Strategy

Putting a dollar-sign on B2B Marketing and Sales Alignment

Charles Besondy, President of Besondy Consulting & Interim Management, writes... We know misalignment of sales and marketing is present to some degree in nearly every company. Survey after survey tells us so, but can misalignment be quantified? Now there’s a simple way to measure the degree of alignment and calculate the costs. This 14-minute video presents the Alignment Index for Sales and Marketing. Uniquely and importantly, the Index formula lists process and cultural issues within the organization that are clear indicators of misalignment. Give it try. Calculate your Alignment Index and follow the guideline for adding up the READ MORE ›

By Chuck Besondy|Strategy|

Nurture potential buyers before you engage

Steve Crepeau sent me a couple of funnel management articles this week. One simply posed a question (Do you know where your sales pipeline is?); but it's the other that I want to comment about In asking "Who changed the sales funnel", he suggests that the market has changed, and I agree. Customers do much more homework before engaging with sales people now, and this is a great opportunity for Marketing to make a big difference. Being on the list (positioned in category) is no longer enough. While you are positioning as a credible provider with valid READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Sales, Strategy|

Six steps to build your credibility

Chris Fell, Managing Director of g2m Solutions, writes... A recent blog article from Hubspot focused on how small and medium businesses should take the time to build credibility for their companies. They made the point that with emerging new media technologies and online tools, building reputation as a small business and communicating with customers has never been easier. Let's look at a few ways small business owners can build credibility on their own. 6 steps to building small business credibility 1. Start a blog - Starting a blog for your small business is a way to not only improve READ MORE ›

By Chris Fell|Strategy, Tactics|

Use marketing content to get your business found

Chris Fell, Managing Director of g2m Solutions, writes... Modern marketing is all about engaging with your target audience and creating some interesting content that they would find enjoyable or interesting to consume. Use your creative juices to develop interesting content and then leverage that content in as many ways as possible to engage with your audience. You will develop leads, convert prospects, increase website traffic, get found in searches and develop a reputation as a thought leader. Here are some top tips for getting found: Write a white paper about a new trend in your industry or READ MORE ›

By Chris Fell|Strategy, Tactics|

Do you really need sales training?

Charles Besondy, President of Besondy Consulting & Interim Management, writes... Is revenue flat or heading south? Time to invigorate the sales force with the latest sales techniques, right? New head of sales takes the reins with the job of transforming the revenue engine. Time to bring in the sales trainers, right? Maybe yes. Maybe no. Upon closer examination, your revenue problem may not be due to a lack of sales skills. The pros at align.me (for whom I am a certified Funnel Coach in North America) can point to case study after case study of clients who READ MORE ›

By Chuck Besondy|Sales, Skills, Strategy|

Great planning will suffer in the era of speed dating

Great plans don't come from inspired enlightenment, but from following a great process. Whilst we believe we have built such a process for integrated sales and marketing planning, in a time-poor world the processes need to change. But to what? I've just completed a Funnel Camp for one client, and am mid-flight in building a plan for another online, and the differences are stark. Quick background: Funnel Camp is our 3-day lock-down where Sales, Marketing, Finance and Operations build their go-to-market plan together. Lots of work before and after, but the centre-piece is this 3-day series of READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

Social media – think before you tweet

Chris Fell, Managing Director of g2msolutions, writes... It is simply impossible to read a marketing article these days without someone expressing an opinion about social media. I have actively avoided blogging about this phenomenon up to this point because, well, I didn't want to be part of the Twitterati (with the emphasis firmly on the "Twit" in too many cases!) However I can resist no longer! If for no other reason than that I feel the urge to shout from the rooftops that social media is NOT some incredible technological breakthrough that is going to revolutionise our world, READ MORE ›

By Chris Fell|B2B marketing blog, Strategy, Tactics|