As I prepare for the Forrester Forum in Los Angles next week – deciding on what sessions I’ll attend; what customers and prospects I hope to connect with; how to drive curiosity and engagement at our booth, and a host of other details, I can’t help but think about what shoes I’ll pack since I’ll be on my feet for two full days at the JW Marriott.  So in the spirit of the Forrester conference theme, how do you know how you compare to other marketers to create engagement in the age of the customer ? As you know, it’s hard to be engaging and enthusiastic when your feet hurt.  MORE >>

This was presented at the latest Forrester Sales Enablement Forum, and is a marked increase from the 65/35% split of just two years ago. Recommended Sales Tools Interactive White Papers and Benefits Estimators – evolving from traditional white papers to deliver a more personalized door-opener or leave-behind that includes personalized quantification as to the “cost of do nothing”, value of change, and more targeted value messaging and case studies. Quantify the Pain Why Now? Justify the Gain Why You? And in this “Do More with Less” economy, there are many priorities to address. MORE >>

This tool is fast, easy to use, and offers a useful set of filters for finding mentions of a company or topic in specific types of social interaction (e.g. The Radian6 Dashboard enables you to monitor conversations in real time, while the Engagement Console lets you respond directly or route posts to appropriate individuals or teams and analyze the results of social media interactions. Until fairly recently, keeping track of your organization’s online presence was relatively easy. Your PR team was aware of most of these as it often had a hand in generating those placements. MORE >>

Now, it’s official – or at least corroborated by a Forrester Research Inc. Vendor use of jargon and their lack of simplifying issue complexity often keep business-oriented buyers from grasping the nuances of how technology can help to solve their problem,” says a post on the Marketing Interactions blog. Only 15% of the exec surveyed by Forrester felt their meetings with salespeople are valuable and live up to their expectations, and only seven percent usually accept a follow-on meeting. report. My emphasis.). Explaining things clearly to your prospects isn’t rocket science. MORE >>

Sunday, August 15, 2010 Forrester and IDC think Sales Enablement is a Big Deal. new role has emerged at many leading B2B companies, Sales Enablement, and recent research from Forrester and IDC proves this new sales enablement practice as the key linchpin required to help a B2B company bridge the gap between their business strategies and how they execute in the field. According to Forrester, companies are spending worldwide, on average, 19% of their SG&A costs, some $135,262 per quota-carrying salesperson, in sales support-related activities. and We Agree! April 2009). MORE >>