Getting better at basics like email segmentation is good, but the full value from marketing automation requires deeper changes: lifecycle mapping, lead scoring, process improvements, behavior-driven nurture programs, revenue analysis, and tighter integration between marketing and sales. 'Imagine a wall. This is a mistake. Measure results.

Listen to your buyers, listen to your metrics, and listen to your sales team. Why Marketing Automation Is A Must Have (For Every B2B VP of Sales & Marketer) 9. thought I would join in the fun and continue his list of 67 lead management tips with six more. Be sure your messages are timeless. Listen. Today’s B2B buyers are busy.

So when a prospect accidentally answers their phone only to be greeted by a sales person that sounds like they’re having their first interaction with human in years( I always picture Smeagol that little weird looking thing from Lord of the Rings), they aren’t too happy. People that haven’t done it have no idea.

don’t mean the “Hi {Insert Name Here}" type script, all I’m saying is to try your best to say their name throughout the flow of the conversation without sounding like a schlocky sales guy/girl. Those of us who cold call all day have been there. You quickly learn that ain’t the case. You can sense it in their voice.

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest entry from one of our BDRs, Abe Richardson. All we have is our words to disarm a prospect. am not going to argue that I have the magic retorts for all situations that you can plug into your specific situation. Does he or she sound hurried? You get the picture.

So for example, If we have 100 conversations during the week, we'll end up passing 4 fully qualified sales leads. There can be a variety of factors that play into the success and/or failure of your telemarketing campaigns. The unfortunate thing is we tend to overlook what generally seems to be the most obvious problem, THE COLD CALL LIST.

Companies with the highest level of social media activity increased revenue by 18 percent in the last 12 months, while companies that were the least active saw a 6 percent drop in sales. What are the latest trends in search? Which industry segments are most actively discussed in social media? Do C-level executives really click on ads? to 14.9%

It will post weekly shows featuring top sales and marketing experts. Jeff Ogden, host of Mad Marketing TV , the terrific online TV show sponsored by Act-On Software , is premiering a new online show tomorrow, Marketing Made Simple. Marketing Made Simple  - Smart but Simple Ideas to Improve Business. Jon Ferrara, CEO, Nimble.com (Social CRM).

Contact Find New Customers by calling (516) 495-9350 or sending an email to sales at findnewcustomers.com. B2B Demand Generation | What is the value of blog syndication? asked Tom to help me understand the real value of blog syndication. Here’s his thoughtful reply: Three reasons for syndicating your blog. It improves search ranking.

“If your business is flying high by making cold calls to sales prospects and by spending boatloads of money on ads, then you don’t need the rocket fuel contained in this book. Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. is the new book by Michael L. Stelzner and you can own it for free. Launch. Good luck!

“If your business is flying high by making cold calls to sales prospects and by spending boatloads of money on ads, then you don’t need the rocket fuel contained in this book. Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition. is the new book by Michael L. Stelzner and you can own it for free. Launch. Good luck!

As companies struggle to create quality sales opportunities, they turn to  lead generation companies  like  Find New Customers. Jeff Ogden. I’m one of the featured speakers at this social media conference today. My featured talk is at 12:45pm. I’d love to see you there. Here is the full list of speakers.

As long as you can make their entire sales experience easy (both before and after) and your products meet specifications for them to specify with confidence, you probably have a lifetime customer unless you fail him/her badly. should know — I am an engineer too. You need to move beyond the free Google Custom Search tool for websites. Don’t!

The study suggests that social network users are willing to follow the company to check out content, but unlikely to make the jump to the product or sales side of the site. In our day-to-day marketing for manufacturers, we focus on selling the products or services they offer. good and sometimes a one-way conversation centered around us.

Nurture The Leads In Your Sales Funnel – On Social Media - Lead Views , August 27, 2010 Today, in most B2B companies, the marketing departments engage in Lead nurturing programs. Doing so will increase your sales and reduce your Adwords expenses. Can Marketing Ever Make Sales Happy? Sales (195). It’s inspired a movie.

This will demonstrate itself as social moves into product development, operations, customer service and even sales. You may have seen my recent posts on how I think “ The Future of B2B Marketing: It’s Social “ and also what I believe “ Is The Future Of The Social Media Role? It is a customer phenomenon. Metrics will mature.

It's easy for marketers to fall victim to the "sales isn't following up on my hard-earned leads" complaint. Lead nurturing lets you focus not on generating new leads, but on nurturing those leads to be better qualified to reach your sales team - perhaps an even greater value! I wasn't always a lead nurturing fan. 1: It's automated.

