03 Aug |
Connecting the dots between lead generation, sales and CRM |
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Integrate lead generation, sales and CRM to gain higher returns For certain, I’m not a crystal gazer; but looking into the past? Sure, I’ve done that. Don’t we all from time to time? Actually, in business, everyone stands to gain from a periodic retrospective – review, analyze and soldier on! From a collective business world standpoint, a review of B2B sales and marketing in the past decade reveals a shift in business strategy. An interesting observation is the conscious effort to align sales and marketing objectives and functions for better results. Even if you have a Strategic Marketing Services company that’s taking care of B2B lead generation and management, your sales team should work closely with them in lead follow-up, functional visibility and performance analysis. Business effectiveness and success depends on open communication and collective efforts towards common goals. If organizations are committed to increasing momentum they must be willing to restructure and reorganize. Lead generation, sales and CRM can no longer work in isolation. It would be like having your fingers trying to accomplish tasks individually. So how do lead generation, sales and CRM all
Read more...27 Jul |
Inside Sales Versus Outside Lead Qualification in B2B Marketing: A Needless Conflict |
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In a world where technology has made it possible to transact business remotely, many companies have found that a well managed inside tele-sales operation can boost profits by increasing coverage, serving customers faster, and selling low-margin products that outside sales people don’t want to bother with. However, many businesses, having made this investment, believe that inside sales teams can also be used to qualify and nurture sales leads. After all, telemarketing is telemarketing, right? Why pay money to an outside firm when it can be done in-house at no extra cost? However, trying to marry inside sales with lead qualification under the same department is a huge mistake. Two very different disciplines In order to generate maximum profit and customer satisfaction, inside sales departments must conduct business as efficiently as possible. Asking them to also qualify prospects and nurture them into sales leads means less time serving established customers and ringing up orders. Inside sales and lead qualification, although both are typically conducted via telephone contact, are also two very different animals. Lead qualifiers are trained to question, probe, identify critical
Read more...19 Jul |
The Best Mailing List for B2B Lead Generation |
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When it comes to success in B2B lead generation, everybody knows that the mailing list is the most important ingredient in any campaign. A poor list will always produce dismal results, no matter how brilliant the offer and creative. Conversely, good lists often produce acceptable results even with mediocre execution. Consequently, companies are always looking for the “silver bullet” of mailing lists for their next B2B lead generation campaign— that perfect source of fresh, highly targeted, super-hot prospects just waiting to be contacted. Sadly, this is an exercise in futility and frustration and often a colossal waste of money. You already own the best list What’s the best list you can get for B2B lead generation? It’s the one you already (should) have. There is simply no substitute for a homegrown, customized list of prospects – often referred to by direct marketing professionals as the “house” list – which a company acquires over time through different tactics. When such a list is properly maintained and updated, it is a veritable gold mine and will always outperform any list you can acquire. Unfortunately, companies continue to overlook, under use, or,
Read more...19 Jul |
Connecting the Dots Between Lead Generation, Sales and CRM |
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Integrate lead generation, sales and CRM to gain higher returns For certain, I’m not a crystal gazer; but looking into the past? Sure, I’ve done that. Don’t we all from time to time? Actually, in business, everyone stands to gain from a periodic retrospective – review, analyze and soldier on! From a collective business world standpoint, a review of B2B sales and marketing in the past decade reveals a shift in business strategy. An interesting observation is the conscious effort to align sales and marketing objectives and functions for better results. Even if you have a Strategic Marketing Services company that’s taking care of B2B lead generation and management, your sales team should work closely with them in lead follow-up, functional visibility and performance analysis. Business effectiveness and success depends on open communication and collective efforts towards common goals. If organizations are committed to increasing momentum they must be willing to restructure and reorganize. Lead generation, sales and CRM can no longer work in isolation. It would be like having your fingers trying to accomplish tasks individually. So how do lead generation, sales and CRM all
Read more...12 Jul |
Uniting Sales and Marketing Under One Umbrella |
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Sales and marketing must work together to convert lead generation activities into a loyal customer base Almost everyone’s complaining that business is tough. But a closer analysis of the low sales volume experienced by many businesses today shows a strong disconnect between their sales and marketing initiatives. The gap between B2B lead generation, conversion and CRM occurs because sales and marketing departments function as independent units (often at odds with each other). Instead, they should be working together to close the deal and cement the relationship. Companies that have aligned marketing and sales goals are the ones that get results. There is no definite point at which marketing stops and sales begins. Simply stated, sales and marketing must work hand-in-hand from end-to-end! How do you get sales and marketing to join forces? Integrated marketing: This involves integrating all marketing and sales tools, activities and resources to convert leads into customers. Online or offline marketing and sales efforts must convey the same message and level of intensity in order to be effective. In other words, lead generation, sales promotion and lead management must share
Read more...05 Jul |
