Google vs Facebook

The normal, lightning-fast, overwhelmingly-heavy rash of social media hubbub has dealt with extra fuel of late. A couple weeks ago, I couldn't resist and threw my hat into the ring with a post about Google +'s intriguing new approach to geo-tagging. After all the sharing was done it was one of the most popular post of the summer here for the 2-Pros team.

Inevitably, one of the resulting conversations had readers asking us about this whole Google vs Facebook idea. Being interested in the topic enough to stray from our normal topic already, we couldn't resist putting our two cents in on this subject.

 I'll admit that I probably use enough Google products to qualify as a fanboy. Its just that they make my life so darn easy. So, when Google says that they don't have designs on becoming the next big thing in social media and going after Facebook, I believe them.  I believe both that there are many other ways to be successful on a social internet than copying Facebook and that there's room for two giants in that arena anyway.

Here's what I think is interesting though. Google truly has built a different animal with G+. Certainly if you want to pull all of your friends from Facebook or wherever you can create your own Facebook clone on G+ using large circles and private status updates. But for people who do that you're only using a small fragment of what G+ truly offers.

Consider these:

1) One-way sharing - It brings the openness of other popular social sites like Twitter to the table and allows a user to acquire and spread news from chosen sources. One user this morning called G+ his morning newspaper, others have pointed out how much more open sharing is compared to other sites.

2) Sparks - Still a bit of a fail from the development end, Google can really flex it's search muscle here and integrate Reader and News into Sparks. This will go above and beyond the offerings from one-way sharing and bring even more content into the Circles.

3) Google Integration - Yes, Facebook does do some of this, but Facebook is very slanted towards holding information within the Facebook community. With G+, there are obvious paths to connecting calendars, email, chat, contacts, documents, and much more with a wider breath of personal digital services. And of course, to Android.

So do I feel that Google is a threat to Facebook? Yes. I don't think that it will beat Facebook from the standpoint of private circle sharing. I think G+ does a better job at that, but it will need a significant amount of time to reach the user-base needed to really win in that arena. Where Google will win is in two places.

1) Time. No matter how awesome each Google and Facebook are, they are still competing for the same hours in the day that each of us have already decided to dedicate to online activity. I really don't feel that very many people will drastically increase their time spent online to use both G+ and Facebook. In the end, one site will win over the other for each person with the biggest factor likely being network preference. Those trying to meet new people and network publicly will choose G+, those who prefer to only share privately will stick with Facebook. I feel that G+ wins this battle simply because they offer both, and users who pick G+ will help to migrate their friends to minimize time spent online.

2) Mobile. Its no secret that mobile units are flying off the shelves from every carrier under the sun. Those devices are only going to get faster, more efficient, and more integrated. And we'll keep carrying them with us wherever we go. Facebook seems to have released more updates in the last two months than in the two years prior, but I can't get past their sluggish attitude. Facebook's mobile apps seem to always be the most barebones version of the online experience and Google won't stop on that level. While the G+ app is still very young, it's already easier in a number of ways. If you're the type to go social on the fly I just don't see how you can choose the Facebook app over the G+ app.

For me personally right now I'm on both. I know that it will take a year or more to really draw enough of my inner circle from Facebook and get them to stay up to date with me over on G+ so I will invest the extra time. I have nothing against Facebook, but in having to pick one, I have found that G+ is much better integrated with everything I need to do. Check me out here and Circle me up.

Let's keep some of this conversation flowing. I would like to talk about advantages for businesses on G+ as those pages become available.

Recommended Read from a Sales Guru

As many of you know we don't do a lot of plugging of other blogs here on the 2-Pros space, preferring to share those nuggets through other methods. But I found an article today that I felt needed to be shared via the blog.

For anyone unfamiliar with Michael Port, he is marketing and sales guru and author of Book Yourself Solid. He is highly motivational and has even more great advice on how to kickstart yourself to enhance your personal brand. You can check out more about Michael here. While you're there make sure to check out his Thinking Big Revolution, I haven't had the opportunity to join as much as I'd like, but some really good information is shared there.

