General

Selling is an art. But even the best masterpieces start with a foundation, outline or framework. Selling is no different. I believe those 3 pillars are:

1. Content
2. Context
3. Call to Action

As you think about your selling strategies for 2019, I recommend you think about your foundation and optimize your technology accordingly. The right foundation will not only equip your sellers for success, but it will combine the right departments in the organization to work together. Because selling is a team sport, especially B2B selling.

Content

Content is King! If there’s one thing we can learn from Hollywood, great content wins. Even as Netflix, HBO, Amazon Prime, and many others battle it out for consumer mindshare, it’s the engaging content that gets consumers to return (or binge watch all night). Same is true with selling, buyers are looking at content to help them make their purchase. These 3 stats say it all:

1. 82% of buyers viewed at least 5 pieces of content from the winning vendor (Source: Forrester)
2. 94% of B2B buyers view multiple pieces of content from the vendor they ultimately select (Source: DemandGenReport)
3. On average, customers engage with 11.4 pieces of content prior to making a purchase (Source: Forrester)

As a seller, content should be as important (at least top 3) as the CRM/tools you use to do business. And if your company is large enough, you should be leveraging your Marketing team to give you access to the latest, greatest and most relevant content.

But let’s be honest, what really happens? Tell me if this sounds familiar.

1. Seller finds some random PDF/PPT or web link, and sends it blindly to a buyers (expecting it’s some magic bullet to seal the deal)
2. Marketing has no idea what sellers are using and if it’s even the latest and greatest
3. Seller and Marketing have no idea if buyers even looks at it

As a result, you buyers have no context with all the content being shared. Buyers are busy, and it’s not realistic to expect them to make sense of all your content out there…without context. This is an opportunity to start working smarter, not harder. More on that later.

Context

Context is relevance. If the buyer doesn’t see WIIFM (What’s in it for me?), they are going to move on. The best content in the world can mean diddly-squat if there’s no context for the buyer reviewing it. So how do you provide context. Well, ideally you do that in person. This is why it’s rarely a good idea to send over a PPT cold. You need to add a storyline. You could attempt to write that out in the email, but that’s going to be too long and likely won’t be read.

So if you can’t be there in person, be there virtually through video. Video is a fantastic medium to add context such as:

1. Who you are: If you’re asking for money, at least have the decency to tell the buyer who you are
2. What you want: Time is precious, tell the buyer what you want and…
3. Why should the buyer care: Remember WIIFM…yes, this is about the buyer, not you
4. What next: What do you want the buyer to do next if interested

So you’ve put together the perfect content, and you’ve added some personal and engaging context. Last but not least, you need a call to action.

Call to Action

Call to Action is the close. It may not be the close of sale, but it should be moving the buyer in that direction. Ask the buyer what you want (remember, if you don’t ask, you won’t receive). But the ask needs to match the content and context. If you’re just starting the dialog, maybe the ask is to register for an event or book a time to meet. If you are further along, maybe it’s to review and approve the order. If this is post-sales, maybe it’s to review the 30-60-90 day rollout plan. Always have a call to action (unless it’s a purely informative message) that’s appropriate to the state of the buyer journey.

Summary

By 2020, customers will manage 85% of the buyer’s journey without interacting with a single human being (Source: Gartner). This means that content will only become MORE important, and so will the need for context and call to action. And remember, 80% of buyers want to continue to receive content after a sale is completed (Source: MarketingProfs), so this approach will help you in both net-new sales and support/renewals/growth.

If you’re looking for a platform to provide your sales, customer success and marketing teams a way to quickly pull together content, add personalized and relevant context, and display engaging call to actions, check out OneMob. OneMob allows sellers to pull together multiple pieces of content on a single company branded web page, add a personal video for context, and display multiple call to actions to elicit a response from your buyer. Every action made from the buyer is tracked, so the seller (and Marketing) know what content is being viewed, by who, and for how long. And all these activities are automatically logged back to your CRM like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics.

The last 3 months of the year always go by so fast. As we start to close out 2018, we are reminded of some of the amazing accomplishments we’ve had this year. Here’s our top 5 list and a couple predictions of what’s to come…

#5 – This was very surprising, but we were invited to the Emergence Capital Founders’ Forum to learn how they are helping some of the largest and fasting growing companies in the world (Salesforce, Veeva, Box, Zoom, Yammer, and so many more) build out their sales and marketing GTM strategy and team. They speak to 2000 CEOs each year and only invite 20 (1%) to this exclusive event. It was a company honor and we learned a bunch of valuable insight. Thanks you Emergence Capital!

