First came Web 2.0 followed by (not so known) Bubble 2.0 and Bust 2.0… and now Sales 2.0, the most recent one which I heard.
Web 2.0, a phrase coined by O'Reilly Media in 2004, refers to a supposed second-generation of Internet-based services such as social networking sites, wikis and communication tools that let people collaborate and share information online in ways previously unavailable. Bubble 2.0 and Bust 2.0 are kinda self explanatory terms, but if you are keen let me redirect you to here and here.
My first take on Sales 2.0 was - it’s the ‘second generation’ sales, or in other terms ‘selling through technology’. I don’t want to give a word by word definition for Sales 2.0, but I would rather like to share some key points, which I feel, adopted by Sales 2.0. Take a closer look at these folks:
- Zimbra
- Skype
- Salesforce.com
- Typepad
I look at them as some of the most important key players in the Sales 2.0, they are successful and they’ve taken their product to the next level with the help of Sales 2.0 centered marketing.
Sales 2.0 (according to me):
- Sales folks got better control (or choice) on the tools which they use
- Social network penetration, am sure you’ve seen a blog of a CIO
- Next Gen webapps
- In sync with End-Users, I’ve seen end users giving feedbacks, ideas on products as how to make it better. Wow! These products are the outcome of a million head’s brainstorming
If it is end-users who are leading the new adoption cycles in enterprises, it should come as no surprise that the software companies that are making headway selling to the enterprise are open-source and on-demand companies. By their very nature, companies in these categories focus on the end user and enabling the end user to try and use the software with no input from IT. Thus, most companies in these categories target end users in their marketing and sales efforts.
"If I were a younger man, I would write a history of human stupidity" - one of the many catchy lines from the book "Cat's Cradle". I swear if someone can tell me history of human stupidity he or she will have my full attention (not to laugh about it but to avoid people laughing at me in the future).
