Changing The Game With Social Selling, Presented By Sap

The buzz: “We need to get over the idea that age is a barrier to expressing yourself on social media” (Ari Seth Cohen). A 2019 AARP Magazine article about social influencers age 50+ talked about influencers over 50, despite their stereotype of defining social selling as having coffee with a customer at a diner vs. millennials, the go-to social selling experts. Reality check: 66% of LinkedIn users are age 46–56+, while 25–34-year-olds are LinkedIn’s global advertising audience’s biggest cohort. The take-away for your company: employees of all ages can become passionate social advocates for your brand and your industry. By leveraging all generations’ talents, you can address the needs and interests of a multi-generational customer base. We ask Riley Hopkinson at Grapevine6, Kurt Shaver at Vengresso, and Lynn Lupo at SAP for their insights on how you can kick-start this cultural change in your organization. Join us for Top 5 Reasons to Leverage Multi-Generational Digital Selling.

The buzz: “People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic” (Seth Godin). The image of influencer marketing by brands has been tarnished. In 2019, fake followers were widespread for many social media personalities, and some influencers were accused of covert advertising, challenging their authenticity. This poses a dilemma for brands because when we feel something is fake or misleading, we switch off. In August 2018, almost half (47%) of respondents surveyed by Bazaarvoice reported feeling fatigued by influencer content. The experts speak. Vanessa Baker, Tribal Impact: “… your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages” (Michelle Obama). Mic Adam, Vanguard Leadership: “The best way to predict the future is to create it” (Peter Drucker). Ursula Ringham, SAP: “…people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou). Join us for Influencer Marketing: The Next Hottest Thing in B2B?

The buzz: “There’s a classic phrase about good marketing being both an art and a science. Although this idea has been rephrased, reused, and repeated for years, it’s never been more true than it is today.…although fundamentals like this one don’t change much, virtually everything else does. New marketing channels emerge, customer buying preferences shift, and perhaps most importantly, emerging technologies give way to streamlined processes, elevated customer experiences, and fresh takes on marketing principles and practices. Technology influences almost every aspect of today’s businesses, and marketing is certainly no exception… a 2019 survey by Chief Marketer revealed that more than half of marketers plan to increase their budgets for marketing technology in 2020 (www.business2community.com). Tune in to hear Richard Hegarty at Digital Marketing Institute, Barbara Giamanco at Social Centered Selling, and Marco Cai at SAP discuss Marketing for 2020: Tech Tactics You Need To Succeed.

The buzz: “Does your content lead readers on a journey, or does it merely stuff them as leads into a pipeline?” (Ann Handley, MarketingProfs). 2020 has always sounded far off in the future. It’s here! Your customers and prospects know more and expect more, the bar will be set higher and new priorities will emerge. What businesses will win in the 2020’s? The most forward-thinking companies that consciously and deliberately anticipate customers’ future needs and devise smart, reliable strategies to deliver. The experts speak. Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “Some things cannot be taught; they must be experienced. You never learn the most valuable lessons in life until you go through your own journey” (Roy T. Bennett). Mark Hunter, The Sales Hunter: “What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve (Napoleon Hill). Nicholas Lagersten, Digiteyes: “Opportunities multiply as they are seized” (Sun Tzu). Join us for B2B Customer Experience 2020: Digital Sellers Evolve To Meet Customer Demand.

The buzz: “Digital Selling relies on having robust, well-built social networks, which is why social media marketing is a crucial aspect of Digital Selling. Since these two concepts are so similar, many people confuse the two.” (Adrian Fisher, www.forbes.com). Fisher explains that social media marketing lives at the top of the sales funnel to help bring in leads using Facebook and Twitter, for example. Digital Selling puts the traditional sales process back on social networks, where salespeople can comment on a prospect’s LinkedIn post or retweet their Tweet. What does this mean to you? The experts speak.Brynne Tillman, Social Sales Link: “I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become (Oprah Winfrey). Alan McLaren, Infinitycomm and SaluberMD: “We have a good time together, even when we’re not together” (Yogi Berra). Sylvie Lachkar, SAP: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken” (Oscar Wilde). Join us for Boost Your Social Media Marketing Campaign: Apply Digital Selling.

