Rnordman

Common sense suggests you shouldn’t work out when you’re not feeling well, but there are a few exceptions. If you’re worried your illness is taking you off track of your fitness goals, here’s what you need to know.

Read more...

Of course, you may not need all 60 of these, but knowing them will make you flexible, fast, and ready to work with whatever tool you’re presented with, whether it’s a Windows PC, a Mac, an Excel spreadsheet, or a Powerpoint slideshow. Plus, there are extras in here for Gmail and Chrome to boot.

Read more...

Hitching a ride from a complete stranger doesn't have to be scary or terrible.

In fact, if you know some of the unwritten rules of ride-hailing apps like Uber or Lyft, you can all but guarantee a pleasant journey.

To find out just what passengers can do to ensure they have the best ride-sharing experience, we asked Uber and Lyft drivers to weigh in with their advice.

Here are 11 things that could help make your next Uber or Lyft ride easier and more enjoyable:

SEE ALSO: Uber and Lyft drivers share the 17 things they wish passengers would stop doing

DON'T MISS: Flight attendants share 11 of their favorite travel hacks

Make pickups easier

"Don't trust your phone to drop your pin in the right place. Always double check before requesting the ride."

—Uber driver

Have a more festive ride

"Use the app to play your own music. We want you to enjoy your ride."

—Uber driver

Relax

"Just sit back and trust your driver. The map knows where we're going."

—Lyft and Uber driver

Welcome to the latest installation of our weekly blog series – Psychological Hacks for Marketers. Each week we will introduce a new shortcut that the consumer’s brand takes and how the crafty marketer can take advantage. Last week’s topic was Anchoring.

This week we are discussing:

Loss Aversion

Human beings are predominantly risk-averse. We intentionally seek out things that maintain the status quo. Sure we want to grow, personally and professionally, but we don’t want to risk losing anything in order to do that.

Loss aversion is psychological phenomenon that best explains this. Years of studies have proven that the feeling we get from losing something we already have is much stronger than the feeling from gaining something new.

Imagine losing $100. Now imagine finding $100. The sadness, anger and discomfort you would feel in the first situation is far stronger than the joy you would feel in the second.

So how can marketers use this to help them sell products and services to consumers?

• In promotional material, it is always a good idea to create a marketing message around loss, or potential loss from not buying your product. For example, if your solution saves them time, don’t stress the gain in hours of their day. Instead, show them how many hours they are giving up by not buying from you.
• Free trials are another great way to take advantage of loss aversion. When you give something away for free, you are letting consumers experience life with your product. When the free trial expires, they are forced to either give that up or pay to keep it. And we don’t want to give something up that makes us happy.
• Show people using your product or language that lets the prospective customer imagine themselves with the product already. If you can create in them a feeling that the product is already theirs, they will be more likely to complete the purchase.
• Using time or quantity limits, where prospects are notified that if they don’t act fast they will miss out on an offer forces them to view a decision in terms of gain/loss. Even losing the ability to choose is something we don’t like. So if you tell me that I have 10 seconds to make up my mind, I will do anything not to lose that chance.

There are several very powerful ways that companies and marketers can use the concept of loss aversion to their advantage. Doing so can create demand in the consumers mind that was not already there before.

Storytelling is an important tool in any B2B sales leader’s arsenal because it allows you to ignite the prospect’s imagination and encourages them to picture themselves in the scenario you are describing. Data is always going to have its place in the world of B2B sales because of its impartial ability to tell real truths and inspire confidence in the audience. Cultivating a position of thought leadership is an innovative way to disseminate your brand’s expertise on a particular subject and provide value for your leads before they even come into contact with a representative from your company.

So what do intrepid B2B leaders do with this information? They take a cue from journalistic outlets from around the world and combine all three tools in order to more effectively engage their prospects and build an innovative sales operation that will put them head and shoulders above their competitors. The reason that data journalism is all the rage is because it accomplishes with readers all the same things you hope to accomplish with your prospects: it engages with preliminary value quickly, backs up claims compellingly, and stimulates the audience’s imagination.

Locating the right data sets for your stories

The first step in getting started with data storytelling is finding the appropriate data sets to incorporate into your narrative. The best advice I can give is to start broad, and let the conclusions drawn from the data tell you where the story is going to go. This way, you’ll avoid a potentially damaging scenario where you’re manipulating data sets after the fact in order to try and make them support your conclusions. As your investigation begins, start with the largest data sets available and work smaller from there; think high-level economic data from the census bureau or industry-wide trends.

Integrating the qualitative and the quantitative

Once you’ve found the appropriate data and analyzed its results to come to a particular conclusion, it’s time to devise a strategy for weaving that data into a compelling story which will cause a reaction in the reader’s brain. Experts will tell you that while data is extremely powerful it can’t tell a story on its own, which means it’s up to the storyteller to integrate the two components in a way that will have maximum impact.

The qualitative aspect of the equation simply can’t be overlooked. According to research from neurochemist Dr. Paul Zak, his team showed test subjects a video featuring a compelling dramatic story arc compared with others who viewed a control video. The subjects who watched the video with the effective storytelling arc featured enhanced levels of oxytocin in the brain. The scientists also gave these subjects the opportunity to donate their lab fee to charity, and found that they could accurately predict the likelihood of doing so 80% of the time by analyzing these oxytocin levels. It’s clear that well-constructed stories have a tangible impact on the reader, and they can even inspire changes in behavior, such as persuading to investigate a solution or even motivating to purchase.

With data supporting your claims, there’s no need to fear the controversial

Many B2B leaders believe that their content should shy away from controversial topics in order to not offend potential prospects. Their rationale follows that all press may be good press for B2C companies who can elicit value from widespread attention, but B2B organizations don’t resonate with the public in the same way, so the benefits of publicity gleaned from controversy are less manifest.

The great thing about using data, however, is that it allows you to embrace controversial subjects with the power of facts to fall back on. It gives you the possibility to make waves in the thought leadership world by making a statement about something that people are talking about, while at the same time remaining committed to telling the story that the data reveals to you.

To take a very timely example of this let’s take a look at Foursquare. There’s not much that’s more controversial than politics, and Foursquare, like many brands, largely aims to stay out of the political arena for fear of alienating anywhere from 40% to 60% of their users. However, when Foursquare recently published a report detailing how Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was negatively affecting the foot traffic at several of his various properties, especially among women in more liberal states, it wasn’t a political story. It was simply a series of data sets gleaned from their users which revealed an interesting and controversial truth about a news cycle’s effects on a brand.

So while standing out through controversy can be beneficial, it’s important to remember that value to the prospect is always the primary goal. As long as the data you choose and the tale you craft around it provide unique value to the reader, then you will be able to use these compelling narratives to establish your credentials with your prospects and drive sales in your organization.

Business strategies have evolved immensely over the years. This has been made possible by the swift integration of various technological tools that have automated tasks and made the business processes simpler and more efficient, thus increasing productivity.

Mobile technology has been one of those trends that have taken the business world by storm. Mobile device penetration has been rapid and monumental. In fact, the number of mobile phone users is estimated to rise to 4.77 billion by 2017. The shift towards mobile has been transforming the economic landscape over the years. Mobile communication and connectivity have been changing the way business communicators create, plan and distribute messages.

Recent developments in the mobile communication technology have generated massive improvements in numerous business domains. Let’s take a look at how mobile technology has been driving business communication.

Improved Customer Experience

With the rising importance of mobile devices in customers’ lives, businesses are constantly seeking new and improved ways to leverage this trend. A large percentage of consumers perform their searches on mobile devices. Therefore, businesses have started investing in making their websites responsive.

Apart from that, mobile apps have turned out to be the norm nowadays. For example, mobile apps have spawned an entirely new market for retailers. In addition to that, the real estate industry has also implemented this trend by introducing 3D mobile apps. These apps help in conveying the concept and the layout of a property to prospective buyers way before the construction process has even started.

Additionally, customers can convey their concerns and feedback about the products and services easily with the help of mobile technology and expect quick responses to their doubts and queries. Such interactive methods help in maintaining a clear communication channel with the users, thus improving productivity.

Enhanced Collaboration With Colleagues

Today’s workforce has become mobile. The mobile technology has also enabled companies to expand their workforce to a global network. Mobile devices allow colleagues to collaborate from anywhere in the world, thus removing any hindrance to clear communication.

Smart mobile devices coupled with Internet facilities have made it possible to conduct teleconferences, online meetings, video calls and so on. Mobile users can join group meetings and conference calls and contribute to the discussion as if they were physically present. This can help in eliminating any lag in work and would also help in meeting deadlines, thus improving workplace productivity.

Such improved scope of flexibility can help in motivating the employees to put in more effort and collaborate well with their colleagues.

Optimised Operations

The mobile trend has turned business operations smoother and swifter than before. With the evolution of technology, business processes have been streamlined. Cloud computing has been one of those technologies that have helped in this.

Mobile technology has helped immensely in accessibility. For example, an important file stored in the cloud can be accessed from anywhere. Customer care executives can also access this data at any time and stay updated about the customer requirements. As a result, they can provide accurate and relevant services to clients. This helps in speeding up processes considerably and increases accuracy, thus making the communication process even more efficient.

Better Marketing Strategies

Mobile marketing has gained momentum recently with more and more customers turning to their mobile devices for their requirements. For example, beacons are increasingly being deployed in stores for this purpose. These devices use Bluetooth to deliver personalised discounts and offers to customers’ mobile phones.

According to Lauren Foye, research author at Juniper, “For retailers one of the major tools is knowing their customers. Tracking user movements in store via beacons allows for targeted marketing and offers. This can also aid in providing invaluable data and statistics to a company. This then drives sales.”

Additionally, offering free WiFi to customers can help in collecting valuable customer data which can then be utilised to provide personalised services to them. When customers are satisfied with the services, it is highly likely that they would recommend your business to others.

