LEADership by Louis Foong » Sales Automation

Automation Tools—Friend or Foe (or do you even know?)

Louis Foong — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:30:47 +0000

I’m not an avid shopper and I stay away from the malls as much as I can; most definitely during the holiday shopping frenzy. So it’s natural that I thought the crowds would have thinned somewhat now that everyone is back to work and school. I had not taken into account the fact that now is the time all the duplicate gifts are being exchanged, new ones are being purchased with the generous gift cards received and everything that does not work the way it should is being returned by dejected consumers who had pinned their hopes on to that most exciting gadget, electronic item or appliance.

B2B Marketing and Lead Generation Challenges – “The Q Continuum”

Louis Foong — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:31:43 +0000

One of my all-time favourite television shows was Star Trek – the whole gamut of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. For those of you who didn’t fancy it or can’t remember trivial details like I do (am not ashamed to admit it!), let me remind you about the Q Continuum – an extra-dimensional plane of existence inhabited by a race of extremely powerful, hyper-intelligent beings known as the Q. They typically display indifference to most non-Q beings but have a deep interest in the development and progress of humanity. The Q character,

Marketing Automation WILL NOT Help You Make More Sales

Louis Foong — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:51:06 +0000

When was the last time everything that was meant to, or should have happened from a marketing perspective, actually happen? Marketing automation vendors would have you believe that their tool is the answer to all your needs – think again. These are the days of under-resourced and under-funded marketing departments. The funny thing is, in many instances, the finance departments are the ones enthusiastic about implementing this automation play as all they can envision is savings down the road. In reality, what ends up happening is that marketing turns their focus on feeding the automation

Things they said at the B2B Demand Generation Summit…

Louis Foong — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:21:59 +0000

Throughout the SiriusDecisions Summit this year, the message of “sales and marketing alignment” resonated loud and clear. That, in fact, was the theme – B-to-B Sales and Marketing: Forging a New Alliance. If you’ve been following closely, this theme has been a recurring one on my blog as well. Last summer, I wrote about connecting the dots between lead generation, sales and CRM. Around the same time, I offered a quick summary of inbound marketing trends and adoption of best practices for lead generation. Coming back to the Summit, speakers, John Neeson (co-founder of

My 2011 Lead Generation Wish List

Louis Foong — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 19:31:42 +0000

I was asked recently by a media person to comment on the top lead generation trends in 2011. When I inquired what in her mind were these “top trends”, I didn’t hear anything new. I agree that in 2010, organizations were still struggling to recover from the recession and many companies did not fully explore lead generation. Many were challenged with customer retention and had no resources or time to focus on lead generation. So while some may argue that a fusion of inbound and outbound marketing, multi-touch lead generation, adopting new technologies for marketing and sales automation, social media marketing are some of the major trends in 2011, these are not novel in any way. So how can I comment?

Demand generation — when pull not push seals the deal!

Louis Foong — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:26:41 +0000

In my previous blog I commented on how demand generation goes beyond a leads database; that it involves nurturing true, qualified leads. I raised an important question about marketing strategy — Do you tend to push leads out to your sales reps? Or do you use a pull strategy where they can be productive and clinch the deal with home-grown prospects?

Make Sales Leads a Privilege, Not a Right

Louis Foong — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:19:47 +0000

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?

The Missing Link in Lead Qualification Systems: Sales

Louis Foong — Tue, 25 May 2010 13:38:43 +0000

Demand generation marketers often spend countless hours designing and fine-tuning their lead handling systems. Complicated flow charts are created, lead questionnaire content is debated endlessly, forms are designed, and telemarketing and email scripts are reviewed ad nauseam. Yet, many of these sophisticated marketers overlook the single, most crucial element of a successful lead qualification system. What is it?

Effective B2B demand generation should not be complicated

Louis Foong — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:39:46 +0000

Unfortunately, with the advent of sophisticated CRM and sales automation tools, we are seeing a tendency to over-think and over-complicate the DG process or to rely too heavily on technology as a “silver bullet.” With marketing staffs stretched painfully thin in an era of limited resources, this is understandable. In this environment, people will naturally look at anything that promises to automate processes and produce superior results. Technology, no matter how sophisticated, is merely a tool, not a substitute for sound DG strategy and implementation. At its core, successful demand generation can always be boiled down to six basic processes:

Why Most “Spike” Marketing Campaigns Fail

Louis Foong — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 20:18:10 +0000

Companies often initiate tactical “spike” marketing campaigns to overcome a quarterly sales or lead shortfall. “Spike” programs are a series of “one offs” that may yield short term numbers. However, they are largely a self-perpetuating, wasteful mistake that can be avoided if you understand the 10-60-30 rule.