OgilvyOne's initiative to drive top-line growth for cos., launches 'Social Selling'

"Our research has shown that the people on the front-line, the salespeople themselves, recognize the power and potential of social media. They are hungry for education and empowerment, yet few companies are providing the access and training they need," said Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman & CEO of OgilvyOne Worldwide. "Part of our new "Social Selling' offering has been designed to help companies overcome this discrepancy and drive sales growth."

The "Social Selling" offering is part of a broader initiative called "21st Century Selling" to help clients maximize sales. Under the leadership of Gunther Schumacher, Chief Operating Officer of OgilvyOne Worldwide, the offering is being led by OgilvyOne Consulting in partnership with a group of sales experts including John Callies, a former senior IBM executive with more than 30 years sales and marketing experience.

Speaking about the offering, Gunther Schumacher says "Selling must evolve in lockstep with the way people are buying today. The "21st Century Selling" offering maximizes sales potential through both Social Selling and Branded Selling, and draws upon the experience of our expert partners, such as John Callies, an IBM sales veteran. The offering consolidates assignments Ogilvy has been conducting for clients like IBM and Ford in the U.S. and Unilever in Asia. "

In formulating the offering, OgilvyOne consulted 30+ experts who are winning in the Social Selling space. These included Matt Gentile (Director of PR and Social Media for Century 21 Real Estate), Tony Hsieh (CEO, Zappos), Jim Steele (COO, Salesforce.com), John Bernier (Head of Social Media, Best Buy), and David Fischer (Global Operations, Facebook).