B2B Lead Generation Blog

Generate over 60,0000 inquiries by educating people?

Last year, I wrote a post on giving away ideas to proactively educate and attract future customers. I was surprised that it generated such a lively discussion.

Michael Stelzner wrote the following comment on my post back then, “I have been giving away my trade secrets for years (against the advice of advisors). The results have been amazing. The fact is that folks look to you as a thought leader when you share your secrets. In addition, the discussion that comes from sharing results is a better idea.”

Today, Michael just launched a series of videos on how he is leveraging educational techniques to pull in inquiries and generate leads. Michael told me he's got a bunch of videos he plans to release over the next few days telling how he generated over 60,000 inquiries and leads for his business by giving away his ideas.

Watch his first video, "How To Generate Mass Interest in Your Business During Tough Times." (No need to do anything special, it will just start playing.)

How to make B2B marketing messages more memorable

In B2B marketing, when you have many potential buyers who are involved in the buying process, how do you connect with these people in a memorable way?

If you look at most lead generation messages, they often contain industry jargon and abstract ideas. Interestingly, that’s part of the reason many of them don’t work.

Our future customers are weary of messages, pitches, hype, buzzwords, and corporate speak, that they quickly forget them. So how do you create marketing and lead generation messages worth remembering?

According to this ITSMA interview with Chip Heath author of What Makes Things Stick, we need to overcome the curse of knowledge.

Heath say’s, “B2B marketers have a very high standard of communication that they have to impart. A group of psychologists and behavioral economists has called this ‘the Curse of Knowledge.’ As we become experts, it becomes harder to imagine not knowing what we know.”

In other words, as we develop our individual areas of expertise and live it out in our companies, it actually makes it harder to communicate with those outside out company. This could be part of the reason some might struggle explaining their job (i.e. what you do) to family and friends.

Heath’s focus is on this idea of “stickiness” he found that for our ideas to stick in people’s minds, they must be concrete. But the reality is that most of our business language is far from concrete.

I've summarized the 6 themes that Heath covers in his book that are consistent with sticky ideas:

1. Simple - get to the essential idea, the most important idea should leap out
2. Unexpected -blast preconceived notions causes people to stop, think and remember
3. Concrete - use real-world analogies to simplify complex ideas
4. Credible - do you have a trust worthy reputation? If not, people will ignore you.
5. Emotional - people often decide based on emotion and backfill with logic
6. Stories - we're wired to pay attention to stories and stories can be retold

I found this related MarketingProfs article, "How to Use Imagery to Create Memorable Messages" by professor Debbie MacInnis interesting. MacInnis describes new research about combining concrete words with imagery to make more memorable branding messages and “the power of the internal movies that consumers generate themselves.” Please note: this article was written from a B2C perspective but as I think about it I see B2B applications too.

Podcast: Interview with MarketingSherpa's Anne Holland

Would you like some inspiration or some fresh ideas for your marketing and lead generation strategy?

If so, MarketingSherpa just released their “Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-08” and I had the privilege to interview Anne Holland about this year's findings. Very useful stuff. Download the Executive Summary

During our in-depth interview, Anne shares some terrific insights and helpful data on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics.

Three data points that I found particularity interesting:

1. Teleprospecting works. As we all know, tech buyers are a notoriously tough crowd to cold call. Sherpa's findings contradict the "calling doesn't work" line we've heard for years. Their data shows that over 50% of tech buyers admitted to short listing a vendor after receiving a well timed and relevant phone call.

2. Sherpa's data shows that more decision makers (not just influencers) are attending webinars and watching archived events. This indicates the importance of relevant educational events and online content for lead generation.

3. Companies who provided fewer but higher quality "sales ready" leads to their sale people have better sales conversion rates than those that send lots of early stage leads and that creating a "cost per lead" culture just does not work.

Listen to podcast now (31 min MP3)

Show Agenda  

• Benchmark data that B2B all marketers must know
• Fresh ideas and best practices for lead qualification
• Why you should capture and track all web inquiries in your CRM
• How many buyers/influencers in the typical F500 buying process (hint: it's big!)
• Sherpa's unexpected data on B2B telemarketing (teleprospecting)
• Useful data on lead management and lead nurturing
• How webinars are reaching more decision makers than you would expect
• Common email mistakes (and why mobile devices matter more than you think)
• How and why high quality content is important and influential to buyers
• Why fewer leads is better (the CEOs role) and why "cost per lead" budgets fail
• Distinguishing characteristics of top performing marketers
• Unconventional research that will improve your corporate website homepage

The Business Technology Benchmark Marketing Guide features data on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics especially valuable. They also have practical data on search, email, PR, direct mail, lead generation, trade shows, podcasting, telemarketing, budgeting and more. They interviewed over 1000 marketers, plus this year they gathered in-depth research from 4,658 actual business technology buyers.

If you are a marketer for a company that sells technology, I encourage you to get a copy of this report. It will definitely help you better budget, forecast, and benchmark your marketing results.

