Hugh Macfarlane, Author at align.me

Best cold email template and 7 steps to build it [Video]

Cold calls suck. Sales people hate them and buyers hate them. The hit rate is unsurprisingly low, and the process is demoralising. But if you have to, be smart about overcoming the common barriers by using a proven cold email template. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbBAUEXvi0Y A buyer who has stuck their hand up will always be more valuable than one whose profile suggests they should have their hand up. So avoid cold calls if you can. Use referrals or shape your marketing to condition the market for you and flush out those who are ready for a proper discussion. But READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|

8 tips for writing the best cold sales email [video]

In a perfect world, sales would only be following up leads that marketing had generated. In an even more perfect world, it would only be Inside Sales, not Sales, making that first human approach. But if, in the real world you need to make cold sales emails, how do you do it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOX54T-9Ajc The first thing we need to remember is that we're interrupting them. That means that we have to be brief, we have to cut through, and we have to move them. But who's them, and how and to where do we move them? 5 READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|

How to generate leads through LinkedIn [video]

LinkedIn’s core proposition remains: get found and get recruited. Keep your CV up to date on LinkedIn. Make it look pretty. Recruiters find you. Job offers come. That’s essentially their proposition. If that’s the case, LinkedIn surely is the most up to date database on the planet for accurate contact information about prospects. How do we tap that rich, up to date database to generate great B2B leads through LinkedIn? https://youtu.be/OjotgxKxOs8 Watch the video above where I show you step by step how to use Lead Builder to get your list. Start with your target market The READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|

Go to market strategy examples

The best way to build a go to market strategy is to copy someone else. Unless you want to make money, or grow consistently, and then it's not such a great idea. Let me show you why with three classic go-to-market strategy examples. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pMtCHq3WYk The right strategy doesn't depend on your product, but your buyers. Let's take a look at the companies, their buyers, and their strategy. At the end I'll give you a model for working this out for yourself. Desktop Computers For my first example, let's take a company that wants to own the desktop READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

How often should you blog for B2B [video]

How often should you blog for B2B? Here's my answer: As often as you can say something valuable Certainly no less often than monthly Email once a week, even if you blog less often https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WvGlVfjeZM First, you need a foundation - a monthly blog. If you haven't published a blog every month for the last couple of years, fix that first. Just do it. Where do I get the content? I'm going to give you a strategic answer so you get your message right, and a tactical one - a tip for creating lots of valuable content. READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

5 Key Skills of a Marketing Manager

What skills does a B2B Marketing Manager need? Do a bit of research, and you'll discover this question is harder to answer than first thought. Everyone has an opinion - and it seems many of these are different. Cutting these skills down to just five really important traits? Even harder. A lot of the confusion stems from inability to differentiate between "Marketer" and "Marketing Manager". They're different roles and need different skills. Want to know what skills a great (digital) Marketer needs? We've outlined that here. This blog (and video) will focus specifically on the skills READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Evergreen, Skills|

Ideal Client Profile [video]

What is an ideal client profile, and how do you define yours? Your ideal client profile describes the type of businesses you want to serve, and excludes those that you don't. It's not so much a list of your segments, but the characteristics that need to be true of all of your segments. Let me explain what this really means and how to define your ideal client profile. https://youtu.be/CTTi2x6TTLE Your target market is those businesses who most feel the pain In any go-to-market plan, your target market is those businesses who are most affected by the problem READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

What is B2B Marketing? [video]

What is B2B Marketing? If you think the answer is obvious, and even too basic to discuss, why does everyone get it so wrong? Let's explore a few notable definitions and build a simple, clear answer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdH-YdIgsdo Here's my take. A definition of B2B Marketing B2B Marketing is the process of planning and executing strategies and campaigns that position your brand in the chosen category(ies) with the businesses most likely to buy, and then creates demand for a well-aligned sales force. To do that we need to: Agree with Sales what problem you are best-equipped to solve Agree READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Skills|

Trouble your market about the right problem [video]

Trouble your market about the right problem Don't ask your prospects what's keeping them up at night, because you really don't care if they have a problem you can't solve. What you do care about is how much the problem you do solve is hurting them. Be strategic - even selfish - and help your market understand why the problem you solve should be at the top of their list. Let me explain why some problems help your competitors more than they help you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdtdPkyPvmw&t=2s Establish a need Your solution, whether it's a product or a READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

Best B2B Marketing Campaigns [video]

What are the best B2B Marketing Campaigns? In this weeks Funnel Vision I'm going to show you some extraordinary campaigns with clever creative content, and explain why none of these will help you to maximise marketing- generated revenue. Then I'll show you what you do need to do, and then bring that creativity back into play. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIpvT4BMOnU Building a campaign list I want to build the definitive list of campaigns that we need to build in B2B, and a few hints on how to build each. For example, you may need campaigns for Key READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

About Hugh Macfarlane