The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

Key Finding 2: Buyers leverage sales reps for information less (and later) than ever. Buyers are not only contacting sales reps less often (in this year’s survey, they dropped out of the top five most commonly used resources), but sales engagement is also being pushed later and later down the funnel.

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 130

The Point

APRIL 22, 2020

However, as much as it has a reputation as a way to generate “guaranteed” leads, content syndication is not a cure-all, and indeed, more than most demand generation channels, is likely to generate sales leads that gravitate towards the early stages of the buying cycle. Set appropriate thresholds for sales follow-up.

CPL 162

CPL Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Cost per Lead 162

The Point

JULY 27, 2018

a demo or free trial is a high bar offer (due to the time and resources required). * a consultation or meeting is a high bar offer (not only due to the time required but, like a demo or free trial, it requires that the prospect be at a stage in the sales process or otherwise is feeling enough “pain” where he/she is ready to meet with sales.).

Account Based Marketing 100

Account Based Marketing Campaigns Multi-Channel Demand Generation Agencies 100

The Point

JANUARY 24, 2017

Invite, don’t Promote – if you’re presenting scheduled demos at the show, or if one of your executives has a speaking slot, invite people to the event as you would a Webinar, i.e. with date, time, location at the show, “what you’ll learn”. Offer opportunities to sign up for a personalized demo.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Traffic Demand Creativity 100

The Point

JUNE 20, 2018

Can a company make do with less than the careful planning, audience definition and profiling, sales enablement, executive buy-in, personalized content, and dedicated technology typically required of a successful ABM initiative and still make it work? Which, in turn, begs the question: are there shortcuts to ABM? Target account campaigns.

Account Based Marketing 168

Account Based Marketing ABM CPL Multi-Channel 168

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2017

Smart technology marketers look to capture buyers early on in the sales cycle, then engage them in a consistent nurture campaign to build credibility, trust, and to position their solution favorably for when the buyers are ready to engage with sales. Actually, I know why it is. There’s also a smart way to do it.

SEM 100

SEM Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Sales Qualified Leads 100

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. If your sales reps aren’t getting enough qualified leads, I’d wager that one or more of the following five reasons is to blame.

Sales Qualified Leads 50

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

The Point

AUGUST 18, 2014

Note: these strategies assume that hot leads – those prospects who specifically requested follow-up or were otherwise graded as “high priority” on the show floor, get prompt response directly from sales. Most trade show leads are routinely ignored by sales. Someone who’s attended a tradeshow may be ready to contact sales directly.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Campaigns Tips Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

This is reinforced by another headline from the report: “Live Demo Offers Produce the Highest Quality Leads.” Again, this conclusion is based on more respondents naming demo offers as generating quality leads compared to other channels. But does that mean that demos are the most effective demand gen offer?

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Ranking 100

The Point

JULY 27, 2016

It’s much more cost-effective in the long term to use a mix of content – early, mid and late stage – to generate leads at every stage of the buyer’s journey, then nurture those leads that aren’t yet ready to engage with sales. But don’t limit yourself to those offers.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Buy Product Demand Generation 100

The Point

JANUARY 8, 2013

Am I requesting contact from sales? Am I going to download free product information, view a demo, what exactly? Calls to action must always be 1) specific and 2) tangible – download a white paper, view a demo, register for a free trial. “Learn more” is the worst possible call to action. What happens when I click this button?

