How quickly we change…
Catching up on some reading this morning, I was reminded once again exactly how quickly our landscape changes as salespeople. As little as 3 or 4 years ago Sphere of Influence Selling or SOI was explained as a step in the sales process that saw the sales executive identify multiple names/titles/emails of individuals they wanted to contact.
Subsequently, they would launch into a series of emails and voicemails designed to create attention and engagement with said contact by CC’ing other intended parties with the disclaimer that they were “simply attempting to identify who best in their organization you should begin exploratory conversation with to determine mutual benefit”.
Understandably, this antagonizing approach that once paid big dividends no longer motivates targeted prospects to engage you in a conversation, it’s no longer an effective way to flush out decision makers, and it now detracts attention and wastes cycles rather than reducing wasted time on companies that are not qualified.
Fortunately, the evolution of the strategy has kept the best of the old approach and now leverages powerful selling tools like LinkedIn and Twitter to deliver salespeople with the desired end result – engaged interactions with relevant individuals/decision makers at the right time.
My business partner Jamie Shanks talks about 2 evolved SOI tactics in his post; 2 Social Selling strategies – “Sphere of Influence” & “Priority Shifting” . And if you haven’t already updated your approach away from the Email/Phone based SOI of the past, it’s not too late, but you are quickly running out of time.
Feel like you’re behind the 8 ball? We can help. Feel free to use the button below to set aside a time for us to speak about keeping your team ahead of the curve.
Robert Kavanagh