Implementing mobile technology has become a norm nowadays. It is important to plan ahead to make informed decisions about the strategies you plan on implementing. Tracking the results will help you get an idea of what works and what doesn’t and make the necessary tweaks for increased productivity.

“Famous pivot stories are often failures but you don’t need to fail before you pivot. All a pivot is is a change in strategy without a change in vision. Whenever entrepreneurs see a new way to achieve their vision – a way to be more successful – they have to remain nimble enough to take it.” says Silicon valley entrepreneur, Eric Ries

A great idea is valuable. It’s becomes more so when you’ve grown your idea into your own business. That’s why it can sometimes be hard to let go of your original idea and change into something new.

In a startup, pivoting can mean the difference between becoming a success or slowly fading away into nothingness. Although pivoting can be a challenging process, startups have an edge over established companies when it come to flexibility. Startups are hotbeds of change where new decisions and experiments are tried and dropped every day. Let’s take a look here at a few startups that have learnt along the way and applied this knowledge to their business, embracing change on their road to success.

Jet

Source: Investors.com

The product

When Marc Lore launched the e-commerce startup Jet.com in 2015, he envisioned a company that would compete directly with bigwigs like Amazon and Walmart and offer the consumer highly competitive prices. Selling items at breakeven prices meant that the $50 annual membership fee would be the sole source of profit for the company.

The failure

The membership fee wasn’t an ideal plan with customers preferring to pay more for products rather than commit to an annual fee. The membership was isolating a large user base that Jet couldn’t afford to lose.

The pivot

A little over two months after launching the company, Lore decided to drop the membership free, the core revenue driver of the company. Jet would have to raise prices to supplement costs but Lore believed that higher prices, sales commissions from site merchants and revenue driven from their proprietary smart checkout technology would more than make up for the losses. The site was still offering products, albeit a smaller selection at prices 4%-5% cheaper than Amazon.

Jet was bleeding money, but now it was slowly capturing the market with more than $1 billion dollars in annual gross merchandise sales in its first year. With the recent Walmart acquisition of Jet for $3.3 billion dollars, it’s safe to say that Jet hit it big.

The lesson

Startups spend so much attention on capturing the market that their revenue stream becomes second fiddle. A solid revenue model will see the company through rough times and should be established from the start.

Keaton Row

Source: Fortune

The product

Cheryl Han and Elenor Mak built Keaton Row founded Keaton Row in 2012 as a free personal styling website. The site offered one-on-one connections between a client and a stylist. It enabled women anywhere in the country the luxury of a personal stylist.

The failure

Keaton Row spent its resources bringing in new stylists from across the country to expand their business. The business took off and people loved the product. But Han soon realised that they had very few repeat customers. Their business model was not retaining customer loyalty. With stylists spread across the country Keaton Row could not create the meaningful relationship that would keep customers coming back.

The pivot

Han decided that the business model needed a makeover if it meant to survive the long haul. In a matter of a few months, Keaton Row shrank its network of stylists from hundreds spread across the country to a few full-time stylists based in their New York office.

Since the pivot, Keaton Row has doubled its customer base and according to Han, customers are spending more than they used to. The startup has raised more than $17 million in seed funding as on June 17, 2015.

The lesson

Just because your end goal remains the same doesn’t mean that you have to stick to the same path. If your current strategy isn’t working for you, brainstorm new ways to reach that goal. Keaton Row found its way by bringing its workforce in-house. Find out what works for you.

CloverPop

Screenshot

The product

Eric Larson started Cloverpop in 2013 to help people make better decisions. The tool was meant to help people plan out and act on big decisions ranging from “mortgages, business loans and real estate to employment, education, marriage and parenting” according to their announcement. Clover pop made money from their paid-for coaching service and by charging a referral fee if the user became a client.

The failure

The number of people using Cloverpop to make personal life decisions did not grow at the rate Larson had hoped. Users were hesitant to ask personal questions using the app.

The pivot

Larson made the decision to refocus the company’s efforts to the business sector. Changing their consumer audience to a niche sector helped Cloverpop access an untapped market. Business managers were increasingly using the product for major business decisions related to hiring, firing and reorganisation. Larson says Cloverpop has helped roughly 5,000 managers make nearly 20,000 decisions after their business pivot. Cloverpop went on to raise $1.8 million in seed funding on Oct, 2015.

The lesson

Your startup may have the right product on your hands. But identifying the right market is just as important. Changing their consumer audience to a niche sector (here:business) helped CloverPop stay on track.

TRNDLabs

Screenshot

The product

TRNDLabs started making their Pokedrone in 2014 to capitalise on the huge fan following for the augmented reality game Pokémon Go. The Pokedrone was a miniature flying drone that paired with your smartphone to make playing the game easier.

The failure

The company ran into some technical and legal difficulties from the creators of the game. The creators as well as a lot of players believed that the Pokedrone was ruining the spirit of the game.

The pivot

Since TRNDLabs could not associate the product with Pokemon Go, they developed a new marketing strategy for the Pokedrone. The company released the first ever affordable selfie drone, The SKEYE Nano 2 FPV. They capitalised on a consumer trend once again, this time the selfie rage, and breathed new life into a product that was all but doomed.

The lesson

TRNDLabs successfully identified marketing trends to sell their product. When their original strategy didn’t fit, the marketing team went out and found a market where their product did sell. If your product is not the right fit for the market, maybe you are in the wrong market.

Bounty to Periscope

Screenshot

The product

Kayvon Beykpour and Joseph Bernstein started Bounty in 2014 to answer a simple question, “Why isn’t there a way to see what’s happening right now, anywhere in the world?”. Bounty let users see what was happening around the world by putting in a location based request for real time images.

The failure

The spotlight was already on Instagram which was the go-to place for location-based images. Bounty was a neat tool, but it wouldn’t be making any waves.

The pivot

Beykpour and Bernstein realised that the only way to make their product big was through video. The newly rebranded video live-streaming app, “Periscope” turned out to be the product that made their dream of – seeing the world through someone else’s eyes – closest to reality. It speaks to their success that Twitter acquired the startup even before they launched for around $100 million.

The lesson

A product that stagnates is a product that fails. Businesses have to constantly evolve their products to form a better fit for the marketplace.

StyleZen to Ahalogy

Source: LATimes

The product

Michael Wohlschlaeger founded StyleZen in 2011 as a fashion shopping site that created a personalised and fun shopping experience for buyers.

The failure

Although StyleZen had a following of loyal customers they struggled to expand the user base.

The pivot

After trying out Facebook and Google ads, Wohlschlaeger started experimenting on Pinterest. He developed a methodology and tools that led to amazing traffic and growth from Pinterest. Realizing the potential of the technology, StyleZen was shut down and the company focused their attention on helping businesses leverage Pinterest as a marketing platform. The company rebranded as Ahalogy has raised more than $7 million in funding as on May 14, 2015.

The lesson

StyleZen did a full-scale revamp of their business model after identifying a new arena for growth. Do not be afraid to change directions when you stumble upon a new direction for success.

When you’re running a startup, adaptability is your biggest ally. It does not make sense to throw your money and marketing might at an unyielding market before figuring out if your product is the right fit. “Great ideas” are a dime a dozen in the startup world. Adapting to the tide of consumer preferences and a well thought through implementation strategy are what really matters.

Episode 41 of Landscape Digital Show reveals how creating content people trust depends on the authority of the source and its relevance.

What kind of content should I create?

This is a common question that has an easy answer. Create content that people trust. Google defines this as:

1. Content that is relevant to your target audience.
2. Content that enhances your authority

Relevance and authority are what Google uses to determine the content that will see the light of day. Obviously, there are hundreds of secondary factors involved, but what Google presents for search queries is what is most relevant, and that is greatly influenced by the perceived authority of its source.

To be more accurate, Google has consistently stated that its primary objective as a search engine is to deliver the most relevant information as quickly as possible for every search query. To do that, they rely heavily on authority because that earned credibility assures Google the information is likely the most trustworthy

Authority Takes a Stand

People trust or at least respect authority. Traditionally, this authority is derived from a particular position or testimonial of another person of authority.

You have to determine the type of authority that will best serve your business. And you have to be clear about it.

You have to choose your authority and make it a consistent theme of the content you create.

This is why many businesses struggle with content creation. They take on all kinds of work that fails to stand for something meaningful.

Your work should demonstrate expertise in a particular area. And your content should reflect that body of work.

This is a combination of the products and services the business offers and the unique experience that accompanies them.

Relevant Content Rings True

Claiming to be an authority in multiple domains is nearly impossible. It just doesn’t ring true with most buyers that are seeking a relationship with a company that seems to be speaking only to them.

To do this you have to become best in class for your targeted audience. This is accomplished by creating products and services that are supported by content that attracts, engages, and inspires that audience

The best way to determine the right content to create is to talk to your customers one-to-one. And do the same with people you think should be your customers but are not.

• What are their top challenges?
• Where do they go for solutions now?
• How to do they make new discoveries and stay informed?

Using their responses you want to create what may be the most important piece of content. And that’s a buyer persona that guides the creation of all future content.

What motivates buyers often surprises companies that are in love with their products and services. More important is to fall in love with the buyer personas that become customers by creating content that speaks directly to them.

Call to Action

The call to action for this episode is to get clear about your authority and then develop a strategy for creating relevant content that becomes a growing and trusted body of work that speaks to that authority.

A thought leader is very innovative, respected and well connected. Given the fact that thought leaders’ views are influential and authoritative, it makes sense that most freelancers and business owners can benefit from taking on this role. The best thing about thought leadership is that you don’t need to go to school to become a thought leader or earn any special credentials (although having certain credentials could work in your favor). Here are 5 quick ways to reach thought leadership status and enjoy benefits like increased brand awareness, profitability, value, and even a competitive advantage in your industry. 1. Determine

The post 5 Quick Ways to Become a Thought Leader appeared first on Blogging Tips.

The problem with choosing to compete by having the lowest price is that it eliminates the ability to compete on anything else.