His post today hits home about how to sell yourself. Honestly, it's not groundbreaking stuff from Michael, he promotes the same attitude and focus in every message I have heard him deliver, but this one I thought was especially clear. Check it out here.

It was encouraging for us here at 2-Pros, because even though we feel like we're coming out of the woods with the direction we want this thing to go, we lack the track record to fortify ourselves with credibility. But Michael's point about just selling yourself is perfect and one that we have been taking to heart. Even more than a great product you have to sell a prospect on the fact that you can meet their needs. It doesn't matter if you've never had the opportunity to meet that need before, you just have to show how confident and prepared you are to do it now.

Google + for Local Networks

On June 28th, Google cracked the doors to its newest attempt to social networking and began the process of drawing folks into Google +. Since then it's grown like crazy, becoming the fastest such network to hit the 10 and 20 million marks. There's been a lot of talk about what it will become and how long it will take to gain enough users to be relevant, but that's not quite what I'm going to talk about today.

As a quick note on my feelings there, I don't think that Google necessarily is trying to "kill"' Facebook, Twitter or any other social network. At 750 million users Facebook is all but unkillable anyway. I really think that Google's primary goal here is to build a network that will hold enough relevance to become mainstream, hopefully gaining as much usage as Facebook - though more would be nice - and in the end get two things: social relevance in search and of course advertising revenue. We can talk about those another time if it's of interest to you.

Today, I want to talk about local networking. Location-based posting has been available for longer than most of us probably realize. The feature that Four-Square popularized and Facebook offers mainstream has always been an interesting tool to me. However, I'll say that I have never once used it on either of those services. With Google +, however, I see it as a clear-cut advantage. Why? Because with Google + I have an opportunity to post publicly and link that by location. Now every single Google + user in my same geographical location can see my post and determine if they want to connect with me on that topic or others. But isn't that the same?

Why is this better than Four-Square? Because Four-Square really only dominates destinations. It's awesome for those people who are looking for local, popular destinations for just about anything from dining, to drinks, to entertainment, or even to get your hair done. But it lacks a network of people sharing knowledge about non-destination topics.

Facebook misses the boat here because you're only sharing with those people whom you have already mutually-befriended. It's impossible to build your network by only interacting with your existing network, and as a result, many Facebook location tags end up as little more than a destination tag. 

On Google +, users can add hobbies and professions on the top of the list for things they can connect on publicly and locally. These types of connections could lead to training groups for runners or cyclists, business ventures and partnerships, and of course good old local events fit in there too. Other than the reasons above I can't put a finger on why Google's offering makes this so much more obvious than the other two, perhaps it is just presentation. I do feel though, that this could be a very powerful tool for anyone looking to make new relationships for many purposes. 

My word of encouragement... use Google + like crazy, especially with public, geo-tagged posts. Even though the site is set up well to connect this way. There are a lot of bad habits and learning that has to go on before it will be obvious to everyone. It will be important to keep those posts clean of white-noise and to aggressively connect with others when they show interest. Similar to my last post, you never know what kind of seeds those networking efforts will sow for your future.

Opportunity Tirade

A non-themed thought from me today. Why are so many people unwilling to listen to a sales pitch?

I know a lot of the excuses. There are people who say I'm too busy. There are people who feel they weren't looking for anything. There are people who just can't afford to purchase something that they hadn't already planned on. But really, why not listen?

Both consumers and businesses carry this same attitude. And to a degree, I can identify with the above excuses. After all, I've skirted the island stand people at the mall, avoided eye contact with a representative in a department store, and politely told telemarketers to move on to the next dial.
As a salesperson though, this is frustrating. The product I'm pitching is designed to help them and I know it provides a strong Return on Investment. So why won't they listen to the offer before making a buying decision. If they knew the ROI wouldn't it then make logical sense?