MarketingSherpa: Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-08

Social Media Pundits Disconnect from B2B Marketing

As someone in B2B, do you feel left out of the social media buzz? I read a good article on "What’s Wrong With Social Media For B2B Marketing" by John Miller who also writes the Modern B2B Marketing blog.

John's article highlights something most of us in B2B marketing have come to accept. B2C marketing gets the vast majority of links and clicks while B2B hears the quiet sound of crickets chirping.

I remember when I started blogging in 2003 and there was only 11 true B2B marketing related blogs. Now there's are over a hundred. John lists about 80 of them on his blog.

John concludes, "The result is that there are fewer pundits and thought leaders writing about B2B marketing, resulting in fewer links to those early adopters who do write about business marketing techniques. And since links mean leadership on the web, the result is that the less-trendy subjects in B2B marketing—like marketing accountability and lead management—get left behind."

Personally, I think the reason B2B marketing receives less attention comes down to time and momentum.

I don't know a B2B marketer who isn’t swamped and time constrained. They often have more projects than hands to do them.

Plus, there are more B2C marketers than B2B marketers. Why? There are simply more consumer buyers than business buyers. And as consumers, it’s easier to understand B2C marketing experiences, concepts and ideas. There’s just more to write about, more people and thus there’s more momentum.

B2B is more complex. Complex things are harder communicate and take more time and effort to build momentum. For example, my business partners and I were talking at lunch about why Steven Hawking is less known at this stage of his life than Albert Einstein (don't ask why were talking about this). One person said, "You can put Einstein's E=mc2 on a t-shirt and then a consumer will buy that. You can’t do that with Hawking.”

My point? Those who spend more time talking about the trendy marketing mediums (ie. Blogs, podcasts, WOM, etc.) are easier to link to than those who are talking about the strategy and execution aspects that B2B marketers really need. It’s a momentum thing.

B2B marketers may never have the same amount of buzz as those in B2C and that's okay. B2B marketing isn’t a popularity contest. It's about results. Without us, B2C marketers wouldn't have anything to sell and our economy would suffer. That's a fact. And that's why I love it.

Podcast: The New Rules of Marketing & PR Interview with David Meerman Scott

Before the Internet and social media tools, companies could only communicate through the filter of advertising or media ink placed by a PR firm. But fortunately the rules have changed.

I just interviewed David Meerman Scott author the new book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly. The book was officially released on June 4, 2007.

David also writes the Web Ink Now blog and has been named to the MarketingSherpa Viral Marketing Hall of Fame for the past two years in a row. During our interview we cover a variety of topics that are relevant to lead generation, PR and marketing.

Show Notes

• The New Rules of Marketing & PR
• Strategies for reaching more buyers directly via the web
• The role of content in reaching people earlier in their buying process
• Building your online credibility and authority
• Thought leadership and the changing role of media and journalists
• PR tactics that work

Listen to podcast now (MP3 27 min 12 MB)
Subscribe to the Start With the Lead Show

David is a friend and colleague so I'm happy to see his book is doing so well. As I write this post his book is ranked in the top 100 of Amazon Best Sellers. Congrats David! Get your copy of The New Rules of Marketing & PR on Amazon.

On Lead Nurturing: Looking for a "hot" date?

When it comes to lead generation, the dating analogy is nothing new. But I liked what Tom Myer at the tdog.blog said on the topic of lead nurturing in his post, "If you don’t remember me on the second date, why should we go on a third?"

Myer writes:

“If lead generation is like dating, and we’re all out there on the singles scene, most of our effort goes to landing first dates. We do everything we can to catch someone’s eye, fetch up the nerve to ask them out, and work really hard on making a good impression that first time around. We may also have well-meaning friends and families setting us up on blind dates (aka referrals), and we may also run into those people who have heard good things about us from other people and want to get to know us better (aka word of mouth). (Yes, it’s a neat metaphor, and I’m not the first to notice it, but I digress.)

All of this dating stuff aside, lead nurturing is like getting to know someone better (except in the business context multiple relationships are not only condoned but encouraged!). If you spend all that time and energy getting a “first date”, why would you blow it by not remembering important facts about your prospect on the “second date”? Also, if you’re on that second date, why not take this chance to get to know them a little better?”

I agree. He goes on in the post to talk about how to use your relevant and educational content as part of the lead nurturing mix.

As important as information gathering is, it is important to not get too personal on the first date. Think about your web forms. Are you asking for far too much information before you've earned their trust?  I wrote about this in my post, Why Most B2B Sites Fail to Convert Sales Leads.

Don't blow it on the first date by thinking of it as a campaign rather than a conversation.  The challenge is to make each conversation you have be relevant and meaningful.  The reward? A more memorable conversation that will likely lead to others and eventually a relationship.

You'll do better by thinking of lead nurturing as a process of micro-conversions based on the multiple conversations you’re having. Be patient and you'll build the opportunity profile over time.