This segmentation also relies on having the right closed-loop marketing analytics set up on your site to understand your typical sales cycle. Relevancy is becoming more and more central to today's marketing strategy, and buyers have come to expect personalization in their communications. Geographic Segmentation. Industry/Role Segmentation.

Inbound marketing increases brand reach and recognition, makes a business stand out of their competition and increase your customers and sales. The study shows that businesses with up to 100 employees are more willing and more active in the use of the new technology opportunities. There is nothing wrong to use tactics that work.

How many sales leads does your website generate? Profits of any company depends on how effectively their products are visible in Internet and how effective are their marketing strategies for getting targeted web traffic from search engines. Advantage of Social Media Buttons for sharing. Facebook Widgets. Addthis and Share Buttons.

If you are a business marketer looking for leads and sales from the federal, state or local government, this book is "must read.". The author, Mark Amtower, is the business-to-government (B2B) specialist that I turn to again and again when my clients need help with marketing and selling to the government. Or use this link.

The Biggest Mistake Sales People Make. and Engage their Brains" alt=" 7 Ways to Grab Blog Readers Attention and Engage their Brains" />. and Engage their Brains" width="75" height="110" /> What’s the first thing you need to do to grab readers’ attention when writing a fresh blog post? The headline is. Use cartoons. Be negative.

Afraid to make a change due to the very nature of B2B sales? Research shows that motivating behavior is contingent upon many factors, but let’s examine three in particular: attention, relevance and confidence. Attention: Gaining the attention of your B2B audience can be the most difficult. Confidence: Make them think they can do it.

It might be worth your while to eavesdrop on a sales or customer-service call.) Written By: Ken Gordon. Ken is an award-winning writer/editor in B2B marketing and demand generation. He is also the founder of QuickMuse. Published on January 5, 2011. Original article seen in MarketingProfs. Are you kidding?" you say. Chapman). Be patient.

The category defined is Revenue Performance Management (RPM) and this disruptive suite is changing the sales and marketing landscape. by Jason Miller I’m pleased to welcome Peggy Burke, Principal at 1185 Design as a guest blogger. Choose an enterprise technology brand. Now type in their URL and engage. “With what,” you ask?

The fourth and final book in our Book Bonanza for our 2nd Birthday is the first book solely dedicated to social media for B2B companies, Social Marketing to the Business Customer , by Paul Gillin and Eric Schwartzman. Features plentiful examples, case studies and best practices. Focuses on the channels that are most effective for B2B marketers.

Most organizations traditionally view Sales as the revenue engine and commit great resources to its growth and development, while most Marketing teams must work diligently to barter for investments in their departments. Are you finding it hard to accomplish all the goals you have set out for your marketing team? Repurpose Content. Outsource.

You have to believe in what you are doing to sell it and we’re all in sales — even if we’re simply selling our own skills. Bill Harriss. Recently, I came across a blog post by Tom Smith which referred to a recent webinar hosted by Brian Haligan, David Meerman Scott and Bill Walton. The Grateful Dead created a lasting legacy. Do what you love.

In fact, all kinds of marketers could learn a lot from each other and from sales people as well. A while ago I posted an article on The eMail Guide , as the name says a site about email marketing and run by a few extremely nice people. But there was some irony in it. If you disagree, please say so. don’t agree with that. It’s about sharing.

But how many corporations will see it only as another tool for trapping yet more leads into the ever-ravenous sales funnel? No writer can become good at the craft without being sensitive to language. But in other contexts, that vocational advantage can be a liability. They’ve got it wrong, of course. They may be on to something.

This is also to say that Marketing, Sales, and Support should all be considered in every action you take. 'On December 19th, 2012, HubSpot held its annual charity auction during which HubSpotters offer up skills, items, and assets others might want to pay money for. As HubSpot’s social media manager, I was a little uh. how do I say this.

'As introduced four  weeks ago , I'm currently running a  6-Part Article Series on Mobile Innovation  that illuminates 5 mobile innovation strategies across brand engagement, sales channels, product offerings, customer experiences, and value propositions.  Get Part #5 here.

Don’t think a social media relationship will result in a sale - Social prospects are not unlike a regular prospect. Social media, if used correctly, can be an untapped treasure for marketers. All too often though, marketing departments treat social media just like any other channel they use to PUSH their marketing message.

