Internal Sales Blogging

Here’s a subject gaining plenty of web postings at the moment.  Marketing and Sales operations the world over are putting blogs online for their (often remote) colleagues to search out vital data and share experiences of the market place.

My very latest customer I just found bought my services after at one sales meeting, their top rep (called John) said they needed a place to ‘host’ all their successes and why they were happening, and he cited, apparently, his positive use of a Triumph blog in his hobby pursuit of motorbiking. 

None of the sales departments I support (all B2B-solution orientated) have travelled this road so far.  And I know why.  Reps are not the same as everyone else.  They will take, but not necessarily give.  In my experience, there is an indisputable 50-50 split, with half of guys engaging from day one, the other half always giving the lame excuse they haven’t got the time (or worse) for this type of initiative.  And if you’re aware of true crm compliance rates then this’ll not be news to you.

What you have to do, is do it for them.  That means populating it for them with intel that they’ve asked for, and then turn it into a proper application.  Both these go beyond the use envisaged for mere blogging right now, but can indeed be achieved…..

My personal perspective is that the blog approach I outline is suited for niche knowledge areas.  The main one being where non-prospect specific intel can be shared, that occurs and can be used, across each sales territory, either to give other reps confidence and/or selling ideas, or provide credibility when the prospects require proof you’ve achieved results for others.