Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 12, 2015

Because most companies believe their situation and the challenges they face are unique, suggesting otherwise usually will end the sales process. What’s important to remember is that, regardless of the target industry, your credentials are only one part of the sales process.

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Peer-to-peer Thought Leadership B2B 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Sales cycle management is particularly challenging for B2B firms, and for professional services firms in particular, where top-of-mind awareness (getting people to remember you) is a critical part of business development. The Key to Making the Short List.

Sales Cycle 100

Sales Cycle Marketing Management Lead Nurturing Sales Qualified Leads 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 6, 2016

White papers and editorial content are poorly disguised sales pitches, and offer no helpful information or insights. Lots of time is devoted to winning industry recognition; far less time is invested in managing the customer experience or supporting the sales force. Sales reps don’t know how to convert their leads.

Marketing Management 100

Marketing Management Paid Search Agency Marketing & Strategy Paper 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 1, 2013

To the consternation of CXOs, some marketers employ Thought Leadership as though it embodied some mystical higher purpose; as a tactic that’s not held accountable for increasing leads, clients or revenue.

Thought Leadership 100

Thought Leadership Merchandising B2B Thought Leadership Wikipedia 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 2, 2015

Sometimes lightning actually does strike: you’ll make a connection at a conference that eventually leads to new business. But most of the time, putting your company’s logo on a lanyard, participating in a panel discussion, or sponsoring a mid-morning coffee break will lead to absolutely nothing.

Conference 100

Conference Tactics B2B Marketing Planning 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 24, 2011

Intrinsic selling provides buyers with a significantly higher level of confidence in the seller’s capabilities, and leads to an engagement or sale far more frequently and far more rapidly than extrinsic selling. To be sold on the concept, a CFO would need to understand exactly how energy derivatives would benefit his company.

Work Management 100

Work Management Validation B2B Sales Marketing Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 22, 2015

Three months later, the Marketing Department grows tired of hounding would-be content contributors, and management is not seeing the expected increase in lead generation or even website traffic. Posting frequency drops from weekly to monthly to quarterly.

Allocation 100

Allocation Terms and Conditions Paid Search Agency Enterprise Management 100

Marketing Craftmanship

DECEMBER 30, 2013

Responses to Question #2 must provide clear direction regarding how it will support the firm’s sales and marketing strategy; how it will be used to drive leads; how it will initiate meaningful conversations with clients and prospects; and how it can be leveraged to gain other opportunities for targeted exposure.

PR 100

PR Advertorials Merchandising Paid Search Agency 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 8, 2011

Prostitution – If your white papers, case studies, newsletters, webinars and other tools are nothing more than re-labeled sales pitches…website visitors will classify you a self-promoter and discount the credibility of all the information on your website. Of course not…they now trick people using email.)

B2B Thought Leadership 100

B2B Thought Leadership Content Case Study Case Studies 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 31, 2011

If journalists find no practical need for flacks, organizations will likely follow their lead. Because press releases are now considered sales collateral by their target audiences, “media relations” for all companies will be managed by the marketing department.

Public Relations 100

Public Relations Press PR Content 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 16, 2012

Other than a pile of press clippings or some online content for their website’s “In the News” section, business owners are hard-pressed to draw a connection between their publicity campaign and tangible business results, such as lead generation or increased revenue. Seek only high-value exposure.

Merchandising 100

Merchandising PR Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 5, 2013

B2B companies – professional service firms in particular – can benefit by creating a culture similar to the Marine Corps; training all employees with basic marketing & sales skills that can help the firm to grow and succeed. Every Employee a Sales Rep” will not be achieved simply by establishing firm-wide mandates. Semper Fi.

B2B Sales 100

B2B Sales Cross-Selling Work Management B2B Marketing 100

Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

We review all of the target’ s public facing information to understand its value proposition, competitive landscape, leadership, reputation, marketing & sales sophistication and apparent resources. So the only way you can address the random nature of sales is to increase the number of doors that you knock on.

Effectiveness 124

Effectiveness Business RFP Lead Scoring 124

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 13, 2017

We review all of the target’ s public facing information to understand its value proposition, competitive landscape, leadership, reputation, marketing & sales sophistication and apparent resources. So the only way you can address the random nature of sales is to increase the number of doors that you knock on.

RFP 100

RFP Lead Scoring Lead Ranking Tactics 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 27, 2013

White paper sponsors sought to educate, inform, raise comfort levels and eventually initiate sales conversations with prospective customers. Unfortunately, what began as a legitimate and sometimes helpful marketing tactic has morphed into poorly disguised sales promotion, packaged in a plain vanilla wrapper.

Paper 100

Paper Paid Search Agency Advertorials Allocation 100

Marketing Craftmanship

JUNE 6, 2018

An oversimplified description of the CMO’s role is to promote the brand, and to generate viable leads for the sales team. The simple answer is that there is a longstanding culture clash between marketing and sales professionals. At many companies, sales and marketing teams are strangers to each other.

Work Management 133

Work Management Marketing Management Account Based Marketing Marketing Automation Services 133