Connections are taking on a whole new meaning in the Interconnected Age – and sales executives that believe they can rely solely on the relationship building methods of days gone by are going to quickly become relics.

If you want your sales organization to help you gain market share in the digital age, they must be ready and able to connect; social media is quickly driving new opportunities to generate business.

At “Sales 2.0,” Bryan Gray and I layed out the critical need for sales organizations to outwit and outmanuever the competition – or risk being beat by smarter, more digitally savvy sales teams. (Watch the presentation below)

You can listen to the entire presentation here.

Build a culture

Unfortunately there isn’t a magic pill that can turn our traditional sales force into a weapon for the digital age.  So those of us in sales leadership must start today to build a culture prepared to  compete as more and more customers choose to make decisions through the internet and not by RFPs, long sales proposals, etc.

We can, however, begin building a culture by getting our existing staff introduced to social media and give them the insight to start generating new business. Let’s face it, there’s no easier way to get sales people excited about new tools or technology than to show them the immediate impact these tools can make on their commission checks!

3 tools, all free

There are a multitude of fantastic Web 2.0 tools out there to generate leads from, but it’s important we get started with the ones that have the most immediate opportunity for impact. I guarrantee that if your entire sales force exploited the opportunities that these three free sites offer, they’ll make more sales and have deeper relationships with their prospects and customers:

• Facebook
• LinkedIN
• Twitter

Notice I said “exploit” not “use.” There is a significant difference. Just having a profile on these three sites isn’t enough. Adding a couple photos and occasionally sending out a connection or friend request is merely participation on the site.

In the coming days and weeks I will write a few blog posts on the MediaSauce blog about each of these tools. In the meantime, take a look at the presentation Bryan and I gave at “Sales 2.0″ for a quick look at the opportunities that these three tools create for you as you transform your sales organization for the digital age.

Today is the day to make a change in your sales culture. If you don’t, your competition will find a way to sell to your customers while you’re still trying to get a phone call returned for an appointment.