More and more companies will jump on the tele-sales band wagon in an effort to take advantage of these changes in the marketplace. Either way, more companies will be targeting the same markets. Companies will seek strategies and tactics to create value, likability and trust on a 1:1 basis that will work in harmony with business applications. Companies will discover that hands-on coaching is the ONLY activity that can significantly change, alter and improve selling behavior. Most companies are not. Article by Jim Domanski, President of Teleconcepts Consulting. MORE >>

It means that B2B cold calling is obviously not dead for many companies. Join us for 29 minutes as Ardath Albee (CEO, Marketing Interactions), Jim Domanski (President, Teleconcepts Consulting) and Heather Burhan (Senior Account Executive, OnPath Business Solutions) share their strategies and tactics on how companies are using the telephone for successful lead generation. 935 marketing experts were interviewed by MarketingSherpa. 35% of them said that B2B telemarketing is “very effective.” ” On the other hand, only 16% said that social media was effective. MORE >>

Therefore, the focus on volume over quality has meant that they weren't defining quality, but rather a type of contact that might have some interest in acquiring something your company sells. If most of those companies ever bothered to look at my website they'd realize that I'm not, nor will I ever, become their customer. What if your company said to sales: Here's 10 high-quality leads. By Ardath Albee Marketing Interactions December 17, 2010. get very frustrated when I hear salespeople talk about numbers in relation to sales. And, dare I say, sometimes not even that. MORE >>

Here are some recent examples I’ve encountered where companies make social media and digital marketing decisions based on personal biases and beliefs, when the truth is both available and testable: CEOs (especially B2B companies) assume that because they aren’t using social media, that their customers aren’t either. Companies almost invariably fire out their Facebook status updates during the workday. Companies assume that consumers clicking the “like” button want to receive promotions and special offers from “liked” companies. MORE >>

In some companies “nurture happens” almost by accident. Contacts from companies that are qualified as leads but not yet passed to sales can end up landing in the target list for an email blast or an event invitation. Maybe this works for your company as long as the number of marketing touches does not annoy the prospect to the point that they want to walk away. In other companies lead nurture is a very formal and well-defined process. Article by Michael Brenner. Author of B2BMarketingInsider and Director of Online and Social Media Marketing for SAP. MORE >>