You Can’t Be Best and Cheapest

You can’t innovate and create new products without capturing enough of the value you create to make the necessary investments. You can’t create experiences, or compete on exceptional service and legendary support, without being able to put money into achieving those outcomes. And you can’t create the kind of solutions that come from a relationship with a strategic partner, because that requires people and money.

You can’t be better and cheaper. You have to pick a lane. By choosing price, you have eliminated other choices.

Pick a Lane

With enough money, you can be better and faster. Without the investment, you can only be cheaper. If you choose to be better, you have to charge more so that you have the ability to create greater value.

Most sales organizations don’t spend enough time explaining to their sales force the competitive strategy they have chosen and why they have chosen it. This leaves many salespeople with the belief that they should have the best product, service, or solution while also having the lowest price. This mythical and unobtainable competitive strategy exists in only two places on earth: in the minds of some clients and some salespeople.

The truth is, you have to make a choice of strategies, and choosing one eliminates the other.

The Truth About Low Price

The truth about low price is that it doesn’t make selling easier. It makes selling more difficult. Once you have eliminated the ability to be better, you’ve lost the ability to compete by solving the problems and eliminating the risks that come with choosing the lowest price. When you can’t be better, then there is only one way to compete, and that is by being even cheaper still.

The lowest price is often called “value,” but the only real value being created is the low price of acquisition, for the sales organization and the client. You don’t value what is cheap. You value what is exceptional, what is precious, what is worthy of being valued. The lowest price produces none of these, and so you aren’t valued either.

The post Once You Choose to Compete on Price appeared first on The Sales Blog.

Technology surrounds us in every field of our existence and it seemingly has a cure for every tangled situation that we might come across in our day to day lives. Starting from the smartphones we use to the high- end, self-driving automobiles we drive around, everything surrounding us is designed as well as operated in such a way so as to boost our productivity many folds. Even though an entire series of smart devices and technological wonders have made their way into our professional scenarios, we have not yet been able to increase our productivity by any means, whatsoever!

Be it our short attention span, the usual distractions or any other factor, the truth is that we largely fall behind in the productivity department. Luckily, there are some very useful technology hacks which can once again rejuvenate us with the energy and will to become most productive we know. If you consider yourself to be one of the least active people who are always on the verge of procrastination, take a look at the 5 best technology hacks for increasing productivity.

5 less known technology hacks to increase productivity

· Sanebox for Email Processing

Email popups are probably one of the biggest distractions we have at workplace. For efficiently managing your emails, you can make use of Sanebox. This technological wonder makes it possible for you to regulate the amount of emails that you receive in your mailbox. Sanebox makes use of algorithms for determining the relevance as well as the usefulness of emails. Based on this research and calculation, it prioritizes and moves all the less relevant messages into a separate folder altogether. Not only this, it also summarizes these emails for your quick action afterward. Sanebox runs across all platforms including desktop computers and smartphones.

· Chrome Remote Desktop

Access your mailbox from any other computer and vice versa with the Chrome Remote Desktop. The next time you forget a file at work, access it using Remote Desk! It also enables you to share your screens with other remote users.

· Stay Focused with ‘StayFocusd’

If you find yourself wasting a lot of your valuable time across sites like Facebook and Instagram, then StayFocusd is one very useful technology hack that can help you save time. Using StayFocusd, you can set any particular amount of time for which you can browse these websites and in case you go overboard, it simply blocks them! It also allows you to block certain websites and content based on your preferences.

• Increase space in ‘Write protected’ drives

How many times have you stumbled upon a pen drive or SD card that has automatically been bricked due to being ‘write protected’? While the manufacturers include this feature as a boon for the users, it often gets in way of proper functioning of the pen drive/ SD card as they can now only read the contents of their pen drive. So what can you do in case you encounter a write- protected error? Luckily, there are several technology hacks which can help you to format write-protected drive errors. One of the tried and tested hacks is to use the Registry Editor. Here, you will have to check the registry values of your PC and also see if the pendrive/ SD card has overwritten its value in the registry. In this case, the default value gets changed and the storage device in question gets bricked beyond any usage.

· Todoist for managing tasks

If you have the habit of preparing to-do lists, then Todoist is undoubtedly the most remarkable tool for getting all your tasks done well in time! Todoist is basically a Google Chrome extension and runs efficiently across all desktop and handheld device platforms. You can manage all tasks straight from your toolbar, while also saving different web pages as separate tasks. It comes with Gmail integration and allows you to pick up emails to add to the to-do list.

A new bundled energy system was unveiled by Totem Power that aims to give smart cities a suite of location-based energy services through cyborg palm trees.

Greentech Media reported on the recent emergence of the Bedford, N.Y.-based startup from stealth mode.

Key to Totem’s vision is its 18-foot solar-powered poles festooned with technology to boost smart city energy access and communications.

Totem towers include smart lighting, electric vehicle charging, 4G and Wi-Fi communication capabilities powered by solar energy and battery storage.

While other firms currently provide all of these services separately, Totem’s platform aims to increase value to smart cities by offering them as a holistic system.

“The combination of communications infrastructure and energy infrastructure provides the foundation for smart city services, and provides a platform for long-term growth and evolution of a whole host of capabilities that will become really important for the cities of tomorrow,” said Totem CEO Brian Lakamp.

Raises public awareness of clean energy

Not only are the towers jam-packed with technology related to communications and energy but its intriguing design is meant to raise public awareness about clean energy issues. Each pole is capped with a solar canopy designed to emulate the shape of a palm tree.

“We’ve had the same utility poles for 50 years, and we think that there’s an opportunity to bring that type of infrastructure forward by applying our product design and making something beautiful that inspires people and engages them,” said Lakamp. “It drives energy literacy and, of course, provides a whole host of services.”

Totem Power’s electrified stanchions arrive just as the industry experts try to wrap their heads around what electrical systems will be needed to power the smart cities of the future.

Indeed some pundits are suggesting microgrids are an important energy innovation that could become vital to the growth of smart cities.

In particular it is microgrids’ ability to operate autonomously from larger grids that could prove to be a major driver of IoT adoption in smart cities of the future.

The post Totem’s poles to power electric car charging in smart cities appeared first on ReadWrite.

Just as your target audience are all individuals who need individual approaches, strategies, and motivation, so are the many ways you can create the irresistibility factor in your service.

Create a Price Point that is Irresistible – Both to You and Your target customer!

The price point of your service can make or break attracting the right customer – but plunging your prices isn’t always the big draw you might think. In fact, you might actually need to raise your prices in order to land the customers who will get the most out of your services.

Think about it: Would people who normally drive a Corvette Z06 drive a VW bug and expect the speed and handling of the Vette? Of course not. And if Volkswagen provided it, how could they afford to do so for an adequate (ROI) return-on-investment?

Your price point has to balance with the clientele you want to attract. It has to align with their goals, expectations, and budget. And it has to be worthwhile for you, otherwise, you’ll start to resent them.

Make sure you pay yourself well – so you’ll have less stress and more energy and joy to give your clients. And don’t reduce your rates: Offer installment-based payment plans instead, if you must.

Remember, give extra value – not half-price discounts.

Learn From your Mentors

Be observant. Think about your mentors. What did they do that you absolutely loved? What did they do that you weren’t so keen about?

Make an actual, two-column list with the two questions as your headings: Then decide which technique, action, marketing method in the “Absolutely Loved” column would work well with your service offering. (Make sure you’re absolutely clear on why these things would work for your customer.)

Analyze your current service model – and make sure it contains no habits from the “Weren’t So Keen About” column!

Be Prepared to Learn Something New Every Day

Take courses. Go to workshops. Train with your own mentors. And read, read, read.

Top business leaders are never complacent. While being well aware of their own assets and skills, they never assume they have nothing left to learn. They are able to put ego aside while looking for new methods, new opportunities, new tips and new ways of doing things.

They are innovative, open-minded – and they keep on top of their industry and niche.

Hire the Right People

Would a neurosurgeon wash his own scrubs? Would an astronaut source the best and most cost-effective rocket fuel?

No. He leaves these sort of tasks to experts in those fields, leaving himself one hundred percent free to focus on what he does best.

If you try to do everything, you’ll burn out – and when it comes to tasks you’re not expert in (like manning a customer service portal or perhaps creating your own sales page) it makes good economic sense to outsource to a professional who is an expert in those tasks – and who loves doing them as much as you love what you do.

Reward Your Contractors

If they provide vital support for your business, reward them. Let them know they are appreciated. Pay them well – so they can outsource unnecessary parts of their own business – and spend more time (stress-free) on yours.

There’s a horrible trend in the upper halls of internet marketing, and it spills out even to small business providers: And that’s under-paying people who deserve to make a living as much as anyone else.

Value is always good – but not at someone else’s expense. Underpaid contractors are stressed contractors. They work long hours to compensate, burn out fast, and lose heart for your business.

Recognize that Owning a Service Business is a Lifetime Commitment – and Journey

You are on a journey: To be the best entrepreneur you can be and achieve your goals – your definition of success.

Your customers are on a journey too, and you’re there to help them. Sometimes that means you’re the wise guide, but other times it involves picking up a pair of oars and helping them get through the rapids.

You need to be committed to your customer – and that commitment will show. Their success is your success. Their dreams might as well be yours, you understand them so completely.

To be a successful service provider, listen well, always be learning – and be sure to enjoy the ride.

Try New Things

Trying new things means taking risks: And taking risks will help keep you alert, focused and analytical.

Trying new things helps you hone your service. It keeps your business fresh and innovative. You won’t get stuck in ruts, or grow complacent – and you won’t stop listening (really listening) to your customers because you’re operating on autopilot.

The best entrepreneurs aren’t afraid of taking informed, calculated risks.

And sometimes, doing so results in huge, unexpected pay-offs in areas such as improved systems, better communication, a fresh audience – and amazing results.

Love What You Do

There’s nothing more infectious than enthusiasm. If you’re having the time of your life, helping your target audience improve or succeed, they are much more likely to love working with you.

