Predicting what the future will look like has become a pop culture phenomena. Movies like Tomorrowland, Terminator, Wall-E and Back to the Future have each provided us with the writers’ take on what the future holds for us and what we can change today to impact tomorrow.
As a sales manager, if you knew the future, wouldn’t you want to make changes today that drastically change the future prospects of your entire sales team?
As inbound marketing and sales consultants, one of our roles is to help our clients navigate new technology. We help them respond to changes in the buying process to better connect with prospects and generate more leads. Our clients want to be a part of the future and not the past. They understand that today's changes in their sales tools and processes set the stage for future revenue growth. They are truly planting the seeds for tomorrow.
As I write this blog post, today is October 20, 2015—one day before “Back to the Future Day" of October 21, 2015. Back to the Future Day is the actual day that Michael J. Fox’s character goes into the future in the movie Back to the Future II. The movie is an interesting look at what we thought the future held for us at the time the movie was made, in 1989.
For those not familiar with the movie, the premise is that Marty McFly has to go into the future (from October 26, 1985 to October 21, 2015) to help his future children. During this look into the future, we see inventions that are becoming reality today, such as the hoverboard (now made by Lexus), wearable tech devices (like Google Glass) and flying cars (like the new Terrafugia announced recently).When we were in 1985, these inventions looked far-fetched and only the foolish believed they were actually going to happen. Now, 30 years later, these inventions are becoming real and will possibly change everything that we do. Quite literally, the future is now.
For sales managers, it’s important to understand that the buying process has changed over the past 35 years. Computers, the Internet, mobile phones, and voicemail didn’t exist. Now, buyers have access to more information than ever before. They can bypass salespeople (or send them to voicemail) and access information when they want and how they want it. As a result, the way we sell has to change.
For sales managers using the same lead generation tactics from 35 years ago (such as relying on direct mail and cold calling) to generate leads, it’s time to realize that the future of sales and marketing is now. Sales enablement tools and technology exist today that can modernize your sales team and drive new revenue.
Look into the future 35 years from today—to 2050. If you could make changes today that would impact your entire organization and have as many leads as you needed to make your budget every quarter, how much would it be worth to you?
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