The Point

AUGUST 22, 2014

Analyst David Raab reports that for companies under $5 Million in revenue, marketing automation penetration is a miserly 5 percent. Even at mid-size companies ($20 Million – $500 Million), the figure is only 10 percent. Which begs the question: is marketing automation right for every company?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Paid Search Agency Marketing Automation Advertising Agencies 100

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2015

Bear with me as I relate a quick story about lead nurturing: A few months back I became a sales lead. Unfortunately the budget for the campaign got cancelled, so I emailed the rep, told her the bad news, and that I would continue to keep her company and product in mind for future needs. It’s [Name] from [Company].

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

For a long time, “ lead nurturing ” was thought of as something you did with the leads that sales didn’t want. The theory was: leads come in, the sales team gets the hot ones, and the rest go to lead nurturing. The post Which Comes First: Lead Nurturing or Inside Sales? appeared first on The Point.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 100

The Point

JANUARY 9, 2015

I was reminded of this principle earlier today when a colleague forwarded an email received from a inside sales representative at a technology company looking to partner with our agency. We’ll pass on partnering with [Company Name] for the time being, thanks for the offer! Hey Dan, I know you’re busy. And dialog.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Copywriting Cold Calling Telemarketing 100

The Point

OCTOBER 26, 2010

lengthening sales cycles during a down economy and the desire to support sales reps who are reluctant to dedicate their valuable time to nurturing buyers throughout that process. which leads merit sales investment and which don’t.) Marketing automation helps eliminate marketing waste. The Changing Role of Email. The reason?

Marketing Automation Services 100

Marketing Automation Services Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Budget 100

The Point

JANUARY 11, 2024

Like many B2B marketing agencies, even though we’re a professional services business and don’t sell or re-sell technology, our firm gets marketed to regularly by companies looking to recruit us as a channel partner. Engage with a sales rep, or 2. Apply for the program immediately.

Advertising Agencies 173

Advertising Agencies Demand Generation Agencies Campaigns Paid Search Agency 173

The Point

NOVEMBER 15, 2022

We have a debate between our marketing and sales teams on whether the best approach is marketing emails, sales outreach, or something else. Very few organizations can rely exclusively on inbound channels, particularly those companies with solutions that buyers aren’t necessarily searching for. Curious as to your opinion?”.

Purchase 162

Purchase Paid Search Agency Paid Social Agency Outreach 162

The Point

FEBRUARY 6, 2015

But there’s another side of Shark Tank that I appreciate, and that is: it’s great sales training. As someone who’s attended a few sales training classes in my day, I have yelled advice at the TV a few times during the show (often along the lines of “TAKE THE DEAL FOR PETE’S SAKE”), much to my kids’ embarrassment. inside sales Sales 2.0

Tips 100

Tips Telemarketing Class Training 100

The Point

JULY 8, 2014

In early 2014, Sungard Availability Services (Sungard AS), a leading provider of managed IT, cloud, and recovery services, announced that it was splitting off as a separate company from SunGard Data Systems Inc. In essence, Sungard AS wanted to get the message across that they were still the same great company — just with a new look and feel.

Case Study 100

Case Study Case Studies Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency 100

The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2021

Here are just some of the more creative ways we’re seeing clients use chatbots to increase sales engagement, shorten sales cycles, and drive revenue: 1. It might be counter-intuitive to place chatbots on the “contact us” page, where – in theory – a visitor is already highly motivated to engage with the company. I can help.”)

Account Based Marketing 350

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Automation Services Demand Generation Agencies 350

The Point

OCTOBER 1, 2021

By forcing someone to comply with your process, you’re not making them more interested in doing business with your company (or talking to sales); more likely, the result is the exact opposite. Statistics from conversion optimization company Hushly indicate that only 44% of users will provide business emails when requested.

Lead Gen 297

Lead Gen Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads 297

The Point

APRIL 1, 2014

Recent studies tell us while the adoption of marketing automation technology continues to gain momentum, fewer than 20 percent of marketing executives say that they are fully integrating the technology into their current sales and marketing initiatives.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Lead Scoring 100

The Point

JULY 27, 2021

The target account list is the foundation for any successful ABM initiative, and yet, too often, selecting accounts can be an aspirational exercise (“these are the accounts sales says they want to go after”) versus one based on hard facts, research, and data-based insights. Do you have competitive insights or case studies for this account?