Once the connection is made, integrated digital marketing tactics such as interactive eMags and author recommendations ease the path to the sale. Sometimes cutting-edge marketing is found in the unlikeliest of places. This past weekend, CNN Money ran a story about Strand Bookstore , located in the East Village of NYC. VISUAL AND INTERACTIVE.

Marketers must explore new methods to leverage all elements of the communication mix—advertising, sales promotion, PR, direct marketing, search, Web, and social media—into a single, cohesive, holistic approach.  The Problem. Today, the subject of Integrated Marketing Communications is hotter than ever.  It’s a source of competitive advantage. 

B2B e-mail newsletters performed better when it came to both lead generation and direct selling, as well as leads generated from sales blasts. Sales bring in new business. Well, according to Cliff Langston, marketing often spends an unfair amount of time reminding everyone in operations, finance and sales exactly what marketing does.

Do you have offers to suit prospects at each different stage in your marketing and sales funnel? "Who, me? More landing pages , you say? But I've already got some of those floating around my website." BUT WHERE ALL THE LEADS AT?! Several months back, I wrote an article about why landing pages are an indispensable part of marketing.

Once Ellber wakes up, we’ll take a look at how his efforts pay off for the sales team but, while he catches his zzzz’s, check out how ‘Amazing eZPutty’ helps you get more from your email marketing! see Ellber’s first adventure ). But Share email. Facebook. LinkedIn. StumbleUpon. del.icio.us. Google Bookmarks.

Folks care more about how you made than what you made. Well, not really. If what you made isn’t good, they won’t be interested in you at all; however, if you have a modicum of success, then folks will want to know as much about your culture, gear, tools, vision, operating principals, habits, and process as possible. How, you ask?

Duane Reade claims that over the 6-week campaign hosiery sales increased 28 percent.    Though they aren’t really willing to attribute the sales spike solely to suborned bloggers.   Duane Reade ’s “Show Us Some Leg” campaign outlined in the May edition of Internet Retailer , got me thinking about this.   

Writing gets better each time you write, the same goes for blogging, revising web pages, writing sales copy, email promotions. If you’ve spent your career avoiding certain  marketing tasks  because you don’t think you’re any good at them, you struggle each time you try, and you end up with weak results, take heart.

The key social principles of connectivity, openness , and engagement are also core to Revenue Performance Management (RPM) , the powerful new business strategy and process that is reinventing sales and marketing on a global scale. And, they are doing so long before they ever even think about engaging the company or its sales people.

[This is cross-posted from Sam Stem's mHealth Marketer blog.  Sam is Partner & Chief Strategist at Modallic , an mhealth marketing and communications firm, and a LoopFuse partner.]. In my last blog, I discussed how mHealth companies need to rethink the way they integrate marketing, information and technology. This is not a job for an intern.

By leveraging the above ideas the B2B marketer has a better opportunity to increase web traffic, improve and differentiate brand messaging, and influence leads & sales. If 'B2B marketers are constantly tasked with the challenge of driving lead growth, increasing web traffic, and improving brand differentiation. Organic Rich Snippets.

Are you rigorously collecting metrics and data  to see if what you’re doing is resulting in sales conversions or extending your brand or are you relying on things you’ve learned from The Secret? Image via Wikipedia. It doesn’t take an Einstein to succeed in social media marketing, but to does take a scientist.

Today, the customer’s quest for a fulfilling product experience has taken a new turn, one which David Edelman, Global co-leader, Digital Marketing and Sales Practice at McKinsey & Company, refers to as the “Consumer Decision Journey.”  Everything changes. You might say that even change itself changes. The Importance of Digital Education.

This same content can also generate the links that boost search traffic, leads and sales. Why Marketing Automation Is A Must Have (For Every B2B VP of Sales & Marketer) 9. Content , links and trust are the currencies of the internet.  Before you read any further, make sure you have a content marketing plan and a conversation calendar.

Early-stage leads - those who are not ready to speak to a sales person yet – can be developed further with an effective lead nurturing program. Do you qualify leads before sending them to your sales team? So dont pass white paper inquiries to your sales people until theyre more rigorously qualified as sales-ready leads.

Are you going to get a few new sales but in the end realize that the cost to get those new sales was disproportionally high as compared to other methods? Image by renaissancechambara via Flickr. by Frank Reed. As the local component of the online space continues to heat up, it is starting to get very crowded. That's it. End of story.

Jell-O’s sales rose like crazy in just a few years. Content marketing seems to be all the rage right now, right? But as it turns out, businesses have been using content to give customer-value for over a hundred years. Here’s a great example: In 1904, Jell-O door-to-door salesmen would  give out their cookbook for free. True story. win-win.

