As a new business salesperson gaining trust with a client as fast as I can has always been important. Maybe that's why I write a lot about personal branding as it is so critical not just for sales but anybody in business today. (Because we are ALL checking YOU out on social, and coming to a judgment.)
This article correctly points out the positives of GDPR, which is that we are expected to treat people's data as if it was our own. GDPR is also more than just about "opting in" there is a whole set of processes that need to go behind this. I know because I'm a CEO of a company that is currently implementing them. (Should be compliant by the end of January).
What nobody seems to have worked out is this fundamentally changes sales. Classic sale is you cold call or cold email and you push people down the sales funnel. You cannot do this anymore.
And this applies to all companies in Europe, all companies selling into Europe and all companies with European employees.
With a May deadline, time is running out €20 million or 4% of annual turnover ... it going to be costly.
Finally, I've seen a lot of talk in Facebook groups that as people "don't know" about GDPR or "don't know the detail" they don't have to do anything. As a lawyer friend of mine pointed out to me the other day "ignorance isn't a defence in a court of law in the UK".
The way you handle customer privacy will have to change. That reality can be attributed to several factors, including the onset of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), fear of global data breaches, and the fact that more people are paying attention to the way companies use their personal data. It’s important to note that this change isn’t just a concern for marketing: It will be felt in every department. From lead generation, to sales funnels, to customer metrics, to handling of job applicants, a change in your data policy will have a cascading impact throughout the organization. That prospect may be a bit daunting, but the brands that are proactive about changing the way they handle data are going to get a head start in creating the most valuable asset: customer trust. Trust isn’t just based on the way you use (or misuse) personal data. Trust stems from the public’s general opinion of your brand. The quality of your products and services, the availability of support, the nature of one-on-one interactions, and the transparency of how you do business all play into customer trust. New privacy regulations will make every company look at how they use data, but the winners here will be the ones that embrace a more holistic view of trust. Ultimately, trusted brands will be granted access to customers’ data and, in the age of privacy, being one of the elite few organizations that are able to leverage that data will be the biggest advantage you can have.