If you don’t love what you do, figure out why not: Then fix it – in whatever way feels most honest and positive for you.

Follow the Masters

Stay on top of what the most successful businesses in your industry are doing. Follow their blogs and connect on social media, see what gets them success – and see, of course, if you can identify any gaps they are leaving that you could fill.

Nothing breeds success better than being immersed in success – and this will spill over to your customers.

Make Regular Time for Learning New Skills

It’s one thing to be committed to learning new facts, and methods – and it’s quite another to regularly and habitually make time for this. Many entrepreneurs are highly open to learning, even committed to it: But they do it “on the fly”, as time – and business demands – allow.

This can be exciting, but it brings an element of reactivity into your business at odds with most business professional’s missions.

Develop Good Habits

Entrepreneurs have to be highly disciplined people who are always one hundred percent reliable. Consciously developing good habits is one way to become the sort of entrepreneur who walks the walk.

When you adopt and develop good habits, your customers feel reassured. Trust is built, enthusiasm is kindled and results abound – for both of you.

Apply and create good habits in every area of your personal and professional life.

• Be a good listener

• Get into the habit of challenging yourself

• Keep good records and logs – and update them regularly

• Be proactive

• Put your customers first

Enable Your Customer to Succeed

You’re not the captain of the ship: You’re the first mate, making sure everything runs smoothly, facilitating the captain – your customer – to run his own ship.

Realizing this is the first step towards developing an irresistible service. Show your customer how to analyze, assess, strategize, focus – and steer straight to the shore.

Keep Yourself Balanced, Healthy and Fit

If your own health is less than optimal, your faculties won’t be as sharp and you won’t have as much physical and emotional energy. Take care of your own needs and create balance in your own life.

Do yoga, meditate, go for walks or take up running. Don’t indulge in excess, eat healthy, listen to music. Take breaks, and learn to play as joyously as you work. All these contribute to keeping you stress-free, balanced, centered – and focused.

This will give you all the energy and clarity you’ll ever need, freeing you to create a truly irresistible service.

It’s easy to think about the app landscape as largely consumer facing. And that’s because for the most part, apps started out this way. Applications are meant to help the end user complete a task, and so in its infantile stages, this easily translated into simple productivity apps or games.

Fast forward to 2016 and we are in a brave new world where mobile is now considered first-screen and mobile app usage has increased by 111% since 2013. And with the recent launch of the iPhone 7 and Google Pixel, that number will continue to grow.

Mobile In The Working World

One area that is sure to see an uptick in development is B2B apps. Why? Because mobile is now an essential part of modern day business. Gone are the Mad Men days where you left your work at the office. Thanks to technology, we can now complete tasks from virtually anywhere as long as we have a mobile device and a signal.

Forget to send that email while at work? No problem, that’s what the Gmail app is for. Need to get ahold of a co-worker about a deadline? Slack them. Trying to access the latest draft of your Mobile Marketing eBook from the train? Thank you, Google Drive. Mobile grants us the ability to be productive anywhere, at anytime. And thanks to the aforementioned apps, our expectation is that we can carry out virtually any work-related task via mobile.

Because our work habits have shifted, it should be no surprise that B2B companies have started to invest heavily in mobile. A Think With Google study found that 75% of users prefer a mobile friendly site. But despite this fact, it’s surprising to me how many businesses still refuse to create a mobile-friendly version of their site. Mobile friendly doesn’t just mean responsive for mobile, but rather a simplified, task-oriented version of your site that someone can easily consume on the go.

Your Users Want An App

More importantly? If two-thirds of your audience is accessing your information via a mobile device, it’s foolish not to consider investing in a mobile app. Not only is it a much better user experience, but it grants you the ability to tap into valuable insights about your users to build stronger relationships with them and strengthen your product offerings. Furthermore, because of the very nature of many B2B products, having an application is the only way for users to tap into key functionality.

Take DropBox, for example. While in theory, you can upload, sync, and share files via a mobile site, the lag time alone would be killer, never mind the sizeable amount of data you’d burn through in the process. Plus? None of the documents would be easily accessible via your phone.

B2B companies realize this, which is why a recent study by Smart Insights showed that 65% of B2B companies have mobile apps or believe it is a crucial part of their overall strategy.

Individualization Rules

Another crucial part of the modern day marketer’s strategy? Individualization. It’s no longer beneficial to know your users, it’s a requirement. We expect our experience with brands to be catered to us. We want to access information with just a few swipes of our finger and to seamlessly bounce between our laptop and mobile phone without missing a beat.

Final Thoughts

If you look at some of the hottest B2B companies in the world right now, they all have incredibly powerful apps (Slack, Expensify, DocuSign) and it’s because they’ve learned what the rest of the B2B world soon will: a website optimized for mobile can’t create the individualized experience B2B companies need to thrive.

While a majority of B2B companies understand the importance of having an app, checking the box isn’t nearly enough. Successful B2B apps must follow the same best practices as B2C; they must be highly personalized and provide value to the user. In other words? They must know their users.

A word of advice to B2B companies looking to invest in a mobile app: If you want to succeed in the app world, make sure your mobile budget accounts for investing in the right tools to allow you know your users, and create the individualized experience they’ve grown to expect.

I never speak to companies that have the lowest price in their category. Instead, I spend time with companies—and people—who have a higher price than their competitor’s because they create greater value. Some of the people who work for these companies are totally confident in their price and the value they create. They lead with their higher price, and they have no fear. Others are afraid of their price, and try to keep from discussing it until they are deep into the process, hoping against hope that it doesn’t come up.

Here are four truths about your higher price and some notes on how to think about them.

1. You transfer your doubt or your belief to your prospect: Your dream client is not going to pay more for what you sell if you aren’t confident that you deserve to charge more. If you don’t believe you are worth paying more to obtain, neither will your prospective client. However, if you believe you are worth more, so will your dream client.
2. A fear of talking about your price looks sketchy: If you are afraid to discuss your higher price, you look like you are hiding something. What might you be hiding? The fact that you are not really going to create more value than an alternative. Or maybe you project that even you don’t believe you are worth paying more to obtain.
3. If you are better, you have to charge more: You might feel as if your higher price makes selling more difficult. The truth of the matter is, it makes selling easier. What makes selling more difficult is not being better than the alternatives. A higher price is a shortcut for determining the value of something. If you are cheap, it’s because you aren’t good enough to charge more. If your price is higher, then you must be worth more.
4. It’s your responsibility to justify your higher price: You are always going to be asked about your price. Your prospective clients are doing their job by making sure that they get the most value for their investment. They don’t know how to justify the delta between your price and the alternatives. You have to be prepared to justify your higher price, and you have to be prepared to teach your prospective clients to defend it.

If your price is higher, you must be better. What do you do that makes you worth paying more to obtain?

Do you have the courage of your convictions when it comes to discussing your price? What belief or doubt are you transferring to your prospective clients?

The post How You Should Think About Your Higher Price appeared first on The Sales Blog.

If I had a nickel for every time a CEO told me that their business was different. That their products and services were sold based on relationships, well I’d have hundreds of nickels I guess. But I bet that if I could speak to thousands of owners and CEOs they would tell me the same thing and then I’d have thousands of nickels. Everybody thinks their products and services are special. That the clients buy based solely on the relationship. Heck this belief is propagated by the salespeople themselves. They stake their claim. Forge the relationship and then hunker down. They want everyone to think that the only reason the customer buys is because of them. I suppose it is possible, but the ability to build relationships is not unique.

Another illustration of this belief is that a relative of mine has been interviewing for a sales position. He has interviewed for 5 positions and has been offered all 5. In each and every company, he was told by an executive that their sale is a relationship sale. What does that even mean? And more importantly, why does it matter? Should CEOs even care about this? I believe many unsuccessful salespeople are hired based on the belief by upper management that the individual will be able to execute a “relationship” sale. Let me tell you why it doesn’t matter.

I evaluated data provided by Objective Management Group on over 300,000 salespeople from every industry imaginable and from all over the world. I sliced and diced the data based on one specific trait – whether or not the salesperson was a good relationship builder. The Objective Management Group data provides an overall rating called a Sales Quotient about each salesperson that gets evaluated. There are four buckets on the Sales Quotient scale in which a salesperson can fall:

• Elite – the best of the best, rarified air, truly consultative salespeople – only 7% fall in this category
• Strong – able to execute more complex or difficult sales, probably able to differentiate well
• Serviceable – okay for transactional sales or selling situations without much competition
• Weak – the vast majority of salespeople, frequently those without experience

So, I looked at these four categories specifically for the trait of Relationship Builder expecting to find a big difference between the Elite and Weak. And here is what I found. Drum roll please…there is basically no difference between any of the categories. On average the Elite salespeople have 54% of the traits of a Relationship Builder and the Weak salespeople have 53% of the traits of a Relationship Builder. This is an imperceptible difference. Hmm. So why do we place so much emphasis in our hiring on this trait? I suppose it is important as a baseline.

My advice:

Check the box on the individual being able to build relationships, but don’t stop there.

Look for actual traits and Sales DNA that will separate the Elite from the rest of the pack, such as Consultative Seller skills or the fact that the salesperson has No Need for Approval.

Don’t allow your salespeople to hold you hostage based on the fact that they own the relationship with the client.

Build repeatable sales processes to ensure that your salespeople can execute based on the client’s desires not just on a personal relationship.

If your team is just selling products and services and is not talking about business problems with their clients and prospects, then train them up. They might have a strong personal relationship with the buyers but without creating true value to the client, that relationship can be shaky.

In the middle of November 2016, the business world was awash with rumors of a major acquisition. Samsung Electronics, the consumer tech titan of smartphone, computer, TV, appliance and VR fame, let the world know that it had intentions to branch out even further. Its target was the automotive tech firm Harman International Industries, well-known for its in-car audio equipment, vehicular navigation and infotainment offerings.