Sridhar Ramanathan president of Pacifica Group points this out in his blog post, "Demand Generation: Are You Making Your Prospects Lie? He writes, "One of the dirty little secrets of online marketing is that the leads you generate are only as good as the data that the customer prospect chooses to share about themselves. And very often they lie."

As a way to get started, no strings attached, why not give away something of value for free? Then later request an email address, then ask for first and last name, later requesting a phone number, and so on.

I can tell you that it does take time to use a nurturing approach, but you will end up with better and more profitable relationships, whether it be personal or professional. 

Heck, I knew that I wanted to marry my wife after the second date, but I can tell you that it took time, attention, creativity and patience to win her heart. 

Let’s go one step further with the dating analogy. If your customers made the leap to commit to working with you, do you then ignore them because you’ve already won them over?

At InTouch we believe the “yes” is only the beginning, not the final result. Take time to nurture your existing customers too. Like any good relationship, it starts with a memorable and meaningful first conversation and continues with ongoing attention and commitment.

On giving away ideas

I had coffee with a potential partner and our conversation ebbed to a discussion about marketing philosophy and lead generation.  He said something like, "I think companies [like yours] give away many of their trade secrets on their website. They provide too much information.  If I wanted to compete with you... all I would need to do is read your website or blog. The purpose of a website is to solicit interest... you've got to get people to respond... to generate leads."

My response...

People use the web for research; they are looking for fresh ideas, insight and actionable information.  Intellectual property is difficult to protect and is quickly commoditized by the market. Why not leverage some of your IP to your advantage? Leverage it and demonstrate your thought leadership. 

It’s difficult to defend technology that can easily become commoditized and your processes can be copied or improved upon as well. You can't even keep all of your people indefinitely. There are more protections for tangible products but not many for service based business, which most companies are evolving to anyway.

I have a friend who is a NASCAR fan and what he loves is that it's more about the driver than the car. All the cars are the same.  It’s the driver and the crew that make the difference. It's kind of like that with business now. 

Most companies have the same basic car. It's really about how well you drive it. The driver and crew in this metaphor can be seen as thought leadership; the ideas and talents that set the team apart from others. It’s what people remember and identify with. Features and benefit are cool, but sooner than later everyone’s car has the same features anyway.

This is particularity important for companies engaged in a complex sale, where up to 70% of a customer’s perception of your brand comes from their interactions with your sales people. I believe that the people and companies who succeed today are those who learn faster and teach others what they know more effectively. 

My skeptical coffee companion had a schotoma (blind spot) because his viewpoint came from a product driven, B2C, branding perspective.

I didn't have any formal training in marketing before I got started. At first that seemed like a disadvantage, but now I realize that having a clean slate gave me the advantage of being untainted. I strive to not have preconceived notion of how it SHOULD BE.  Instead, I listen to the voice of my customers and what I hear is that they want a relationship with a trusted advisor, not someone who guards their thoughts and ideas.

So what happens to people/companies that keep the ideas to themselves?

Jure Cuhalev over at the g. blog also has some great thoughts on giving away ideas. Jure writes, "...I have a theory of what happens to them. They start losing their ability to produce new ideas, since their current idea preoccupies them. They think about it all the time to the point that they can not think of anything fresh." 

Jure also quotes David Kelley, one of the most visible product designers in the world, especially in the world of high technology. Kelly is founder of IDEO, America's largest independent product design and development firm.

I think Kelly's viewpoint goes well beyond design. Read the following quote and replace "designers" with your role (ie. CEOs, Marketers and so on)... I think it will ring true.

According to Kelly, "Successful designers just send out their vision to the world; and then, when somebody else builds on it, that’s okay. They’re not protective of their ideas because they’re so used to having ideas. A creative designer has an idea a minute. Publicizing an idea is a way to improve on the idea—someone else can build on it, expand it. If you’re fluent with ideas, as most design people are, you don’t have to be fearful. You don’t protect your one good idea because your afraid you’ll never have another good one."

Again, it's not the car. It's the crew and driver.

How to Become a Thought Leader and Attract Customers

Would you like to be more visible and generate sales leads on a limited budget? Become a thought leader! Thought leadership gives you an edge to combat commoditization and attract more business. 

RainToday recently released the results of a new, year-long research project called How To Become A Thought Leader. The report was written for service providers but I believe the core ideas also apply to most companies with a complex sale.  Thanks goes to Britton Manasco for reminding via his blog post, "It Pays to Be a Thought Leader."

As I wrote a while back in my post, "in defense of thought leadership," there are just a few select thought leaders in every industry and field of study.  So everyone can't be one. But if you have the vision, desire and passion to do it, this report tells you how. 

I was humbled to be interviewed, along with eight other business leaders, and to be able to contribute to this report, which includes:

• 100 Pages of expert analysis on how to become a thought leader in your field
• 95 Pages of stories and advice from thought leaders in professional services
• 20 learning checklists and questions for self-evaluation
• Down-to-earth views of how passion, relevance and reach work together for you

Download my 14-page interview on thought leadership (243K PDF)

Get more info on the report at http://www.raintoday.com/thoughtleader.cfm

Podcast: Marketing and Sales for Big Complex Selling (Pt 1)

I had a great time chatting with Todd at 800-CEO-READ on lead generation. This is the first of three podcasts 800-CEO-Read is doing on B2B sales and marketing.