I will probably write more about this when I get my head around more if it, but today I'm thinking about the networking aspect of meeting salespeople.

Suppose you're a business owner. You wear more hats than you can count on a daily basis. Ultimately you went into business because you had a passion for the product, but to make it work you have to run a company. You're smart, ambitious, and possess a solid work ethic, so you've managed to figure out enough to get it all done. But you know that you'll never do it perfectly, you're not a financial advisor or a marketing buff, and there's a new product out like every 3 min that you have to check against your current line. Some days you just wish you had VPs of those departments to handle that stuff.

In walks a salesperson. They may be a banker, media consultant, distributor, landscaper, or just about anything else. This is the person who you need to make friends with. They are there to sell you something sure, but in the end they'll pitch you an idea the same as your VP of Product would, you'll make a call and if you buy it, it costs what you would pay if you had scoured the internet and found it yourself. AND you save the VP salary because this guy gets paid by someone else.

I'm not saying that you need to take time to deliver your entire business plan to everyone who walks through the door with a "padfolio" in their hand, but you couldn't get hurt making friends with a few from each line. Even if you aren't looking for that service today, what if 6 months or 18 months down the line you are? Now you have to do all of your own homework.

This same argument can be made for consumers. So they're not out of this. How could you be worse off by learning about a product that a company spent millions of R&D dollars on to make sure it provided good value for you?

OK, a bit of a soapbox, but I feel its a good question. Why are we afraid of opportunities?

Selling to Decision - The Counterpoint

Last week I wrote about Selling to Decision to benefit the efficiency of both the salesperson and the seller. The most common argument that I hear from salespeople against this method, especially those who delay decision, is that they are afraid that selling to decision will harass or push the prospect. They tell me that this will almost inevitably lead to the prospect saying "no" to assert themselves and stay in the power position of the conversation.

There are a two main clarifications that can be made to show how this is not the case.

1. Selling to Decision is not about backing the prospect into a corner and demanding agreement.  Instead, Selling to Decision is about leading the sales process. When we maintain control of the sales process we reveal ourselves as professional sales people rather than retail store representatives. Whichever sales process you are using, you picked it for a reason, and leading a prospect through that process will allow them to progress through the stages and ultimately make a buying decision. Relinquishing that power to the prospect, in an effort to avoid pushing them, leaves them in some sort of limbo because they don't know what is supposed to happen next. 
2. Selling to Decision is not a on-the-spot ultimatum. At a glance, this one can sound a little hypocritical. Every sales process is comprised of stages, and just like any other process, each prospect will progress through those stages at different speeds. Perhaps they have made a poor buying decision in the past and want to due their due diligence. Perhaps they just don't trust themselves and have made a habit out of reviewing decisions like these with a third-party. Whatever the reason, sometimes today is just not going to be the day. That doesn't mean that departing the meeting and scheduling a follow-up is failing to sell to decision. By "bookmarking" the stage of the sales process at that first meeting the salesperson can still continue guiding the prospect through the stages at the subsequent meeting(s). 

Today we took some of the wrappings off the elephant in any sales discussion by mentioning the importance of sales process. Those of you who have followed us for a while know how passionate 2-Pros is about process, and an in-depth review of our take on sales process is coming on the horizon.

A Review of our Capabilities

We took a short hiatus and plan to promote a little differently in coming back to writing so if you're new to reading 2-Pros, please see our disclaimer here.

We are two professionals with experience in sales, finance, management, and marketing. We're students of those games as much as anyone else, but we get a kick out of talking about our experience and meeting more of your who do too. You'll find out a little more about that by checking about our fancy About the Author page, you'll find out a lot more about it by checking out our awesome posts. We enjoy social media and you can check us out at +Dave and +Charles.

