Sales 2.0 philosophy includes sharing good ideas and best practices, both internally and with prospects and customers.   I’ve had some great conversations in the last few months with sales and marketing leaders as well as CEO’s about what is working in sales right now. Rather than making “sales calls”, I am making “information exchange” calls.  Sharing valuable content – whether written or oral – is one way of building or strengthening trusted relationships with prospects and customers, especially at a time when budgets are tight.   It is often the case that I learn a great deal during these phone conversations about what companies are experiencing – and what creative new approaches they are taking to sales.

Good ideas and innovative sales approaches can also come from outside your own industry.  This is why I was thrilled to contribute to a collaborative  e-book, written along with ten well-regarded sales experts, to help salespeople “sell their way to recovery” in various verticals.  Imagine the competitive advantage you could attain by learning proven ideas not only inside your company and with others in your industry, but also from those in completely different businesses.   This e-book gives you this opportunity.  Each author shares ten quick, actionable ideas for selling to a particular industry, but many of the practices can be successfully applied in any industry.  I have learned how effective this cross-industry approach  is in my consulting business, Phone Works, where we have proven that innovative practices such as technology-enabled phone and Web selling work outside of the technology industry.  We have had great success in client companies applying Sales 2.0  in many other industries, including health care, the vertical I wrote about in this e-book.  Currently, we are working with two environmental organizations that want to learn how to reap the same kind of effectiveness and efficiency  benefits that Sales 2.0 businesses are enjoying.  Cross-industry idea-sharing works!

What new sales ideas are you testing this quarter? What idea-sharing practices or processes have worked for you?

Here’s more information about the e-book:

Download this Free eBook

Selling in a recession is tough. And simply doing more of the same is not the way to survive, much less thrive, in a recession. There are important dos and don’ts in times like these. This eBook is your industry-specific roadmap out of the economic slump.

Selling through a Slump: An Industry-by-Industry Playbook brings together sales strategies and best practices from 11 top sales experts from 11 distinct vertical market sectors, ranging from retail to health care to telecom—because one size doesn’t always fit all. The practical tips and experience-based wisdom here aren’t just limited to any single industry, though. Regardless of your market sector, you’re bound to find value in this arsenal of great sales ideas.

Get access to exclusive tips on how to sell in a recessionary market, from renowned sales experts like Jill Konrath, Charles Green, and Dave Stein. We know you’ve got questions—this eBook was created to give you answers.
Click here for valuable sales strategies from experts in every industry:

Charles Green, Founder and CEO, Trusted Advisor Associates Selling for Accountants and Consultants	Skip Anderson, Founder, Selling to Consumers Sales Training Selling for Retailers	Mike Kujawski, Founder, Centre of Excellence for Public Sector Marketing Selling to Public Sector Clients
Mike Wise, VP, Insurance Technologies, IdeaStar Incorporated Selling for Insurance Agent	Matt Homann, Founder, LexThink LLC Selling for Lawyers	Anneke Seley, Founder and CEO, PhoneWorks LLC Selling in Health Care
John Caddell, Caddell Insight Group Selling in Telecommunications Markets	Dave Stein, Founder and CEO of ES Research Group, Inc Selling Technology	Jill Konrath, Author, Selling to Big Companies Selling in Services

Anne Miller, Founder, Chiron Associates Selling Media

Dave Brock, President and CEO, Partners in EXCELLENCE Selling to Manufacturers

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