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

OCTOBER 29, 2021

Here are just some of the more creative ways we’re seeing clients use chatbots to increase sales engagement, shorten sales cycles, and drive revenue: 1. 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. Trial & Demo Conversions.

Account Based Marketing 350

Account Based Marketing B2B Marketing Automation Services Demand Generation Agencies 350

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. For some, it may be the hassle of navigating an onerous MDF approval process. Why are channel partners leaving so much money on the table?

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Advertising Agencies CMS Development Work Management 147

The Point

DECEMBER 5, 2023

However, remember that the threshold may also include bulk sends from sales tools like SalesLoft or Outreach. Next, it’s important to recognize that the use of purchased lists doesn’t equate necessarily or solely to mass emailing that list.

Deliverability 162

Deliverability Rules Purchase Marketing Automation Services 162

The Point

NOVEMBER 4, 2010

Our inside sales reps are fairly prompt about following up with all leads by phone. My response: Most all of our clients combine email and phone follow-up – i.e. inside sales calls combined with some kind of automated email response. Why do I need to set up automated email response as well?”. Here are the key reasons: 1.

Lead Scoring 100

Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Telemarketing Process 100

The Point

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

On a recent conference call with a prospective client, the Vice President of Sales chimed in with a question: “How many touches do you think it takes before someone becomes a lead?”. In fairness to my VP friend, he won’t be the last to ask the question (or its close cousin, “How many touches does it take to make a sale?”)

Demand Generation Agencies 100

Demand Generation Agencies Validation Demand Generation Rules 100

The Point

NOVEMBER 5, 2009

It’s no secret that I am a fervent evangelist for marketing automation, and at our agency we see the real-life benefits every day in the form of clients generating higher conversion rates, more qualified leads, and shorter sales cycles. Sales management and executives, however, are focused on hitting monthly and quarterly targets.

Salesforce.com 100

Salesforce.com Eloqua Work Management Marketing Management 100

The Point

JUNE 24, 2022

The TrustRadius report focuses primarily on how technology vendors should adapt their selling process to these new buying habits, but it’s also worth considering some of the key findings and their implication for the demand marketer. Key Finding 2: Buyers leverage sales reps for information less (and later) than ever.

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Cold Calling B2B Demand Generation 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. Probably not.

Lead Ranking 100

Lead Ranking Marketing Automation Services Marketing Qualified Leads Sales Leads 100

The Point

JANUARY 23, 2018

Here’s why: * Many tech products are first of breed solutions and/or of a complexity that demands a more long-term, consultative selling process. 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.

Sales Management 253

Sales Management Sales Qualified Leads Demand Generation Agencies Lead Scoring 253

The Point

JANUARY 17, 2019

Some years ago, our firm conducted a lead management audit for a technology client who was struggling to convert raw, inbound inquiries into sales qualified leads. During the audit, it became quickly apparent that one of the major issues was at the very front end of the lead qualification process.

Sales Qualified Leads 168

Sales Qualified Leads Tips Lead Nurturing Multi-Channel 168

The Point

MARCH 23, 2023

CRO is a systematic, very deliberate process of modifying a Web page or Website with the specific purpose of improving the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. In the ideal, CRO is an ongoing process of constantly testing new ideas and improvements. Offer Appeal 2.

Demand 130

Demand Landing Pages Conversion Rate Paid Social Agency 130

The Point

JUNE 23, 2020

For those demand marketers promoting complex solutions, with long sales cycles, into large organizations, this is a must read. Readers will also learn practical ways to introduce, apply, and operationalize the new model, including how to leverage the Opportunity Object within their existing CRM systems.

Lead Ranking 264

Lead Ranking Enterprise Management Marketing Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 264

The Point

APRIL 26, 2018

This leads to a much longer decision-making process and more opportunity for B2B marketers to influence their buyers over time. Two, since the buying process involves many more people, you can’t just retarget the one person who was on a webpage. HS) Why has intent data become such a hot topic in B2B? What’s changed? (CC)

Intent Data 209

Intent Data Intent Bombora Account Based Marketing 209

The Point

OCTOBER 25, 2018

The brighter news is that the other two-thirds reported that nurture programs resulted in at least a 10% increase in sales opportunities, so there’s hope yet.). A lead “returned for nurturing” implies that the lead went to sales first for qualification, was deemed unqualified, and then dumped into the nurture stream.

Lead Nurturing 178

Lead Nurturing Marketing Report Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 178

The Point

DECEMBER 11, 2018

In later stages, the measuring stick is more likely to be Sales Qualified Accounts, Meetings, or Pipeline. ABM can be a highly effective way to navigate a long, complex sales cycle, but the marketer who thinks that an ABM program is going to convert cold names to pipeline opportunities in a few short weeks is destined for disappointment.

Account Based Marketing 157

Account Based Marketing ABM Ideal Customer Profiles Enterprise Management 157

The Point

SEPTEMBER 24, 2019

provide the option to opt out of the sale of a consumer’s personal information. CRITICAL: Develop a process for responding to requests for access to and/or deletion of personal information (note: under CCPA, businesses must respond to such requests within 45 days and delete up to 12 months of data).

B2B Marketing 220

B2B Marketing Advertising Agencies Privacy Policies B2B 220

The Point

MARCH 18, 2020

Right now, people want empathy and information of value, not a sales pitch. Like inbound, well-crafted nurture programs keep your brand top of mind and help ensure that the companies looking to take that next step in the buying process think of you first. If nothing else, lead nurturing.

