Here’s a news re-cap you can use over the weekend. Debate these questions from recent B2B news headlines on the road to up to cottage country, or on the patio over a beer, then report back on your findings in the comments below. We’ve got three fun questions inspired by three serious quotes for you to choose from.
It’s generally a good sign when B2B articles begin with references to the Matrix, but without the Sci-Fi cinema spin, the real question is, will virtual reality make financial services more interesting, or will financial services make VR boring?
“VR technology appeals to industry because it has the potential to improve the user experience by transforming uninspiring or complicated content into a vivid, immersive experience. This opportunity is particularly relevant to the financial industry, because it represents a new channel for financial services providers -– such as wealth managers, brokerage firms and personal bankers — to deliver financial content in a novel and easily consumable visual format,” Joseph McKenna writes in a piece called Experimenting With Virtual Reality, Financial Services Enter The Matrix.
The new buyer is not at all like the old buyer. Reality is starting to call for a re-make of Death of a Salesman, distributed only via Netflix out there. Lisa Shepherd knows why and how that’s happening, but isn’t sure who gets the loud blazers and wide ties after the funeral. How is your enterprise changing its revenue-generating activities as a result?
“There are three ways that B2B companies are changing their revenue-generation activities to match how the New Buyer buys:
- the new Pipeline – The “sales funnel” is less accurate in depicting the buying and selling process today; now the buying process is more like a pinball
- a new Sales approach – Salespeople need to up their game to be valuable to the New
- the growing role of Marketing – Because half the buying process is done before a buyer talks to anyone in sales, marketing has to fulfill activities at the front end of the buying”
From Lisa Shepherd’s book excerpt, the new B2B sales funnel is actually a pinball machine
Just when you thought you could use Excel to do just about anything in an easy to organize, easy-to-read format, it turns out that horse in the Microsoft Office stable is ready for the glue factory too. Are there ways to enter a new foal that is more mobile, faster and more efficient into the race?
“Employees can’t fill out a spreadsheet on a smartphone, yet mobile is a modern mandate. Business travelers demand connectivity and spreadsheets are not congruent with the work-from-anywhere mindset of today’s workforce. Soon, mobile expense reporting will be the only way it’s done,” says Techvibes on Why Spreadsheet Expense Reporting is Costing You (In More Ways Than One)
image credit: Jon Evans
