ViewPoint

MARCH 16, 2011

James Obermayer, Executive Director and CEO of the Sales Lead Management Association and President of Sales Leakage Consulting is a regular guest blogger with ViewPoint. Ten years ago I asked an assembled 200 plus marketing managers how many knew the quotas for the salespeople/sales channels that sold their products. Two people raised their hands. I asked the same question last year (I do this at almost every speech) and this time 25% raised their hands. 25% is a common response. 75% didn’

Planning 209

Planning Marketing Proposals Sales Qualified Leads Budget Programs 209

Webbiquity

MARCH 18, 2011

An increasing number of companies are hiring for the relatively new role of “corporate social strategist&# (Jeremiah Owyang recently published a list of more than 260 corporate social strategists on the brand/buyer side , followed up by a Twitter edition of the same list here ) and there are thousands of self-proclaimed (and a few real) social media experts on Twitter.

Social Media 193

Social Media Media Viral Marketing Twitter 193

Buzz Marketing for Technology

MARCH 16, 2011

We used to learn about who our audience was by putting cookies on our website and waiting for traffic to come so we could learn more about our visitors. For example, before people visited our site, perhaps they visited espn.com. So we potentially have a large sports audience as a segment of our brand, right? The search process has become broken because the data landscape has become more fragmented and complex.

Social Media 188

Social Media Optimization Media Stats 188

Marketing Insider Group

MARCH 15, 2011

You know you’ve seen it. Like rock stars, actors, or sports stars, chillin’ in the VIP section of that exclusive club, getting comp’d bottles of the priciest vodka and champagne. They are roped off from us mere mortals and surrounded by an entourage of beautiful people. You know they exist. And you struggle with whether you want what they have.

Social Media 177

Social Media Media Digg Twitter 177

Speaker: Neal Boornazian, President and Nancy Harhut, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer - HBT Marketing

Direct mail has consistently remained a powerful tool in the marketer's arsenal, but in an age of digital dominance, its effectiveness hinges on the strategic integration of behavioral science. 💡 When you incorporate powerful behavioral science principles into your direct mail marketing strategies, you can prompt the hardwired decision-making shortcuts your audience relies on — and that automatically unlocks new avenues for engagement, conversion, and brand loyalty.

Response Rate

Everything Technology Marketing

MARCH 14, 2011

The cloud is all the rage these days. Saugatuck Technology's Bruce Guptill released some interesting market research predicting that by 2014 the majority of new corporate B2B software purchases will be in the form of cloud software solutions (SaaS) rather than traditional on-premise software. This is a significant tipping point, after which adoption of cloud services is expected to further accelerate.

Marketing Automation Services 168

Marketing Automation Services Budget Programs Software Lead Ranking 168

ViewPoint

MARCH 14, 2011

Many thanks to Stone Payton and Todd Schnick, hosts extraordinaire of High Velocity Radio, for the interview on my new book, The Truth About Leads. ( listen to the podcast ). The B2B lead generation and sales lead management strategies we discussed included… Shifting from a full BANT approach to focus on two areas: authority and discovering need.

Lead Generation 152

Lead Generation Generation Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 152

Writing on the Web

MARCH 14, 2011

What’s the best way to write a script for a video ? Content marketing with videos is a key marketing tool, and it’s getting easier to do. Here’s a new video the folks over at iMotionVideo Studios produced for me. I just love this service. Left to my own devices, I’d probably make one video every few months. But with a low-fee monthly subscription for a year, I know I’ve got a one-minute video commercial coming every 30 days.

Video Marketing 142

Video Marketing Content Marketing Digg Content 142

The Point

MARCH 18, 2011

Late last year at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco I was fortunate enough to chat with Maria Pergolino , Marketing Director at Marketo (and renowned all-around Content Marketing Queen.) In an engaging 15-minute discussion, we touched upon topics including: • striking the balance between demand generation and lead nurturing. • how to bring potential customers into dialogue with your company. • ideas for weaving social media into lead generation and lead nurturing programs. • whether mar

Lead Nurturing 136

Lead Nurturing Conversion Marketo Demand Generation 136

Tony Zambito

MARCH 13, 2011

Image by davidking via Flickr. In the past decade, we have undergone a monumental shift in how sellers and buyers engage.  The digital revolution has ushered in a new age of how products or services reach people that were unimaginable just a short ten years ago.  Advancements in technology and digital media coming in waves causing organizations to be caught unaware of the impact the totality of these waves have had on their businesses.  In many ways, buyers and sellers are atte

B2B Sales 136

B2B Sales Paid Search Agency Barriers Work Management 136

Speaker: Carlos Hidalgo, Co-Founder & CEO of Digital Exhaust, Author, International Keynote & TEDx Speaker

Recent research shows that only 50% of B2B organizations state that they have good alignment between their marketing and sales teams. This lack of alignment tremendously impacts the ability to meet business goals, and is a limiting factor for building and maintaining customer relationships. While many B2B organizations continue to struggle with aligning their marketing and sales teams, they can take practical steps to unify both teams and simplify their overall approach.

