If a prospect wanted information on a product or service, he or she had to approach the company and get inserted into its sales process. They have to stop focusing on the sales cycle and instead focus on the buying cycle. The more robust you can make the role, the more you'll be able improve the Web experience and tone and style of writing, the more relevant you can make your branding, and the more you can improve sales readiness and optimize the marketing mix. Talk to your sales team to understand buyer roles. Here he shares his thoughts on the impact Web 2.0 world? MORE >>

Advanced Content – Contrary to popular belief, just because someone has visited your blog or website doesn’t mean they’ve entered the top of your sales funnel. After this transaction occurs the visitor is at the top of the funnel (TOFU) and can be placed in a lead nurturing email campaign with the intent of moving them down the funnel. However, it also helps define TOFU and middle of the funnel (MOFU) content. Content marketing is a really hot topic these days and is considered the foundation of any good inbound marketing strategy. MORE >>

In an ideal marketing and sales world, we’d all enjoy the opportunity to talk in person with each and every prospect. Great content succeeds when it gets you found, instantly engages your prospects and converts them to the next target stage in your sales funnel. Reflect on your great personal connections with current prospects and customers, as well as on stories and anecdotes your colleagues in marketing and sales share with you about their successful connections. In B2B days gone by, serving began when the sale closed and solution delivery started. MORE >>

Use LinkedIn to Help Fill the Sales Funnel. Manufacturers can use LinkedIn to prime the sales funnel if they leverage their connections. Considering that after you have a few hundred connections your network extends into the millions, LinkedIn can be a great way to get in touch with potential sales contacts. Business-to-business (B2B) companies are starting to embrace social media to a greater extent these days. According to a report by Forrester , roughly 81 percent of B2B companies reported that they used social media in 2011. MORE >>

Solicit Sales Feedback Marketers Can Use by @ardath421 A great set of questions to help marketers uncover the information they need to develop solid strategies. Focus Experts' Guide: Sales and Marketing Pipeline and Funnel Models - via @funnelholic Think there's only one version of the sales funnel? Build a Content Map to be Your Creation Guide for your Blog and More - by @treypennington (Video) Pamela Slim, Author or Escape from Cubicle Nation, talks with Trey about how to match content to each stage of your sales funnel. Tweet MORE >>