The Point

SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

I was left a voicemail earlier this week by a sales rep that I talked to (briefly) about 6 months ago. As a sales professional or as a marketer, if you engage with a qualified prospect and that prospect doesn’t convert immediately to an opportunity, there’s every reason to stay in touch with that individual over time. Click To Tweet.

Lead Nurturing 224

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 224

The Point

APRIL 22, 2020

I posted recently on LinkedIn that, in the current climate, leads from content syndication and other CPL programs may be an ideal replacement for lost trade shows and other events, and indeed can be an effective way to stay engaged in the marketplace at a time when many buyers are laying low. Quality content = quality leads.

Lead Scoring 162

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking CPL Cost per Lead 162

The Point

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Precious few B2B marketers can show true ROI from organic social activity, and even less are using organic social media in a systematic way to either generate social leads or drive those leads through the demand generation funnel. Integrating Social Leads into the Demand Generation Funnel via @spearmktg. Click To Tweet. (HS)

Top of Funnel 203

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Lead Scoring 203

The Point

OCTOBER 22, 2020

A client asks: “I know the answer is probably “it depends” but curious if you think there’s a best practice for how many follow-up nurture emails to send TOFU content syndication leads before you stop due to non-engagement?”. When Should I Stop Nurturing a Lead? When Should I Stop Nurturing a Lead? on Unsplash.

Sales Qualified Leads 227

Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads 227

The Point

JULY 1, 2019

For the last decade or more, it’s been an accepted principle – almost a key tenet – of B2B demand generation that business buyers don’t want to talk to a sales rep until the last possible moment. It’s why, for example, we marketers have assumed control for more and more of the lead funnel. For example: * Lead Scoring.

B2B Sales 124

B2B Sales Demand Generation Agencies Top of Funnel Lead Scoring 124

The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2018

The analysts at Demand Gen Report just published their “ 2018 Lead Nurturing & Acceleration Survey Report ” and one conclusion is no surprise: many B2B companies are still really bad at lead nurturing. It’s not just that 44% of respondents said that their lead nurturing “needs improvement.” Think about that.

Lead Nurturing 178

Lead Nurturing Marketing Report Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 178

The Point

OCTOBER 29, 2021

And now that chat is becoming a staple of the B2B tech stack, creative marketers are finding ever more innovative ways for leveraging their investment to drive engagement throughout the lead lifecycle. But chat is also about providing options, and reducing friction, and making it as easy as possible for someone to talk to sales when ready.

Account Based Marketing 350

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Automation Services Demand Generation Agencies 350

The Point

MAY 9, 2017

Earlier this year, he launched The B2B Content Agency to provide clients with buyer research, message strategy and insight-lead sales narratives. The power to convert leads lies in the message – not the software. In the absence of value, sales organizations default to pricing as their primary mechanism for closing deals.

Account Based Marketing 206

Account Based Marketing ABM Marketing Automation Services Lead Scoring 206

The Point

DECEMBER 12, 2014

As most PPC advertisers already know, Google’s Quality Score measures what Google perceives to be the quality of your keyword ads. In short, the better your quality score, the lower your cost per click, the more likely someone will see and click on your ad, and the less you’ll pay for that click.

Landing Pages 100

Landing Pages Lead Scoring Lead Ranking PPC 100

The Point

JANUARY 23, 2018

Prospects may simply not be ready to engage with sales because either 1) they don’t know such a solution exists, or 2) they may not be aware they have the problem in the first place. This requires a constant re-loading of the sales funnel with new, expensive leads. Look, I get it.

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 253

The Point

OCTOBER 8, 2015

Bear with me as I relate a quick story about lead nurturing: A few months back I became a sales lead. A question: at this point, what kind of lead am I? By my own reckoning, I’m an MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead). Perhaps I was an SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) at one point in the conversation, but no longer.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

For a long time, “ lead nurturing ” was thought of as something you did with the leads that sales didn’t want. The theory was: leads come in, the sales team gets the hot ones, and the rest go to lead nurturing. Today, of course, a comprehensive lead nurturing strategy is much more than that.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

DECEMBER 15, 2020

A client asks: How long should a lead be chronically non-responsive before they’re marked as “marketing suspended”? Over time, an accumulation of stale, non-responsive leads can bump you to a higher pricing tier for your CRM or marketing automation license. . How Quickly Should I Suspend or Delete Non-Responsive Leads?