The Heart of the Deal

In a news release, the president of Samsung Electronics declared that the Harman acquisition would help the company tap into a future where smart tech and connectivity become commonplace in vehicles. With the deal, Samsung joins numerous other tech players that have recently acquired firms that might help them make bids for smart-car market share.

Even Footing?

This acquisition may not be quite as large as some similar mergers, like Softbank’s $32-billion purchase of ARM Holdings, Qualcomm’s $39-billion NXP buyout or Arago Technologies’ $37-billion Broadcom deal. Nonetheless, it could still have the desired impact.

The Samsung deal stands out because the company seems to have gone straight for a firm that already has direct standing in the auto tech market. For instance, companies like NXP make a huge range of other semiconductor products in addition to devices for use in connected cars. Harman brands, like Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Becker and Revel, have long been known for their use in vehicles.

A Harman acquisition will also grant Samsung direct control of existing supplier deals with global automakers, like Toyota, BMW, Subaru, Lexus, Hyundai, Ford and many others. This could give the deal longer legs that heighten its chances of success.

A Push Against Apple and Google

Why would Samsung make its announcement now? Observers say that the firm is gearing up for a long struggle for supremacy against other consumer tech giants.

It’s been suggested that Samsung seeks to compete with possible plans by Google and Apple to develop their own intelligent vehicles. Whoever succeeds stands to corner a rapidly growing market that could soon dominate the entire automotive sector.

As these firms are already natural rivals in the realm of smartphones, it only makes sense that they’d continue their battles in this novel domain. Samsung’s approach of targeting component suppliers instead of automakers themselves, like Apple tried doing with BMW, could also give it a major edge.

What Will This Mean for Consumers?

These trends aren’t anything new, but it looks like the common folk may benefit. Support from new parent companies like Samsung might let auto-tech firms like Harman deliver cheaper perks, such as infotainment, augmented navigation and user interfaces.

The biggest change to look forward to, however, may occur as more vehicles implement telematics hardware that connects them to the cloud and other Samsung devices. Features like intelligent driver aids and safety assistance, which have long been promised to consumers, are also likely to be spurred on by Samsung’s push for increased market value.

The reality of today’s job market is whether you’re a CFO or a mid-level professional, you’re lucky to get a 10-second skim read the first time a recruiter finds you on LinkedIn or scans your resume. This means whether you hire a resume specialist or approach the writing DIY, you have to showcase your value at lightning speed.

As a result, their resume and LinkedIn are dense with too much information that outlines all aspects of their job description peppered with a handful of achievements.

Unfortunately, this approach yields documents tough to digest quickly and that don’t easily convey how you are ideally suited for the role.

The Vacation Research Analogy

I liken today’s resume reading to selecting a vacation property. When choosing how to spend a week of precious R&R – – do you look for the number of hotel rooms available, the location of the fire exit and the list of all the menu items included in room service? Hardly.

You look at the big picture. Does the destination have the amenities you enjoy? Do lodgings meet your standards? Is the resort in appealing surroundings? If the print or online brochure ticks the right boxes, you’re likely to make the resort a serious contender.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Vacation research is akin to resume and LinkedIn reading. In both, the big picture, and not the fine print, is what makes you give it serious thought after an initial review.

Transforming Your Career Blueprint into a Big Picture Brochure

Translating the big picture to a resume and your LinkedIn means focusing on your achievements. If you’re in sales, work for a company that tracks your stats and had a banner year, outlining the big picture is fairly easy. Show your stats and rankings and voila! An achievement-focused resume that shows the reader how you can help them.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: If you work directing teams that span operations, marketing, administration, HR or perhaps finance – you must dig deeper as results are often hidden in plain sight.

Quantifying for The Big Picture

#1 What Makes Me Proud?

When and if you walk out the door, what you are proudest of? 9 times out of 10 I recommend you lead with your response.

Did you stop your organization from losing money, get the same amount done with fewer people or build a strong network across an organization? Maybe you developed your team to the point where they operate exceptionally well without you?

These are all noteworthy achievements that give the reader a sense of how you can make a difference in your next role.

#2 Did I Save Money?

Saving money is often just as important as bringing money to the table.

If you negotiated discounts, identified financial discrepancies or reworked a process so that less money is spent – you can articulate the achievement by calculating the savings in either dollar figures or percentages.

#3 Did I Save Time?

Time savings is a huge value-add to companies looking to increase their operational efficiency.

Did you rework a process that used to take days and now takes hours? Did you introduce a new methodology or bring automation to a team or process that shaves hours off a task? Spell these out to quantify the savings.

#4 Are People Happier Because of Me?

When morale is suffering and retention levels are on the decline, readers will take note if your talent lies in transforming a culture or retaining clients, customers or employees.

Take a stab at quantifying happiness by seeing how many people or customers stayed, or look at satisfaction scores if available and see if there is a measurable uptick.

If you can somehow measure morale or customer satisfaction, you’ve got a quantifiable achievement worth putting down on your resume.

#5 Did I Contribute to Improving my Company’s Circumstances

It may be hard to determine the impact of your individual contribution to the company on a large scale. Take a look at your company’s growth (revenue, market share, associate) during your tenure. Did your company survive where competition failed or did it stem the bleeding?

Noting your part of the team effort that contributed to the achievement will show your role in the big picture.

A Brochure Frame of Mind

These questions are the types I ask my clients during our 90-minute resume branding strategy consult. Ask them yourself! It’s a great way to help you craft career documents that read like a marketing brochure.

My clients are often surprised and pleased at what their answers uncover – no doubt you will be too!

  Companies trying to execute a B2B solution or value sale must overcome selling problems that start at the prospecting stage and persist to the end. Symptoms include too few quality additions to the sales pipeline, protracted and lengthening sales cycles, and low win rates. A significant cause is sellers haven’t realigned messages, sales conversations, and sales process to the way buyers buy. This situation becomes more pronounced when selling to prospects who aren’t in an active buying process. We call this a “Find vs. Create Opportunity” situation. (See Find vs. Create Sales Opportunities) When I speak with B2B sales professionals they readily acknowledge there are not enough active buyers to meet quotas. In most organizations sales people tell me 80% of sales prospects have to be “created” as opportunities. But even with active buyers there are opportunities for B2B sales professionals to up their game. After all, they are often not the first sales person vendors have called.   Sales Success Crisis Point This scenario afflicts even the most successful companies. In fact, often they are most challenged. What worked successfully for the past 5-10 years, now doesn’t. These companies might have been first movers with the best product in their industry. They had no or weak direct competitors. There was significant, eager demand for their products. Selling was a product-focused approach. It required moving quickly and efficiently to capture market share before new competitors arrived. I was working with clients in Texas for a couple of years and observed […]

The post The B2B Value Sale is Actually Three Distinct Sales appeared first on Avitage.

Sales is a tough job.

But when it's done right, it can make you rich.

We took a look at Salesforce’s latest annual State of Sales report and a separate survey of 280 salespeople to find out what the best performing salespeople and teams do in common to sell more and make tons of money.

Here’s what we found:

SEE ALSO: This 23-person startup raised $10 million using these 21 slides

Sales has become more important across all companies over the past five years.

It’s partly because more buyers are finding it “absolutely critical” to have sales reps who are personally engaging before signing a deal.

Unfortunately, most sales reps aren’t spending most of their time selling.

Harry Smith has built a $35 million (sales) business over the last 30 years. He is now thinking about retirement and wants to sell the company.

He’s talked to several investment bankers. All of them have told him The Harry Smith Company (HSC) is not worth his asking price.

Harry has a couple of problems. One, HSC’s sales are stagnant. Two, Harry dominates the company. This is especially true in the sales area.

How can a new owner be confident that customers will remain loyal after Harry leaves?

To get his asking price, Harry must build a sales organization that can (a) grow the company and (b) run without him.

Current Situation

Harry has a sales manager and five salespeople. But he is a key rainmaker.

He has strong relationships with HSC’s four largest customers who generate 40% of the company’s revenue. Many of his relationships go back more than twenty ears.

Harry’s sales manager, Mary, nominally oversees the five-person sales team and a marketing manager. However, Mary has extensive sales responsibilities and does relatively little managing. Harry runs the show.

HSC has about 15 customers. The customers are based in the Northeast and most have sales of $500 million or more.

HSC’s sales team develops deep relationships with customers via face-to-face selling. The sales team focuses on HSC’s higher-end products―$100,000 plus. The company’s sales cycle is usually six to twelve months.

The company faces several sales challenges:

• Competition―More competitors are entering HSC’s market. Traditional barriers to market entry have eroded over time
• Concentration―HSC generates most of its business from a very small number of customers.
• Consolidation―HSC’s customers are being acquired by larger companies not likely to buy from HSC
• Relationships―Harry and his sales team have their primary customer relationships with executives nearing retirement age.

Next Steps

Harry is aware of his problems. He is willing to invest a lot of money to make HSC more salable.

He plans to take the following steps:

1. Set aggressive but realistic revenue goals.
2. Create a sales strategy to achieve those goals.
3. Determine what kind of sales organization he needs to implement the strategy.
4. Create the sales organization.

Here is what that process looks like:

He realizes that it will take three years to years to build a sales organization that can penetrate new markets and another two years to make it truly effective.

Step #1―Set Sales Goals

HSC’s sales have been flat for the past three years. The investment bankers told Harry that to attract buyers, HSC needs to generate at least $50 million and grow by at least 5% a year after that.

Harry’s goal is to get from $35 million to $50 million in five years. That’s a compound growth rate of 7.4% a year.

Harry commissioned a market research study which suggests that there is a very large―and growing―market for HSC’s lower end products. Those products now represent only about 15% of HSC’s current sales.

The market consists primarily of smaller companies with sales of $5 to $25 million. Whereas HSC’s current target market includes some fifty large companies in the Northeast, the new market has hundreds of companies across the US.

Step #2―Develop a Sales Strategy

Now comes the hard part. How will Harry reach his new market?

His key tasks are:

• Identifying the best market segments.
• Developing a message and compelling offerings.
• Designing a sales organization to reach the market.
• Developing a plan and time line to attack the market.

