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. Perhaps I was an SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) at one point in the conversation, but no longer. And secondly, and more critically, these kinds of “touching base” phone calls are the worst possible use of a sales rep’s time.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Qualified Leads Lead Scoring 100

The Point

JANUARY 9, 2015

So, for example: “Click to download our free white paper”. I was reminded of this principle earlier today when a colleague forwarded an email received from a inside sales representative at a technology company looking to partner with our agency. is infinitely preferable to: “Click to learn more”.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Copywriting Cold Calling Telemarketing 100

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. If you do invest in lead generation, set clear expectations for sales follow-up. Many will even help write the proposal to apply for funds.

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

The Point

JUNE 18, 2013

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Daniel Chalef, CEO of KnowledgeTree , developers of an intriguing new solution, built for both Salesforce.com and mobile (iOS), that enables sales teams to instantly find, surface, and present the ideal content in any selling situation. We call that approach Content Selling. (HS)

Salesforce.com 100

Salesforce.com Work Management Marketing Management Content 100

The Point

JANUARY 27, 2022

On paper, the logic makes sense: * pick a handful of key accounts * execute an ABM campaign against those accounts * measure results * determine whether ABM is “worth the investment” on a larger scale. After all, ABM has the most value for companies with long, complex sales cycles. ABM pilots often jump ahead.

Account Based Marketing 204

Account Based Marketing ABM Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies 204

The Point

MAY 17, 2021

Marketers are often under pressure to evaluate lead gen programs very quickly, often within weeks, and to declare success (or failure) based on the rate at which those contacts convert to sales-ready leads and pipeline, even if the average sales cycle for their product is weeks or months longer than the window of measurement.

Marketing Management 207

Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Buying Cycle Demand Generation Agencies 207

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

In contrast, lead nurturing content – content designed to nudge a prospect along the sales cycle – is often tailored to answer questions for those further along in the purchase process. Personally, I’ve seen some white papers continue to generate leads year after year with only minor updates. There is no one, definitive answer.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

The Point

AUGUST 25, 2015

It’s important to recognize that content syndication leads are not like most sales leads. When someone registers to download a white paper or podcast or case study about the business challenge that your product solves, he or she is expressing an interest in that topic, not necessarily in your product. I’m following up to learn: 1.

Autoresponders 100

Autoresponders Leads Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 100

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. This is one of the most effective ways to convert organic blog traffic to sales leads that you can then nurture over time.

Demand 221

Demand Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Marketing Budget 221

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. Photo by Armando Ascorve Morales on Unsplash.

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 253

The Point

JULY 27, 2018

So, for example, on a spectrum from low to high: * a white paper is a low bar offer (very little asked of the prospect). * a Webinar is a low bar offer (though not as low as a white paper because of the additional time commitment). * a demo or free trial is a high bar offer (due to the time and resources required). *

Account Based Marketing 100

Account Based Marketing Campaigns Multi-Channel Demand Generation Agencies 100

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. Account-Based Marketing (ABM).

Sales Qualified Leads 138

Sales Qualified Leads Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing 138

The Point

NOVEMBER 12, 2019

However, if it’s a prerequisite for anything you ever do in demand gen, you’re doing your company and sales team a disservice by limiting engagement to only those prospects already in the more advanced stages of the buying journey. No, they won’t.

Intent Data 149

Intent Data Demand Generation Agencies Intent Paid Social Agency 149

The Point

APRIL 22, 2020

However, as much as it has a reputation as a way to generate “guaranteed” leads, content syndication is not a cure-all, and indeed, more than most demand generation channels, is likely to generate sales leads that gravitate towards the early stages of the buying cycle. Set appropriate thresholds for sales follow-up.

Lead Scoring 162

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking CPL Cost per Lead 162

The Point

MARCH 29, 2017

Earlier this year, I talked to a CMO at a B2B tech company whose sales counterpart was lobbying strongly for the company to adopt Account-Based Marketing (ABM) as part of their demand generation strategy. If your sales reps aren’t getting enough qualified leads, I’d wager that one or more of the following five reasons is to blame.