Demand Generation 351

Demand Generation Ideal Customer Profiles Account Based Marketing ABM 351

The Point

APRIL 19, 2023

If you’re aiming at the wrong companies, not even the best content or creative will save you. Most marketers accept this axiom implicitly, and yet B2B companies routinely define their target audience with more attention to logos and aspiration than actual fit. Exegraphic data helps you understand how a company executes its mission.

Ideal Customer Profiles 130

Ideal Customer Profiles Marketing AI Marketing Analytics Tools B2B Marketing 130

The Point

JUNE 18, 2013

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Chalef, CEO of KnowledgeTree , developers of an intriguing new solution, built for both Salesforce.com and mobile (iOS), that enables sales teams to instantly find, surface, and present the ideal content in any selling situation. We call that approach Content Selling. (HS)

Salesforce.com 100

Salesforce.com Work Management Marketing Management Content 100

The Point

MARCH 12, 2012

And yet, I’m finding in the course of our firm’s work that many companies don’t consider lead follow-up a priority. In a ground-breaking report back in 2007, the people at InsideSales.com reported some startling statistics about just how quickly companies should follow up on Web leads, and the repercussions of not doing so.

Top of Funnel 100

Top of Funnel Bandwidth Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Automation 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

It’s no secret that I am a fervent evangelist for marketing automation, and at our agency we see the real-life benefits every day in the form of clients generating higher conversion rates, more qualified leads, and shorter sales cycles. Sales management and executives, however, are focused on hitting monthly and quarterly targets.

Salesforce.com 100

Salesforce.com Eloqua Work Management Marketing Management 100

The Point

JANUARY 31, 2011

What does a software company do when their paid search program is working well but just not generating enough leads? Here are just some of the changes that Spear made to Navicure’s campaign: Broadened the campaign to attract prospects earlier in the sales cycle. Improved landing page effectiveness. Added branded terms to the campaign.

Paid Search Agency 100

Paid Search Agency Demand Generation Agencies Sales Qualified Leads PPC 100

The Point

JANUARY 14, 2014

In my experience, most of the mental energy and strategic thinking around the practice of lead nurturing and lead management is usually applied to the goal of accelerating prospects through the sales process – from MQL to SQL, from SQL to Opportunity, and so on. Probably not.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Leads 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

On a recent conference call with a prospective client, the Vice President of Sales chimed in with a question: “How many touches do you think it takes before someone becomes a lead?”. In fairness to my VP friend, he won’t be the last to ask the question (or its close cousin, “How many touches does it take to make a sale?”)

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Validation Demand Generation Rules 100

The Point

JANUARY 23, 2018

Tech companies have short-term horizons for a number of reasons: * Many are private and depend on short term results to prove viability and therefore ensure their ongoing funding. Technology changes rapidly, and tech companies often have windows of opportunity to realize revenue from products or services before they become obsolete. .

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Ranking 253

The Point

DECEMBER 5, 2023

Yahoo has yet to define their rules in detail, but Google’s are published here and summarized as follows: The new Google rules affect companies sending 5,000+ emails per day to any Google users, including Gmail accounts but also (crucially) Google Workspace domains. That may be a challenge, however, for all but the smallest companies.

Deliverability 162

Deliverability Rules Purchase Marketing Automation Services 162

The Point

MAY 19, 2020

stack up against those companies who push the envelope in both nurture strategy and their use of complementary technologies? 8 Use of sales alerts triggered by actions from key accounts, demo requests, or “contact us” form fills, perhaps via a dedicated Slack channel for real-time notification and to enable faster sales response.

Lead Nurturing 299

Lead Nurturing Class Budget Programs Lead Ranking 299

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2022

When companies look to get started in Account-Based Marketing (ABM) , the first step is very often a pilot campaign. Unfortunately, the pilot approach to ABM is inherently risky, and, as a result, many companies may fail to achieve anywhere close to the desired results and/or end up dismissing ABM as a viable strategy for their business.

Account Based Marketing 204

Account Based Marketing ABM Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies 204

The Point

MARCH 29, 2017

Earlier this year, I talked to a CMO at a B2B tech company whose sales counterpart was lobbying strongly for the company to adopt Account-Based Marketing (ABM) as part of their demand generation strategy. Maybe companies are just really bad at it. The reason? The lead funnel is obsolete. Far from it. The reason?

