B2B Lead Generation Blog

On Effectiveness: Think more, do less

Are you too busy to think? Many of us feel that way at times. As simple as it seems, finding time to think effectively is vital to developing a solid sales, marketing and lead generation strategy. Without question, our mindsets ultimately influence our strategic choices.

Which is why I think Michael Webb’s post on the subject of thinking differently and banishing waste from sales and marketing is very compelling.

Michael explains that one of the most valuable questions he asks sales and marketing teams is, “What kinds of things clearly add no value to your sales and marketing operations?” Webb has found that people react strongly to this question. He often hears the same feedback over and over. Such as:

• Time spent on administration, reporting, and menial tasks (leaving little time for customers)
• Trade shows and events that generate boxes of “leads” not worth calling on
• Marketing literature that no one reads
• Wasting time with the wrong prospects

I see these same things too. So, instead of spending time looking at ways we can to create more of the same activity, why not think about how you can focus on what your internal and external customers really care about?

Where's the passion in B2B marketing?

I spoke yesterday at MarketingSherpa's Demand Generation Summit and I felt led to go off topic for a bit to address why I do, what I do. Personally, I've been pondering the idea of passion and what role it plays in our careers as marketers or leaders.

Read Mike Volpe's summary of my presentation at the the Small Business Hub Blog.

In my short aside, I ended up talking about things we marketers often don't talk about. Our heart. What drives us? What role does the heart play in our job as marketers?

How do we create relevance for ourselves, our colleagues, and those future customers we hope to reach and influence?

Can you market something without passion and still be successful? If so, why would you want to?

I've wondered how we can be passionate advocates to others outside our companies if we don't have close relationships and trust inside our companies?

To me, disharmony is the enemy of execution. I liked something Seth wrote a while back, "...just about every successful venture is based on an unoriginal idea, beautifully executed." I agree.

In this age of automation, depersonalization, scoring and measurement, I'm not seeing the "human touch" in B2B marketing. So how can we humanize the process and actually build relationships?

Lead re-engagement gives you more out of your investment

The year-end push is on and I know you may be wondering what else can I do to drive more revenue with little or no remaining budget?  I've found the best way is to focus on the leads you already have.

Lead re-engagement is one of the most powerful ROI tools marketers have available to them. Why? You're getting more out of the money you've already spent by going deeper within the opportunities you already have. It seems like common sense, but the reality is, I know of very few companies that think about it, because they assume it's the salespeople's job.

That's why I thought you'd find these two articles published this week in BtoB Magazine relevant. They each explain a little known aspect of lead nurturing called lead re-engagement.

In the following article, I'm interviewed by BtoB writer Christopher Hosford and share some trends in what he calls lead recycling (I prefer to call it lead reengagement) and I explain what we do at InTouch.

Read Effective Re-Engagement Gives You More Out Of Your Investment

In this article, Hosford interviews my client Mikel Chertudi, senior director, online marketing and demand generation at Omniture. Mikel shares what Omniture is doing to optimize their lead re-engagement process and drive more revenue.

Read Omniture Practices What It Preaches