The buzz: “Account-based marketing is thinking of the account as a market of one: (Nick Panayi, CSC). With Digital Selling, your sales team leverages their social presence to drive brand awareness. And they use education to accelerate an account-based marketing (ABM) strategy and convert top prospects into customers…it’s not too late to start (upthereeverywhere.comy). How can you get your marketing and sales teams to collaborate on your ABM strategy? The experts speak. Lisa Dennis, Knowledgence Associates: “The level of the problem isn’t the level of the solution” (Deepak Chopra, MD). Nicole O’Brien, Sales Enablement Society: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” (George F. Tilton). Paroma Sen, SAP: “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree” (Martin Luther). Join us for Digital Selling Plus: Accelerate Your Account-Based Marketing.

The buzz: “Sales representatives spend less than a third of their working time actually selling…bogged down by administrative and other ‘non-sales’ tasks.” (HubSpot) Manual Digital Selling can be inefficient and time-consuming if you need to find different profiles and write-out the message each time. Digital Selling automation to the rescue, with automation tools to help you compile concise, detailed reports and generate new pipeline-happy leads with way less busy-work. What does Digital Selling automation look like and how can you get started? The experts speak. Melissa Jeyaraj, LinkedIn: “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent” (Ruth Bader Ginsburg). Walter Pollard, Brand Fuzion: “If people like you, they'll listen to you, but if they trust you, they'll do business with you” (Zig Ziglar). Phil Lurie, SAP: “You can observe a lot by just watching” (Yogi Berra). Join us for Marketing Automation? How About Digital Selling Automation?

The buzz: “Account based marketing is simply instead of fishing with nets, we’re fishing with spears. You identify exactly the prospects you want to do business with and then you market very precisely and narrowly to them directly” (Matt Heinz). ABM and Digital Selling both engage target prospects with super-relevant content. But while 90% of marketers (2016 marketingprofs survey) rated ABM extremely or very important, only 20% had a full ABM program. How to identify target accounts, reach key influencers, and measure your campaign impact? The experts speak. Julio Viskovich, NexLevel Sales: “Become addicted to constant and never-ending self-improvement” (A. J. D’Angelo). Juliana Stancampiano, Oxygen: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response…” (Viktor E. Frankl). Danny Nail, SAP: “All great changes are preceded by chaos” (D. Chopra). Join us for Account-Based Marketing 101 for Digital Selling: Everything You Need To Know.

The buzz: “Sales and marketing are continuously and increasingly integrated. Marketing needs to know more about sales, sales needs to know more about marketing…we all need to know more about our customers” (Jill Rowley). Digital marketing encompasses all marketing activities that use an electronic device or the Internet to connect with customers and prospects. Oh? Digital marketing doesn’t concern you because you’re a sales professional? Think again! Organizations with tightly aligned sales and marketing teams have 38% higher sales win rates and 36% higher customer retention rates.The experts speak.Mike O’Neil, Integrated Alliance: “220…221, whatever it takes” (Mr. Mom movie). Bernie Borges, Vengreso: “Every human being is under construction from conception to death” (Billy Graham). Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “If you stay in your comfort zone! You would never do the things that you need to do” (Lights Poxlietner). Join us for Digital Marketing: What Every Sales Pro Needs to Understand.

The buzz: “Content curation is a great tactic for promoting your thought leadership — but only if the audience can clearly distinguish your insight from that of your source material” (contentmarketinginstitute.com). Does your job description include “great content curator”? Maybe not, but if you’re involved in Digital Selling, it’s automatically part of your role. How to do it? Find useful, timely, relevant content without any sales messaging. Add authentic personal insights. Share it with the right people at the right time to build and grow relationships. Finally, create a repeatable strategy so you can do it over and over again. The experts speak. Jason Taylor, Grapevine6: “Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it” (Dali). Brandon Bornancin, Seamless.ai: “Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle” (R. Simmonds). Marco Cai, SAP: “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving” (Einstein). Join us for Secrets to Great Content Curation.