Here's what Todd says about it:
"In this podcast, I talk with Brian Carroll, author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale. Next week, I interview Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies. In week three, I bring Jill and Brian together to talk about the interface between marketing and sales."

Like many of Todd's podcasts; this one is a high-level discussion geared for business leaders and those who support sales people. While you're there, I encourage you to take some time to visit 800-CEO-READ's other websites. They are a super resource for anyone who reads business books.

Listen to podcast now (MP3 43:47 min 30.1 MB)

Lead Generation for the Complex Sale Listed Among BtoB Magazine’s Best Marketing Books

Ellis Booker, editor of BtoB Magazine, posted a short list of five of the best marketing books published in the past 12 months, as well as a couple due out imminently. My book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, along with friends Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg's Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? and Debbie Weil's The Corporate Blogging Book, were included on the list. Very cool!

Read BtoBOnline.com: A summer bundle of marketing books

E-books: A Hip and Stylish Younger Sibling to the Nerdy Whitepaper

If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you are a reader of other blogs. As such, you’re probably aware of the growing number of e-books available. So what's the deal? 

Fellow e-Book author David Meerman Scott just wrote an article for MarketingProfs.com that's really helpful. Titled E-books:  A Hip and Stylish Younger Sibling to the Nerdy Whitepaper, it’s an interesting and educational read about the nature of the phenomenon, its purpose, style and definition. He gives some great advice on how to create your own eBooks too.  BTW - I'm using the spelling of e-books and eBooks interchangeably until we all agree on how to spell it. 

Just like blogs and podcasts, e-books are a terrific way to spread ideas, engage conversations and generate demand.  David not only compares them to the older whitepapers, but also discusses their use as a valuable marketing and lead generation tool. My e-book was even included on his list successful of examples of the genre.  So “get hip” and read this article. 

Speaking at MarketingSherpa's B-to-B Demand Generation Summit 2006

I'm speaking at MarketingSherpa's Demand Generation Summit being held in Boston and SF this fall.  I've worked out a special promotion with MarketingSherpa -- you’ll get a complimentary autographed copy of my book and a $300 discount on the Summit if you register by August 31st.

This should be just in time to inspire you during your fall budget and planning season. Meet experts; mingle with your peers; and discover new data, strategies, and tactics (includes search, podcasting, email & microsites). 

Please note, you must click on this link to register so you can get the discount and free book (that's the only way our good friends at MarketingSherpa can identify you as qualifying for the complimentary, autographed book offer).

Webinar: Lead Generation Strategies for the Complex Sale

Join me for a complimentary webinar this Thursday, August 17, 2006 at 1pm EDT.  This action-oriented session will provide tips and best practices that you can put into practice immediately.

When you leave this session you will:

• Learn 3 proven lead generation strategies that deliver results
• The most effective ways to get sales and marketing alignment
• See the most effective tactics used for an integrated marketing program
• Know how to identify and prioritize your best prospects
• Hear what's working to develop a dialog with executive level buyers

Register here

This event is sponsored and hosted by WebEx Communications, the worldwide leader in online meeting applications.

New E-Book Offers Great Advice

If you are involved in selling (or marketing) professional services, you’ll want to know about this new eBook, The One Piece Of Advice You Can’t Sell Without: From 11 experts on selling professional services, produced by RainToday.  They have consolidated the best advice from top-notch professional service sales experts.

Chock full of useful information, the eBook provides a broad look at the selling process. Although the advice comes from many directions, you'll find some ideas will help you sell more. 

Download the eBook here.

Each expert concisely provides the one piece of information that, from the author’s perspective, we must know to succeed. 

Names of contributors are well-known, and their credentials are impressive:

• Seth Godin, author of Small is the New Big & Purple Cow
• Jill Konrath, Chief Sales Officer, Leapfrog Strategies and author of Selling to Big Companies
• Mike McLaughlin, Deloitte Consulting, author of Guerrilla Marketing for Consultants
• Sam Reese, CEO of Miller Hieman sales training company
• Alan Weiss, author of Million Dollar Consulting
• Mike Schultz, Publisher, RainToday.com and Principal, Wellesley Hills Group
• Keith Ferrazzi, speaker and author of Never Eat Alone
• And more!

New complimentary e-book - Start with a Lead: Eight critical success factors for lead generation results

My latest project is ready! I just published a complimentary new e-book titled Start with a Lead: Eight critical success factors for lead generation. Please download it and pass it on.

According to studies, the single biggest challenge for contemporary B2B marketers is effective lead generation. Conversely, it has been pointed out that 80 percent of marketing expenditures on lead generation are wasted because the leads are lost, ignored or discarded by sales people.

