smart Selling Tools — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:44:52 +0000

I’ll never forget the first time we had Show & Tell in kindergarten. The teacher said we could each pick a day to bring our favorite thing to school and share it with our classmates. I knew immediately that I would be bringing my pet frog.

Why Social Media Is Like a Raucous Bar (video interview)

PaulSimon — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:39:33 +0000

Social media is a lot like the activity at a bar. You know, the kind with drinks and sometimes loud music. That’s Dave Carroll’s take. Long before we started Linking In and Facebooking and Tweeting, he was playing his music in university-area pubs.

CRM Bells, Whistles, Pain, and Agony: From SalesChaosTV

SalesChaosTV — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:12:11 +0000

Mention the word "CRM" and most salespeople flinch. With good reason, says SalesChaosTV co-anchor Todd Schnick. His compadre, Dan Walschmidt, says CRM "just makes us feel icchy."

Why Stalking Your Website Visitors Isn't a Very Good Idea

BobApollo — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:38:00 +0000

sales person at an exhibition) approaching you with “can I help you?” The question encourages a negative answer, and may provoke negative feelings if you feel that your personal space has just been invaded in an unprompted, unwanted and boorish fashion.

CRM Is the Tool and Sales Follow-Up Is Key

LoriRichardson — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:25:07 +0000

Social Media, Gamification And Gaming Statistics

DrNataliePetouhoff1 — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:37:48 +0000

Gamers include millions of Americans of all ages and backgrounds. In fact, nearly three-quarters of all American households play games. This vast audience fuels the growth of this multi-billion dollar industry and helps bring jobs to communities across the nation. Below is a list of the top 10 entertainment software industry facts:

Top 10 Sales Training Realities versus What You Believed

Dave Kurlan — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:10:56 +0000

Belief - Most of you believe that after a day of comprehensive training, your salespeople will then have the understanding, tools and experience to get on the phone, go out in the field, use what they learned and be effective. Reality - After a day of training they still have the old, worn-out, ineffective approach down cold. It's muscle memory.

Social Marketing Tools Hype Cycle

Brian Hodgson — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:22:18 +0000

Since joining Oz I have spent more time digging into the social marketing tools, and thought it would be helpful to create a Gartner style hype cycle of the major ones. Also my focus is for B2B marketing which will skew my perspective.

‘United Breaks Guitars’ Launched Dave Carroll's Career in Social Media (video interview)

PaulSimon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:40:32 +0000

Within four days of the video’s posting on YouTube it had a million hits. Two and a half years later, it’s been viewed 11.5 million times and Dave Carroll’s name is synonymous with customer service.

Sales Tips and Advice: 1 More Hour a Day = 5 More Weeks to Sell

jlondon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:56:48 +0000

How to Become the Best Sales Person in Your Company

kelley@fearless-selling.ca — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:51:03 +0000

During last weekend’s pre-Super Bowl television shows, I watched a segment on Tom Brady that intrigued me. Although Brady didn’t win the Super Bowl this year, there is no denying that he is a world class quarterback. However, a scouting report conducted prior to his being drafted in 2002 certainly did not reflect this. Observations included:

The State of Social Media Marketing Highlights: 5 Lessons from Social Marketing Leaders

mlewis1 — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:43:47 +0000

The pace of change in the Social Marketing arena is relentless. The rate of social platform adoption continues to grow, with Facebook now touting over 800+ million members and Google +, which started with 10 million users in July, now reaching over 62+ million people. New platforms like Pinterest, which was a tiny blip on the social platform map in June of 2011, showed hockey-stick growth by December 2011, reaching over 10 million users.

Is Everybody Following Up with Your Customer But You?

TheDatabaseDiva — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:02:50 +0000

Are you of the school that says once you close a sale with a new customer, it’s time to go find another one? Guess what? You’re “Old School,” and you’re leaving easy money on the table. You’re also making your job a lot harder than it needs to be.

Sales Leaders: Are You Really Training Your Sales People to Succeed?

BobApollo — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:37:48 +0000

CSO Insights have just released their eagerly-awaited annual review of the state of sales performance - reflecting detailed inputs from over 1,500 sales organisations from around the world. Their latest report suggests that B2B sales leaders could and should do more to equip their sales people to succeed through more relevant and effective training.

'United Breaks Guitars' Sparks New Customer Complaint Model (video interview)

PaulSimon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:31:34 +0000

Musician Dave Carroll always has had a passion for customer service. So it’s not surprising that in the wake of his highly popular “United Breaks Guitars” video on YouTube, he’s become a one-man band in support of companies treating their customers fairly.

My 2012 Super Bowl Commercials Report Card

StephenGates — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:24:17 +0000

I know that the last thing the world needs is another Super Bowl commercials top 5 list but since my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t playing this year I had nothing better to do.

Taking B2B Marketing Mobile: The Pitfalls and Payback

BrianCarroll1 — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:03:49 +0000

Mobile marketing for B2B is in one of the newest marketing channels yet, according to the 2011 B2B Marketing Benchmark Report, it ranks second only to whitepaper downloads for growing B2B email lists – even though only 48% of the B2B companies responding have a mobile version of their website.

'United Breaks Guitars' Made Dave Carroll a Customer Service Celebrity (video interview)

PaulSimon — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:54:58 +0000

"United Breaks Guitars" went viral quickly after musician Dave Carroll posted it to YouTube. He talks about the United and the social media experience in this video interview, the first of four segments.

The Real Winners of Super Bowl Ad Race

Jennifer Roberts — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:59:46 +0000

The 2012 Super Bowl was a great example of why moving beyond simple buzz and sentiment metrics is required to get a true understanding of what most resonates with consumers. CI’s engaged consumers metric (taking into account several levels of positive word-of-mouth as well as negative reactions), revealed the clear winner of Super Bowl advertisers (as of the end of game night, 11PM ET): M&Ms.