#4 – One of the best things about enterprise software is that it’s a collaboration game. No one tool can do it all (and if they say the can…I’d keep looking). OneMob is no exception, we add value in certain places and lean on others to complete the flow. We are so thankful to our official (and unofficial) partners including Salesforce, Vengreso, Cisco, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Box, Google Drive, Dropbox, Outreach, SalesLoft, DialSource, Zoom, Conversica, ZipWhip, FEVO…more to come. We look forward to delivering the best enterprise platform together.

#3 – Sports has become a material vertical for us. OneMob is now used by 30% of the NBA and 20% of the MLB. We have already started to expand to other leagues including NFL, NHL, MLS and more. People go to sporting events to make experiences and memories…and Sports Sellers are seeing video as an effective way to sell the experience, not the ticket.

#2 – We released so many amazing features, here’s just a sample:

• Document Tracking (send and track any document)
• Record Face and Screen simultaneously with OneScreen (even on top of full screen PowerPoint)
• Integration with MS Dynamics (we already integrate to Salesforce)
• Email Scheduling
• Advanced Video Editing on the Web, including Green Screen and Trimming
• Content Security Control (i.e. password protection and expiration dates)
• Mail Merge (use OneMob in any 3rd party emailing tool, while still tracking all viewer engagement) – check out our SalesLoft and Outreach integrations
• Video Approval (setup approval workflow before videos are used publicly)

There are so many more to list and enjoy. Feel free to learn more here.

And #1 is OneMob makes Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. We worked hard to secure our first ELA with a fortune 100 while achieving near profitability in 2018. To be placed in this list with so many amazing companies is such an incredible honor. We at OneMob are so grateful and even more motivated to continue to provide you the best video and content platform.

So What’s in Store for 2019?

Let’s start with 3 things because you know things always change.

1. Enterprise software is always consolidating and we see this as an opportunity to evolve and grow. Look for our platform to truly become more than just video.
2. We are moving away from self-service individuals to focus on team and enterprises. This will allow us to tailor our roadmap to features and benefits for teams of 10 users or more.
3. Finally we want to improve the gap between Sales and Marketing. Many OneMob users are in Sales, but they lean heavily on Marketing to make content. OneMob is focused on building a product that provides: Content (Marketing) + Context (Sales) + Call to Action (Results)

Enjoy the rest of 2018 and have a great 2019!

ONEMOB RANKED AMONG THE FASTEST GROWING PRIVATE COMPANIES IN THE BAY AREA BY THE SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES

San Francisco, CA, 11/13/18 – OneMob announced that it has been ranked no. 39 by the San Francisco Business Times on the 27th annual Fastest Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area list, an exclusive ranking of the region’s fastest growing private companies; one of the most important segments of the local economy.  The winners and rankings were unveiled at an awards gala on October 30th, 2018 at the Four Seasons San Francisco. To view the complete list visit, click here. This is OneMob’s first year on the list.

The FAST 100 list ranks the Bay Area’s fastest-growing private companies by percent growth in net revenue from 2015 to 2017. Net revenue is revenue less deductions for returns and allowances or credit, when applicable.

To qualify for the list, companies must meet the following criteria: 1) headquartered in the Bay Area, which is defined as the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo, and the city of Palo Alto. 2) an independent, privately held corporation, proprietorship or partnership (not a subsidiary or division) through fiscal year 2017 3) net revenue greater than $200,000 in fiscal year 2015. 

“Our region is renowned as a hub for innovation and as an ecosystem that fosters growth companies, said Mary Huss, Publisher of the San Francisco Business Times.  OneMob, along with all of the companies on the list deserve special recognition because they fuel our regional economy.”

OneMob is a content sharing and tracking platform used by Sales and Marketing to help reps be more personal, engaging and intelligent in the buyer and customer journey. With integrations to Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics, the OneMob platform becomes the presentation layer for client outreach while enriching your CRM with real time prospect and customer insights. At the same time, Marketing can know exactly which content is creating pipeline and closing revenue. Gartner states by 2020, customers will manage 85% of the buyer’s journey without interacting with a single human being. On that journey, according to Forrester, average customers engage with 11.4 pieces of content prior to making a purchase.