Product 100

Product Email Marketing Cross-Selling Paper 100

The Point

DECEMBER 12, 2014

Testimonials of this type can detract from the primary offer and create the aura of a sales pitch for your company that runs counter to the information of value the reader is searching for.”. Provide a full and complete description of whatever it is you’re promoting – a demo, a white paper, a Webinar, a free download.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages Lead Scoring Lead Ranking PPC 100

The Point

DECEMBER 18, 2012

At one end of the spectrum, there are those that believe gating Web content is the most efficient way to convert Web visitors to actionable sales leads. It also means that the only leads you’ll generate from your Website are from that tiny subset of prospects who have decided they’re ready to engage with sales.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Websites 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

The most glaring symptom was the absurdly high scores: hundreds of contacts had lead scores of more than 1,000, even though the supposed threshold for a sales-ready lead was a mere 100 points. Once a contact’s lead score exceeds the threshold value for sales-readiness or “hot lead,” any further increase ceases to have much relevance.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Leads 100

The Point

JULY 23, 2012

In an ideal world, all B2B sales leads would be pre-qualified and ready to buy. Of course, in the real world – a world of sales quotas, quarterly revenue goals, and impatient investors – not all stake-holders, especially salespeople, are interested in the notion that the most effective lead generation strategy is a long-term proposition.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 100

The Point

OCTOBER 30, 2013

When someone completes a registration form, you can serve up a confirmation page that thanks the individual for his/her interest, and provide links to additional resources, social sharing links, or secondary, “next step” offers – a Webinar, a demo, a free trial – to move the prospect further down the sales cycle.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Landing Pages 100

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2012

There’s a lot to like about the email campaign I received (image below) recently from Infusionsoft , a maker of sales and marketing automation software for small businesses. It would be better phrased as something like: “How to capture, nurture, and convert leads more efficiently, with or without sales follow-up”.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Campaigns Practices Fulfillment 100

The Point

APRIL 4, 2024

That may still hold true for demo requests or “contact us” forms, but NetLine’s data suggests that, for early-stage content: ebooks, Webinars, white papers – marketers may be better off waiting as much as two days before triggering a follow-up email or sales call.

Trends 299

Trends B2B Thought Leadership B2B Content 299

The Point

JANUARY 25, 2012

Testimonials of this type can detract from the primary offer and create the aura of a sales pitch for your company that runs counter to the information of value the reader is searching for. Exceptions to this rule occur when your offer is a demo or free trial, situations in which an extra dose of credibility helps sell the offer.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages PPC Paid Search Agency Tips 100

The Point

JUNE 10, 2013

Anecdotally, I’ve been noticing a minor trend in technology marketing circles of late – namely, that a high percentage of demand generation campaigns seem to be presenting a product demo as the primary offer. Worse yet, I fear the condition (let’s call it “demo-itis”) may be contagious.

Demand Generation 100

Demand Generation Demand Sales Qualified Leads Generation 100

The Point

MARCH 3, 2010

product demos) because the more educational material appeals to a broader spectrum of prospective buyers and not just those further down the sales cycle. And indeed, when it comes to outreach programs designed to generate net new prospects, more educational offer content (e.g.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Lead Nurturing Webcast 100

The Point

MAY 30, 2023

Developing better sales tools for channel partners, or co-branded campaigns they can execute easily, can pay dividends many times over. When buyers are few and marketing budgets are tight, maximizing partner relationships is crucial. Improve lead nurturing and funnel conversion. Are you diligently testing subject lines on all email campaigns?

Marketing Budget Creation 147

Marketing Budget Creation Budget Programs Marketing Budget Paid Search Agency 147

The Point

AUGUST 25, 2022

In their most basic form, Webinars are a 20-slide PowerPoint deck and a demo. Two reasons, I suggest: One, Webinars require less work and fewer creative cycles, on balance, compared to, say: an ebook or a white paper.

Webinar Metrics 52

Webinar Metrics Demand Generation Agencies Top of Funnel Paid Social Agency 52

The Point

FEBRUARY 4, 2013

Most surveys on the topic of B2B email marketing, for example, lump multiple offer types (Webinars, white papers, demos, free trials) into the same single reporting bucket, which renders the cumulative data meaningless. The metrics reported by B2B benchmark reports can also be grossly misleading.

Advertising Benchmark 100

Advertising Benchmark Paid Search Agency Marketing Report Demand Generation Agencies 100