Happy New Year- Our popular hot list is back. What’s OUT and What’s IN for 2008? Everyone is endorsing inside sales. This group clearly leads in the SMB and Enterprise space and is best positioned for a Sales 2.0 environment. As sales organizations are undergoing major restructuring efforts, inside sales continues to bulk up. Field sales organizations are trading in their frequent flyer mileage for a cubicle spot within corporate sales.
This year will be filled with excitement and new surprises. Fasten your seat-belts because you’re going on a memorable ride this year. Our Hotlist is loaded with cool ideas, as well as a splash of pop culture, to get you geared for a fantastic year.
| What’s Out | What’s In |
|---|---|
| Forecast probability | Forecast predictability |
| Going 3 quarters without sales comp plans | Realisitc comp plans that motivate |
| Burning lead development teams out | Career paths for lead development teams |
| Selling to the powerless No-Po’s | Aligning with the high influencers |
| Measuring phone activity | Creating dashboards |
| Toxic Managers | Innovative Managers |
| Business Cards | Video Blogging |
| Outsourcing declines for inside sales | Hiring multi-lingual inside sales reps |
| Marketing versus Sales | Marketing and Sales are interdepedent |
| Reducing carbon footprint | ECO-ICONIC |
| Parents wearing cool jeans | Parents with Facebook page |
| Printed handouts | Laptops |
| iPhones | MacBook Air |
| The Prius | The Smart Fortwo |
| Sudoku | Scrabulous |
| Ben Affleck as actor | Ben Affleck as director |
| Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer | Heath Ledger as the Joker |
| Trade Kobe | Trade Dirk |
| Pinkberry | Vita Coco |
| Jason Bourne | Indiana Jones |
| Pinot Noir | Vinho Verde |
| The Beckhams | The Bradys |
| Women’s World Cup | EuroCup |
| Selling homes | Buying homes |
| Hollywood Writers | Philanthropists |
| Web 2.0 | Sales 2.0 |