Measuring Intangibles...

One of the most difficult aspects in business today is how do business leaders measure, track, monitor and evaluate today's sales methodologies?

Seems strange that just one year ago or so the world was a completely different place and now that world seems like it was not one year ago but more like 100 years ago. Things have changed in so many ways that today's environment is uncharted and uncertain which is causing much anxiety in companies where productivity in sales was rooted in very tangible reporting processes.

Taking a client out to lunch, dinner, a ball game or even a quick cup of coffee almost seems antiquated because why wouldn't you just do a Zoom or conference call? The aspect of that dynamic is so literally and forever disrupted in the customer's new mentality to NOT take time to meet with a representative in person....no matter the enticement of seeing a great game or eating at a five star restaurant...gone.

So how do we measure this selling process that was so routine just 18 months ago? There were weekly reports, CRM analytics and meetings that unveiled stories and anecdotes of engagement with a potential customer that spoke to the potential or likelihood of a sale...that reassured management that things were progressing to an outcome favorable to them.

Gone are the myriad conferences, after hour sessions and networking events to attend and "schmooz" until the wee hours of the night. In addition, so many influential people have been furloughed or changed jobs that reading someone's LinkedIn profile looked like a merry-go-round of job changes that who knows where anyone was anymore.

The conventional wisdom buzzing around the corporate community is that the fall of '21 will show a major return to offices by employees who have been working at home for the past 18 months...that should be an interesting dynamic.

So getting back to how do you measure what is now an intangible is the question many are asking in terms of tracking sales and the efforts required that surround this discipline.

In the last 5 months since getting assimilated into my current position I have written over 20 LinkedIn articles, added close to 60 posts of which all that has been seen by well over 40,000 cumulative viewers related to my content advocating for Rita's Hospitality Group.

Is one of the hundreds of "new normal's" now not how many sales calls you made (which get you no where today) but how many eyes saw a post or article you wrote on LinkedIn? Maybe so...some poo-poo it as a waste of time but I can say with a consistent voice of reason with quality content, my audience continues to grow in who sees my content. Trust is a building block to winning new business.

I can say, with over 3,500 followers and over 2,500 LinkedIn contacts my chances are much better to engage or influence a decision maker on the LinkedIn platform than any other place to get my message across. Is selling dead? In some ways yes, but using the right social media tools properly like LinkedIn is opening up a whole new field to sow seed into and hopefully will reap a harvest.

One last thing I saw recently...70% of a buyers purchase is made before contacting a salesperson...my guess is the remaining 30% is influenced by what they see on LinkedIn or not.

Have a great July 4th holiday and God bless the USA!

Joseph A. Rogan, VP Sales and Marketing at Rita's Hospitality Group writes frequently on topics relevant to today's culture and business environment.

[email protected] / www.ritascatering.com