Marketers today are constantly reminded that the company needs more sales leads...now. Unfortunately, that immediacy is quite often at the direct expense of quality. Instead, marketers should adopt and tailor lead generation programs that will increase the odds of creating better sales leads and relationships that will ultimately result in long-term, happy and profitable customers.

In this e-book, you will learn how to develop high-volume, high-quality lead generation programs for your company. It was written for business leaders, managers and marketers who want to help their sales team sell with highly qualified business opportunities, because sales people should only be brought in when a lead has been qualified as “sales ready.” 

Download Start With a Lead: Eight critical success factors for lead generation

The B2B Lead Generation Blog Wins Best B-to-B Marketing Blog in MarketingSherpa's Readers' Choice Awards

Thank you all for voting! I won the best B-to-B Marketing Blog in MarketingSherpa's Readers' Choice Awards!  I’m humbled and thrilled that so many readers have found the content valuable and informative enough to cast their vote for my blog. 

MarketingSherpa writes:

"Our readership is 65% B-to-B marketers, so this was a hotly contested category. Brian won honorable mention last year and has moved up a notch, sharpening his game. That's tough in a world where blog fatigue can all too easily set in. Brian's new book on the same subject was released in May 2006 by McGraw Hill, so he's having a banner year all around!"

After winning honorable mention in same category in 2004 and 2005 this feels great.  I appreciate for your support and will continue to work on keeping this blog a positive resource.  Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees.  Cheers!

MarketingSherpa’s Top 10 Best Blogs & Best Podcast of 2006: Readers’ Choice Award Results

Podcast: Interview on the Cullinane & Green Report

I was interviewed by podcasting experts Joe Cullinane and Roger Green on the Cullinane & Green Report. I encourage you to check out their other interviews with Mike Bosworth, author of Solution Selling and co-author of CustomerCentric Selling and Jackie Huba co-author of Creating Customer Evangelists too.

During this podcast, I share my thoughts on how to use technology tools like podcasts, blogs and RSS for new business development and lead generation. 

Listen to podcast now (36:26 minutes)

Podcast: Duct Tape meets Lead Generation for the Complex Sale

I'm a guest on the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast today hosted by John Jantsch.  John's Duct Tape Marketing Blog was chosen as a Forbes favorite for small business and was twice named "Best Small Business Marketing Blog" by the readers of Marketing Sherpa. While you're visiting John's blog, be sure to subscribe to his newsletter. It's terrific. 

Listen to podcast now

PR Has New Rules for Reaching Buyers Directly

In launching my book, I didn't want to rely on the same time-worn lead generation tactics as everyone else. A normal book launch involves sending press releases to the media and then hoping and praying that overworked and overwhelmed journalists (who doesn't know you exist already) will suddenly see you on the radar...I mean, come on. That's so “book launch 1.0” (thanks for the idea, Debbie Weil). 

Simply put, the web has changed the rules for press releases. You can now reach your potential customers directly with your PR. This is called PR 2.0. 

Has your PR firm told you about this yet? If not, the reason may be this...many PR professionals resist direct-to-consumer PR. Just like many marketers resist changing the way they do lead generation from “campaigns” to “conversations.” 

Another important reason is that it's hard to admit you are powerless to start, control and mold your message. Just like you can't dominate a conversation without risking that people may tune you out. The key is that you need to listen first, ask the right questions, participate and be relevant. 

David Meerman Scott, author of Cashing In With Content, wrote a post on direct to consumer press releases today as discussion leader on the IAOC blog.  He features my recent book launch as a direct to consumer news release case example.  It all began in this conversation, Direct-to-Consumer News Releases: Do they suck?

If you have not read it already, I recommend you get David’s free e-book “The New Rules of PR." It explains how to create a press release strategy for reaching buyers directly.  It’s made a world of difference to me. 

Why Most B2B Sites Fail to Convert Sales Leads

Most people coming to your website aren't coming to your website to buy. They are coming to your site for information. Do you have your web site’s good content under lock and key? 

Research shows shows that if you require registration on your website to download content such as articles, white papers, studies or other "free" resources, you could be losing 75%-85% of your potential leads! 

I saw a press release for a study last week completed by the Nielsen Norman Group, which also supports this finding. According to their study, the practice of making users register before providing them with deeper information will send sales prospects running.

You'll do better by thinking of lead generation as a process of micro-conversions that build an opportunity profile over time, such as requesting an email address, then asking for first and last name, later requesting a phone number, and so on. 

There should be a balance between collecting information and providing value; i.e., be careful about requiring registration to receive anything worthwhile. Your thought-leading content can be a lead generation tool, but only if it is easily accessed.

Almost every company has at least some decent content for leads who are in the later stages of their buying process, including:  brochures, case studies, success stories, sell sheets, etc. 

The key is to reach people as early in their buying process as possible. That's where you have the biggest influence. It's not effective to wait until they are narrowing their short list.

