Avitage

JULY 26, 2017

B2B sales organizations with a complex, “platform,” or value sales process face some of their biggest challenges in the initial prospecting stage. The process for a value sale is naturally longer than a simple product sale. If your sales role is major accounts, you have even more at stake.

Conversion 120

Conversion Differentiation B2B Sales Buy 120

Avitage

JANUARY 16, 2015

Traditionally, buyers were dependent on vendors through their sales representatives for information. ” Today, buyers are conducting self-directed, online research, deep into their decision process. B2B buyers don’t need vendor/product information until later in this process.

Relevance 120

Relevance Conversion Vendors Press 120

Avitage

FEBRUARY 2, 2016

There is a generally high desire for sales coaching in B2B selling. To be successful sales people need: Knowledge and information (including sales strategy and process), Skills and techniques, Conversations and messages These inputs enable sale people to know What to do, What to say, How to say it.

B2B Sales 120

B2B Sales Training Differentiation Acquisitions 120

Avitage

MARCH 29, 2016

If you sell the way you did 10 years ago, you don’t need a sales content strategy. But if you’ve truly adopted a customer-centered sales philosophy you know you have new requirements. The right content addresses every key buyer decision point throughout the customer engagement process.

B2B Sales 120

B2B Sales Marketing & Strategy B2B Content 120

Avitage

MARCH 25, 2016

In this digital era, content is a primary driver of sales and marketing performance. The traditional content production process can only optimize two of the first three criteria. But the process hasn’t kept up. An outdated content operations process. We have written extensively on this. But the diagnosis is simple.

Marketing & Strategy 120

Marketing & Strategy Acquisitions B2B Sales Paid Search Agency 120

Avitage

JUNE 3, 2015

Sales professionals have been slower to change their sales methods to adapt and align with new buying processes and the expectations of buyers. “Social selling” while new and popular, doesn’t yet represent a significant breakthrough in the way B2B sales people sell.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Content Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads 120

Avitage

JULY 17, 2015

What if your “sales content problem” isn’t the real problem, but a symptom of the problem? I watched with interest the webinar How to Unclog Your Sales Pipeline, with Craig Nelson of CallidusCloud and Scott Santucci of The Alexander Group, moderated by Gerhard Gschwandtner from Selling Power.

Content 120

Content Webinar Metrics Acquisitions B2B Sales 120

Avitage

JANUARY 16, 2015

Traditionally, buyers were dependent on vendors through their sales representatives for information. ” Today, buyers are conducting self-directed, online research, deep into their decision process. B2B buyers don’t need vendor/product information until later in this process.

Relevance 120

Relevance Vendors Press B2B Sales 120

Avitage

JUNE 11, 2014

(Huffington Post, see Mike Kunkle’s excellent webinar) To fuel this content dependent activity, many are urging sales people to blog, and to become thought leaders. Lori Richardson, John Jantsch, ITSMA) This is a logical extension from a belief that sales people must think more like marketers.

Cross-Selling 120

Cross-Selling Thought Leadership Blogger Network Marketing 120

Avitage

MARCH 7, 2012

I find that a pre-call process must be as efficient, brief and focused as possible. Her trademarked process focuses on the internal issues the customer must resolve to make a buying decision with ANY vendor. She eloquently points out that this is a key reason sales opportunities “go dark” or result in “no decision.”

Vendors 120

Vendors Custom Publishing Tips Efficiency 120

Avitage

MARCH 7, 2012

We are working with several clients to help them improve their lead nurturing program to deliver a higher volume and quality of sales ready leads to the outside sales team. We have found a tendency on the part of Inside Sales to conduct their work from what I would term a traditional mindset.

Lead Nurturing 120

Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads Telemarketing Lead Qualification 120

Avitage

MARCH 28, 2013

.” This IDG Enterprises report is the result of a survey of 1,025 IT decision makers to “to gain a better understanding of the role content consumption plays in the purchase process for major technology products and services.” My first observation is this is the estimated spend.