Demand 243

Demand Demand Generation Agencies Top of Funnel Account Based Marketing 243

The Point

MARCH 22, 2019

I say this based, anecdotally, on the number of B2B marketers I talk to who either 1) don’t use lead scoring at all, or 2) have a lead scoring system that clearly doesn’t work (or is completely ignored by the sales team) and have no apparent motivation to fix it. Faster lead velocity means shorter sales cycles. How did we get here?

Lead Ranking 113

Lead Ranking Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Leads Account Based Marketing 113

The Point

JUNE 25, 2019

If your database is plagued with duplicates, or if your leads and contacts aren’t consistently associated with the correct accounts, it will be difficult, to say the least, to consolidate the data needed for an accurate attribution picture when a sale is made. * How is your lead management process working?

Marketing Attribution 242

Marketing Attribution Work Management Marketing Management Marketing Automation Services 242

The Point

JUNE 5, 2018

However, when you consider that, in our model, a 5 represents the most advanced state of practice from a business theory perspective, and a 1 represents basic control and management of a process, you recognize how difficult the transition from 1 to 5 really is. Why do you think sales and marketing alignment is a persistent issue?

Lead Ranking 194

Lead Ranking Forrester Lead Scoring Paid Search Agency 194

The Point

APRIL 16, 2019

Add in the fact that B2B sales cycles are typically long and complex (meaning that advertisers may not see ROI for weeks or months), and it becomes clear that thriving in today’s SEM landscape requires getting a lot of things right. Is the offer appropriate for the likely sales stage of the prospect? Photo by Charles on Unsplash.

Cost per Acquisition 235

Cost per Acquisition Paid Search Agency Campaigns Cost Per Click 235

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

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? Target account campaigns. Cross-sell/upsell to existing customers.

Account Based Marketing 168

Account Based Marketing ABM Multi-Channel CPL 168

The Point

SEPTEMBER 23, 2020

However, relying exclusively, or even primarily, on late-stage KPIs can be problematic, particularly because ABM is most typically employed by companies marketing complex, enterprise solutions with long sales cycles. That means late stage KPIs won’t register until potentially weeks or months into the campaign. Average Deal Size.

Account Based Marketing 290

Account Based Marketing ABM Lead Ranking Sales Qualified Leads 290

The Point

JANUARY 7, 2020

If, say, you’re marketing enterprise software and your typical sales cycle is 6-9 months, are there marketing tactics that will enable you to make your sales numbers if only executed in Q4? Here’s a free online calculator that makes the process easy, even if you don’t know your current conversion metrics. takes time.

Account Based Marketing 130

Account Based Marketing Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Paid Search Agency 130

The Point

JUNE 30, 2017

It is a strategic initiative that involves (or should involve) both sales and marketing at all levels of the organization. To be executed at scale, ABM typically requires other functionality, such as account-level scoring, advanced sales play orchestration, and Ad/Web personalization.

Account Based Marketing 235

Account Based Marketing ABM Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation 235

The Point

JULY 27, 2018

. * a consultation or meeting is a high bar offer (not only due to the time required but, like a demo or free trial, it requires that the prospect be at a stage in the sales process or otherwise is feeling enough “pain” where he/she is ready to meet with sales.).

Account Based Marketing 100

Account Based Marketing Campaigns Multi-Channel Demand Generation Agencies 100

The Point

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

Failure to comply can result in fines ranging from 10 million Euros ($12 Million US) to 4 percent of a company’s global sales, a number that could reach into the billions for large corporations. Create an Opt-In Process. The opt-in process for GDPR is very similar to the requirements under CASL.

Privacy Policies 231

Privacy Policies Marketing Automation Services B2B Marketing Marketing Management 231

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

APRIL 29, 2021

The set-up process for a new domain can be complicated and time-consuming. If you’re considering a separate email domain, take a close look at your current email strategy and examine how else you could minimize the incidence of spam complaints: * eliminating the use of purchased lists for all but one-to-one sales outreach.

Domain 173

Domain Email Marketing CAN-SPAM Marketing Management 173

The Point

APRIL 19, 2017

Is it aligned with where your audience is in the purchase process? 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. Content can work at every stage of the funnel – early, mid, late.

Top of Funnel 214

Top of Funnel Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Paper 214

The Point

JANUARY 19, 2021

Marketers will need to get ahead of this by incorporating credit ratings into the qualifying process.” – Sarah, Marketing Automation Specialist. “I I think a significant trend for B2B marketing and sales in 2021 will be video. Leads will need to pass “credit worthiness” before a closed/won is accepted.

Demand Generation Agencies 147

Demand Generation Agencies Demand Generation Demand Lead Ranking 147

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. There are three core message elements that they need to align before they can expect to engage individual accounts: brand strategy, value propositions, and sales talking points.

Account Based Marketing 206

Account Based Marketing ABM Marketing Automation Services Lead Scoring 206

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. You know the questions to ask. You know how to probe for needs and address common objections.

Sales Qualified Leads 110

Sales Qualified Leads Cost per Lead High Quality Lead CPL 110

The Point

JULY 17, 2017

This year’s report (download a copy here – registration required) is striking in the degree and pace of change reported, since only last year, in how B2B buyers describe their research and purchase processes. 72% of B2B Buyers quote timely response to inquiries as a key factor in vendor selection via @spearmktg. Click To Tweet.

Paid Search Agency 241

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

The Point

MARCH 13, 2013

Studies show that responding to new sales leads promptly, literally within minutes, can have a dramatic impact on the rate at which those leads are qualified, and the speed at which they convert to opportunities and, ultimately, deals. Integrate both early- and late-stage offers.

Autoresponders 100

Autoresponders Effectiveness Trade Show Bandwidth 100