PARTNER CORNER
The future of business is social selling
Powerful new connections for HP Partners and Customers
by Vincent Brissot , Head of Channel Marketing & Operations , HP
In last quarter ’ s journal Jos Brenkel , Global Head of Sales Strategy and Operations , noted that the “ reinvent ” credo of the new HP Inc . was not just about products , but about process — as evidenced by HP ’ s fully redesigned channel strategy . HP Social Media Center , part of the new HP sales portal , makes it easier for our partners to share HP ’ s innovation with their customers for better business outcomes . It provides partners with support and resources to help them thrive in the new world of social business . Greater online visibility and engagement means a greater opportunity for customers to find partners with the solutions and expertise they need to achieve desired business outcomes .
The Art of Selling has gone digital , and B2B commerce is fundamentally changing . The customer journey has migrated online : sixty-seven percent of purchase decisions are now made before the buyer ever makes contact with a sales rep . Seventy-two percent of B2B customers research solutions via social media . 1 To have a presence in that crucial awareness-consideration-decision journey , HP and their partners need to meet customers where they are . This retooling may be a challenge , but this move to social business has as many advantages for partners as for customers . In these relatively early days , 78 percent of sales people leveraging social media are outselling their peers , and they ’ re connecting with customers who have significantly higher budgets . 2 Social selling is here to stay , and HP ’ s transformation of the sales process is aimed squarely at equipping
1 “ Social Media and Sales Quota Report ”, A Sales Guy Consulting , 2014
2 IDC , “ Social Buying Meets Social Selling : How Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase Experience ”, April 2014 our partners to better serve our customers .
The growth of social media is changing the very nature of how we interact , with a million active mobile social users signing on to social media sites every single day . 3 Business interactions have evolved from face-to-face , to phone-to-phone , to the current screen-to-screen environment .
“ What ’ s next , robots buying and selling ?” Well … yes
The next transformational leap in B2B commerce is imminent : robot to robot , AI-driven negotiation .
3 Forrester — top channels : Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , Google +, http :// bit . ly / IJ3 _ 07
From customer standpoint
72 % of B2B buyers use social media to research solutions
From sales standpoint
84 % of buyers who use social media have larger budgets
67 % of purchase decisions made before buyer engages a sales rep
78 % of sales people using social media outsell their peers
Sources : 72 % = DemandGen Report , 2013 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey ; 67 % = SiriusDecisions , 2015 B-to-B Buyer Study ; 84 % = IDC , “ Social Buying Meets Social Selling : How Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase Experience ”, April 2014 ; 78 % = “ Social Media and Sales Quota Report ”, A Sales Guy Consulting , 2014
Does that sound implausible ? Consider how the accelerating trajectory of technology has offered buyers and sellers new ways to efficiently close deals . As far back as 1991 , scientific papers were predicting negotiation planning via artificial intelligence . Fast forward to Facebook ’ s recent investment in chat-bot technology to help businesses answer customer inquiries , provide information , and facilitate transactions . Granted , AI and bots in commerce are in their infancy , but Gartner has predicted that by 2020 , customers will manage 85 % of their relationship with the enterprise without interacting with another human .
What does this mean for our partners ? It means that traditional selling tools are not
16 Innovation Journal · Issue 3 · Summer 2016
PARTNER CORNER
The future of business
is social selling
Powerful new connections
for HP Partners and Customers
by Vincent Brissot, Head of Channel Marketing & Operations, HP
In last quarter’s journal Jos Brenkel, Global Head of Sales
Strategy and Operations, noted that the “reinvent” credo
of the new HP Inc. was not just about products, but about
process—as evidenced by HP’s fully redesigned channel
strategy. HP Social Media Center, part of the new HP sales
portal, makes it easier for our partners to share HP’s inno-
vation with their customers for better business outcomes. It
provides partners with support and resources to help them
thrive in the new world of social business. Greater online
visibility and engagement means a greater opportunity for
customers to find partners with the solutions and expertise
they need to achieve desired business outcomes.
T
he Art of Selling has gone digital, and B2B
commerce is fundamentally changing.
The customer journey has migrated on-
line: sixty-seven percent of purchase decisions
are now made before the buyer ever makes
contact with a sales rep. Seventy-two percent
of B2B customers research solutions via social
media. 1 To have a presence in that crucial aware-
ness-consideration-decision journey, HP and
their partners need to meet customers where
they are. This retooling may be a challenge, but
this move to social business has as many ad-
vantages for partners as for customers. In these
relatively early days, 78 percent of sales people
leveraging social media are outselling their
peers, and they’re connecting with customers
who have significantly higher budgets. 2 Social
selling is here to stay, and HP’s transformation of
the sales process is aimed squarely at equipping
1 “Social Media and Sales Quota Report”, A Sales Guy
Consulting, 2014
2 IDC, “Social Buying Meets Social Selling: How
Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase Experience”,
April 2014
16 Innovation Journal · Issue 3 · Summer 2016
From customer standpoint
72%
67%
of B2B buyers use
social media to
research solutions
of purchase decisions
made before buyer
engages a sales rep
From sales standpoint
84%
of buyers who use
social media have
larger budgets
78%
of sales people using
social media outsell
their peers
Sources: 72% = DemandGen Report, 2013 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey; 67% = SiriusDecisions, 2015 B-to-B
Buyer Study; 84% = IDC, “Social Buying Meets Social Selling: How Trusted Networks Improve the Purchase
Experience”, April 2014; 78% = “Social Media and Sales Quota Report”, A Sales Guy Consulting, 2014
our partners to better serve our customers.
The growth of social media is changing the
very nature of how we interact, with a million ac-
tive mobile social users signing on to social media
sites every single day. 3 Business interactions have
evolved from face-to-face, to phone-to-phone,
to the current screen-to-screen environment.
“What’s next, robots buying
and selling? t])QЁɅ͙ɵѥɍ)́ɽЁѼɽа$ɥٕѥѥ($ɕѕˊQѽQݥѕȰ)%хɅ1% 輽й%(|)́ѡЁͽչͥ
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