Sales Qualified Leads 50

Sales Qualified Leads Top of Funnel High Quality Lead Marketing Qualified Leads 50

The Point

JUNE 29, 2009

Here’s an interesting post by Mike Damphousse of Green Leads that I found through Funnelholic (thanks Craig) on how lead nurturing impacts the effectiveness of calling campaigns designed to secure qualified sales appointments.

Lead Gen 100

Lead Gen Sales Qualified Leads Leads Lead 100

The Point

JULY 1, 2013

On LinkedIn, John asks: “Does anyone have preferred content syndication channels that target sales and marketing folks? ” My response: “John, it’s very difficult but not impossible to target sales and marketing titles via content syndication. Download a copy here.

Demand Generation 100

Demand Generation Paper Sales Qualified Leads Content 100

The Point

JULY 17, 2017

IMPACT : Ensure that your content library includes relevant late stage content that proves demonstrable ROI (ex: ROI calculators, ROI white papers, case studies). FINDING : 77% of respondents said they conduct a detailed ROI analysis before making a final decision – an 11% increase from 2016. Click To Tweet.

Paid Search Agency 241

Paid Search Agency Demand Marketing Automation Services Peer-to-peer 241

The Point

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

Have you created a message deck that defines these selling points, by audience sector, to guide your agency partners, reduce creative cycles, and ensure that every sales outreach and marketing message is in sync? And guess what, it’s no longer good enough to use the same white paper for every industry, buying persona, or even target account.

Demand Generation Agencies 182

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Generation 182

The Point

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

If you’re not generating leads – as in: a lot of leads – from your company’s blog, you’re missing out on what is perhaps not only your best opportunity to convert organic Web traffic into actionable, measurable sales inquiries, but also the best way to actually show real ROI from your social media investment.

Business Blogging 100

Business Blogging Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Generation 100

The Point

APRIL 21, 2010

convert that search traffic to measurable sales leads. In its first 30 days, the blog attracted dozens of new email subscribers and 60 sales leads. And these weren’t just tire-kickers – fully 22 percent of the new prospects requested immediate sales contact. The results have been startling.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Sales Leads Paid Search Agency Work Management 100

The Point

MAY 16, 2018

How about: * a white paper on “10 Most Popular PBX Features (& Top 10 Pet Peeves)”. * 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?”). No thank you. Again, I do not.

Campaigns 191

Campaigns Tips Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 191

The Point

JULY 14, 2015

In an era when “demand generation” and “content marketing” are virtually synonymous, most B2B sales leads are the result of a prospect downloading or requesting content. The best opportunity for converting raw inquiries to sales-ready status is at the very top of the funnel, immediately upon the prospect expressing interest.

Sales Qualified Leads 100

Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Qualified Leads Lead Ranking Top of Funnel 100

The Point

JULY 27, 2016

For example, if you offer prospects a broad, educational white paper on trends in your product category, you’re more likely to generate a wide spectrum of leads, some more qualified than others, and many who are only mildly curious about your solution. Does that mean you should only ever use late stage content? No it doesn’t.

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Buy Product Demand Generation 100

The Point

DECEMBER 18, 2012

Ask a group of B2B marketers whether their Websites’ lead generation content (white papers, archived Webinars, case studies, videos, etc.) At one end of the spectrum, there are those that believe gating Web content is the most efficient way to convert Web visitors to actionable sales leads. The “All You Can Eat” Model.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Lead Generation Sales Qualified Leads Marketing Websites 100

The Point

MAY 23, 2017

If you adopt the “cast a wide net” approach to lead generation, you’ll need an effective lead nurture and sales follow-up strategy in place to make sure those leads are successfully filtered, qualified, and converted to sales-ready prospects. The post Beware the Siren Call of Pre-Qualified Leads appeared first on The Point.

