think this is a great tool to use as you plan or review your B2B marketing. Marketing Planning b2b Inbound Marketing marketing plansI just love infographics as a great way to capture a process and a story in a way that I can understand. One great example is the Inbound Marketing Strategy infographic published recently by Slingshot SEO (see below – included with the authors’ permission). It steps you through the 3 phases of the buyer cycle, TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU, and lists on the side what types of marketing activities or materials can support that buying phase. MORE >>

We recently shared what we’ve learned by introducing the Challenger Plan to members of CEB Sales Executive Council. That’s the basis of the Challenger Plan , which aims to help sellers think through the customer dynamics and Challenger actions to grow the account. The Plan is comprised of 4 critical questions: . Again, Challengers are looking for opportunity to teach, and help the customer build consensus around an action plan. This is pretty self-explanatory, and any account plan must have this section. W hat should be keeping this customer up at night ? MORE >>

One Page Marketing Plan. If there is one thing I’ve learned as a marketing consultant, strategic marketing plans must be SMART to be successful. Here are my descriptions for SMART B2B marketing plans: Specific. marketing plan that does not identify what will be done, how, who will do it, when and how much it will cost is not specific. My one-page Excel marketing plan has a SMART design. Read about it in my blog entry, How to Create a One-Page Marketing Plan. Marketing Planning Marketing Strategy marketing plansTweet. and How Much? MORE >>

If you prepare well, know your numbers and work backwards, developing a marketing budget plan doesn’t have to be painful. Painless Guide to Planning a Marketing Budget is from Eloqua’s It’s All About Revenue, a Blog Covering Business To Business Marketing. Marketing Measurement b2b marketing CMO lead management marketing automation marketing budget plan marketing budget strategy marketing budgets marketing qualified leads Revenue Performance Management RPM sales accepted leads sales qualified opportunitiesused to be a member of the “dread it” crowd. The numbers don’t lie. MORE >>

During Q3 of every year, sales l eaders spend a large amount of time on strategic planning to establish Sales’ mandate for the next year and focus reps on high-value activities that align with corporate objectives. This is typically followed with a company-wide meeting where the sales plan is unveiled. Oftentimes though, the frontline fails to execute on these sales plans. Without a clear sense of how top line goals link to sales activities, reps either resort to doing what they’ve always done or acting on their own interpretations of the strategic plan. MORE >>