What most companies lack is thought-leading content that addresses needs of people who are in the early stages of their buying process.  KnowledgeStorm made this same point in their recent report on evaluating and scoring web leads. And interestingly, those who do have good, relevant content lock it up behind registration pages.

Ardath Albee over at the Marketing Interactions Blog has some great thoughts on this too. Marketing Interactions: B2B Websites Not Effective

New Book: Lead Generation for the Complex Sale is officially released

The wait is over! My book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, was released this morning. You can read the press release or listen to my podcast about it. 

I liked what Bryan Eisenberg, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Call To Action and the new book Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? had to say: 

"The lead generation game has changed in the age of the Internet. If you don't have this new playbook your competitors will. Brian Carroll closes the loop on lead generation, taking you from defining a lead, thinking like your prospects, tactics to increase lead generation, passing leads from marketing to sales, measuring the results, and nurturing the leads for increased revenue. If you don't read and then apply lessons from Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, then let me know how things work out for you."

Read the book announcement press release

Listen to the book release podcast (7:43 min 7.12 MB)

Download a free chapter

For the real thing, order on Amazon. You can find the book at your local Borders or Barnes & Noble and other bookstores. For multiple copies, order on 800-CEO-Read (Call Meg at 800-236-7323 ext. 206 CST.)  For the buzz on the book, read reviews and news. More about the author.

Update:  The book made its debut in Amazon's top 100 (sales and marketing books) today.  Debbie Weil author of The Corporate Blogging Book calls my book launch an example of Book Launch 2.0. 

Lead Generation for the Complex Sale on wsRadio.com

I just did a 40-minute live interview on the Online Marketing show with RSS Ray broadcast by WS Radio.com, the world wide leader in internet talk radio.  A podcast version of the show is available via iTunes or the host website RSSRay.com.

During the interview, I share new ideas for generating B2B customers and talk about my book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, that's being released next week.

Click here to listen to the recording. 

Book Cover and Advanced Praise for Lead Generation for the Complex Sale

We're quickly approaching the official release of my book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale : Boost the Quality and Quantity of Leads to Increase Your ROI.  Also, my book got a new cover!  (click image to enlarge) 

I'm humbled by the incredible endorsements that I've received for the book so far. You can read the advanced endorsements here, more here, and via my new book website before they're posted on the major on-line bookseller websites. 

For those who pre-ordered the book, it will arrive with the new cover in June.  I just got my first shipment of author copies and they look great!  Thanks again! 

Lead generation with Podcasts

The audience for podcasts is tiny, when compared to other marketing mediums, but growing especially, in the context of the complex sale.  Podcasting is proving to be a great way share multimedia content because your audience can fetch it automatically or when it fits their schedule. 

Podcasting is already successfully used for:

• Talk radio complete with topic and call-in listeners where voice mail boxes can play the audio into the podcast.
• Ideas or tips of the day.
• Short interviews with thought leaders and industry experts.
• Recording speeches or teleconferences for later distribution. 

A new article in BtoB Magazine by Karen J. Bannan on podcasts caught my attention.  Bannan's article examines how John Costigan Cos. is using podcasts to generate sales leads and revenue for their sales training events. 

I'm going to share some ideas on how to use podcasts for lead generation with podcast expert, Joe Cullinane over at the Cullinane & Green Report some time in the next week.  Joe just did did an interesting podcast with best selling author, Guy Kawasaki.

Link: BtoBOnline.com: Firm showcases owner's personality with podcasts.

Customer Referrals and Your Sales and Marketing Department

For the complex sale you need enthusiastic referrals to help you build your reputation, differentiate yourself, demonstrate your value proposition, shorten your sales cycle, and drive revenue. 

So how do you ask for referrals?  I wrote a post called, "Asking for referrals does more than Generate Leads," based on the Harvard Business Review article, “The One Number You Need to Grow” by Frederick F. Reichheld. 

During two years of research, Reichheld discovered, that the answer to this basic question, 'Would you recommend our products/services to a business peer?', correlated directly to growth rates. 

Jim Lenskold and Bill Lee just wrote a practical article on MarketingProfs which builds on Reichhelds's research and ideas.  MarketingProfs: Turning Customers Into Your Sales and Marketing Department

Webcast: 8 Critical Success Factors for B2B Lead Generation

Join me for a complimentary webcast on Thursday, March 16th at 2pm EST.  I'm speaking on the "8 Critical Success Factors for B2B Lead Generation Success" along with Mark Organ, CEO of Eloqua.   

Watch the recorded webcast archive now

During this webcast, I will share the most critical – and often overlooked - factors in successful lead generation including:

• How to combine sales and marketing to optimize the number of leads
• Preventing lulls in your sales cycle
• Developing Universal Lead Definition (ULD) and ideal customer profile (ICP)
• Building, maintaining and growing your database
• Multi-modal lead nurturing - a crash course
• Ready yourself for what's next - new and promising tactics
• and more...

Register for this webcast registration is closed. Watch the recorded webcast now

Sponsored by Eloqua, provider of the leading integrated demand generation platform for executing, automating and measuring highly effective B2B marketing programs.

