I was watching a great video from 1981 the other day talking about how, in the future, it might be possible (albeit absurd) to get the content of a newspaper on your computer. You could tell from the tone of the announcer that this concept was patently absurd to her. Who would ever do that? So that got me thinking about what we might look back on in 20 or 30 years and laugh at ourselves for thinking it was absurd. It may not be as absurd as it at first seems. Business has begun to realize that the way buyers gather information has fundamentally changed. But will that actually happen? MORE >>

I have thought for a long time that for society to gain the maximum benefits from social media many current cultures in a typical corporate structure would need to change. From legal to finance, HR to PR, the ways of the last 100 years would need to change if transparency is to be rewarded, and improvement was to be an accepted continuing process. also believe that social media is more a movement than a marketplace. Not just a tool for someone to exploit, but an opportunity to engage in more of our shared humanity. Today, the actions of one courageous healthcare leader solidified that belief. MORE >>

Step 10: Determine how to reach the best companies and contacts. After you have identified the right companies and contacts to target with your B2B lead generation efforts, you need to determine the best ways to reach them. The first step is to determine to what media your target audience is exposed to. For example, which magazines do they read? This may include national business or industry magazines as well as regional and local trade journals. In addition, you should think about the. Professional associations to which your target contacts belong. Conferences and tradeshows they attend. MORE >>

Nurturing prospects is akin to dating. In a complex sale, it takes more than the first date to build the relationship. But, if you don’t use the appropriate marketing etiquette, you’ll never entice them to continue “dating” long enough to choose to buy from your company. openzine posted a link to Katrina’s Choice Zine on Twitter and I was curious enough to click through to see what the Top 10 Dating Turn Ons are these days. Turns out not a lot has changed. Consideration and etiquette still prevail. So here they are with a marketing twist, plus. Top 10 – drum roll, please! Sense of Humor. Smile. MORE >>

I talk a lot about using lead scoring to understand what stage a prospect is in their own buying process. also talk quite a bit about analyzing the value of inquiries vs the value of qualified leads. It was great talking with Ian Brown and team at TriNet during the writing of Digital Body Language , as they done a great job of this style of very precise targeting. By understanding first who was at which stage of the buying process , and second, what the value was of moving those specific prospects to the next step , TriNet was able to offer a significant incentive. MORE >>