DISQUS

Chris, this is a great question. I think that more companies are asking for direct and indirect sales from their online marketing. Those that are looking to do this are asking how can they offer service to their customers in the best way, either to support their business model or by creating entirely new ones for the online world.

I do however have an issue with the whole branding vs. selling thing though. Delivering good service and helping customers to buy products that they want is possibly the best branding exercise one can do.

I tweeted a quote from Winston Churchill yesterday on twitter that said "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results."

This quote I think is very appropriate to what you are saying about setting clear goals and objectives. Twitter, Facebook or whatever social media technology you are using is a process not a result and sometimes we can get really distracted by the nice flashy ways that these applications work without first understanding why you are using it.

Great post Jim.

Great post Jim, I think that there is something to be said for negative word of mouth as well as people are often more inclined to spread negative opinion of a product if they have recieved less than remarkable service.

Jim, excellent point and one that I would add to. I think that not only should there be more than one avenue of marketing but a constant questioning of whether the current marketing practices are yielding the right results. In sales you wouldn't believe how many people just do things because "it has always been done". I can also see that being a marketing issue as well.

Jim, the Apple story both highlights a very positive story amongst all the negativity but also highlights something that those who are failing are finding out to their cost - customer experience.

Yes, Apple's marketing is among the best and they do have a cult following.. because their customers feel part of an experience. Apple engage their customers where others don't - that is why they have such a loyal following.

Excellent point Jim, people forget that though the internet is a digital medium it is primarily a people driven tool. People will always want relevant and interesting information and Google will want to point people in that direction as well. Primarily focusing on SEO to the detriment of readers is ultimately self defeating.

Jim, I thoroughly enjoyed your post and share your philosophy of sharing. The reason why many people don't do this is, I think, a headache from pre-internet sales and marketing methods where information was harder to obtain because of geography and limited social networks.

With the ever increasing power of the internet the power of choice is firmly in the consumer... and if they can't find information on which to base a judgement on you then they can easily find someone else. Quite why businesses don't realise this and adopt more openness is a mystery.

Thought provoking article Ian, I am agreement with Skip in that the internet has changed some of the frontiers of engagement with regards to meeting people. There are a few clients that I work with that I have never met but maintain a good relationship with via phone and email. I do think face to face meetings are important, especially in complex sales situations, but even in these circumstances a face to face meeting doesn't necessarily happen until an initial correspondence via email. I think with technology, there are more ways for consumers to base a judgement on whether to pursue a relationship before a face to face meeting occurs - that is why there may be more reluctance to sales people who push for meetings up front.

Ian, love the post and agree absolutely with your assertion in furthering the time to develop relationships. You have reminded me of a childhood story of mine which I think I will have to write up on my blog sometime. Thanks.

I read with interest your's and Matt's article and wondered about the changing frontiers of business development that social media is offering to all types of business. I tend to disagree with the opinion that cold-calling is now obsolete, but instead understand it to be a different part of the sales process than it was originally intended. Social media has transformed the barriers of information gathering for both customer and vendor meaning that gathering information is that much easier. I argue that cold-calling can no longer be truely 'cold' because of the potential for so much non-verbal communication beforehand. However, the skills in traditional verbal communication are still as relevant today. The danger I think is that modern selling becomes "all about social media" to the detriment of communication in general.

I certainly wouldn't argue with what you are saying Ian. The caveat I would add, is that there are clients who are better at respecting the 'trusted advisor' role that others. In a rush to achieve that status, a person may give over more than is required of a normal business relationship, and those who are quick to take advantage can then assume that is the precedent for the forthcoming relationship.

The popular quote is "98% of all statistics are made up" which I think is appropriate in this case, but highlights our willingness to believe in something just because there is a percentage figure in it.

I have quite a lot of fun with friends making up useless facts and statistics with an almost unanimous response of incredulous awe until I debunk the erroneous fact. You would have thought they would have learned by now, but the power of the "%" still holds sway.

I think paid referrals like affiliate marketing is going to be always money driven rather than benefit driven. It would be like Google Adwords in that if you are paid for the number of referrals you make then the relationship really only centres on traffic and not whether that referral will benefit from the introduction to another party.

For the benefit of a company's reputation, I would assume that the relationship that is forged from a partnership should be on the basis of expertise in relevant fields and therefore any referral you make would be based around a genuine belief in the partners ability. Like you, I don't see the benefit in referring to someone who would do a bad job and I would hope that I wouldn't enter into a business relationship with such a person anyway.

