Businesses are concerned–and confused–about social media marketing.  They know just how rapidly it’s becoming practically a necessity on the job. But who has the time?  And even if you do have the time, do you really understand how to navigate the social web successfully? How to generate meaningful business results from social media? And what content   »more...

Today, most firms utilize some sort of sales automation or CRM software to help organize sales data and increase efficiency. However, most firms do not realize the full capabilities of their CRM software or do not utilize them properly and in turn still have inefficient sales processes.   There are three major problem areas for firms using   »more...

More and more marketers are taking advantage of advances in mobile technologies as a way to reach many prospects at once while still keeping the impression of being intimate.  As mobile devices become ubiquitous and the sophistication of smart phones increases, mobile marketing will evolve and become a more significant part of the marketing mix.  Since mobile   »more...

Email marketing aficionados are rightfully proud of the fact that email is the most cost-effective ad medium. The Direct Marketing Association believes email will generate $43.52 for every dollar spent in 2009 – more than twice the return of search marketing.  The favorable math of email gives direct marketers the chance to focus on the “knowledge”   »more...

Recently the tumultuous state of the economy has caused firms to cut costs wherever possible, and it seems that all too often training for sales reps is the first thing to go; however this practice may not be so wise. Even during a recession, revenuesare usually expected to grow, and a firm’s sales force is a major driving force for continuing   »more...

Despite the omnipresent buzz these days about Social Media Marketing, good old fashioned email marketing continues to be a staple for most B2B Marketers.  In fact, according to a recent poll by BtoB Magazone, it’s one of the most prominent channels among the B2B marketing mix, as illustrated by this chart:

One of the big challenges   »more...

A recent search on Google for “cold calling” returned more than 33 million hits with titles such as, “Still Cold Calling for B2B Lead Generation?”, “Cold Calling is a Waste of Time”, “Never Cold Call Again” and the old standby, “Cold Calling is Dead”.   Are the rumors true? Is the old-school method of telephone lead generation   »more...

I am attending the MarketingProfs B2B conference in Boston June 8th & 9th and it seems that at least 1/3 of all sessions are devoted to social media: measuring its impact on business, bringing it in house, interactive Q&A sessions around the topic…Which leads me to this quick “checklist” of things that have come out   »more...

In these challenging economic times, Sales Leaders are being asked to do more with less. To achieve the same sales goals, but with fewer selling resources, less travel, less spending etc.  Therefore, optimizing your sales territory design and aligning your finite resources with the best sales opportunities is more important than ever before. The good news   »more...

eMarketer just released data from a Hendrick & Struggles survey of C-Level executives.Their focus in 2009? No surprise: it’s the customer.  The challenge? How to: 1) acquire new ones; 2) retain existing ones and 3) improve customer lifetime value, in that order.

88 and 87% of executives said that net-new acquisition and customer retention were important  On a   »more...