Sales Engine

AUGUST 2, 2017

Most marketing and sales leaders in the business-to-business world know that nurturing leads is important. In this article, we look at a case study of lead nurturing that finds that nurtured leads were three times more likely to convert to sales-accepted leads than traditional marketing-qualified leads.

Lead Ranking 168

Lead Ranking Case Studies Case Study Marketing Qualified Leads 168

Sales Engine

JANUARY 18, 2016

Specifically, are dollars best spent on sales or marketing? And when taking a deep look at marketing results, we were a bit surprised that the data actually helped to diagnose asales problem. While we were pleased with the lead generation effort, the sales resulting from those leads were disappointingly low.

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Cost per Lead 120

Sales Engine

MARCH 28, 2016

Many companies have focused on increasing their inbound traffic for new leads to combat tighter spam regulations and more concentrated email filters. But increasing web traffic without a thorough conversion strategy is just branding and awareness— that won’t supply enough leads to salespeople to hit your revenue growth targets.

Marketing & Strategy 120

Marketing & Strategy A/B testing Broadcasting Content 120

Sales Engine

JUNE 20, 2016

Most marketing and sales leaders in the business-to-business world know that nurturing leads is essential to maintain a digital connection with buyers who want to learn about a business pain, product, or service—but who are not yet interested in talking to a sales person. The sales rep rejects the lead altogether.

Lead Ranking 174

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring 174

Sales Engine

JUNE 7, 2016

By now, you have no doubt heard that content marketing is the future of demand generation. All the cool kids are doing it, and all those other marketing methods are useless and old-fashioned in comparison. And really well done content should feel nothing like marketing material.

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Content Demand Generation Agencies Barriers 120

Sales Engine

JUNE 14, 2018

But there are two major problems with that model today: Quota-carrying, outside sales reps are an expensive resource to be putting on the phones to follow up on marketing qualified leads. A middle reliever is needed to connect the marketing produced lead and the sales closer. (If When it works that way, it’s great!

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Lead Ranking Paid Search Agency Content Marketing 120

Sales Engine

DECEMBER 6, 2016

Most B2B companies are realizing that, to hit their growth goals, they need to shift the focus of their marketing from branding and awareness to lead generation. So they task marketing leadership with building a demand generation engine and run into myriad problems.

Demand Generation Agencies 168

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paid Search Agency Demand 168

Sales Engine

AUGUST 24, 2015

Everyone’s talking about content marketing , and companies are investing big dollars to jump on the bandwagon—but most are still thinking about it from yesterday’s marketing perspective where marketing’s primary role is branding and positioning. Consider for a moment what that means—people are talking about your market 24/7.

Demand Generation Agencies 120

Demand Generation Agencies RFP Thought Leadership Paid Search Agency 120

Sales Engine

JULY 7, 2016

But there are two major problems with that model today: Quota-carrying, outside sales reps are an expensive resource to be putting on the phones to follow up on marketing qualified leads. A middle reliever is needed to connect the marketing produced lead and the sales closer. (If When it works that way, it’s great!

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Lead Ranking Paid Search Agency Content Marketing 120

Sales Engine

OCTOBER 27, 2015

What’s the right way to follow up on content to turn leads into sales conversations? Before we get into best practices on content marketing follow-up, Marketing and Sales must be on the same page regarding their lead definitions. Once a conversation has been agreed to, you have a Sales Accepted Lead (SAL).

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Buy 120

Sales Engine

NOVEMBER 9, 2015

Several years ago, we made some significant investments in marketing after we’d purchased a marketing automation system, and the idea was to gain as much market traction as possible. But how much of that exposure translated into leads and sales? Marketing works in tandem with sales on an ongoing basis.

Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Qualified Leads High Quality Lead Conversion Paid Search Agency 120

Sales Engine

OCTOBER 2, 2015

But what about the B2B marketer? If the sales team has a cycle time of 90 days from opportunity create date to close, then they'd better be getting leads from marketing TODAY to impact Q1 of 2016. Do you know how marketing is going to accomplish that mission? Marketing’s new role is to generate leads for salespeople.

B2B Sales 120

B2B Sales Paper Fulfillment B2B Marketing 120

Sales Engine

DECEMBER 21, 2015

Most companies realize that their best opportunity for growth is to commit to content marketing. But how much content do we actually need to generate the results we want? In the B2B space, the number-one goal of most content marketers is to generate leads for their sales team. Do you see it?