A mindset defined by an entrepreneurial approach – agility, opportunism and a closer, more integrated relationship with sales. They need to interact with prospective buyers earlier in the sales cycle when preferences are unconsciously being formed.  Marketers from players like Dell, Microsoft and Cisco. No self-serving agendas. 

After all, the marketing department is only one step removed from the sales department and revenue generation—the lifeblood of all businesses. Marketing is a serious subject at most companies. As one of my favorite CEO’s was fond of saying, “Revenue covers a lot of other sins, but a lack of revenue causes all sins to be exposed.”

million earned media impressions since the launch of the program in July 2010, has delivered some 3,600 free samples to consumers , and the company has seen sales increase up to 87 percent over the previous year. Real-time marketing means reacting in real, or near-real time. How Real Companies Are Leveraging the Power of Real-Time Marketing.

In a recent newsletter, I wrote an article called " Risky Business: Avoiding Last Minute Sales Losses " in which I shared how a Mack truck cost me a huge contract.    My prospect perceived me as just too small to handle their long-term training needs and chose to work with a less qualified, safer alternative. 

This can lead to a perception of a leaky funnel as leads that may seem almost ready for sales shift back to an earlier phase in their buying process. The conceptual model of a funnel is a great one for understanding buyer stages. There are usually the largest number of these potential buyers, hence it being the widest part of the funnel.

Personal Email - If a lead has gone through the content map, down the funnel and is getting closer to the bottom, it may be a good idea to send a more personal and targeted email, perhaps from a sales team member. This is a guest post written by Pam Sahota. Most companies would like their leads to move down the funnel and become customers.

Our sales manager drank so much coffee he had to detox for a week. Here are some stupid things to do at your booth: Massages: This seems like such a nice thing. Who doesn’t need a massage after a day at a noisy crowded show? It’s easy. Just hire a local massage firm to set up a few chairs and they’ll line up. Espresso: I did this once.

Another point of dissonance for many brands is the sales experience. would hope the disconnect between promise and reality isn’t as great in B2B but if you haven’t actually attended a sales call or sales-organized event lately, you may want to get on that to ensure they’re not hauling out the trampolines and slingshots.

If they're on your business' sales team, they should tell their leads to attend to leverage a one-on-one, in-person sales touch. There are hundreds of companies at trade shows vying for your audience's attention. Most companies use the same trade show tactics as each other, and attendees eventually forget who was who.

All they cared about was the fact that their rankings were going up which drove more traffic to their site and presumably made more sales. When I first saw the title of this Sunday’s cover story in the Business section of New York Times, my first thought was “Really? This is news?” Penney’s site ranked so well. to link to your website.

million in enterprise revenue/sales, and including large, $300 million-plus private companies. Although macro-economic conditions remain challenging, or perhaps because of it, nearly 1/3 rd of private companies are investing more in Information Technology (IT) to reduce costs to maintain bottom-line earnings and ignite growth.

like how Radian6 has incorporated a CRM flow to manage possible sales leads. Depending on the context, the lead generation manager can review and assign certain items to sales people. While this isn’t linked to a larger CRM system like Salesforce, this is a nifty function to have for marketing and sales. CRM Management.

Date: Wednesday, August 19 Time: 10:00 AM Pacific With the answers to questions like these, marketers can launch drip campaigns that improve the health of sales pipelines. This is really not a trick question. It's part 2 of our 3 part series on using marketing automation and lead nurturing to improve your pipeline in 15 simple steps.

When I was recently at the Sales 2.0 37% IT/Technical, 24% Sales/Marketing, 16% Finance/Operations, 23% Other. conference, I had several conversations and debates about the value of Face-to-Face meetings versus Con-calls/Web-meetings. It has become pervasive, and respected, to do business this way. 42% Face-to-Face. 62% Definitely.

often hear our sales and business development guys say, that many of the prospects (especially marketers and marketing agencies) they meet become vary when it is mentioned that LeadFormix’s marketing automation platform helps in measuring the marketing ROI. Documented Validation. Helps Optimize your resources. Improved Budgeting.

My next book will be on the mindset needed for sales success. Simplifying my life: To cope with my evolving interests, I launched new websites: SalesShebang.com (women in sales), GetBacktoWorkFaster.com (job seekers), SnapSelling.com (book launch), JillKonrath.com (speaking/keynotes), plus a separate Selling to Big Companies blog.