Sales Qualified Leads 110

Sales Qualified Leads Cost per Lead High Quality Lead CPL 110

The Point

MAY 10, 2011

A prospect just responded to one of your marketing emails, filled out the registration form, and wants the free white paper you offered. If you use a marketing automation system, you can track when (or if) the prospect has accessed the white paper by clicking on the link you provided. Congratulations.

Fulfillment 100

Fulfillment Paper Lead Nurturing CAN-SPAM 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Look for core content such as white papers that can be “sliced” into multiple assets and versioned more readily for specific industries, roles, etc. Take stock of what content you have and map it against defined segments to identify content “gaps”.

Personalization 133

Personalization Lead Scoring Lead Ranking B2B 133

The Point

AUGUST 18, 2014

Note: these strategies assume that hot leads – those prospects who specifically requested follow-up or were otherwise graded as “high priority” on the show floor, get prompt response directly from sales. Most trade show leads are routinely ignored by sales. Someone who’s attended a tradeshow may be ready to contact sales directly.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Campaigns Tips Lead Nurturing 100

The Point

MAY 16, 2019

This is not a personal note or even sales outreach. For a more detailed view of what makes for a great Webinar invitation, download our white paper: “ Top 10 Tips for Webinar Invitation Success.” We’re not fooling anyone. ” The post Why this Webinar Invitation Works appeared first on The Point.

Webinar Metrics 100

Webinar Metrics Creativity Paid Search Agency B2B Sales 100

The Point

APRIL 23, 2013

One, a white paper offer from sales tax automation company Avalara , is a plodding recitation of facts that does little to grab the reader. For more tips on email creative, download a copy of the white paper: “ Top 10 B2B Email Marketing Mistakes.”. From top to bottom, the copy reads more like an executive summary or abstract.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Campaigns Copywriting Demand Generation 100

The Point

JANUARY 13, 2017

Smart technology marketers look to capture buyers early on in the sales cycle, then engage them in a consistent nurture campaign to build credibility, trust, and to position their solution favorably for when the buyers are ready to engage with sales.

SEM 100

SEM Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Sales Qualified Leads 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 10, 2014

Secondly, the paragraph is all first person: “We’ll explain the advantages Ethernet delivers …” so it sounds like a sales pitch, versus second person: “You’ll read about the advantages Ethernet delivers …” which would imply information of value and the benefits of responding. Let me count the ways in which this campaign went off the rails: 1.

Email Campaigns 100

Email Campaigns Demand Generation Agencies Campaigns Copywriting 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 14, 2014

Sure, demos attract more qualified leads, because prospects who want to view the product are inevitably further along in the sales process. In tests we’ve conducted over the years with our high-tech clients , information offers (white papers, case studies, Webinars) generate 3 times the response compared to demos and free trials.

Trade Show 100

Trade Show Demand Generation Agencies BtoB Lead Scoring 100

The Point

MAY 27, 2014

Those of you who have been subjected to sales training at some point in your careers may remember a technique called “the assumptive close.” Download a free copy of our white paper on integrated business applications and learn how to …”. It goes something like this: “Would you like the car in red or blue?”

Copywriting 100

Copywriting B2B Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 100

The Point

AUGUST 10, 2009

Think about it: that’s 1,000 sales leads (and make no mistake, that’s what they [.]. Tags: B2B Marketing Content Syndication Content marketing Demand Generation Inbound marketing Lead Nurturing SEM White Paper Syndication White Papers lead generation b2b demand generation b2b lead generation marketo.

SEM 100

SEM Content Marketing Marketing Automation Services Marketo 100

The Point

JANUARY 8, 2013

All that matters is the white paper, the video, the Webinar, whatever it is that is on offer in the campaign. Ironically, there’s a simple solution: craft a white paper about “intelligent queuing” and use the same benefit bullets to sell the offer: “In an insightful white paper, discover how breakthroughs.

Product 100

Product Email Marketing Cross-Selling Paper 100