Of course not! As B2B marketers, focusing on your audience is absolutely critical. However, you must look forward, at where your audience will be. Research and observation tell you where your audience has been and what they have been interested in. But what will they be interested in and using in 6, 12 or 24 months? If you are focused on what your B2B target audience has done in the past or is doing today, you will miss new opportunities like the Internet (2000), Twitter (2009) or Pinterest (2011) to connect with your audience. B2B buyers won’t read content on their smartphones. MORE >>

Part of being a salesperson is having to stay on top of your prospects and active sales opportunities. This means that you need to make phone calls, send emails and even connect with them online to stay top of mind with the decision makers. Buyers are busy and they are getting hit from several different directs by the needs of their company as well as being contacted by other sales people. had a conversation with a few sales people about staying engaged with people and the discussion drove right into the topic of being pushy vs. persistent. If your follow up it not intrusive, it is persistance. MORE >>

As is often the case, when anything new and shiny comes out there is a race to use it and be the first. And in reality, Pinterest is amazing for selling products direct to consumers. But does it work for companies that sell to other businesses? In reality it does work, due to its massive user base. Pinterest is driving more referrals than Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube combined. But how can your company leverage the power of Pinterest? Here is what we have found. The big thing you need to remember about Pinterest is that it’s totally visual. This means you need to think outside the box. MORE >>

James Obermayer, Executive Director and CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association and President of Sales Leakage Consulting is a regular guest blogger with ViewPoint. There are many marketing managers blithely tripping along feeling confident about themselves and their accomplishments who have never proven the return on investment for lead generation. But someday, when they least expect it, the company president will say, “I’ve just read an article about how marketing spending can be proven to bring in a contribution margin of 20%. Are we doing that?” MORE >>

“Tonight we set aside petty differences, forget old feuds and start new ones” said Bob Hope famously, hosting the Oscars in 1971. Year after year, for 84 years, the Oscars have been all about honoring the best in the world of cinema. As for the show, in its long run, it has reinvented itself many times over to keep audiences engaged and entertained. Is there a lesson here somewhere for us B2B marketers? Related posts: 4 Things B2B Marketers Should Focus on in 2012 2012 is almost here and as I prepare myself to. MORE >>