Step #3–Designing the Right Sales Organization

To implement its sales strategy, HSC needs a completely different sales organization.

HSC’s sales team now focuses on face-to-face selling to a relatively small group of customers in a relatively small geographic area, the Northeast. That won’t work with the new sales strategy.

Trying to reach hundreds of companies around the US with a field sales force would be prohibitively expensive. It would also be inefficient.

HSC needs to build an inside sales team which can reach the target market effectively. This means selling primarily by phone and email.

Harry can’t create a new sales organization overnight. He must find a way to maintain his existing customers while he builds a sales organization to service future customers.

He needs two parallel sales efforts: a field sales team focusing on the larger accounts and an inside sales team focusing on the smaller accounts. Harry also needs to drastically reduce his involvement in sales.

Step #4―Building the New Sales Organization

Harry will need three years to build his new sales organization and get it up to speed. And he’ll need another two years to build sustainable growth.

Here is the timeline:

• Year #1―Develop strategy, design the sales organization and processes and begin implementation.
• Year #2–#3―Continue to build the sales team.
• Years #4–#5―Strengthen team and expand markets.

Creating Value Isn’t Easy

Harry realizes that making his company more valuable will take a lot of time, effort, and money. But he is willing to make the investment.

There could be a huge payoff for building a growing company with an effective sales organization. The alternative for Harry is continued stagnation and a declining valuation.

What is Product Marketing? Why is such an important function so misunderstood?

One of the biggest challenges for marketers today is that we are too often focused on the most tactical aspects of the job: promotion, contacts, reach, social marketing, etc.

We forget that the most important part of marketing, the source of value, is our understanding of customers, what customers want, and how to align your products to their needs and how they buy. Most marketing teams don’t have anyone dedicated to this function.

This is especially important in B2B because buying processes are more complex, there are usually more buyers involved, and products tend to be more technically complex. To solve this problem, a relatively new function has been created, which is often referred to as product, audience or solutions marketing.

Does your company have a Product Marketing discipline?

I have observed technology companies start by creating a product management role, which is also responsible for the product marketing function. They don’t want to be called marketers, so they call themselves Growth Hackers. Only when these companies achieve critical mass, they realize there is a gap in their understanding of the market and their ability to connect the product with customer needs.

There are clear signs that indicate the way your organization could use help in the product marketing function. Here are a few:

1. Product strategy and roadmap discussions are made without someone whose main job is to understand the market, customers, competitors, and how to influence them.
2. Decisions to invest in a product do not include a product launch plan and budget.
3. Product Marketing is seen almost exclusively as a content shop that owns collateral, website updates and sales training.
4. Demand generation, marketing and customer growth plans are not being guided by product marketing, as the team who most deeply understands customers.
5. The product marketing team does not have the right skills, time, and resources to develop understanding of products, competitors, markets and customers.

Let’s start with a definition.

What is Product Marketing?

Product Marketing is the function accountable for the success and growth of a product by connecting customer needs to product capabilities. The value of Product Marketing comes from its deep understanding of markets, customers and their needs.

For a more information of the Product Marketing function and the specifics in terms of day-to-day activities, I suggest reading this slideshare presentation.

When Inc. Magazine asked Mozilla’s CMO what is the most critical hire in marketing? Jascha Kaykas-Wolff answered “Without question, product marketing…. If I were a marketer re-starting my career, I would start in product marketing.”

“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.” – Peter Drucker

How successful Product Marketers think about their role

Becoming a successful product marketer and establishing the function as the value and growth engine for the company starts with you. Here is how the successful ones think about their role:

• There are no boundaries. This job is what you make of it.
• Take ownership of the long term success of your products. You are accountable for everything that impacts growth. Think like a business person.
• Balance long-term goals with short-term objectives.
• Lead by influence. Product Marketing teams are small. Their influence should not be small.
• Product Marketing is the most cross-functional function in most companies. You are the interface between customers, your marketing team and the product team.
• Customer knowledge and insights is job #1. Knowledge is your power. Understand who is your customer, and who is not. What problems customers need to solve and what drives value for them. How they make decisions and who influences them. How they perceive your company and alternatives. And how to influence their choices and preferences.

The value of Product Marketing in the early stages of a company

Earlier this year, a startup founder asked me if an early stage company should prioritize hiring a demand generation leader or a Product Marketing leader. My response was that hiring a good product marketer would help the company in many ways, for example:

• Ensure product-market fit, with better understanding of customer problems
• Hone in your perfect customer via segmentation, targeting and personas
• Help the company understand competitors, alternatives, and validate competitive advantages
• Ensure all communications, from PR to the website to sales conversations, are consistent in message and aligned with the value you bring to the market
• Determine the best way to capture the value the company creates, in turn adjusting the pricing model
• Build the programs to generate demand, based on how the customer buys, the CPCA, AOV and other key business factors
• Determine the role content marketing, PR, analysts, influencers, partner marketing, community marketing or demand generation should play for the company, its priority and overall strategy

“Marketing starts before there is a product. Marketing is the homework the company does to figure out what people need and what the company should make” Philip Kotler

“You’re only as good as your last workout” is a common saying among athletes, but the underlying premise is just as applicable to many business development practitioners: you’re only as good as your last contract.

Among professional services firms and especially within the management consulting niche, there are many factors involved with getting the next contract. The strength of relationships among buyers and influencers, the brand, where prospects are in their buying cycle – just to name a few – all can affect getting that signature and lead some firms to question what marketing activities to focus on.

Fortunately, there is data to guide firms. The Hinge Research Institute has a growing body of research that shows the benefits of engaging in digital marketing. For example, in a recent report by Hinge, we found that most prospective buyers do the following:

• Look at your website (80.8%)
• Search online (63.2%)
• Ask colleagues (62.4%)
• Review social media (59.9%)
• Talk to a reference (55.5%)

Understanding that you ignore your online presence at your own business development peril, how should a management consulting firm address its strategy? For lead generating ideas, let’s look at these five points above through another lens:

1. Website. This is your home base where you control the positioning, messaging, visual elements and level of interaction with audiences. Be aware of your company’s brand development strategy so that the website reflects the company you want to become. Consider offering various levels of educational content about issues faced by target audiences. They will come back for more.
2. Online presence. With so many prospects potentially Googling you and your firm, you need to exist beyond the website with a strong, business-oriented authority. Get published with thought leadership pieces in other blogs, get quoted in the press, or speak at an industry event.
3. Ask colleagues. Since audiences will ask their friends and colleagues about you, you must try and avoid the “I’ve never heard of them” response. Building your network within your niche with credible content can allow those influencers to respond positively. You may never even know they did, but cultivating a network creates the foundation for opportunity.
4. Social media. Here’s where you can really amplify your expertise. Review your LinkedIn profile and give it a makeover as needed. Add the right photo and summary statement, join and participate in the right groups, and add links to places where you’ve been published. Do the same review of your company page. If there’s only time for one social network in your life, LinkedIn is the one.
5. References. Professionals you put forth as references will of course say good things about you (or else you wouldn’t use them). But help them out a little. Stay in touch with them using that content they’ll find useful. They will appreciate knowing that you have a position on an issue, are the thought leader on a topic, or otherwise have staked out some area of strength. It gives them something to talk about other than “he’s a great guy” or “she delivered everything she said she would.”

At times, marketing your firm can feel like an overwhelming task. Where do you invest your limited time and money? What will work and what will not? One of the best ways to find answers is to examine how buyers select firms like yours. Our research has illuminated a path forward: invest in your website, build an online presence and build a strong network online and offline. The most successful firms use these strategies with great success. Now it’s your turn.

Additional Resources:

• Get a step-by- step guide to building a powerful referral strategy with our free Rethinking Referral Marketing executive guide.
• Dig into the research behind generating referrals today with our free Referral Marketing for Professional Services Firms research report.
• Better understand today’s buyers with our How Buyers Buy Professional Services research report.

It’s important to have a dedicated sales force, however all of your sales reps do not have to be internal hires. Three major benefits to outsourcing sales include:

• Outsourcing sales allows you to start off with a qualified and experienced sales staff without having to hire or train them.
• It gives you access to talent you might not be able to attract otherwise. This is especially true if you are a small business; a star salesperson would attract more competitive job offers.
• The outsourced sales team will also have the ability to support and train your management team, helping you develop internal sales competencies.

Of course, there are some disadvantages to outsourcing your sales force, too. While a third-party sales force will be full of expert salespeople, they won’t have expertise in your particular products. They might also have difficulty positioning it or explaining the ins and outs of your benefits or features. Additionally, these third-parties rarely work with just a single client. Most likely, you’ll be one of many products or services that they’re pitching. Because of this, you might not see the same results that you would with a dedicated team.

Weighing these advantages and disadvantages, it’s clear that there is indeed benefit to outsourcing sales efforts, as long as you’re selective. To do this successfully, here are four helpful tips:

1. Start with cold calling and lead scoring

One great way to optimize the talent and time you have on-hand is by recruiting a sales agency to take over one of the many responsibilities that make up the sales process such as finding qualified leads. That way, you can kickoff an outsourced sales relationship with a small engagement, allowing you to conservatively manage your budget and test the waters with your outsourced team. In this scenario, your outsourced sales reps can cold call targeted customers on your behalf, and then pass on qualified leads to an internal representative at your firm who has deep knowledge of the product and can successfully close the deal. You can lean on your outsourced sales firm’s expertise to start the sale, and your employee’s product knowledge to close it.

2. Focus your training

One of the biggest benefits of outsourcing sales is being able to hit the ground running. That means your training process for your outsourced reps needs to be quick and efficient. The best way to do that is by following the Pareto Principle, and revolving the small bit (20%) of knowledge that’s required to do the majority (80%) of the work. In other words, you will want to avoid obsessing over sales cadences for unique client situations that reps would only encounter once a quarter. Instead, give your outsourced sales team enough information to be effective the majority of the time, and let them pass customers onto your internal sales team if those prospects have more specific concerns.