Budget Programs 120

Budget Programs Work Management Marketing Management Allocation 120

Sales Engine

OCTOBER 16, 2015

The answer is critical for anyone in B2B marketing today. Content marketing uses the same skills and tactics as publishing a magazine—only the distribution methods, audience-building techniques, and analysis tools are different. So what can we learn from magazine publishers about content marketing? #1 Of course there are!

Content Marketing 120

Content Marketing Lead Ranking Content Marketing & Strategy 120

Sales Engine

OCTOBER 23, 2015

They based their findings on overall number of page views, leads generated through form conversions, and new subscribers to their blog. We talk often that content marketers must have the mindset of publishers , and the frequency and types of content is certainly a big component. percent) in the overall sessions.

Social Media 120

Social Media Media Long Tail Marketing Hubspot 120

Sales Engine

JUNE 13, 2016

If you plan to join your competitors and the leaders of your industry in the move toward content marketing , there is something you should know. You’re not Coca-Cola; no one expects you to hire the world’s best creative minds or to spend billions on marketing. a traditional marketing background. it’s not going to be cheap.

Allocation 120

Allocation Content Demand Generation Agencies Work Management 120

Sales Engine

SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

Even as a CEO of a content marketing agency , I still get this pressure from my board and colleagues—and they all know how buyers have more control these days, buying on their own time frames, not ours. But now, the internet is crushing a sales reps ability to generate their own leads. They reduce the scope.

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Lead Ranking Thought Leadership Demand Generation Agencies 120

Sales Engine

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

Many companies that have embraced content marketing are still using it as a branding and positioning function of their marketing department. It’s not that this approach is wrong, but it’s not the main reason that most successful companies have embraced content marketing.

Content Marketing 120

Content Marketing Cold Calling Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 120

Sales Engine

OCTOBER 9, 2015

When it comes to B2B marketing—whether it be social media, email marketing, blogs, white papers or attending trade shows—it has to be about lead generation. So from a marketing perspective, educating them on who you are and what you do is not enough to drive sales.

Demand 120

Demand B2B Marketing B2B Trade Show 120

Sales Engine

FEBRUARY 6, 2017

It's likely that your sales department isn't the root of your demand generation problem at all. Demand generation was once the responsibility of Sales. Today, however, demand generation begins online, and the buying process is directed by the buyer.

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Generation Demand Generation Agencies 120

Sales Engine

JULY 21, 2016

Where most B2B companies are investing in content marketing , less than a quarter are satisfied with their return. Marketing has traditionally been focused on branding to create awareness. That’s what a lead generation strategy is really all about. So what are the building blocks of a lead generation strategy?

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Top of Funnel Generation Ad Building 120

Sales Engine

JULY 21, 2016

Where most B2B companies are investing in content marketing , less than a quarter are satisfied with their return. Marketing has traditionally been focused on branding to create awareness. That’s what a lead generation strategy is really all about. So what are the building blocks of a lead generation strategy?

Lead Generation 120

Lead Generation Top of Funnel Generation Ad Building 120

Sales Engine

MARCH 17, 2016

Once upon a time, branding was the main focus of marketing departments. As marketers, we spent our budgets on bold logos, memorable slogans, pricy sponsorships, advertising, and PR campaigns designed to get us in the Wall Street Journal. Of those who consumed a piece of your content: How many downloads turned into leads?

Budget Programs 168

Budget Programs Content Marketing Brand Identity Branding 168

Sales Engine

JULY 5, 2016

These aggressive approaches to traditional lead-generation tactics are not as effective anymore because buyer behavior has changed, and therefore, breaking through plateaus requires changing your overall customer acquisition strategy. Sales reps used to be the only source of leads. High Customer-Acquisition Costs.

Work Management 149

Work Management Marketing Automation Services Marketing Management Budget Programs 149

Sales Engine

AUGUST 19, 2015

I have a friend in sales who continuously argues with me over the definition of what a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL). As a salesperson, he simply cannot understand how someone that’s not qualified, but demonstrates interest by clicking on a link or downloading a report, can be counted as a qualified lead by any means.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads MQL Sales Qualified Leads 120

Sales Engine

APRIL 7, 2016

Sales and marketing alignment has been overused because many B2B companies are still operating with an outdated model where marketing builds branding and awareness and sales books appointments. If that describes your company’s current sales and marketing process, then yes, alignment is just a buzzword.

