I had a lot of fun yesterday leading the first Sales 2.0 book club discussion, aptly named the “Best Sellers” Book Club by my sponsor.  After presenting a brief summary of what Sales 2.0 is all about and key takeaways from the book, I introduced five ideas: examples of Sales 2.0 practices that are producing results for our clients at Phone Works and other leading sales executives.  The majority of the time was spent on interaction and conversation, focusing on what Sales 2.0 initiatives were most likely to help participants – all inside sales managers – accelerate their team’s revenue results.
Because the participants were in three countries (India, Canada, and across the U.S), the book club discussion was an online and phone event, supported by Sales 2.0 (web collaboration) software.    Here are the discussion questions I prepared for each part of the book:
Part 1:

• How would you rate your sales team given the definition of Sales 2.0 and descriptions of Sales 2.0 Strategy, People, Process, and Technology? What improvements could you make?
• What factors do you see driving your business to Sales 2.0? How can you take advantage of those trends?
• Would you describe your company’s mindset as Sales 1.0 or Sales 2.0 or both? In what ways? How can you move your organization more toward a Sales 2.0 culture?

Part 2:

• Do you have an inside sales organization? Is it the “Strategic Central Nervous System” of Sales 2.0 in your company? In what ways? What improvements could you make?
• What elements of a “cold calling 2.0” approach make sense for your team when engaging new prospects?
• Is there channel conflict between your inside and  field sale organizations? If so, what are some new approaches you could try to alleviate it?

Part 3:

• Can your company learn anything from the featured companies’ sales strategies and implementations?
• How do you stay up on best practices and new ideas with other sales managers, both inside and outside your company?
• Is there anything to be learned from companies in other industries or at different growth stages?

Part 4:

• What are some of your ideas for new Sales 2.0 pilot programs within your organization that you think could have the most impact on revenue?
• How will you launch them and roll them out?
• A number of Sales 2.0 productivity tools are discussed.  Which of these could potentially benefit your sales team, your prospects and customers?

Would a Sales 2.0 Book Club event, focusing on revenue generating ideas, make sense for your sales team? If so, contact me!