Buying and selling of B2B solutions has findementaly and permanently changed, a change called Frugalnomics, requiring buyers to provide quantifiable proof to executives that proposed solutions will deliver bottom-line impact, and requiring vendors to help create and deliver the quantified proof-points and business case if they want to win the deal and avoid stalled sales cycles. One of the best and most commonly used methods used to calculate bottom-line value of proposed projects is via an ROI analysis. Thursday, August 05, 2010 Is ROI a Good Way to Make the Case for Change? MORE >>

Thursday, May 13, 2010 Engage early with Senior Execs, or Lose the Deal In the article Selling Business Value to Senior Executives, Tony Hillyard proposes that the most effective way to sell to executives is to engage earlier in the sales process. According to Mr. Hillyard, “Many salespeople wait until the organization has started to go to the market to find solutions for their problems.&# , and according to our research are then less likely to win deals, and more likely to discount. Influence is highest at this early phase. But how to make this a reality? It needs to. MORE >>

Traditional ROI analysis examines the cash flow of a proposed project over time to determine if it makes fiscal sense. The investment is tallied and benefits contrasted against the benefits to see if the project generates a positive cash flow, and as a result, can deliver bottom-line impact to the organization. The investment portion of the tangible benefits equation measures all of the up-front and on-going costs for implementing the project, seeking to capture the total cost of ownership of the proposed solution (all of the costs over the useful investment lifespan). MORE >>

As a frequent speaker at events of all sizes, I’ve had a chance to observe some of the best practices conference organizers used to promote their events through social media. We’ll look first at tactics the can work for any event, then I’ll propose a few ideas for large conferences covering multiple days and many speakers. Ideally, the hashtag should be unique to the event (#AcmeForum11), but it’s OK to use your organization’s hashtag if your main goal is to build your brand.(#AcmeForums). Google Documents supports simple forms at no charge. AcmeForums). MORE >>

Monday, October 11, 2010 Marketing Hierarchy of Needs: Achieving Marketing Efficiency and Effectiveness Every year, around Halloween, organizations meet to begin the battle for budget allocations for the New Year. Marketing service and technology providers also need to do their part to fight Frugalnomics, helping marketers quantify the value of proposals to prioritize projects and garner investment, and verify that post-project expected returns were delivered. For marketers, the news is good overall. world-wide, and that this greatly exceeded the 3.7% Do White Papers Still Engage? MORE >>