Lead Scoring 162

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Leads Lead 162

The Point

OCTOBER 15, 2019

If your organization is generating plenty of leads but those initial inquiries aren’t converting to sales qualified leads, meetings, or pipeline, a myriad of things could be at fault: 1) sales follow-up may be sub-standard in either cadence, frequency, or message. 2) lead nurturing. 2) lead nurturing.

Sales Qualified Leads 138

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing 138

The Point

NOVEMBER 10, 2016

In 2015, JW Player piloted a small-scale, in-house SEM program on Google AdWords to gauge the potential efficacy of using search advertising to drive qualified leads for its enterprise video platform. JW Player contacted Spear Marketing Group , a leading B2B demand generation agency , for help. Aggressive testing of ad copy.

SEM 222

SEM Cost Per Click Enterprise Management Paid Search Agency 222

The Point

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

When marketers embark on a formal lead nurturing strategy, opportunities for process improvement can arise in unexpected ways. That was the experience for iDirect , a leading provider of satellite IP communications based in Herndon, Virginia. All this presents real challenges for both demand generation and lead management.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Lead Ranking 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

Given the business case on which most Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategies are founded – namely, that ABM increases opportunities and revenue from high-value accounts – the temptation for marketers is to measure the success of those programs on similar, high-value criteria: namely, opportunities, revenue, and average deal size.

Account Based Marketing 290

Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads 290

The Point

JULY 30, 2020

Blogs are historically the province of the PR team, and so they’re not often looked at as a vehicle for driving leads, sales engagement, and revenue. But it doesn’t necessarily take all new content or a massive blog redesign (read: time and money) to have even the most PR-centric blog start generating real value.

Demand 221

Demand Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Marketing Budget 221

The Point

APRIL 1, 2014

Recent studies tell us while the adoption of marketing automation technology continues to gain momentum, fewer than 20 percent of marketing executives say that they are fully integrating the technology into their current sales and marketing initiatives. Marketo creates task in CRM to remind BDR to call lead 1 week later. Wait 2 weeks.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

The Point

DECEMBER 16, 2013

In fact, I’ll make almost the exact opposite prediction: “By 2015, the percentage of B2B leads that arrive via corporate Websites will shrink dramatically as marketers maintain multiple, distinct online channels that are optimized for demand generation.”. Want to guess how many of those leads arrive via our clients’ Websites?

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies B2B Sales Sales Leads Microsite 100

The Point

AUGUST 25, 2020

Which of the following do you have in place: CRM, Marketing Automation, Programmatic, ABM (Demandbase, Engagio, 6Sense, Terminus), Sales Enablement (SalesLoft, Outreach), Data Enrichment/CDP (ZoomInfo, DiscoverOrg, Leadspace), Conversational Marketing (Drift), Content Experience (Uberflip), Website Personalization, Attribution.

Ideal Customer Profiles 147

Ideal Customer Profiles Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking 147

The Point

APRIL 26, 2018

I asked Charles Crnoevich, Head at Partnerships at Bombora , the leading provider of B2B intent data, to shed some light on where, when, and for whom intent data holds the most promise. (HS) This leads to a much longer decision-making process and more opportunity for B2B marketers to influence their buyers over time. But is that real?

Intent Data 209

Intent Data Intent Bombora Account Based Marketing 209

The Point

JUNE 7, 2017

from those reps that I haven’t already “blocked”) are bereft of anything approaching relevance or value to our business. And the qualities that make it an effective sales email are lessons for anyone embarking on a sales outreach campaign, or any rep who writes emails, for that matter. Click To Tweet.

Best Practices 145

Best Practices Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 145

The Point

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

This functionality not only generates additional insights for marketers as to just how much of their content prospects are actually reading, but also enables more sophisticated lead qualification methods, for example: granting higher lead scores when an individual prospect reads more than say, 80 percent of a white paper.

Paper 193

Paper Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 193

The Point

APRIL 19, 2023

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) programs are especially prone to unscientific methods of target account selection, as in: “these are the accounts that sales says they want to go after.” What’s the future for exegraphics – what do you see on the horizon?