B2B Sales

Convince & Convert

MARCH 16, 2011

Guest post by Marjorie Clayman , resident blogger at www.margieclayman.com. She works at Clayman Advertising, Inc., her family-owned full-service marketing firm. Recently, Phil Collins, drummer for Genesis and soft rock superstar, announced that he was retiring from the rock music industry after an illustrious 40-year career. Whether this will be like Michael Jordan’s 2-3 retirement announcements has yet to be seen, though Phil Collins certainly added a “milk it for all it’s worth” touch by not

Social Media 154

Social Media Media Paid Search Agency Blogger 154

Writing on the Web

MARCH 17, 2011

Why should a professional or small business give away free consulting ? I’ll tell you why. Here’s what’s happening… I recently launched a new version of articles to my executive coaching clients and as a bonus, offered a free 20-minute phone session. I’ve been spending more than 20 minutes with each person, and I’m loving it.

Consulting 130

Consulting Digg Buzz Blogger 130

The Point

MARCH 16, 2011

In part 3 of my podcast with Steve Farnsworth of Jolt Social Media, we discuss the role of blogs in the lead generation landscape, and the simple steps companies can take to convert their blogs from PR dumping grounds to a key part of their demand generation engine. In less than 8 minutes, you’ll learn: • How to incorporate blogs into your overall lead generation strategy. • Why one, all-encompassing corporate blog may not be enough. • The #1 feature your blog needs to generate real, measurable

Generation 136

Generation Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 136

LeadSloth

MARCH 15, 2011

The next Marketing Automation Monday will be in San Francisco on March 21st. It is organized by Daniel Kuperman and hosted by Brighttalk (501 Folsom Street). It’s going to be the 3rd meetup in San Francisco, and we expect about two dozen Marketing Automation users, who will discuss integration with CRM and several other topics. Register for Marketing Automation Monday in San Francisco, March 21 @ 6pm.

Marketing Automation 108

Marketing Automation Automation CRM Practices 108

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Paper

Convince & Convert

MARCH 15, 2011

Gary Vaynerchuk went corporate. The wine impressario turned social media superstar hit a home run with his first book Crush It! , which encouraged young, hungry entrepreneurs and small businesses to follow their passion. Now, with his new book The Thank You Economy , the fan club is going to be wearing ties instead of T-shirts. The Thank You Economy is a very solid, well researched and written exhortation for businesses of all sizes (tilting toward medium and large) to recognize the power of lif

Case Study 142

Case Study Case Studies Work Management Social Media 142

Biznology

MARCH 17, 2011

Image by framara8 via Flickr Depending on what kind of business you are in, this could seem like a stupid question. If you sell consumer packaged goods, clearly you can tell the difference between the research department taste testing a new kind of cookie with 100 people and actually mass producing them to ship to every store in the free world. Manufacturing businesses are like that--there is a clear distinction between a test and a product.

Product 104

Product Work Management Marketing Research 104

Adobe Experience Cloud Blog

MARCH 17, 2011

by Maria Pergolino I know what you’re thinking – the seven ways marketers should be using social will be all about Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Digg or Reddit, and YouTube, right? NO! These channels are just the places where we network with others online, not the best ways to do it. By participating in these channels doesn’t necessarily mean you are taking the right steps towards truly leveraging social media to your benefit.

Social Media 99

Social Media Social Marketing B2B Marketing Lead Scoring 99

Industrial Marketing Today

MARCH 17, 2011

The mantra for effective business blogging is to regularly pump out fresh content that is reader-centric and not focussed too much on you, your products or your company. I agree. More power to you if you already have a horde of avid readers who visit your blog every time you post new content. For others, the bulk of your blog traffic, in some cases as much as 80%, will come from first-time visitors.

Top of Funnel 86

Top of Funnel FAQ Case Studies Content 86

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Social Media

MLT Creative

MARCH 18, 2011

As an account executive at the B2B marketing agency MLT Creative, I know good strategies when I see them. One in particular that currently stands out to me is the race for queen and king of Baconfest here in Atlanta. I also appreciate the power of social media, and that – along with my love for all things bacon – leads me to apply what we do for our clients day-in and day-out to achieve victory in this contest.

WOMM 84

WOMM Peer-to-peer Business Paid Search Agency 84

Biznology

MARCH 14, 2011

Image by woodleywonderworks via Flickr. by Eva Lyford. "No matter what happens, I just want to say thank you for introducing me." said the the email, and just like that, I was jarred out of my analytcal headspace in the midst of editing a tech document. How often does one hear an authentic piece of gratitude nowadays? I decided to pass on the goodwill by writing a belated email myself, saying my thanks and paying it on forward.