Allocation 120

Allocation Webcast Content Case Study 120

Avitage

MARCH 28, 2013

.” This IDG Enterprises report is the result of a survey of 1,025 IT decision makers to “to gain a better understanding of the role content consumption plays in the purchase process for major technology products and services.” My first observation is this is the estimated spend.

Allocation 120

Allocation Webcast Curation Content 120

Avitage

MARCH 28, 2012

35 Days to First Conversation — do the math For prospects who actively engage your content, assuming a two day lag in viewing, here is a possible sequence to your first call appointment (elapse time not work days) (“your mileage may vary”): Day 1 – send initial invitation touch with vmail call Day 3 – prospect views email (..)

Microsite 120

Microsite Activities Conversion Content 120

Avitage

APRIL 3, 2015

For all the time, attention and investment made in sales enablement tools, it’s a shame a fraction of that hasn’t been invested in solving the core problem: the content itself. sales enablement hasn’t yet met expectations. How well does sales define their requirements? But then …. See Need Better Content?

Work Management 120

Work Management Budget Programs Marketing Management Content 120

Avitage

JANUARY 16, 2018

At some point B2B executives realize that adding resources and technology to the traditional content operations process produces only marginal improvements. They will not be addressed with the current process. By this I mean sales and marketing people, and their audiences, use and consume content. They don’t create it.

Content 120

Content Domain Paid Search Agency B2B Sales 120

Avitage

JUNE 28, 2017

Without mechanisms to make the complex simple, people experience the feeling as “complicated” This is the condition B2B sales and marketing leaders experience when it comes to defining and executing sales, marketing, content and data strategies. Complexity, coupled with exponential change, can paralyze effective execution.

B2B 120

B2B B2B Sales Differentiation Segmentation 120

Avitage

AUGUST 29, 2018

The long-prevailing wisdom is to align content to the customer’s buying stage and/or the sales process stage. Few content users and their audiences really know or think about what stage of the decision / selling process they’re in. This approach reflects an outdated content alignment and management mindset.

Content 120

Content Tagging Buyer's Journey Buy 120

Avitage

MARCH 13, 2015

Perhaps you’re the sales leader, and your sales people lack the content they need to sell effectively in this age of online, self-educating, stealth buyers. You might manage channel sales and your partners regularly complain they lack channel appropriate content to fuel their lead gen and selling activities.

Wikipedia 120

Wikipedia Lead Gen Lead Ranking Budget Programs 120

Avitage

MARCH 6, 2013

Content Marketing Content Publishing Marketing and Sales Strategy buying process Content assets Content marketing content strategy' You may not even become aware of the […] The post One Hour Content Marketing Reality Check appeared first on Avitage.

Content Marketing 120

Content Marketing Content Marketing & Strategy Buy 120

Avitage

JUNE 10, 2014

The Internet and changes to buyer behavior has made content a strategic imperative and key driver of strategic business objectives, however; The traditional approach to customer content development, funding, and content production processes will not meet sales and marketing use case requirements.

Enterprise Management 120

Enterprise Management Marketing Management Marketing & Strategy Content 120

Avitage

AUGUST 8, 2017

.” I have written, useful high-value content is a strategic business imperative in this digital era because it is a primary driver of: New customer acquisition and profitable revenue growth Marketing and sales productivity and lower selling costs Data acquisition about customers and buyers (DBL) Consistent, exceptional customer experience.

Content 120

Content Gartner Acquisitions Custom Publishing 120

Avitage

FEBRUARY 12, 2017

Too many executives, and especially the sales organization, still don’t see it. What if you flip the process? A Different Approach to Content Marketing Justification B2B content marketers must continually defend budgets and tactics, especially content investments, by proving performance. This is not a simple challenge.

Marketing & Strategy 120

Marketing & Strategy Content Tactics Paid Search Agency 120

Avitage

MARCH 7, 2012

Mike Schultz gives us a useful checklist in his recent blog 10 Rainmaker Principles and Keys to Sales Motivation, which I highly recommend. ” Aligning with the customer’s buying process is an important starting point, and one we baked into our process well in 2010. This will.