The buzz: “By living the day-to-day life of your clients, you can glean insights that are impossible to see from your side of the aisle” (Sona Jepsen www.entrepreneur.com/article/300683). The same people who buy cars, clothes and home services are also making B2B purchasing decisions for their business. The implications for sales people in this Digital Selling era? Ensure you maintain personal communications across digital channels to show your real human face behind your selling message. The experts speak. William Arruda, Reach: “Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are” (Brené Brown). Mark Lotenero, Grapevine6: “Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony (Morpheus, The Matrix). Bruna Gonçalves, SAP: “Great men are not born great, they grow great…” (The Godfather). Join us for B2B Digital Selling: How To Stay Human.

The buzz: “Active participation on LinkedIn is the best way to say, 'Look at me!' without saying 'Look at me!” (Bobby Darnel). Believe it! 42% of LinkedIn members access it multiple times daily or weekly. 74% of B2B buyers use LinkedIn for purchasing decisions and social proof. 79% of B2B marketers view LinkedIn as the most effective marketing channel. 91% of executives rate LinkedIn #1 for professional content. Hubspot reports LinkedIn is 277% better for B2B lead-gen than Facebook and Twitter. Ok. But how to get the best results from LinkedIn? The experts speak. Mic Adam, Vanguard Leadership: The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing (Walt Disney). Loic Simon, #SocialSellingForum: “Practice isn't the thing you do once you're good. It's the thing you do that makes you good” (Malcolm Gladwell). Phil Lurie, SAP: I still don't know what I was waiting for And my time was running wild… (David Bowie). Join us for Mining Golden Nuggets: LinkedIn for Digital Selling.

The buzz: “You sell more when you stop selling (David Meerman Scott). “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted” (William Bruce Cameron). We’re hearing exciting success stories about the new sales elite: savvy quota-overachievers who apply Digital Selling techniques and tools with energy and diligence. But how can you measure the value of non-quota-carriers: sales team members, marketers and other groups who don’t “get” how to do social selling? And how can your organization help them use “traditional” social tools to boost impact? The experts speak. Chuck Shaver Vengreso: “If you would not be forgotten…either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing” (Benjamin Franklin). Kristen Lawrence, Grapevine6: “It’s not easy bein’ green” (Kermit the Frog). Marco Cai, SAP: “Innovation is taking two things that already exist and putting them together in a new way” (Tom Freston). Join us for Digital Selling: Quota vs Non-Quota Sales.

The buzz: “To write off ‘Influencer Marketing’ as a fad is a foolish game. Brands will figure out how to collaborate with culture creators and harness the distribution of. curators.” (David Armano, Strategy at Edelmandigital). The value of B2B influencer marketing has taken a hit from news about fake followers of social media personalities and accusations of covert advertising. The result? In a 2018 Bazaarvoice survey, 47% of respondents reported feeling fatigued by influencer content. How can B2B influencer marketing work – and remain authentic? The experts speak. Mike Orr, Grapevine6: Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose” (Janis Joplin). Viveka von Rosen, Vengreso: “Don’t be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better” (Ralph Waldo Emerson). Cecilia Marshall, SAP: “Not everything that counts can be counted” (William Bruce Cameron). Join us for Influencer Marketing for B2B: How Does It Work?

The buzz: “The idea that social selling is dead or dying is a bit over exaggerated … Cold calling should be dead” (Koka Sexton). In conversations about account-based marketing (ABM), we often hear that cold calling is dead, email is dead and social selling aka digital selling is dead. True or false? The key to the longevity of any channel is its rocket fuel: content. Timely, targeted and relevant messages help you break into target accounts and drive ongoing buyer engagement. Our panel of experts will discuss whether digital selling is dying or dead, and if so, what will replace or complement it. The experts speak. Paul Slack, Vende Social: “There are no traffic jams along the extra mile” (Roger Staubach). Tom Martin, Converse Digital: “Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Act accordingly” (Dr Phil). Charrele Robinson-Brown, SAP: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself” (Leo Tolstoy). Join us for Channel Checkup: Is Digital Selling Dead?