Following inbound marketing trends enables adoption of best practices for lead generation |
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Inbound marketing is the strategic use of tools and techniques that draw the attention of a qualified target audience through relevant content and interactive engagement. That’s a simple definition of Inbound Marketing. The keyword here is “qualified audience” which means potential buyers who are closer to the buying decision. Well, at least in expressing their need for the type of product or service you offer. A prospect starts to look for you when they are getting ready to buy, and begin the process of searching for the best solution. Inbound marketing helps your business be found easily, both online and offline. Drawing people in to your CRM goes beyond B2B lead generation and takes on a multi-pronged approach to integrated marketing. Your deliverables become: (a) relevant content and (b) interactive engagement. Let’s look at some leading trends in inbound marketing to understand how organizations are adopting best practices: Ratio of Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing: Market trends show a shift in budget spending from outbound to inbound marketing. However, smart B2B marketers focus on leveraging the inbound spend rather than increasing it. What this means is
Read more...30 Jun |
Customer Referrals Act as CRM Catalysts across Social Media |
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Nurture existing customers in CRM with social media to get repeat and referral business One happy customer is worth a hundred (or more) in your CRM system. Sounds like a cliché? Well, maybe; but it’s one of those eternal truths which, if you believe in and remember, will take you a long way down the road of successful customer relationship management. It’s easy to pour enthusiasm, effort, ideas (and money!) into B2B lead generation because there is that gleaming pot of gold to aim for – revenue and profits. But the repeat and referral business you can get from existing customers is worth much more. Tap into the power of customer referrals via social media and you have an armoury of silver bullets, not snake oil. To nurture your existing customers, consider using social media and online marketing tools like: Customer case studies on a blog Video testimonials Social media recommendations from customers, associates, partners and suppliers An online product demonstration via YouTube – for new and potential customers A Q&A forum where queries are answered by your company and your long standing customers “Listen” to what existing customers are saying about your
Read more...28 Jun |
Social Media Fuels the B2B Lead Lifecycle – CRM Update is Critical! |
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Social media plays an important role in the sales cycle, but keeping your CRM database is key No matter how many budget cuts your organization introduces to cope with challenging times, you somehow make room for B2B lead generation expenses. It is after all, the lifeline of your sales performance, right? The only change to this ongoing situation is the dire need to measure and quantify results, so not a penny goes to waste. The results of B2B lead generation are best measured by the end goal, i.e. a customer conversion. For a B2B interaction to progress from seed to lead to sale, it must traverse through the phase of opportunity nurturing — the time when a prospective customer actually begins direct interaction with a company’s sales representative. It is typically the time when a lead is comparison shopping, checking out references and testimonials, conducting due diligence about the sellers’ products and services, and, engaging in social media conversations to find out more! Close coordination between your marketing and sales team, via the CRM and other formal / informal internal communications methods is paramount to nurturing sales opportunities. Being in the
Read more...08 Jun |
Make Sales Leads a Privilege, Not a Right |
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Want to significantly increase your B2B lead conversion rates and get your salespeople to provide near 100 percent feedback on lead status? Then stop sending them sales leads— seriously! Instead, set up an online lead distribution system that requires them to request each and every lead. This simple change can have a profound effect on your conversion rates. Why? It starts with human nature: all of us value something more if we have to pay for it or request it. When something is given to us for free or without consideration, we tend to value it less. Similarly, sales leads that are “pushed” out to the field tend to receive less attention by salespeople. Second, leads that are requested are more likely to be followed up immediately. And, as everybody knows, the faster a lead receives follow-up, the more likely it is to convert. Independent research has shown that, on average, the likelihood of a lead converting to a sale decreases by as much as two percent each day that it languishes. Third, sales people are much more likely to provide feedback on lead quality and status since they requested it in the first place. This will enable you to fine-tune your lead generation
Read more...02 Jun |
Overcoming Lengthening B2B Sales Cycles |
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Recent research from a number of sources confirms what all of us in demand generation have suspected for some time now: (1) In spite of the proliferation of new marketing communications tools like social media, companies report that generating qualified sales leads continues to be their biggest challenge and (2) The sales cycle, especially for technology marketers, is getting longer. What significance do these findings have for B2B marketers? Companies (and especially their field sales forces, dealers, and resellers) have always wanted more qualified leads, not more leads, so this isn’t a big surprise. However, the lengthening sales cycle is a relatively new trend that is increasingly frustrating salespeople. Organizations need an effective way to deal with this phenomenon. Lead nurturing now as critical as lead qualifying In this environment, more and more prospects will score as “B” level leads— meaning that they may be qualified to buy your product but are not yet ready to make a purchase decision. Turning these prospects into “A” leads requires a systematic lead nurturing system that: Makes regular recontact— to continually reassess prospect status and keep
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