Sales Qualified Leads 50

Sales Qualified Leads Top of Funnel High Quality Lead Lead Ranking 50

The Point

DECEMBER 16, 2013

The point being made by the article’s author, Jill Stanek, was that Marketo’s acquisition enables that company to extend dynamic, personalized marketing conversations from their current domain (email campaigns) all the way to the Website. But effective to the point that they generate 71% of all sales leads? Fair enough.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies B2B Sales Sales Leads Microsite 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 24, 2011

I only recently came across the results of research published late last year by Leads360 , a leading provider of hosted (SaaS) solutions for managing sales leads. Call me a data point of one, but the company that makes those phone calls to my desk is someone with whom I’d never want to do business. And therein lies my point.

Leads360 100

Leads360 Sales Leads Telemarketing Leads 100

The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

How should companies adapt their demand generation playbook to better serve the needs of the self-serve buyer? However, companies planning their content strategy would be wise to consider every opportunity to identify and leverage third-party sources. Key Finding 2: Buyers leverage sales reps for information less (and later) than ever.

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

The Point

OCTOBER 22, 2020

My response: We typically design nurture programs for inbound leads like content syndication in 2 stages, as follows: 1) quickly determining if the person has an immediate need or otherwise merits sales follow-up; and then. Note: the goal of this initial phase is not to convert, per se. When Should I Stop Nurturing a Lead?

Sales Qualified Leads 227

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Leads 227

The Point

JUNE 23, 2020

Today, ABM is a very real and effective way of driving demand, but even its most fervent disciples would acknowledge that, at most companies, ABM co-exists with other strategies rather than having replaced them altogether. Even cynics like me will find the argument convincing.

Lead Ranking 264

Lead Ranking Enterprise Management Marketing Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 264

The Point

JANUARY 17, 2019

Some years ago, our firm conducted a lead management audit for a technology client who was struggling to convert raw, inbound inquiries into sales qualified leads. But I would argue that both points are also a business case for the integration of automated lead nurturing and sales enablement campaigns into the SDR process.

Sales Qualified Leads 168

Sales Qualified Leads Tips Lead Nurturing Multi-Channel 168

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

In uncertain economic times, Market Development Funds (MDF) can be a precious resource for channel partners (resellers, distributors, ISVs) looking for budget to fund sales and marketing activity. Weaving that story into content, ads, and other campaign assets will help your company stand out. Be realistic.

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

The Point

OCTOBER 15, 2019

If your organization is generating plenty of leads but those initial inquiries aren’t converting to sales qualified leads, meetings, or pipeline, a myriad of things could be at fault: 1) sales follow-up may be sub-standard in either cadence, frequency, or message. 2) lead nurturing. 2) lead nurturing. Account-Based Marketing (ABM).

Sales Qualified Leads 138

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing 138

The Point

MAY 28, 2020

The current crisis reinforces why most B2B companies are best suited for a hybrid demand generation model that combines both ABM and more traditional, funnel-based tactics. I’ve written elsewhere in this space that one of the reasons ABM became so popular is because companies are just really bad at lead nurturing.). Absolutely.

Demand Generation Agencies 162

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Ideal Customer Profiles Lead Ranking 162

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2020

For more companies than not, marketing success is rarely about convincing a given individual, on a given day, to buy what it is you’re selling. Rather, it’s a question of being the company that the buyer finds, or thinks of first, when the relevant need occurs. You can quibble with the percentage, but, overall, she had a point.

Demand Generation Agencies 173

Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies Marketing Agencies 1 173

The Point

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

However, relying exclusively, or even primarily, on late-stage KPIs can be problematic, particularly because ABM is most typically employed by companies marketing complex, enterprise solutions with long sales cycles. The simple fact is that there is no, one KPI that works for every ABM strategy, company, or even group of accounts.

Account Based Marketing 290

Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads 290

The Point

APRIL 16, 2019

Because costs per click in B2B search campaigns can often be extremely high when companies compete the for same keywords, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for B2B advertisers offers its own very unique challenges. Yet, many B2B companies don’t take the time to compute these numbers, or even basic funnel metrics.

Cost per Acquisition 235

Cost per Acquisition Paid Search Agency Campaigns Cost Per Click 235