Second, they need to either hire marketing experts in this space or assign a key person to lead this initiative inside the organization.  Kathleen Steffey, founder-CEO, Naviga Business Services. Sales and marketing alignment is all the rage right now, as companies grapple with how to blend the two disciplines together to create better efficiencies. But first they have to break down the silos, and we’re not about to hold our collective breath on that one. Follow the Lead: What do you think are some of the concrete steps organizations can take to meld the two disciplines? Make decisions? MORE >>

Likewise on the people side; we’re getting more and more of the new titles in the b-to-b marketplace, knowing, for example, that  this person is classified as a ‘Chief Data Officer,’ but he is also a marketing person. Sam Zales. Smarketer. Sure, it sounds weird at first, but “simulcast” – a portmanteau of “simultaneous and broadcast” – probably sounded funny when it first hit the national lexicon in the late 1940s. Smarketer, ZoomInfo: In light of the ongoing upheaval in b-to-b sales, what are your biggest challenges for the remainder of the year? Subscribe to RSS. MORE >>

You’ll be granted continued access to that C-level decision-maker when you’re able to explain how you help that person’s business. You have to stand out and, instead of doing an infomercial, you’re there to understand and do an investigation of the person’s business and find out what’s on his mind and where the problems are. Q&A | Steve Martin. This week we’re going to stay in that rarefied air around selling to the C-level. Earlier this week we discussed a recent a Webinar that tackled myriad ways that b-to-b sales reps can get in front of C-level execs. Subscribe to RSS. MORE >>

stressed that by creating and curating content – and delivering to the right person at the right time – b-to-b sales and marketing execs can warm up the sales engine and cut down on cold calling. 'The shift is not about b-to-b or b-to-c.' ' For Greg Verdino , it’s dangerous for b-to-b sales and marketing execs to be lulled into thinking that social media is predominately for consumer markets. Take IBM. Big Blue is able to tap into the conversation online about sustainability with a microblog designed to support the company’s ‘A Smarter Planet’ marketing push. MORE >>

For Gen Y audiences, during the research phase, it’s important to use digital tactics (Webinars, Twitter and blog posts) to attract prospects (who can then make suggestions to their managers on what to buy) while  Gen X audiences, or baby-boomer managers, require a combination of both digital and traditional methods of selling (RFPs, phone calls, in-person visits) to advance the conversation. One day soon a client might ask, 'How did you live???!!!' The results indicated a  &# propensity for social and interactive communications,&# the agency reported. Subscribe to RSS. MORE >>