“We are thrilled and grateful for the recognition. Now more than ever, Sales and Marketing need a more effective way to influence the journey that is personal, engaging and intelligent, says Sati Hillyer, the co-founder and CEO of OneMob. Channels are growing from phone and email, to now include video, chat, SMS and more. But with all these channels, you need to equip sellers with the right way to present themselves with the most compelling content. At OneMob, we want to bring Sales and Marketing closer to make this experience simpler and smarter for the rep, while giving new insights to marketers.”

About OneMob, Inc.

OneMob brings sales and marketing teams closer by leading with video and closing with content. Quickly create web pages of content to close deals. Create, share and track videos, documents and web links when selling. Companies like Cisco, LinkedIn, Sacramento Kings and more use OneMob everyday in increase their email CTRs and response rates by 10X, while making their sales and marketing efforts more personal, engaging and intelligent. OneMob is headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more at www.onemob.com.

About San Francisco Business Times

The San Francisco Business Times is the #1 print and online source for Bay Area business news and information on the most successful people, companies and transactions in the region. Every Friday, the Business Times arrives with an in-depth lineup of breaking local news stories, business profiles and valuable industry rankings. From technology and sustainability to small business, biotech, hospitality, real estate and banking, the Business Times covers the most relevant and timely topics for the Bay Area business community. SanFranciscoBusinessTimes.com takes the Business Times brand known for its insight, analysis and high journalistic standards and extends it to the Internet. Thousands of established and up and coming executives visit SanFranciscoBusinessTimes.com every day looking for the information they need to do Business in the Bay Area.

4 years ago, we started OneMob to make selling more personal with video. Even though a lot of time has passed, buyers are STILL looking for a personal sales experience. I’m so glad we’ve stayed true to that mission and love the expansion our team is making. To celebrate our 4th birthday, we’ve released some updates to our website, we hope you like them.

To our employees, customers, investors, partners, advisors, families and friends, I thank you for all your support and loyalty. And to all of our users, you are true pioneers who have co-created this video revolution with us and we are excited to see what more you can do. We’re just getting started. Happy Birthday OneMob!

Of course, this update would not be complete without a video, so here’s the latest on our thinking.

Hello there! Are you part of the Cisco Ambassador program? Do you love Cisco Spark? Tell us all about your love affair with Spark using video!

Your assignment is to record a video about why you love Cisco Spark using OneMob, then share the video in a specified Spark room. Ready? Go!

1. Click on the following link to join the Spark room, “Video Application (OneMob)”: https://eurl.io/#SJlDO0C5W

2. From your computer, head to https://onemob.com/users/sign_in

• Type in your email address, then click “NEXT”
  • If you have an @cisco.com email address, you will be prompted to enter your CEC credentials.
  • If you do not enter a Cisco email address, click “Login with Cisco Spark” in the next screen. Login using your Cisco Spark credentials.
    

Once you’ve successfully logged in, send an email to <brian@onemob.com> with the Subject line: “Cisco Ambassador Extend Me!” to extend your free trial to a month! (Must be sent within 24 hours of creating your account)

3. Download the OneMob mobile app to record from your phone, or download the OneScreen Chrome extension to record via webcam.

• For the mobile app, search “OneMob” in the App Store (iPhone) or the Google Play Store (Android)
• For OneScreen, download the extension here (make sure you’re using a Chrome browser!)

4.1. If you are recording using the OneMob mobile app:
Login to your OneMob mobile app, record a video on why you love Spark, then save it to your OneMob Library.

• Maybe this will help:
  • How to record on iOS
  • How to record on Android
    

Note: Once the video has been saved to your OneMob Library, please set your phone aside and turn to your computer. Then continue on to step 5.

4.2. If you are recording using OneScreen:
Click on the OneScreen icon in your Chrome toolbar to record your webcam video.

• Here’s everything you need to know about OneScreen.

5. Once you’ve recorded your video, login to OneMob from your computer (that is, if you’re not already logged in)

6. Head to your Library and find the video you recorded. Click on the “Link” button to its right.

7. Set the following, and leave everything else as is:

• Name: Why I love Spark
• Email Notification: OFF
• Lead Form: OFF

Once finished, click “Create Link”. You will be taken to the Link Details page.