Will Writing a Business Book Generate Sales Leads?

If you have more than a passing interest in writing a business book, this is worth checking out. 

Most of us would expect that a consulting firm or service company will benefit from publishing their expertise but exactly how much? A new report by RainToday entitled, "The Business Impact of Writing a Book" attempts to answer this question and more. 

RainToday surveyed an impressive list of 200 professionals who have written business books across different industries to understand the impact that writing a book had on their service businesses. 

Most of the authors agree that a book isn't a catalyst for instant fame.  However the report states, "96% of authors reported that publishing a business book positively affected their practices." 

So does writing a book help you lead generation?  According to RainToday, "56% of our authors reported strong or very strong influence on their ability to generate leads as a result of publishing a book." 

Does this mean you should write a book to generate leads?  Probably not, there are other more immediate ways to share your wisdom which I describe here and here.  Writing a book is a serious investment of time, money, and energy. 

RainToday: The Business Impact of Writing a Book

The halo effect and lead generation

My dad taught me many lessons growing up and one that stands out as relevant to lead generation went something like this:  He said “choose your friends carefully because we become like the people we spend most of our time with and [like it or not] we’re judged by the company we keep."  He didn't know that he explained how the halo effect works.

This new case study by MarketingSherpa demonstrates the practical application of the halo effect.  It explains how Steelwedge, "...a previously little-known software company became a trusted and admired brand in a couple of short years.  The trick? Alliances with nuts-and-bolts professors in America's heartland." 

This idea is already in lead generation playbooks for most of the largest consulting firms.  We see the halo effect demonstrated in places like the Harvard Business Review where it's quite common to see business executives collaborate on papers with a professor or sponsor research projects. 

These experts can become a source of speakers and webinar presenters.  You may want to co-market an event and share the attendees list.  There are also opportunities to post articles and materials by these experts on your web site or as links on an e-newsletter.  The ultimate objective is to have some of their credibility to rub off on you. 

One way to start relationships with professors is to find those that have their own consulting practices.  Think about how you help build their practice and they may be more inclined to help you. 

I previously wrote a post on "Lead Generation via Industry Experts" which gives specific suggestions to help you get started. 

MarketingSherpa: How to Impress Conservative Fortune 100 Business Prospects by Allying With Academia

Podcasts vs. Webinars which is better?

An interesting conversation started on podcasts vs. webinars at the Church of the Customer Blog. Jackie Huba argues that companies should dump their webinars in favor of videocasts and podcasts. She writes, "the self-serve nature of mobile media means people can listen to podcasts/videocasts when and where they want, not tied to a computer at a specific time."

That’s a good point, but in the context of the complex sale, I respectfully disagree.  I use podcasts and they are no doubt more “buzz” worthy than webinars.  Still, if your target audience lacks a portable MP3 player, they are tethered to their computer anyway right? 

People want different information, in different ways, and at different times during their buying process. The choices they'll make will depend on their role, their exact need, and the time frame they have to solve that need. 

Key question: Do you truly understand your potential customers buying process? 

Your way of selling and marketing must conform to the customer's buying process, driven by a clear understanding of needs and the impact of those needs on both that company and its customers. Every potential customer will have a slightly different buying process.

I have found it helpful to look at the potential customer's buying process on the basis of modalities it employs at each buying step. To that end, I've developed a model that hypothetically shows the correlation between steps in a prospect's buying process and the sales effort together with tactics that might be of interest at each stage. (Click image to enlarge)

If you want help on mapping out your customers buying process, a great source is Kristin Zhivago's book Rivers of Revenue. I cite her process on in my upcoming book. She gets it better than anyone I know.

It's a New Year for Lead Generation for the Complex Sale

Greetings and happy New Year!  Wow, I haven't posted here in a month but I promise you will see a lot more activity soon.  In the meantime, I wanted to give you an update.

During the past month, I've put all of my energy into getting my first book, Lead Generation for the Complex Sale, to the finish line.  I got this milestone e-mail (for a first time author) from my editor at McGraw-Hill.  She wrote, "I just put your book in production!  Congrats.  It’s in great shape.  All the final edits you made really helped to polish it off even more.  Well definitely go out and celebrate tonight.  I know that you’ve worked really hard on this manuscript and it’s turned into a fantastic manuscript."

So after 14-months of writing, editing, writing, editing, and re-rewriting again, I'm "done!"  Seriously, this has been a labor of love and I hope this book profoundly changes the way people think about lead generation and makes a huge impact. 

Though there are scores of books on direct marketing, branding, advertising, marketing tactics, PR, varied sales approaches, cold calling, etc., I have yet to find a text that addresses the comprehensive approach to lead generation for the complex sale like mine. 

I'm awaiting an official release date but Amazon currently shows April 15th... yes that's Tax Day.  To those who have already pre-ordered the book, thanks!  You can pre-order it here. 

