I have two answers, a short one and a long one.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their tent all set up, both men fell sound asleep. 

Some hours later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger and says, ‘Kemo Sabe, look towards sky, what you see? ‘ 

‘The Lone Ranger replies, ‘I see millions of stars.’

‘What that tell you?’ asked Tonto. 

The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute then says, ‘Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. 

What does it tell you, Tonto?’ 

‘You dumber than buffalo. It means someone steal tent.’

Carole Mahoney has drawn several parallels between dating and sales. Blind dates. First dates. Last dates. Going steady. Trauma. Fear. Techniques.

I’m fortunate enough to participate in a weekly web conference with the Inbound Networkers Group.  This group is managed by the Rainmakermaker himself, Rick Roberge.  The tagline for Rick’s blog is “Selling in the 21st Century” and that’s what this article is about.  There’s a reason I try to make sure not to miss our Thursday calls – I get something new and useful out of every call.

Last Thursday, we spent a fair amount of time talking about the online-offline continuum within the context of selling.  Most, if not all, of the group are HubSpot customers and are firm believers in the power of inbound marketing.  I became a convert because I realized that inbound marketing syncs my selling process with the way people and organizations buy in the 21st century.  

Which brings me to the point of this article.  We all are getting leads using inbound marketing, but we all understand the ultimate success of our businesses depends upon our ability to successfully nurture a relationship that begins online into one that exists in the “real” world.  Unless you’re selling a product or commodity using eCommerce, people still buy from people.  To take that one step further, people buy from people they like and trust.

So here are some ideas for creating real relationships from virtual ones:

• Find someone who your prospect knows and respects and get an introduction.  Rick is probably the best networker that I’ve ever met – he believes in the concept of karma and shares his network with his friends.  That’s essentially the raison d’etre of the Inbound Networkers Group.  Getting an introduction from a trusted friend is the best form of social proof available.
• Learn about your prospect’s needs and desires before you try to take the relationship offline.  There are numerous resources available to find out basic information about your prospect – LinkedIn and Google are two quick ones that come to mind.  Try to take it one step further; find someone that knows your prospect and give her a call.  See if you can find out something that’s not available on LinkedIn.
• Don’t make it all about you!  Guess what – nobody cares.  Find a way to help solve a problem your prospect is facing and offer assistance without any expectations or requirements for a payback.  You might help your prospect by offering a framework to analyze options to solve a problem.  If you offer options that don’t include your solution, you demonstrate that you have the prospect’s best interests at heart.  Most people like options.
• Pick up the phone!  Many of us (myself included) rely too much on email.  Email is a great communications tool, but it lacks the immediate feedback you get from a live conversation.  When you pick up the phone, be respectful of your prospect.  Have a brief statement prepared that explains why you’re calling and the benefits of the prospect speaking with you.  Here’s an example:  “Hi, Joe, Rick Roberge suggested I give you a call about the new iPhone app you’re developing.  He thought it might be useful for us to kick around a few ideas on how to sell your app using your website and social media.  Is now a good time to talk?”

As we were discussing the online to offline relationship development, Rick offered a perspective that I hadn’t thought of.  What about the executive decision-maker who has had a long, successful career based on a totally offline style?  How do you educate that executive on the benefits of online relationships and selling?  In that situation, the key word is educate.  Without being pedantic, you need to demonstrate the value of online relationships in the 21st century selling paradigm.  In many instances, taking that relationship online is just as important as taking the online relationships offline.

If you’d like to learn more about the online-offline sales continuum, another good resource is the Collaborative Growth Network, run by HubSpot’s Pete Caputa.  In the interest of proper attribution, many of the ideas discussed above were offered and fleshed out by my Inbound Networkers Group colleagues including Rick Roberge, Matt Roberge, Dale Berkebile, Carole Mahoney, Michael Mills and Don Battis (forgive me if I forgot someone.)   If you’re interested in joining the group, please let us know.  I personally find the weekly teleconferences invaluable.  

And please – let us know your thoughts on taking online relationships offline and vice-versa.

After a while, does every post sound the same? Blah! Blah! Blah!

So, I in my last post, “To get better at sales look at your Barber!” I asked readers to vote on their answer to this question. You walk into a barber shop and see two barber chairs and two barbers. One of them looks like George Clooney. The other looks like Nick Nolte.
Which one do you want to cut your hair?

OK. I can hear the giggles. The old man has gone off the deep end. He’s started drooling and is ready for the rest home.

