The New Rules of Sales and Service: How to Use Agile Selling, Real-Time Customer Engagement, Big Data, Content, and Storytelling to Grow Your Business

Sales and service are being radically redefined like never before. With buyers now in possession of unlimited information, online content is quickly becoming the dominant driver for commerce. Today anyone working in sales or customer service needs to possess entirely new skills. Unfortunately most organizations are still using traditional selling and service models developed for a different time. In this new book by the author of the #1 bestseller The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott demystifies the new digital commercial landscape and offers inspiring and valuable guidance for anyone not wanting to be left behind. Rich with revealing, first-hand accounts of real businesses that are charting this new territory and finding astounding success a bicycle manufacturer that engages customers with honest and revealing openness; an enterprising network of home basement repair contractors that educates clients with free publications and innovative visual software; and an independent physician who provides her patients with online video notes to help them follow detailed medical instructions The New Rules of Sales & Service shows how innovative businesses large and small are discovering new opportunities, strengthening customer loyalty, and mastering real-time buyer satisfaction. Among the topics covered in detail: * Why the old rules of sales and service no longer work in an always-on world * The new sales cycle and how informative Web content drives the buying process * Providing agile, real-time sales and service 24/7 without letting it rule your life * The importance of defining and understanding the buyer personas * How agile customer service retains existing clients and expands new business * Why content-rich websites motivate interest, establish authority, and drive sales * How social media is transforming the role of salesperson into valued consultant Required reading for any organization that interacts with the public ranging from independent consultants to established large corporations and small businesses to new start-ups and non-profits The New Rules of Sales & Service is the essential guidebook for anyone attempting to navigate the exciting and evolving digital landscape. Note: The New Rules of Sales & Service is neither an update nor a sequel to The New Rules of Marketing & PR; rather it complements the earlier book. Each book focuses on and outlines different strategies: Marketing and PR use online content to reach many buyers at once; Sales and Service use online content to reach buyers one at a time. The New Rules of Sales & Service tailors its strategies and tactics to reflect this difference.