I’m live at the largest tech show in the world this week. That can only mean it’s Dreamforce! With 160,000 registered attendees all working in or in support of sales, Dreamforce is not only the largest tech gathering but the largest sales support gathering in the world.
The main themes this year are Be Your Best and Be a Trailblazer. Here is what that means to me:
- Trailblazing means leading the way. As sellers, We tend to think about that relative to how we are leading the the way in our market and with our products, but what about leading the way with our customers? How are you leading the way to create success for your community? As well, how are you leading the way with your sales approach? The best companies today don’t just have trailblazing products, they have trailblazing processes and people that blaze a path for customer success.
- Along with leading the way, trailblazing organizations are changing the way they sell to meet their customers new expectations. They are throwing out conventional thoughts of B2B and B2C and embracing the concept of B2All. They are facilitating buying processes, not forcing sales processes. And, they are treating their buyers as peers (equals) not partners.
- Trailblazers set the tone for success, and once you know why they are successful, you can replicate their behavior across the organization. A sales team is at their best, when they capture what is working now, for the trailblazers on the team and use that to train the rest of the team. Trailblazing can be taught. As a manager head on to the road with your best performers. Document what they are doing well and show the rest of the team how it’s done.
- Being your best as an organization means that everyone has a stake in customer success. You can’t have one department operating well, only to have the customer let down by another. If production creates an excellent product and sellers don’t sell, that’s not being your best. If sellers sell the product and shipping can’t get it out the door, that’s not being your best either. And, if the teams are not paid to do the right thing for the customer, (AKA Wells Fargo) you certainly will never be at your best.
I’ll be reporting from Dreamforce all week and I hope you will join me. If you are in town you can catch me at the Sales Summit Tuesday over in the Marriott Marquis and in the Adobe Document Cloud Signature Tea Room from 1-4 Thursday. Don’t be shy!