      

This is another guest post by Don Battis. Truthfully, I almost didn’t publish it because, well I’ll let you figure out why. In his own, unedited words, Don Battis…

The Inbound 12 event was a great opportunity to participate
in “the conversation”- just like we all are trying to do on social media.  Blogging, tweeting, and posting on Facebook
is fine. But for the most part, it is a one-way street in terms of having a
conversation. If nobody comments, replies, Retweets, or likes then we never
know if anyone is listening.  Maybe we’re
just amusing ourselves.

I was excited for the opportunity to meet and talk with some
of the Inbound Marketing thought leaders at Inbound 12. To prepare for the
conference, I made sure to stuff a big handful of business cards into my
pocket, and it was a good thing I did!

After the Opening Day Keynotes, where I got to shake hands
with David Meerman Scott, I set out
with the 2,800 other Inbound Marketers, eager to “work the room” and meet some other
Hubspot converts.  The common thread for
all was to become better marketers so that we could grow our businesses.

Pete Caputa says
in his collaborativegrowth.com blog, “working a room” at an event can be
tough.  It’s hard to introduce yourself
to people and make any kind of meaningful connections.  But walk into a that same room with someone
who is already known and trusted, like Rick
Roberge, and you will easily make valuable connections.

Guess who I ran into right after the keynotes, aimlessly
wandering the hallways?        

I dragged him with me to hear Mark Roberge’s talk on Paid Media.  This presentation was tops on my list that morning,
as I wanted to meet more of the @rainmakermaker family. I already know Mark’s little brother, Matt, who has an online bookkeeping business in Salt Lake City.                                                                                                

We were no sooner seated in our row when Rick asks the man
next to him, “Who are you and what do you do?” 
“Why, I’m David Gran.  I sell homes near military bases.” 

“Oh”, says Rick. “You should meet Don Battis. He has an online pawn shop. You two
might be selling to the same people. Give him a business card.” So we exchanged
cards and talked about HubSpot.

Then the man in the next row turns around to see what is
going on.  “Who are you and what do you
do?” asks Rick. “I’m Hoyt Mann. I sell
customer support software.” The man replies. 
“Very cool.” Says Rick.  “These
guys must need software in their business. 
Give them business cards.”

After the presentation, Rick looks up from his phone and
says to me, “Come on we’re having lunch with Arjun Moorthy.  He’s HubSpot’s VP of Product.”

Off we go to the lunchroom, which is now crowded with most
of the 2,800 attendees.  Rick gets a call
from Arjun who’s never met Rick and is wondering how they’ll find each other in
that crowed room.  “Don’t worry”, says
Rick. “You’ll find me.  I’m standing next
to Don Battis who’s a tall guy with white hair.” (Yeah, and he should have
added that he was the other tall white haired guy with the LOUD Hawaiian shirt.)

Soon enough, Arjun found us; we picked up our lunches, and
started the search for a place to sit.  Arjun
ran into an old friend, Rob Theis, who
joined our little lunch group.  Rob is
Managing Director of Scale Venture Partners, an early investor in HubSpot.  Rob knew of a small media room next door
where we found a quiet place to eat lunch. 
As we all sat at a big round table, we exchanged business cards and chatted
about our various HubSpot experiences.  Rick
noticed a man at the next table. He was sitting all by himself with his nose
pushed into his laptop.  “Hey you!”
called Rick.  “Stop pretending to work
and come join us.”  The man came to join
us at our table.  It turned out he is a
CBS Chicago reporter doing interviews of the keynote speakers at
Inbound12.  Shame on him though, he came
empty handed with no business cards!

Soon Mike Volpe,
CMO at HubSpot, sat down with us.  I have
always wanted to meet Mike because I’m a big fan of the Friday afternoon
HubSpot TV.  HubSpot TV is the signal in
our office to “crack open a cold one.” 

We covered a lot of ground in our lunchtime conversation (sailing,
San Francisco restaurants, Boston bars, Cindy Lauper, etc.) and all of it
related somehow to HubSpot.  We all had
different connections with the company and I think we all learned a little
something from the varied perspectives. 

Throughout the rest of conference, both on my own and as
part of Rick’s Posse, I came to view the Inbound 12 as an Inbound Networking
event.  It is what marketers want social
media to be, a place for word-of-mouth referrals and connections.  But it takes a sales person to say “Hello”,
stick out a hand, and exchange business cards to actually connect. 

Rick’s blog gives those of us, who guest post and comment, a
way to expand our reach to his followers. 
We’re trying to engage with new people and hopefully make new
connections.  But even online, it’s not a
passive activity.  You need to
participate.

So, now you know how to make me blush, but amidst all the ‘Rick’ stuff, Don made a great point. Inbound Marketing works even better if you get your vocal chords involved. Come check out the Inbound Networkers Group on LinkedIn and/or join us at one of our weekly online meetings.

Thanks, Don!