Ideal Customer Profiles 130

Ideal Customer Profiles Marketing AI Marketing Analytics Tools B2B Marketing 130

The Point

JANUARY 14, 2014

In my experience, most of the mental energy and strategic thinking around the practice of lead nurturing and lead management is usually applied to the goal of accelerating prospects through the sales process – from MQL to SQL, from SQL to Opportunity, and so on. And that lack of focus can be a big mistake. Probably not.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Leads 100

The Point

OCTOBER 30, 2013

A client asks: “I notice that you’re recommending we gate our offer content behind landing pages as part of the lead nurturing campaign. It’s why click-to-lead conversion rates are never 100%, no matter how good your landing page. Why is that necessary when we already know who these people are? Here’s why: 1. A click is not a response.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Landing Pages 100

The Point

JUNE 20, 2018

Can a company make do with less than the careful planning, audience definition and profiling, sales enablement, executive buy-in, personalized content, and dedicated technology typically required of a successful ABM initiative and still make it work? Generating leads from key accounts. Generating leads from key accounts.

Account Based Marketing 168

Account Based Marketing ABM CPL Cost per Lead 168

The Point

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

In uncertain economic times, Market Development Funds (MDF) can be a precious resource for channel partners (resellers, distributors, ISVs) looking for budget to fund sales and marketing activity. What is the value-add that makes you distinct from other partners in a way that customers would want to work with you? Define your message.

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

The Point

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

The report, however, goes further – ranking trade shows as far and away the most effective demand gen channel in their “BtoB Channel Effectiveness Quadrant,” surpassing (by some margin) even demand gen workhorses like email marketing and PPC. Note: in fairness, the quadrant does designate trade shows as a “high cost” channel.). Far from it.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Scoring 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

Almost 5 years ago, our agency conducted a survey to determine whether B2B companies were getting maximum value from their investment in marketing automation. They deployed the software very rapidly using only out-of-the-box templates, lead scoring, and overall structure. Reduced sales cycle? Pipeline acceleration?

Marketing Automation Services 147

Marketing Automation Services Marketing Management Marketing Automation Automation 147

The Point

FEBRUARY 11, 2014

How to ignite your company’s growth so marketing is filling your sales pipeline with more new buyers than needed to beat your future revenue goals…AND without increasing your cost per visit and cost per lead. HS] I notice that you integrate with some of the leading marketing automation vendors, including Marketo and Act-On.

Paid Content 100

Paid Content Demand Generation Agencies Cost per Lead Lead Scoring 100

The Point

JANUARY 19, 2021

I predict we’ll start seeing more credit ratings and payment scores appended to B2B marketing data. These will become incorporated into lead and account scoring, perhaps as criteria for what can become an MQL. Leads will need to pass “credit worthiness” before a closed/won is accepted. Photo by Behnam Norouzi on Unsplash.

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Lead Ranking 147

The Point

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Successful content today is about Value, not Volume. Define messages and value propositions for those segments (i.e. Plus personalization opens up new ways to score or qualify leads, for example: a lead score based on leads that watch 80% of a personalized video. Know your audience and your message.

Personalization 133

Personalization Lead Scoring Lead Ranking B2B 133

The Point

JULY 13, 2012

Which leads to another question: do certain types of campaigns even need an offer in the first place? Take lead nurturing : is it strictly essential that every lead nurturing touch include a specific, gated, call to action? I have my concerns, however, about extending it to lead nurturing and the email medium.

Lead Nurturing 100

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Campaigns 100

The Point

MAY 16, 2018

. * a “Business Phone System User Satisfaction Survey” (with a free gift card for responding). * a product comparison matrix or third party report comparing leading phone systems (“How Does Your Current System Rank?”). Instead, offer information of value. First rule of any competitive campaign? Don’t mention the competitor.

Campaigns 191

Campaigns Tips Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 191

The Point

APRIL 21, 2010

That was the challenge faced by Navicure , a leading Internet-based medical claims clearinghouse in Atlanta that helps medical practices increase profitability. Like many companies, Navicure’s corporate blog had evolved organically over time, and the marketing team was looking to leverage social media for more than just PR value.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Sales Leads Paid Search Agency Work Management 100