The buzz: “Social media allows big companies to act small again” (Jay Baer). When we hear “2020”, we tend to picture a time way off in the future. Reality check: it’s only 10 months from now! Which B2B companies will win in 2020? Those with new go-to-market strategies that consciously and deliberately anticipate customers’ future needs and deliver the best Digital Selling experience. Why is this critical? Ubiquitous access to pre-purchase information arms customers with higher expectations than ever before. Are you ready? The experts speak. Kirsten Boileau, SAP: “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment” (Jim Rohn). Mark Lotenero, Grapevine6: “If I had five minutes to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first three sharpening my axe” (Anonymous lumberjack, 1950s). Bernie Borges, Vengreso: “Some people don't like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster” (Elon Musk). Join us for B2B Customer Experience 2020: Why Digital Selling Matters.

The buzz: “Social business: This is not a drill, people” (Jeff Gibbard, True Voice Media). Armed with a list of target prospects to close, sales reps traditionally use a cold call/voicemail/email script with a list of common objections and rebuttals, and company assets to send. For social selling, social media relationship building is a warmer approach to digitally savvy prospects. Will the sales needle move faster and smarter using social on top of traditional methods? The experts speak. Mark Lotenero, Grapevine6: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” (Maya Angelou). Brandon Bornancin, Seamless.ai: “Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle” (Ross Simmonds). Marco Cai, SAP: “Being fast is the ultimate secret for a Kung Fu King to defeat enemies” (Kung Fu: The Movie). Join us for Social Plus Traditional Selling: Get to the Close Faster.

The buzz: “Almost every single social media platform is beginning to leverage AI…” (martechseries.com). Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is penetrating every aspect of B2B sales, including social selling, with the potential to disrupt strategies and techniques, and disadvantage digital sales laggards. Reality check: Can you really tell if a salesperson answering you real-time online is human or robot? Aha! Our panel will explore if AI will have a positive, lasting impression on social selling or just be a fad. The experts speak. Perry van Beek, Social.ONE: “If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough” (M.Andretti). Mike Orr, Grapevine6: “There are no environments where you're only going to win, because life just isn't like that” (Bobby.Orr). Charrele Robison-Brown, SAP: “Friendship...born at the moment when one man says to another, What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…” (C.S.Lewis). Join us for Social Selling and AI: Human or Robot–Part 2.

The buzz: “Where else can you find your customers, prospects, partners, suppliers, competitors and thought leaders talking about key topics and trends in your industry? If you’re not using LinkedIn groups, you’re missing out” (Jeff Simmons). LinkedIn is the primary B2B targeted relationship-building social selling tool, helping salespeople find, qualify and close prospects. It’s “social” because you build foundational relationships online by answering their questions with content that builds trust with you along their buying journey. Are your salespeople optimizing or underutilizing LinkedIn’s powerful social tools? The experts speak. Aka Petrancosta, LinkedIn: “Everything you want to be, you already are. You're simply on the path to discovering it” (Alicia Keys). Brynne Tillman, Social Sales Link: “What we dwell on is who we become” (Oprah Winfrey). Phil Lurie, SAP: “’The time has come,’' the Walrus said” (Lewis Carroll). Join us for Social Selling and LinkedIn: Relationships 101.

The buzz: “Videos are more frequently shared on social media as compared to written content” (Koka Sexton). Whether you are in sales or marketing, it's time to spread your reach as wide as possible. That means considering video if you’re not already using it. Combining effective video content with social selling can help directly reach prospective clients and encourage them to buy from you. Tune in for expert insights on the benefits of using video content in sales and social selling strategies, and tips and tricks to get the most engagement and pipeline from your videos. The experts speak. Jason Taylor, Grapevine6: “The best . way to predict your future is to create it” (Alan Kay). Julio Viskovich, NextLevel Sales: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela). Alexandra Witte, SAP: “You have the power within your reach to create what you desire” (Lailah Gifty Akita). Join us for Social Sellers and Video: Look Ma – I’m on Camera!