” I expected these types of responses because all you read these days are article after article and blog after blog saying that “70% of the buyer’s journey is done before a sales rep needs to get involved” Instead, what I got back can be summarized in a response by Casey Devlin who is Director, Account Management for Corporate Executive Board: “This is a great question. I asked this question on Focus.com a few weeks ago and got answers that surprised me. ” “Inbound rules. Stop interruption marketing.” This is not an anomaly. &rdquo MORE >>

Blogs, twitter, Facebook and Linkedin have created an environment where individual sales reps can know showcase their knowledge and value as a partner to their buyers Comment on The Bridge Group's ten predictions for inside sales in 2011. Trish Bertuzzi and Laurie Page start the new year off with some surprising predictions. Roles will continue to segment. No longer will the Inside Sales Rep be a “jack of all trades” Roles will be clearly defined and measured based on specific desired outcomes. Hunters will go after new business while farmers will cultivate the customer base. MORE >>

'This article was originally published by Bob Apollo on his blog Accelerating Revenue Growth: the Inflexion-Point Blog. As CEO of UK-based Inflexion-Point Strategy Partners , Bob works with the leadership teams of technology-based B2B-focused companies, enabling them to make the critical connections between their marketing messages, their sales conversations, their true differentiators, and their customer''s priorities. Alec Baldwin has got a lot to answer for. And, no, I’m not talking about his appearance in “Dr. Seuss'' The Cat in the Hat”. It’s a laughable description. MORE >>

See an earlier blog on the chief executive of a large utility who finally responded positively on the 42 nd touch and later signed off on a $1 billion deal for one of our customers. His was not a self-educating work style, and there was no way he was going to search blogs or websites to download white papers. Companies providing complex, high-investment solutions are facing a significant risk management issue in light of Sirius Decisions and others finding that B2B buyers are self-educating and moving through as much as 70% of the sales funnel before connecting with sales. MORE >>

But in reality even the most engaging blogs, videos and other forms of online publication fail to produce leads and sales. Today's guest blogger is Jeff Molander. Jeff is the authority on making social media sell, adjunct faculty at Loyola University business school, a social selling speaker and author of, Off the Hook Marketing: How to make social media sell. Produce engaging content. For years now, there's been a steady drum beat coming from content marketing experts who say producing engaging content on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and other social media is the key to success. It does. MORE >>