Posts Tagged ‘B2B Sales’

Marketing Agencies: Adding that ‘Extra’ to Marketing Automation Implementations

August 3rd, 2011 4 Comments

How does a large organization get value out of its investment in a Marketing automation platform, which promised them increased ROI and improved revenue performance management, but is far from being a DIY tool. Especially when getting any value out of the tool involves a continuous process of hand holding, strategizing, education, exploration, resources, effort and time to accomplish.

Statistics show that most enterprises take at least 8 months to realize any ROI from their Marketing automation investment. This is one of the primary reasons why most Marketing Automation vendors today are aligned with consultants and large agencies to ensure a smooth transition and reduce the time for enterprises to get the desired value out of their marketing automation investment.


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Posted in B2B marketing, Lead Lifecycle Management, Marketing Automation | Tags: , , , , ,

Demand Generation Necessary For Lead Generation!

July 22nd, 2011 2 Comments

I am often asked by clients on what is the difference between Demand Generation and Lead Generation when the end goal for both activities is to increase sales and revenue for a company. A valid observation.

In this post, I make an attempt to explain the various factors that differentiate Demand Generation from Lead Generation, and why one is important for the other to succeed


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Posted in B2B marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Lifecycle Management, Marketing Automation | Tags: , , , , , ,

Marketing Automation Is No Genie In A Lamp!

July 1st, 2011 6 Comments

personally think that like, charity, good manners etc. even a good purchase decision begins at home or in this case within your company.

Apart from clarity on the problem at hand and the possible solutions that will help resolve it, it is important to understand how adaptive your company and your resources would be to a solution. This will ensure, that you will buy a solution which is least disruptive in your work environment and yet delivers all that it promises.

In this post I would like to discuss, which kinds of companies or CMOs should never opt for a marketing automation solution….because for them, it would be both a waste time and money. If you think your company identifies itself with any of the below mentioned mindset descriptions, then maybe its time you gave up on even considering buying a marketing automation solution, unless of course you decide to change your outlook.


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Posted in B2B marketing, B2B Sales, Lead Generation, Lead Lifecycle Management, Marketing Automation | Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Identify, Engage & Convert Your Web Traffic Into Qualified Sales Leads

March 18th, 2011 1 Comment

Your website analytics tool tells you, there are thousands of people visiting your website every month, but you see very few actually fill in the contact form and disclose their identity – the other, almost 90% of your visitors (sometime back we did a research internally on our B2B clients and found – only 10% of the website visitors to a site, fill forms) leave your digital house, after consuming the information they wanted, without revealing their identity or their intent behind visiting your website.


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Posted in Analytics, B2B marketing, B2B Marketing Online, Lead Generation, Marketing Automation, Marketing ROI, Opportunity Generation, Sales Enablement | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Improving Data Quality in CRM

December 10th, 2010 No Comments

Bad data sucks. It kills CRM adoption, it reduces campaign performance and it confuses people. Up to date, accurate data is the blood that keeps the sales organization moving. Without good data, it is hard to find prospects then turn those prospects into customers.

To improve data quality, we recommend a five step process.


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Posted in B2B Sales, CRM, Lead Lifecycle Management | Tags: , , , , , , ,

A Model for Aligning Sales and Marketing Processes

December 8th, 2010 No Comments

Sales and Marketing alignment is a complex issue involving culture, processes, politics and egos. All of this may seem daunting to an eager sales or marketing manager who simply wants to drive improved revenue results in their company by getting Sales and Marketing to collaborate more effectively.

Regardless of the complexity and obstacles, there is one relatively simple (but not entirely easy) step that companies should take immediately. This is to identify the stages of the buyer’s journey and align their sales and marketing processes to it.


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Posted in B2B marketing, B2B Sales, Sales – Marketing Alignment | Tags: , , , , , ,

Is Sales a Mere Bystander in Marketing Automation?

November 30th, 2010 3 Comments

Is Marketing Automation solely within a marketer’s purview? Does Sales have nothing to contribute?

Today, the decision on which Marketing Automation, sales enablement or lead generation tool & platform will get used in an organization is largely a marketer’s call, but for successful implementation it requires wider participation. Especially, the Sales Department needs to weigh-in with crucial input. Let’s examine which are these inputs and collaboration opportunities.


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Posted in B2B marketing, Marketing Automation, Sales Enablement | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Why Every B2B Company Needs Sales Analytics

November 10th, 2010 No Comments

Most analytics tools are more suited to B2C audiences and hence the talk of summary metrics (number of visit to a page) and Goal completes (who is buying, where are they dropping out etc) which are not quite as relevant from a B2B standpoint. What you need in a B2B environment is a system that can talk to both Sales and Marketing. The data should be actionable and provide consistent information. You need a tool that can identify potential prospects, give you some background to determine if they are qualified, allow you to reach out to them if needed and also interface with the CRM – and do all of this without requiring an army of people.


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Posted in Analytics, Sales Analytics, Sales Enablement, Sales – Marketing Alignment | Tags: , , , , , , ,

Why are Sales and Marketing Usually Unaligned?

October 29th, 2010 No Comments

There are three reasons why mis-alignment is present.

1. Top management doesn’t understand the full contribution that Marketing can make and should make to the business.

2. Marketers are not adequately trained to be true partners with Sales in the revenue generation process.

3. There isn’t an integrated planning process to enable (or force) Marketing and Sales to craft unified strategies and tactics.


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Posted in B2B marketing, Sales – Marketing Alignment | Tags: , , , , ,

Inside Sales Team – Unsung Heroes?

October 11th, 2010 1 Comment

Inside Sales teams are often just associated with ‘cold calling’ and doing the dirty work for the Sales team – passing ‘Sales Ready Leads’ on set criteria to the Sales Team to close them. Often their job is supposed to be getting ‘meetings’.

While the Sales team takes all the credit for bringing in deals…are the Inside Sales teams the unsung heroes?


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Posted in Inside Sales, Marketing Automation, Sales Enablement, Sales – Marketing Alignment | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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