I attended the Sales 2.0 Conference in San Francisco today. It was great to see so much technology available for sales to be more effective. You can automate everything from lead generation to nurturing the customer relationship to following the customer’s buy process!

So, what is left for sales to do?

A lot. But it’s different than it used to be. Instead of collecting, sales is now validating. If sales doesn’t embrace this shift, then not only will they duplicate efforts, costing the organization money, but they may also lose a sale by confusing and frustrating the customer. The term “cultural change” was used at least a dozen times throughout the day.

So, if you are a Sales Manager, how do you help your team adapt to this new environment? As with any change, you’ll want to educate, train and execute.

And, if you are in sales, what can you do to ensure that you execute to these new expectations?

Ask for frequent, specific feedback to ensure you are adjusting – before it’s too late!