Best Practices 104

Best Practices Internet Marketing Marketing 104

Adobe Experience Cloud Blog

MARCH 14, 2011

by Maria Pergolino Online marketing has become a cornucopia of opportunities for B2B marketers. Because digital media has been proven so effective in the lead generation process, many companies are pouring dollars into the marketplace, believing they’ve found a demand generation goldmine. At closer inspection, you may find there are still several areas of opportunity to explore and reap rewards.

Analytics 91

Analytics Marketing Analytics Tools Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 91

The ROI Guy

MARCH 15, 2011

Today’s buyer is more empowered, skeptical and frugal than ever before, providing a greater than ever challenge to sales professionals, and shaking the very foundations of traditional selling models. At Alinean, we have coined this new B2B challenge as Frugalnomics, indicated by: 1. Empowered Buyers: Fueled by the Internet, with access to a wealth of resources, research, discussions, product and pricing information, buyers are self-empowered to drive the buying cycle, inviting sales later and la

Forrester 64

Forrester Lead Ranking Cross-Selling Peer-to-peer 64

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Content

Online Marketing Institute

MARCH 13, 2011

Home About Selling At a Startup Entries RSS | Comments RSS Power Selling Tools: Things Every Startup Sales Team Needs Posted on February 8, 2011 by admin In order to sell effectively at a startup your sales team needs every tactical advantage possible. By this I mean that your team needs to have complete visibility into all marketing efforts and results, as well as the ability to launch sales generated marketing campaigns.

Startups 64

Startups Leadlander Jigsaw Tools 64

Biznology

MARCH 18, 2011

Image by michperu via Flickr. by Frank Reed. As I follow the SMB market in the online space, I see something that I am not convinced the tech world is paying enough attention to. It's a demarcation line where millions of SMBs will line up on one side or the other. How they choose will pick a winner for the biggest of the big in the Internet world: Google and Bing.

SMB 97

SMB Google Internet Marketing Search Marketing 97

Adobe Experience Cloud Blog

MARCH 18, 2011

by Bill Binch As the economy improves, more companies will start to add to their B2B sales forces. Many companies will be expanding into and testing new markets by adding remote sales people. While adding remote salespeople is a lower-cost way to enter a new market, it does come with its share of management challenges. We’ve identified three areas that challenge sales teams and potential solutions to drive more sales from remote salespeople below: 1.

Marketing Management 77

Marketing Management Lead Scoring Lead Ranking B2B Sales 77

MLT Creative

MARCH 15, 2011

As both a B2B marketer and behavioral scientist, I am constantly examining individuals’ buying behavior to determine what motivates them to make purchasing decisions. Thus, while reviewing Social Cognitive Theory and what it can teach us about human behavior, I knew it was something I had to discuss. The tenets of SCT are vast, so I won’t attempt to explain the whole theory; instead, I’d like to talk about one of its concepts (and one I mentioned last week ): self-efficacy.

Buy 64

Buy B2B Advertising Agencies Case Studies 64

Advertiser: ZoomInfo

Marketing technology is essential for B2B marketers to stay competitive in a rapidly changing digital landscape — and with 53% of marketers experiencing legacy technology issues and limitations, they’re researching innovations to expand and refine their technology stacks. To help practitioners keep up with the rapidly evolving martech landscape, this special report will discuss: How practitioners are integrating technologies and systems to encourage information-sharing between departments and pr

B2B Marketing

Hubspot

MARCH 18, 2011

A little while ago I wrote a post about 20 great Facebook Fan Pages. Most of the HubSpot blog readers found the examples eye-catching and inspiring, but many of the comments contained a similar yearning to see if these same concepts could be applied to B2B businesses. Like the general idea of Inbound Marketing can be applied to both B2C and B2B companies, so too can the Facebook marketing techniques portrayed in the previous examples.

Facebook 59

Facebook B2B Forrester Youtube 59

Biznology

MARCH 15, 2011

Image by enriqueburgosgarcia via Flickr. by Aaron Kim. A Hunch Blog post from last week ( "You've got mail: What your email domain says about you" ) made some noise around the net, courtesy of Gizmodo , swissmiss , and hundreds of tweets and retweets, most likely by Gmail users, who are depicted very favorably compared to Yahoo!, Hotmail and poor AOL users.

Segmentation 93

Segmentation Psychographics Domain Analysis 93

EMagine B2B Blog

MARCH 17, 2011

Too often, we engage with website-design clients who, when we broach the topic of search engine optimization (SEO), say something like… Oh yeah, we’ll get to that down the road; let’s just get our new website on the air first. Of course, in the end we must accede to every client’s wishes; but we will [.].

SEO 50

SEO Marketing Websites Course Design 50