You may also want to consider giving a bonus upon completion or sale of the property as a way to get your workers in gear. Just From time to time I have guest posts and today, since many of my readers are contractors, we’re going to hear from Emma Martin who writes for CB Structures , a family owned construction and engineering company.

The new initiative aims to reduce marketers' challenges in measuring an ad's ability to cause changes in brand favorability or in driving purchase intent and, ultimately, sales. For traditional brand marketers, it's no secret that measuring the impact of advertising efforts has always been a struggle. Google thinks not.

The well-dressed woman raging at the sales clerk for not having the lipstick she wants in stock. Aretha had it right about respect. We want it, we need it and we don't get enough of it. That makes for an interesting situation doesn't it? I'm not saying we're all disrespectful. What a crisis that is. "  Say what?

I've always wanted our prospects to feel as if they already know us by the time they get on the phone with Sales.". Question. Does your marketing sound like it was created by Eeyore? Bill Lumbergh? Michael Scott? Earlier this week, I was on a panel for Boston HubSpot users centered around the theme of creating lovable marketing. Take a look.

Embed customer knowledge in the sales process. Johnson Controls’ Offer Creation Workshop helps sales reps to identify underlying customer needs with a standardized, repeatable process. Voice of the customer efforts are all the rage in B2B marketing circles these days. Understand customers’ desired outcomes.

One, most common among consumer goods manufacturers and others who do not sell directly to their customers, uses aggregated data in marketing mix models to find correlations between marketing efforts and total sales. It hasn't solved the problem of identifying the same customer across channels, but it's trying.

Maybe I’m being a bit sensitive – something I’ve never been accused of – but I don’t think a 60 minute sales call entitles Dave to ask me to become linked. I took a call from a potential vendor the other day. After all, I hardly know him. That’s what V-cards are for.

COMPANY STAFF, COMMITTEE, SALES or BOARD MEETINGS. This technology can change the world ! Facts : · Google loves Video ! Cisco predict there will be a 10 fold increase in the use of Video Conferencing/Webinars over the next 5 years. Internet Video traffic is now 40% of consumer internet. What is a Video Conference / Webinar ? Share ideas.

Marketers are lazy – If there was ever a place in marketing to “do it wrong quickly,” it would be in the measuring and tracking of social media from high level engagement to sale. Photo credit: Wikipedia. Well, it’s been a while since I have appeared in the Biznology fold. It’s been about 4 months to be exact.

Get sales customer service, engineering and of course marketing into the mix. Not all companies should be blogging. How do you determine if you’re one of them? Most manufacturers, unless they are making commodity items, should fit into the “do” column. Why should you blog? Position yourself as an expert in your field.

Contact Find New Customers by calling (516) 495-9350 or sending an email to sales at findnewcustomers.com. As companies struggle to create quality sales opportunities, they turn to lead generation companies like Find New Customers. B2B Lead Generation | Think Outside-In rather than Inside-Out. Great show! It’s a must-watch!

From writing technical bulletins for your sales force to composing a speech for your CEO, our technically oriented staff of engineers, account managers and marketers will produce deliverables that make sense for your business with results you can measure. We get it. Tired of rewriting copy and correcting errors? All Rights Reserved.

B2B Marketers Want Sales – B2C Marketers Want Better Understanding Of Audience. Helping Unlock the Marketing Puzzle. Each week Chris Herbert, through his Twitter feed shares charts, infographics and articles that he’s read and annotated. Here’s the posts he read, annotated and shared last week. Top Marketing Posts for Week of June 27, 2011.

For a sales enablement tool, usually used with the prospect in a workshop setting, there can be slightly more questions, but we still recommend limits, on the order of between 10 to 15 questions maximum up-front. We are living in a world of short attention spans, where buyers have less time than ever before to engage.

Learn how inbound marketing and lead nurturing can increase your sales – download our eGuide What Exactly is Inbound Marketing We've all been there. Work's crazy, business is booming and you've been run off your feet to such an extent you've had to send your shoes in for a retread. But wait. Something's not right here. Mailshots? Decision.

These new marketing tactics have enhanced sales tremendously for many businesses, even in times of a tough economy. This is an excellent way to market locally, as companies can leverage Facebook to increase their visibility and sales. Promotions and marketing have evolved very much over the past few years. Facebook. Foursquare.

We all know the B2B sales cycle is long. 'facebook engancha (Photo credit: Wikipedia) As a Business-to-Business (B2B) company, you may feel like you have to uphold a very professional image, so Facebook doesn’t make sense for you. People want to buy from people, and there are a lot of people on Facebook. What about you?