Lead Ranking 136

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads MQL 136

Sales Engine

NOVEMBER 3, 2017

Marketing budgets spent on bold logos, memorable slogans, pricey sponsorships and colorful presentation were all devised for a simple overarching purpose: to get Sales in the door. They need marketing-qualified leads today and sales-ready buyers tomorrow. Did it translate into a lead? Did the lead become a sale?

Brand Identity 149

Brand Identity Branding Budget Programs Marketing Automation Services 149

Sales Engine

AUGUST 15, 2016

Because of the complexities of today’s buyer’s journey, and the ever-changing role of sales in this process, marketing must be involved more than ever before: More than branding and awareness More than demand generation More than just lead conversion Because each sales process has become unique. Enter the lead nurturer.

Lead Nurturing 120

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 120

Sales Engine

OCTOBER 1, 2015

The point of content marketing in B2B is to collect actionable sales intelligence on your prospects at every stage of the buying process and attempt to replace the one-to-one conversations that salespeople used to get more readily. Conversions into marketing qualified leads (MQLs). How far down the sales cycle are they?

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads B2B Marketing Marketing Qualified Leads 120

Sales Engine

MAY 12, 2016

Marketing budgets spent on bold logos, memorable slogans, pricey sponsorships and colorful presentations were all devised for a simple overarching purpose: to get sales in the door. But it’s not the main goal of today’s demand generation engine fueled by content marketing. Did it translate into a lead?

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Brand Identity Branding Budget Programs 120

Sales Engine

JANUARY 22, 2016

Because of the complexities of today’s buyer’s journey, and the ever-changing role of sales in this process, marketing must be involved more than ever before: More than branding and awareness More than demand generation More than just lead conversion Because each sales process has become unique. Enter the lead nurturer.

Lead Nurturing 120

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 120

Sales Engine

MARCH 13, 2017

Marketing budgets spent on bold logos, memorable slogans, pricey sponsorships and colorful presentation were all devised for a simple overarching purpose: to get Sales in the door. They need marketing-qualified leads today and sales-ready buyers tomorrow. Did it translate into a lead? Did the lead become a sale?

Brand Identity 120

Brand Identity Branding Budget Programs Marketing Automation Services 120

Sales Engine

AUGUST 16, 2016

For me, that looks like marketing generating enough qualified leads so that most of my time is spent having productive sales conversations. Unfortunately, it rarely looks like that, but that's always the goal when we establish demand generation systems--keeping sales people busy doing what they do best--consulting and closing.

Sales Management 120

Sales Management Top of Funnel Cold Calling Content 120

Sales Engine

APRIL 13, 2016

Just because B2B companies are investing heavily in content marketing doesn’t mean that they’re successful at generating the leads they need for business growth. Additionally, 85% of the companies surveyed indicate that lead generation and sales growth was their primary objective for greater investments.

Top of Funnel 136

Top of Funnel Content Marketing Lead Ranking Digital Marketing Funnels 136

Sales Engine

OCTOBER 8, 2015

For decades, the B2B marketer has been a manager of projects. Project-based marketing always has a beginning, middle, and an end. When it’s all over, you ship the booth and collateral boxes home and collect the leads for sales. The buyer has WAY more control than they used to.

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Process B2B Thought Leadership Work Management 120

Sales Engine

SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Coincidentally, I think the zoo lays out a great roadmap for content marketers. So what does this have to do with content marketing ? The starting point for every content marketing program is the strategy, and for the zoo, that means exhibits—the content that people actually want to consume.

Marketing & Strategy 120

Marketing & Strategy Demand Generation Agencies Content Marketing Agencies 1 120

Sales Engine

NOVEMBER 6, 2015

We are all looking for a competitive advantage, and if you’re fortunate enough to be selling a completely unique product from a well-known firm to a needy market, you probably don’t have to be very good at marketing to be successful. But B2B companies have found success in content marketing , and they’re upping the ante.

Top of Funnel 120

Top of Funnel Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Digital Marketing Funnels 120