Aside from qualifications we expect that you will agree our ideas and topics are significantly better than our writing. We make this apology now for all offenses made towards the English language by our blog.  We respect all of the great authors, journalists, copywriters, and all in the writing industry, and it's from that respect that we chose to work outside of it. We would detail some of the common errors we already know we will make, but that would just be self-depreciating.

Striving to end on a high note, we really hope that you enjoy what you find here. The online world of blogs and other social media gives today's professionals an incredible edge in that we can network with like-minded professionals around the globe in just minutes a day. Those networks both share and produce ideas that can accelerate even the most successful of careers/businesses/industries. And for that reason we say why not?

Sell to Decision

A one-off topic - Sell to Decision - is about getting a prospect or existing client to make a decision on whether or not to buy from you. Let's set this up, and because I like to work with what we can control, let's look at the facts:

1) You have products and services for sale.
2) You make your living (salary, commission, or biz revenue) from selling these products and services.
3) Nope, no 3 here, it's just as simple as above.

To be successful, you must present your wares to prospective clients. Depending on your industry this may happen at the prospect's location, at yours, or over the phone/internet, but it always must happen. And as every salesperson has experienced, as you present your products and services to your prospects you get three answers. You get yes, no, and maybe.

But wait a minute, remember that day when you were young? Perhaps you were laying on the living room floor counting holes in the popcorn ceiling of your parent's home while Saturday Morning Cartoons played in the background... maybe it was something else... but you shouted out to your passing mother, "Mom, can we go to the ______ today?" The answer was one you had heard before, "Maybe." This time however, it clicked, "Maybe" didn't really mean anything, while in fact it often resulted in "no," it wasn't unthinkable to earn a "yes" by trying another attempt. "Maybe" was some sort of meaningless limbo that meant your request had fallen on deaf ears which was about as effective as not asking at all.  You still had no idea what the result would be. Wanting to know if your day would be spent watching re-runs you follow your mother into the kitchen, repeat the question, and get an answer.

Presto, you just sold to decision. When salespeople take a "maybe" and head out the door the entire presentation was wasted. You're no further ahead than if you had skipped meeting the prospect. Sure there are times when a decision must practically be placed on hold while budgets are reviewed or board meetings are held. All-in-all however, a decision must be made for both the prospect and the salesperson to move forward. The prospect must know if their needs will be met by agreeing to purchase the product or if they will pursue other options. The salesperson must know if they need to deliver the goods or move on to the next prospect.

In this way, selling to decision, is a key component to any sales process. Without it you risk incredible inefficiency as you revisit indecisive prospects over and over. As you examine your sales process you should always check how your selling to decision is working. Are you clearly asking to do business today?

Next time, we'll talk about the counter-argument to Sell to Decision, which is the fear of forcing a no, when a yes seems possible through time.

Hi There

I know there aren't a ton of you out there yet, but Hello.

I apologize for the hiatus, things have been in a little bit of transition here at 2-Pros.  Yes I know we just started and I know that we didn't have much to transition from.  That's why 2-Pros really didn't change much.  We did though.  So here's an update of the pertinent details.

I moved from my financial industry job into a sales/marketing position.  The change was reasonably intense with a 3-week training program out of state and a whole new corporate culture to embrace.  I took the lead from a existing employee though and am convinced that it will greatly benefit 2-Pros.  It's the type of sales culture that will allow me to act much more like I have my own franchise and that sales/relationship experience is crucial to what we're doing here.

Other changes are in the mix as we continue to work on building the life experiences meant to bring greater clarity to the topic at hand here and eventually, the idea of taking directly to you through dedicated training programs.

I'm going to recommit to writing once a week as I work my way into a comfort zone in the new day-job and we'll continue to put out some thoughts for you.

The plan for the blog remains the same, we're most interested in two things.  1) Just write.  We need to put our thoughts into clear, teachable thoughts.  So must we write.  2) Gain users.  We want to create our own following so that we really know who is most interested in our topic, and so that we can create some conversation with you.

That's it this week, but we'll be back sooner this time.