Buy 120

Buy Process Practices Organization 120

Avitage

MARCH 19, 2015

The second video illustrates how this works using a new, continuous publishing, or “content supply chain process.” This approach has created a process […]. Content Operations Featured Marketing and Sales Strategy content operations content performance content supply chain'

Content 120

Content Vendors Custom Publishing ROI 120

Avitage

MARCH 21, 2013

The topic of selling and sales behaviors is so broad, it has to be focused for a coherent discussion. Any sales conversation must begin with the nature of the selling process, especially from the buyers perspective — how they see their problems, available solutions, and buying challenges.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking B2B Sales Vendors Buy 120

Avitage

JUNE 12, 2012

The traditional video production process and techniques have a clear role for many video purposes. To address these new criteria for video a different approach that leverages a different process and technique is required. Extensions are content suitable for different audiences, or buyer roles if you are in sales or marketing.

Video Marketing 120

Video Marketing Planning Segmentation Education 120

Avitage

MARCH 6, 2013

Content Marketing Content Publishing Marketing and Sales Strategy buying process Content assets Content marketing content strategy' Does it create a sense of urgency? Are risks of changing or not changing addressed? Are there customer […].

Content Marketing 120

Content Marketing Urgency Marketing Content Marketing & Strategy 120

Avitage

MARCH 21, 2013

The topic of selling and sales behaviors is so broad, it has to be focused for a coherent discussion. Any sales conversation must begin with the nature of the selling process, especially from the buyers perspective — how they see their problems, available solutions, and buying challenges.

Lead Ranking 120

Lead Ranking Vendors B2B Sales Buy 120

Avitage

JANUARY 28, 2016

Business Strategy Background and context for this conversation are the new realities associated with self-educating, B2B buyers, and their preferred buying decision process. Belief in this, and the role of content, is the foundational premise for what follows. Are you assuming everyone “gets it”?

ROI 120

ROI B2B Content Urgency Marketing 120

Avitage

JULY 23, 2012

A rich history, and many models, demonstrate that process change is often the key to execution and cost related breakthroughs. The traditional “point production” process for creating content is too limited for the new requirements of the content marketing world. Marketers should take heed.

Content 120

Content Guidelines Consulting Planning 120

Avitage

MARCH 20, 2012

As you pursue the promise of content marketing you immediately encounter the challenges presented by new requirements: To create buyer relevant content that engages prospects To create content for the entire buying process — including later stage decision making, or your sales process, stages To publish for many purposes and formats To create (..)

Marketing Management 120

Marketing Management Content Storytelling Vendors 120

Avitage

APRIL 9, 2012

We know too well the difficulty of identifying and engaging new prospects in sales conversations (generating leads). Our CRM monitored sales process reveals protracted buying timeframes (longer sales cycles and higher costs). ” You have lived the marketing and sales disconnect.

Demand 120

Demand B2B Sales Sales Cycle PR 120

Avitage

AUGUST 6, 2012

With solutions that have several variants, or that require customization, the process is designed to postpone adding variant features or customizations until the last possible moment. Just as postponement is designed into a manufacturing production process, it must be designed into a content production process.

Content Marketing 120

Content Marketing Marketing Management Buyer Personas Advertising Agencies 120

Avitage

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

Continuous Acquisition A third approach to acquiring customer stories is to embrace the idea that companies should develop a process for Continuous Acquisition. Sales or customer service people engaging with customers are frequently in a position where a conversation leads to an interesting story.

Acquisitions 120

Acquisitions Barriers Inbound Marketing Positioning 120

Avitage

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

Continuous Acquisition A third approach to acquiring customer stories is to embrace the idea that companies should develop a process for Continuous Acquisition. Sales or customer service people engaging with customers are frequently in a position where a conversation leads to an interesting story.

Acquisitions 120

Acquisitions Barriers Custom Publishing Inbound Marketing 120

Avitage

MARCH 7, 2012

How do these expectations differ when you ask marketing vs. sales? Captured properly, customer insights can perform many “jobs” throughout the buying process. Do you have a formal process for conducting customer interviews? There is a place for customers telling their (your) story. Does it look like this one?

Planning 120

Planning Content Case Study Case Studies 120