3. Look for industry experience

Although an outsourced sales firm may have been successful in doubling sales for another company, a critical shortcoming that could compromise their effectiveness may be their lack of expertise in your industry. There’s a huge difference between selling to companies in the manufacturing sector versus selling products to software firms. Lacking certain industry-specific language and vocabulary may also mean your third-party sales reps will struggle when engaging potential customers.

Keep in mind that you also do not necessarily have to find a local outsourced sales team to help you out. Technology has grown to the point where freelance and third-party services can easily be offered globally. Instead of limiting yourself to a small geographic region, take a broader look and find the best fit firm to partner with.

4. Establish your own sales processes first

One big mistake many companies make is hiring a third-party to not only outsource their sales, but to create and document new sales processes. This is problematic because, internally, you have the best idea about who your customers are and what triggers them to make a purchase. Although an outsourced team might be able to provide valuable input on the technical parts of the process, you need to document enough customer-specific information to properly guide them.

Outsourcing any part of the sales process can be a frightening prospect. After all, you’re relinquishing control of critical operations to an external vendor. They’ll be interacting with your customers and prospects on a daily basis. By following the information above, however, you’ll be able to hand off certain processes with peace of mind. You’ll save time and money, and together you’ll grow your revenue and your bottom line.

If you aren’t using a powerful enough course creator platform, you will soon realize that creating and selling your online courses can be such a nightmare.

Not only would you need to host all your content, but you would need to setup sales funnels, capture leads, market your courses, and setup other crucial integrations as well (among other things).

If you are quite uncertain about which course creator platform you should use to house your online courses, then allow me to share — and unpack — these three remarkable course creator tools.

While there are several of these tools in the market, I decided to write specifically about these three because I’ve gotten several inquiries about them from my community.

1. Kajabi.com

One thing’s for sure, the guys over at Kajabi really walk the talk. They weren’t exaggerating at all when they said, “All The Tools You Need… Under One Roof.”

As I unpack Kajabi right now, you’ll realize how powerful the platform is and why everything you need to sell, market, and deliver your content is in fact in one place.

The dashboard

As you can see, Kajabi’s dashboard looks clean and organized. All the features are added and arranged in a neat and familiar fashion, making it easy for their users to navigate the platform without feeling the slightest bit overwhelmed.

The marketing features

Kajabi’s marketing features allow its users to setup websites, run email marketing campaigns, create landing pages, nurture a community, and add third-party integrations. It even allows its users to set up affiliate marketing programs (among other things).

If you’ve checked out several of Kajabi’s competitors and the solutions they offer, then you’d have realized by now that Kajabi’s marketing features are a cut above the rest.

Product creation

To create a product, you simply need to click “Product” on the menu, click the “+ New Product” button, enter your product title and description, and add your product thumbnail. You can then start adding your content.

Landing pages

The platform has 23 free landing page themes to choose from. Check out how clean and professional-looking their themes are.

* Note – You can also upload your own landing page theme.

What’s even more amazing is how the themes have a preset layout for all sorts of purposes (e.g. long form sales, course sales, optin forms, minimal sales, etc.). The preset layouts make it easier for you to start creating your landing page without having to do much editing.

Pricing

Kajabi has three pricing points:
Basic
Billed Annually: $103 / month
Billed Monthly: $129 / month
Pro
Billed Annually: $311 / month
Billed Monthly: $389 / month
Premium
Billed Annually: $719 / month
Billed Monthly: $899 / month

Pros
Kajabi has all the bells and whistles that business owners need to start selling online courses. The best part is, that’s not the only thing the platform is capable of. It also possesses several marketing tools that you can use to drive more viewers and subscribers to your content, helping you generate more sales.

Cons
If there’s one thing about Kajabi that I’m not a fan of, it’d be how they require their users to enter their billing information even when creating the trial account. Some of their competitors do not ask for this information.

2. Thinkific.com

Despite Thinkific’s severe lack of marketing features, there are a lot of good things to be said about it.

For one thing, the website looks clean, crisp, and easy to navigate. Even if you are new to course creator platforms, you’ll find that Thinkific is pretty intuitive — you’ll never get lost when you’re on the website.

Signing up with Thinkific is dead easy, as well. You just need to click the “Get Started Free” button, type in your Email, Password, and the name you want to use for your Thinkific website.

After which, you’ll be taken to a page where you will be asked to choose a color scheme for your website — you have three options to choose from.

After selecting the color scheme, you will then be asked a couple more questions (about 3 – 4) then you’ll be taken to the dashboard.

Here’s how their dashboard looks.

Creating your course

You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to setup and format your course once inside the platform.

Simply click the “My Course” option on the top left hand of the dashboard, click the “Create New Course” option, enter the name of your course (you can edit this later so don’t sweat it), click “Create Course,” then you can start adding chapters.

Here’s how the page looks after you click the “Create Course” button.

After you click the “Add Chapter” button and enter your chapter title, you can now start adding your content.

The platform gives you the option to select the type of content that you’re going to add (e.g. Text, Video, Quiz, Survey, etc.).

The process is pretty simple, isn’t it?

With how easy to use the tool is, you shouldn’t have a hard time figuring out how it works.

Pricing

Thinkific has four pricing points:

Starter: Free
Essentials
Billed Annually: $39 / month
Billed Monthly: $49 / month
Business
Billed Annually: $79 / month
Billed Monthly: $99 / month
Advanced
Billed Annually: $219 / month
Billed Monthly: $279 / month

Thinkific’s pricing is considered reasonable (competitive, even) when pegged against its competitors.

Pros

Thinkific’s UX and UI is pretty decent. I can’t stress enough how easy it is to use the platform to the point where even a total newbie can figure out how to setup his/her own course.

Cons

As mentioned previously, Thinkific lacks the marketing tools to help its users grow their businesses. You can’t create optin forms; it doesn’t allow you to do email broadcasts, and they don’t have autoresponders (among other things).

Not having a powerful enough marketing tool is a major letdown for Thinkific. Considering how noisy and competitive the internet has become, your chances of succeeding in business are close to none if you aren’t giving enough emphasis to marketing.

3. Ruzuku

If there’s one thing that sets Ruzuku apart from its competitors, it’d be how minimalistic the platform feels. However, while that may be a good thing for some users, others consider it a huge disadvantage.

Creating a course

The moment your account is created, you won’t be greeted by a plethora of features or functionalities unlike the first two platforms we discussed. The only thing noticeable you’ll see is their “Create a Course” button.

See what I mean?

What’s more, when you click the “Create a Course” button and add a title for your course, this is how their interface is going to look.

With how uncomplicated their interface is, the users are never going to feel a sense of overwhelm when using the platform.

Pricing

Ruzuku has three pricing points:

Starter
Billed Annually: $58.08 / per month
Billed Monthly: $79 / per month

Bootstrapper
Billed Annually: $74.75 / per month
Billed Monthly: $99 / per month

Up-and-Comer
Billed Annually: $83.08 / per month
Billed Monthly: $149 / per month

Pros

In addition to how simple and easy to use Ruzuku is, it is one of the most affordable course creator platforms in the market.

If you don’t have the technical know-how to start your own online training portal and your pocket isn’t as deep, then Ruzuku might be the platform for you.

Cons

The platform is a bit too simplistic to the point where it lacks several crucial features. For one thing, it barely has any marketing features. It’s sales features are also quite lacking since it doesn’t allow upsells, monthly subscriptions, and bundles (among other features).

The platform’s design customization is also quite inflexible.

What’s next?

Overall, it looks like Kajabi wins by a landslide since it is the most comprehensive platform that you can use to start selling digital content. You can even use it to collect leads, do upsells, run affiliate marketing campaigns, or turn your leads into paying clients.

Are there other course creator platforms that you think should be added to the list? Please add them in the comments section below. Cheers!

4 Tools to Connect with Influencers and Explode Blog Traffic

Whether you're a consultant working with a sales leader, a sales manager coaching a team, or an individual rep trying to assess your pipeline health, you should be using data to drive your sales forecasting.

But many of you aren't -- so sales forecasts are often inaccurate.

Many forecasts are based off gut instinct or emotional attachment to a deal.

Rather than relying on their feeling that there’s a 90% chance a deal will close, sales professionals should strive to be data-driven in their jobs. They should look at historical data and be able to say, “Of all leads that become opportunities, 50% will agree to a demo and 50% of those will close,” and refer to an objective set of factors that indicate the likelihood of each individual sale to be made.

This data often lives in a CRM. If you don’t have that data (likely because you don’t use a CRM), Doug Landis, Chief Storyteller and VP of Sales Productivity at Box, recommends that all sales leaders and reps track their sales activities.

If you've already been doing so, use the data in your CRM based on each stage to determine average likelihood that a person will proceed to the next stage. This way you eliminate as much guesswork as possible and get one step closer to a data-driven sales forecasting process.

For example:

In the table and image above, you can see the percentage of people who move to the next stage. This translates to the probability that a deal will move to the next stage.

By using those probabilities, you can more accurately forecast the likelihood that a deal will move through the entire process and close.

Using a simple sales forecasting tool, you can list your opportunities, the potential deal size, and the likelihood of each deal closing.

Download a free sales forecasting template here to start forecasting sales more accurately and make smarter business decisions.

The difficulty of creating an accurate sales forecast doesn't lie in these calculations: It's in creating a defined sales process, properly qualifying leads, and actually collecting data. These three activities are the foundation upon which forecasting is built, and if you're making any of the three mistakes below, your ability to accurately forecast will be seriously impacted. Here's how to address each problem.

1) Your sales process isn’t clearly defined.

A defined process ensures that reps have a shared set of measurable criteria they can refer to when advancing deals through each stage of the sale. Without defined criteria, reps may prematurely move a deal to the next step in the sales process. At the very least, they'll each rely on their own set of criteria to determine when a deal is ready to be moved forward or not, resulting in an inconsistent and inaccurate forecast.

