Let's face it: salespeople no longer have the upper hand.
Prospects can now look you up online and learn about your -- and your competitor's -- product, its features, its pricing, and quite a lot in between. In fact, according to Corporate Executive Board, prospects are already 60% through the sales cycle before a sales rep ever touches them. So what's a salesperson to do?
HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan, who has been a salesguy since the early 90s, has a word of advice: Use inbound selling. "Buyers have more information available to them, and higher expectations for a relevant, personal experience when making a purchase. Giving them that relevant, personal, “delightful” experience that is driven by their needs and happens on their timeline is what an inbound approach to sales is all about."
Here's a snazzy SlideShare put together by Brian and the team here at HubSpot on how sales has changed and how to start using inbound selling to close more leads.