I am always a little aware of the subjective nature of referrals. In the same way that I wouldn't pitch an idea to a prospect without finding out what issues they were facing then in the same respect I can't know unless I qualify in depth, whether my recommnedation is correct or not. My basis for my opinion, is based on my own experiences, but what I do owe is the opportunity for the company that I am recommending to tackle the sales process as well. They are in a position of expertise better positioned to solve the customers problem and it is then their job to pitch their ideas.

As I said earlier, I think we are only scratching the surface here. Thanks for getting me thinking.

I see what you are getting at Ian, in a specialist situation where I couldn't fulfill the needs of a client then I would certainly refer to someone who could. This might lead to another ethical question though.

Many of us are in the same situation where we build up relationships with related or specialist practitioners in various industries. This process of referring has created another channel to market which we all recognise as channel or business partnerships. What then are the ethical considerations involved with referring? Are all referals a non-selfish act?

Fascinating topic Ian as the debate shows.

Without going into this too deeply, and ethics is a deep subject, I agree with you in principle with regards to letting clients know of other solutions out there, but only if my solution definitely doesn't fit the clients needs. If there are similarities, then I feel I have a right to pitch for business. I liken it to the adversarial process of a courtroom where two laywers (sales people) are convincing their clients (the jury) of the benefit of their product (the case). The definition of "right or better product" can only be determined by the client as it they who are looking for the truth.

As Colin points out with regards to B2B, there is usually more than just a product involved. I think even in B2C sales this is true, how many people stay with a particular vendor because they like them, or because they have a history?

We are only scratching the service of this debate I think...

Wonderful quote and I think that Churchill is a great example of selling through passion. His spirit and determination was one of the contributing factors in inspiring the British to stand firm in adversity. The irony of course is that after winning the war, he lost the general election. One could argue that his passion in his product was therefore no longer there as a selling point? What do you think?

Ian, your competitors are pushing a need for a strong UP (Unique Point) which as you say isn't important . If you have a solution or value that your competitor doesn't have then it becomes a USP - which you can exploit. If you define selling as a convergance of a buyers need with a sellers solution then everything else is just over-hyped branding.

ps. thanks for the mention.

Great post Ian,

I happen to agree with what you are saying but in some situations like a start up company in an industry already established by other companies, the initial idea of proving standard and expertise will always be against the new company because time and market dominance play a strong role in establishing credability. It is usually from this standpoint that some start ups try and differentiate themselves by creating a niche market that they can operate in. I do however think that you are talking more about established companies knee jerk reaction of differentiation in response to percieved threat or trend.

Hi Steve,

I certainly think hope is certainly a sentiment that is shared by many at the beginning of any venture. I would go as far as saying that every prospect you have has that same hope in solving their problems, though I think the best way to build that bridge to the client is fulfilling that hope into realisation.

I read this in the paper yesterday and what I find rather amusing about the whole case is that because the original defamatory comments were made anonymously on a forum he couldn't sue the originators of the libel and instead set sights on Google.

I am willing to put money on this not going against Google. I studied law and the repercussions of such a ruling would have such a massive fall out that the legal system would be inundated with cases. Judges won't do anything to dramatically rock the status quo.

I'll admit, I have yet to get my head fully around social bookmarking. Like you said, bumpzee is more a social networking site and that is why I like using it. I quite like the interaction. However, with sites like digg, I don't like the fleeting nature and random factors, that is perhaps why I don't use the buttons. Does 'not' putting social bookmarking buttons hamper your productivity?

Glad you have made the decision to quit. I quit a few years ago with help from my local health clinic and I feel really proud that I have kicked the habit. However, I still have cravings and when I'm low the temptation to 'just have one' is always there. Good luck.

Glad you have made the decision to quit. I quit a few years ago with help from my local health clinic and I feel really proud that I have kicked the habit. However, I still have cravings and when I'm low the temptation to 'just have one' is always there. Good luck.

Great post Andy, and thanks for the Blogger Trackback advice, have used it to trackback here, though I don't know if it succeeded. May have balls it up...

4%, that sounds pretty good until you realise that the top searches in all the major search engines relate to, shall we say 'risque' keywords. Now I'll bet that of the 4% of infected or risky web sites, most will be in area's of the internet where hat's, long coats and paper bags are in high supply.