8. On the right, click on the Cisco Spark icon.

• If you did not login using Cisco Spark, you will be taken to the Cisco Spark’s login page. Go ahead and login.

9. Search “Video Application (OneMob)” (the Spark room from step 1), then click “Post”.

Congratulations! You have just successfully shared a video on Cisco Spark! I hope this experience has “Spark-ed” some interest for creating videos!

Last month, OneMob founder Sati Hillyer had the privilege to be a part of a webinar session, “Don’t Leave Money on the Table, Use Video”, along with Zoom‘s Head of Sales Greg Holmes, Vengreso‘s co-founders Mario Martinez Jr., and Viveka von Rosen, co-founder of Vengreso, as host.

Here are some key points covered during the webinar:

• Why buyers aren’t responding to cold emails
• How to get people comfortable with getting on a video call
• What sales people can do to make their prospecting emails stand out
• Strategies on using videos effectively
• Differences between Zoom and OneMob
• And finally, are videos here to stay? Or is it just another fad?

If you’d like to find the answer to some of these questions, go ahead and click below to watch the webinar:

Interested? Check out Zoom, Vengreso, and OneMob for more info!

Sarah has high-profile clients in New York, Houston, and London. She would love to meet with them every time they have a question or need services. Her company, however, is one of many that has cut its travel budgets to reduce spending. Now Sarah worries that she won’t be able to meet her clients’ needs.

According to Salesforce’s Second Annual State of Sales research report, the second-largest challenge experienced by sales representatives is lack of time for face-to-face selling. But what are the benefits of face-to-face sales? And how can you get more face time with your clients?

The Benefits of Meeting Face-to-Face

According to the Harvard Business Review, 95 percent of those polled said that face-to-face meetings are crucial to “building and maintaining long-term relationships.” Another 89 percent agreed that face-to-face meetings are essential for “sealing the deal.” The majority of those polled (88 percent) believed that successful sales depend on facetime.

“Regardless of how tech-savvy you may be, face-to-face meetings are still the most effective way to capture the attention of participants, engage them in the conversation, and drive productive collaboration,” says Michael Massari, Caesars Entertainment’s SVP of national meetings and events. “If we don’t continue to nurture strong and positive personal relationships with our clients and coworkers, we won’t build trust, understanding, or a sense of a shared mission—all of which are critical elements to successful partnerships and business success.”

How Video Saves the Day

When you have clients all over the country or even the world, though, meeting in person just isn’t practical. You run into the two major obstacles to any business: time and money. Fortunately, you can sidestep both of these problems by using short personalized (Snapchat-like) videos to communicate face to face with customers. Here’s how:

Cost

The recent economic recession had companies scrambling to cut costs however they could, and travel was one of the biggest expenses to get the axe. Things haven’t changed much. According to the Harvard Business Review, 69 percentof respondents reported a decrease in travel budgets. Most of those polled added that they believed the cuts would negatively impact their sales.

Video was and still is the obvious go-to for solving this problem. “If we cannot go directly to the customer, we’ll go directly to the customer’s screen.” You immediately cut out all of the costs of gas, air travel, hotels, etc. Certain video engagement platforms will enable you to communicate face to face with your clients, all for the price of a group lunch.

Time

Almost any video conferencing service can solve the problem of cost and distance. But scheduling is a problem whether you meet over video or in person. Especially when your client lives in a completely different time zone than you, it can be maddening to find a time when you are both available, let alone awake. You want to sell, and your client wants to buy. But if buying means jumping through hoops just to accommodate you, your client may be tempted to take their business elsewhere.

Asynchronous, short, Snapchat-like videos solve this problem. All it takes is a few minutes for you to record your pitch via video creation/engagement platforms like OneMob and share this with your clients to view at their leisure. Not only that, but clients don’t even need to be in the office to view your video. All they need is a smartphone or tablet, and they can view your video message. And with tracking, certain engagement platforms will let you know exactly when they’ve seen your video, so you can then follow up as you see fit.

When you can’t be there in person, your clients still need to see your face. Platforms like OneMob put you in the room with them—on their computer or on their phone, in their office or on the go.

This article was originally published at blogs.salesforce.com.