I’ve known Tim Hughes  for some 5 years, we presented at a similar CMO event.

We talked about how social media is growing from just a place to post pictures of your family, reconnect with distant family & friends we haven't seen for years (and then realise why, so disconnect) brag about your agency award win, and use intrusive advertising to tell us you have 'the next big thing'. 

We both agreed that the Social landscape was a lot more than that, it was something that has huge potential to disrupt the traditional sales process in both B2B & B2C. We went our separate ways, but always stayed in touch.

Fast forward a few years and our Chakra’s aligned enough for me to be invited into the DLA.

This is my journey, clearly yours will be different.

As a marketing guy I’m obsessed with the ‘causal’ factors that encourages people to engage with one brand (or not) over a competitor. 

I’ve always been fascinated with what it is that makes us choose between companies with similar products/services.

I have been around in what is called 'Multi-Channel' & International Marketing for sometime, mainly retail, mail order & eCommerce, I have also spent a considerable amount of time in the technology (SaaS) space developing many 'go to market' strategies & then helping to deliver them. 

As a result I have had the pleasure & privilege of working with some amazing companies & people around the globe, and its all been a huge learning curve - still is.

In fact, the next wave of disruptive change is already kicking in around eCommerce land with the west now catching up with the east around 'Social Commerce'

Having got under the skin of Social Selling I quickly understood I had to rethink everything I knew about traditional ‘outbound’ marketing.

This is from a guy who built and sold a data intelligence company with clients like Shell, Nectar, Debenhams, Harrods, Office Depot, Habitat, MFI, NBrown plc (the list goes on) it was a company that was built off the back of becoming the 5th largest e-mail marketing company in the UK. 

If you were the recipient of a 'cold call' selling you your bundled package of telephone & internet, or switching your utility supplier, chances are the call center data came from my company, all long before GDPR - talk about poacher turned gamekeeper!

I have come to realise that whilst 'Social Selling' is a process of learning and adopting common sense practice's, the fundamental change is in understanding the 'Social Buying' behaviors being adopted by the consumer and internal stakeholders of your next potential customer or client.

Why? Because the accepted way of doing things is fundamentally being changed, challenged and if done correctly deployed by the 'change makers' in your company.

Like most other related stuff that happens with technology things will continue to change at near seismic speed.

I now act as a Marketing Consultant, but have become a firm practitioner of 'Social Selling' and how it can assist in the transformation of a company. 

I would love to show you how.

Are you ready to learn?

If so, #AskMeHow