New Cartoon Series Depicts "Sales Lead Hell"

Building off my last post, I wanted to share something fun... a new cartoon series by MarketingSherpa called "Sales Lead Hell."  The series was created to promote the 2005 Lead Generation Summit. 

Each cartoon gives some pithy insight into the sales and marketing "feud."  I got permission to post a recent cartoon from the series. (click image to enlarge) 

Get your "Sales Lead Hell" cartoons here

Two new reports on marketing and lead generation

If you sell complex services or technology solutions I encourage you investigate these reports, I think you'll find a ton of value.  I've read both of them and they are terrific. 

Do you sell services?  Get this report focused exclusively on Business-to-Business Professional Services by RainToday.com.  They studied almost 200 business decision makers with the intention of understanding what it is like to be a buyer of your services. 

I gained a ton of insight about the mindset of various decision makers for professional services such as accounting & financial consulting; architecture, engineering, & construction; legal services; information technology consulting & services; human resources consulting; training; management consulting; and marketing, advertising, & public relations.

How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report on Professional Services Marketing and Selling from the Client Perspective by RainToday.com

If you are a marketer for a company that sells software, hardware, or IT Services, I urge you to get a copy of MarketingSherpa's IT Marketing Benchmark Guide.   It will definitely help you budget, forecast, and benchmark your marketing results.  I found the data (from 826 IT marketers) on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics especially valuable.

MarketingSherpa's IT Marketing Benchmark Guide 2005-2006

Word-of-mouth marketing gets BtoB people buzzing

I just heard that I was quoted in BtoB Magazine on word-of-mouth marketing (WOM).  Richard Karpinski wrote the piece which, from what I can tell, is one the the first articles on WOM for B2B marketers.   

I wrote a post a while back you might want to check out, "Word of Mouth Marketing relies on reputation not branding." 

The BtoB article concludes, "In the end, word-of-mouth is only effective if it complements strong, traditional marketing techniques..."  How do you feel about this conclusion?  Where do you think WOM fits into a traditional lead generation strategy?

BtoBOnline Link: Word-of-mouth marketing gets people buzzing.

How to leverage word of mouth for more leads

I liked this post by Joe Cullinane, author of 21st Century Selling, over at his WOMP blog.  Although his post is poorly formatted, as one huge paragraph, the content is good. 

Cullinane asserts that we can manage word-of-mouth just as we would any other lead generation tactic.  To be effective at word-of-mouth (WOM) he recommends, "a word-of-mouth process” (WOMP).

Cullinane suggests the following to generate leads by harnessing the Word-Of-Mouth Process:

1. Leverage The Influentials (aka Industry Experts)
2. Become a Recognized Expert - act like a thought leader.
3. Be visable. (write, speak, publish, and promote)
4. Benefit from the Halo Effect. Associate with the big names
5. Use Customer Reference Selling.
6. Leverage Your Social Network.

Link: WOMP: WOMP Your Way to Qualified Sales Leads.

Lead Generation via Industry Experts

Proactively building relationships with industry experts is a powerful way to generate sales leads and positive word of mouth (WOM). 

Four steps to garner expert referrals:

1. Map out the key players, experts, opinion molders in your industry.  Look at speakers at industry events, authors, bylines and contributed articles in trade journals, and blogs.  Now you should have a pretty good map of the people you need to know. 
2. Research them, their companies, their clients or customers.  Do they work with companies that fit your ideal customer profile?  Make your shortlist. 
3. Approach them with simple value proposition via phone with something like this.  “I’m contacting you as a recognized expert in our industry.  We’re interested in your assessment of our company’s value proposition for the [fill in the blank] industry.  Also, we’d like to understand your practice’s focus better because we are actively working this market and expect to find opportunities that need strategic expertise such as yours.  Would you be interested in exploring this further?"
4. Common ties - Another simple but powerful way of finding new sales leads is get to know your customer's trusted advisors that tie into your value proposition.  Do your research (step 2 above).  Give them a call.  You have something in common already - the same customer.  This is an effective way to expand your network and generate more leads.

Many experts will give you permission to post their articles and resources on your website or newsletter.  The "about the author" gives them more exposure, and positions you as an expert too because their credibility rubs off on you i.e. you benefit positively from the halo effect.   

Over time, as you build your lead generation program, your experts may be interested in co-developing white papers, special research reports, articles, and events with you. 

Experts pride themselves on their professional integrity, so they will likely refer business to you and a competitor (assuming you have them) at the same time.  You will still have an edge by investing in the relationship.  They are still more likely to favor someone who has shown an interest in them and given them value. 

Why does this work?  You begin by being genuinely interested in their business.  Secondly, experts - stay experts - by continually updating their knowledge of industry trends, information, key players, tools and ideas. 

They continually seek out other relevant resources that could possibly help their clients.  If you can be a good resource for their clients... they need you.

Finally, when experts are doing their consulting, writing, and speaking - they are not completely focused on new business development.  The result, many go through phases of feast and famine.  You and your company could also be sales lead referral source for them too.