2) You don’t have proper qualification criteria for each stage of the process.

As mentioned above, each step of the sales process should have clear qualification criteria to move a lead to the next stage. Without a proper qualification framework, reps may move deals through the sales process and realize in the final stages that the lead isn’t qualified to buy. By accurately qualifying leads, reps know where they are in the buyer’s process and know the type of conversation to have with them.

By having that defined sales process and clear qualification methodology, the data you collect will be more reliable to use for forecasting.

3) Your data isn’t reliable.

Here’s an example scenario where improper qualifying could skew your data:

Your reps are eager to demo your product. Each appointment they complete is assumed to automatically be an opportunity because they spoke to the lead. Because of that, they move to the next stage of demoing the product. After the demo, the rep realizes that the person isn’t ready to buy and is still considering other options.

Imagine if all your reps were doing that. Your sales pipeline will look like this.

It would look like a lot of people were becoming opportunities and getting demos, but few were closing. It would make you think the problem lies in the demo stage. In reality, the problem is that far too many appointments are being marked as opportunities.

Define your sales process and implement a proper qualification methodology, and your data will be much more useful for forecasting. Then plug that data into a sales forecasting tool to determine how much revenue you can expect to make the next month or quarter.

Don’t have a forecasting tool? We put together a free Excel template that you can use. Click below to get it.

LIMA, Peru – The latest on the summit of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru (all times local):

6:50 p.m.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has promised his Chinese counterpart that he will align his foreign policy toward China-led Asian economic development, further reinforcing his shift toward China amid his hostile stance toward the U.S.

Duterte met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in the Peruvian capital of Lima. He also talked to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom he has called his political idol.

Duterte first met Xi in a state visit to Beijing last month, where their governments forged mostly trade and economic accords. They also discussed longstanding territorial disputes in the South China Sea. After his China trip, Filipinos were allowed back to fish in the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which Chinese coast guard vessels have guarded since seizing the rich fishing area in 2012.

In their meeting in Lima, Duterte told Xi that “we will co-operate with you.”

He added: “With my thrust of an independent foreign policy, we will find ourselves mutually agreeing in so many things and align our foreign policy towards the development of Asia, strengthening of ties among the countries in the region, with China leading the way in the economic development.”

___

5:50 p.m.

APEC summit host Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has managed to win a smile from the normally stern-faced Vladimir Putin by speaking to the Russian president in a foreign language the two leaders share: German.

With cameras rolling at the start of their one-on-one meeting, Kuczynski asked the Russian leader: “In what language should we speak?” Putin suggested the two speak in their native languages and use translators.

Kuczynski replied, “But you speak German.” That got a gleeful Putin to say, in fluent German, “Then we can speak Deutsch, if you prefer.”

Putin worked for the KGB in East Germany before the collapse of the Soviet Union, while Kuczynski is the son of Jewish doctor from Germany.

___

5:30 p.m.

Peru’s almost octogenarian president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, has had his first experience with virtual reality, trying it out during the annual meeting of the 21-nation Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Lima.

As he emerged groggy-eyed, he told Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: “I didn’t like the Tyrannosaurus Rex.”

Kuczynski tried out Facebook’s Oculus Rift virtual reality device headset in which dinosaurs, debris and crashing cars jump out at the participant.

It was an “incredible” experience, according to Kuczynski, who is better known for more sedate tastes like playing the classical flute and reading history books.

A video of the encounter posted by Kuczynski’s office on his social media site has gone viral, attracting more than 368,000 views. That is the most replays of any video provided by the president since he took office in July.

Afterward Kuczynski and Zuckerberg posed for a selfie, with the Facebook founder promising to help Peru boost internet connectivity in far-flung, rural parts of the South American country.

___

5 p.m.

And they’re off to Vietnam.

President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam closed a meeting of business leaders in Peru by inviting them to his Southeast Asian nation in 2017 for the next meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum nations.

Leaders from APEC’s 21 nations have finished their speeches for Saturday and will gather later for a dinner at a downtown Lima park. But with the closure of the APEC CEO summit, most leaders will hide themselves in bilateral meetings and Sunday’s closed-door sessions.

___

12:15 p.m.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key says that if Donald Trump tries to withdraw the U.S. from trade deals, he shouldn’t expect the rest of the world to follow suit.

Speaking to business leaders, Key said he had sensed “tremendous despair” among attendees of the APEC summit about Trump’s position on trade. He said it’s still possible to save the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated by the Obama administration by introducing cosmetic changes making it acceptable to the incoming U.S. president or crafting a more limited pact among willing signatories that leaves out the U.S.

“Even if the United States doesn’t want to engage in free trade, President Trump needs to know other countries do,” said Key.

___

12 p.m.

Mexico’s president is taking a cautious approach to Donald Trump’s pledges to break up the North American Free Trade Agreement and build a wall to keep out millions of Latino immigrants.

Addressing business leaders at APEC, President Enrique Pena Nieto refused to antagonize the incoming U.S. president even as he strongly defended trade between the two countries.

He said the United States and Mexico ship to each other $1 million worth of goods every minute, generating benefits to companies and workers on both sides of the border that must not be jeopardized.

“In the face of Trump’s positioning, we’re now in a stage of favouring dialogue as a way to build a new agenda in our bilateral relationship,” Pena Nieto said. “Mexico, like the entire world, is about to initiate a new stage with the U.S. and in commercial terms we want to give the right value to this strategic relationship between Mexico and the U.S.”

___

10:30 a.m.

China’s President Xi Jinping is calling for a free trade agreement across the Asia-Pacific region to promote more equitable global growth.

Xi made the forceful call against protectionism in a keynote address to business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru on Saturday.

Xi said that China has contributed to 40 per cent of global growth since the global financial crisis. China’s economy is now cooling as it seeks to rebalance growth away from exports to more domestic sources of growth, but it remains an engine of global growth.

Xi said that more than 700 million Chinese tourists will fan out across the globe in coming years and the country will invest billions abroad.

Still, he said the measure of globalization has to be an improvement in peoples’ lives and a reduction of poverty. He said a proposed free trade area encompassing all 21 APEC members can contribute to that goal.

The post The Latest: Philippine leader looks to China-led development appeared first on Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News.

What’s the difference between highly effective marketers and those who are struggling to increase their impact?

Since we came into a treasure trove of data — The State of Pipeline Marketing Report 2016— we’re able to dig into this question. We segmented the survey data to only show respondents who reported marketing ROI greater than 2x, which was about one-third of the respondents. To see how they differ, we then compared them to the overall average.

Here is what we found:

Marketing Channels

Out of the 15 marketing channels included in the survey, high performing marketers are more likely to use 11 of them. The four channels that high performing marketers are less likely to use are PR (-5.1 percentage points), video advertising (-5.1 pp), outbound calling (-2.9 pp), and conferences / trade shows (-0.5 pp).

On the other hand, the three channels that had the greatest positive difference between marketers with ROI greater than 2x and the average are SEO (+10.7 pp), word-of-mouth / referrals (+6.8 pp), and content marketing (+6.1 pp).

When it comes to top performing marketing channels, the same three channels stand out. High performing marketers are more likely to say that word-of-mouth / referrals, SEO, and content marketing have the greatest impact on revenue.

Marketing Priorities

We also found that while high performing marketers and the average marketer had largely the same top marketing priorities — to generate more leads/demand (48.3% vs. 45.7%) and then convert those leads to customers (35.0% vs. 34.1%) — they did differ in how they prioritize marketing metrics.

In other words, while the overall goal is similar, the metrics that they are accountable to — how they achieve those goals — offer a little more insight. High performers are more likely to say that down-funnel marketing metrics (opps, pipeline, customers, revenue, and ROI) are their primary metric by about 10 percentage points.

Marketing Measurement

High performing marketers rated their ability to measure their marketing performance much higher than the overall average. Marketers with ROI over 2x are nearly twice as likely to rate their ability to measure marketing performance a 4 or 5 out of 5, compared to the overall average (55% vs. 28%).

Let’s dig into why they may be able to better measure marketing performance.

The survey data also shows that high performers are about 25% more likely to use multi-touch attribution than the average (a 6.2 pp difference). They’re also 20% less likely to not have an attribution solution at all (a -7.4 pp difference).

Furthermore, the survey also gives us data on why they are using their attribution model. High performers are using their current attribution model because 1) it accurately gives revenue credit to marketing activities, and 2) it is easy to implement and set up. They’re about 15% more likely to give these reasons compared to the average (a 4.4 and 6.0 pp difference, respectively). They’re also 30% less likely to use their current attribution model because it was the default option (a -7.6 pp difference).

All of this results in greater confidence in the accuracy of their marketing data. On average, high performing marketers rated their confidence in the accuracy of their marketing data 0.6 points higher than the overall average (3.52 out of 5, compared to 2.92 out of 5).

Sales and Marketing Alignment

Sales and marketing alignment is a fundamental element of pipeline marketing. When there is alignment, marketing is no longer throwing leads over the wall for the sales team to try to close. Instead, they are working together to target the right prospects and nurture them with a unified and coordinated message.

Looking at the data, we see that there is a correlation between high marketing performance and alignment. High performing marketers, on average, rated their alignment a 3.75 out of 5, which was 0.59 points higher than the overall average (3.16). High performers were also more than twice as likely to rate their alignment a 5 out of 5.

Conclusion

So what do you do if you want to give yourself the greatest chance of being a high performing marketer?

According to the data, there are several things that you can do.

• Use as many marketing channels as you have the resources for
  • But specifically focus on SEO, word-of-mouth referrals, and content marketing
• When it comes to marketing metrics, you need to be prioritizing down-funnel metrics, like pipeline and revenue
• Measure your marketing efforts with multi-touch marketing attribution
• Tighten your alignment with sales — both in team culture and process

The State of Pipeline Marketing Report 2016 is filled with dozens of stats and insights about how B2B marketers drive growth. We will continue to publish deep dives on the data, so subscribe to the Bizible blog, and be sure to download the report below.