Lead scoring can be very helpful, but when you have a complex sale, scoring is just part of what's needed to qualify sales ready leads. It’s the human touch of conversation that provides the certainty that a lead is truly sales ready and that comes from the many nuances gleaned from a personal interaction. to their sales team.

Yet, mentioning sales leads in the meme allows us to resonate with an audience that is looking to boost revenue and generate more leads. by Dayna Rothman We had a great webinar  last week on visual content with Maria Pergolino, Sr. Director of Marketing at Marketo, and Jason Lankow, CEO and Co-Founder of Column Five. This is a great question!

Here are some highlights: 83% of companies anticipate increased sales over 2011. GlobalSpec  recently released its annual marketing trends report for the industrial sector. The online survey identified trends, challenges and anticipated expenditures in the Industrial market. 35% of companies are spending more on marketing in 2012.

The goal of a website is unique to each business – customer support, generate leads , transact online sales, educate prospective customers, and more. Sean and I participated in the July’s  Ann Arbor Marketing Workshop. About 40 people attended and the format was like marketing speed dating. It was a blast. The short answer is probably.

Predictions for 2011: The End of B2B Sales & Marke. Content Marketing and the Forgotten Sales Professi. IDC: Economic Buyers, Digital Overload and Sales E. Accelerate Slow Sales Cycles with More Sales Enabl. The Forgotten Sales Profess. Forrester: Understand and Drive Outcomes for Sales.

Known as the Idea Launch Pad for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative's services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions for business-to-business clients. I’ve learned a lot from Mark W. Mark’s Twitter account is quite active, too. Everybody is doing what used to be three jobs.

If you bite, you get a code that is live for 45 minutes and redeemed at the point of sale. I have seen the post- Groupon SoLoMo retail solution. It’s called Leloca.   And it’s running a Beta in New York with 1000+ consumers and 200+ restaurants, spas, gyms and shops. Consumers get alerts and offers from the app. Deals are pushed to you.

By thinking in terms of conversation design, you'll equip and empower your sales people to engage in business conversations that uncover and amplify value. What's impeding your growth and undermining your success? Well, there's one detrimental factor I'm seeing quite a bit these days. I'm wondering if it's an issue that you face. Let them.  .

Taken together, these charts provide very useful guidelines for a setting up a lead scoring system, albeit one that should be tailored for a company’s unique sales infrastructure and process. This is a very belated review of a book that has been in my reading pile since December 09. But I’m glad I found the time. First: a quibble.

by Achinta Mitra on July 20, 2010 in B2B Marketing Collateral , Content Marketing , Industrial Marketing Strategies , Integrated Industrial Marketing , Sales Strategies To be successful in industrial and B2B marketing, one has to engage with prospects and customers in a meaningful manner. 1 “leadership competency” of the future. Resources

Sure, include the photos of products and company business (press conferences, product launches, user conferences, trade shows, board and sales meetings), but consider including photos about your company culture as well (company picnics, sports teams, community service, employees, etc.). Tweet. You are blogging, aren’t you?

Although social media managers, content creators and community managers may come and go, B2B social media efforts must be sustained over time to be an effective marketing and sales tool. Real connections (and, in turn, sales leads) are often forged as a result. Access. Consistency. Introductions.

Need to gather competitive information to serve sales better? Imagine if every sales person put one spec of competitive information into the system - whoa! Intranets, or what some call enterprise communities, are getting the short end of the social media stick. Move on. But times and tools have changed! Too much email?

Here are a few ways to be sure that your company blog is driving sales success for your business: Talk about things other than your goods or services. Today's post from the Chamber of Commerce features business-growth advice for small companies. Business blogs are a great way to give potential clients free information and boost your brand.

Under increased pressure to help drive revenue in this challenging market, many of us are tempted throw as many leads as we can to our sales team. If you really want to make a difference in your company’s sales, dig deeper. I'm still my the cost-per-lead focus only approach to lead generation. Dig deeper.

Related posts: Using Google Social Search for B2B Sales Google Social Search allows you to see custom search results. Google just announced the +1 feature to bring social recommendations to search. The initial presentation of the button is that it gives people the ability to endorse search results, and share that with their networks.

Lay out the full plan on a whiteboard, and include everything from initial touch-point, to sales accepted lead, to closed deal. As figures below show, email marketing remains a vital element of modern B2B and B2C marketing programs. Email and social media play well together. Write subject lines that increase open rates? Adam Q. Email!”