Rnordman

It may seem like a contradiction, but scientists say these changes in the Antarctic are a worrying sign

Stacking two solar cells one over the other has advantages: Because the energy is "harvested" in two stages, and overall the sunlight can be converted to electricity more efficiently. Empa researchers have come up with a procedure that makes it possible to produce thin film tandem solar cells in which a thin perovskite layer is used. The processing of perovskite takes place at just 50 degrees Celsius and such a process is potentially applicable for low cost roll-to-roll production in future.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Everyone likes the idea of same-day delivery. But who wants to pay for it?

That’s the problem merchants face as the busy holiday shopping season approaches. They want to offer customers the near-instant gratification that usually only comes with shopping in stores or via apps like Uber and Seamless. But the logistics and costs of same-day delivery — the fuel, labour, infrastructure and other costs — has been a difficult challenge to surmount.

This year, Amazon has been making an aggressive push to offer same-day delivery to people who’ve paid its $99 fee for Prime loyalty club membership. That service is now available in 23 metro areas. And where Amazon goes, other retailers must follow.

“Over the past 18 to 24 months Amazon has been pushing the bar” for fast and cheap delivery, said Daphne Carmeli, CEO of Deliv, a startup that works with retailers to provide same-day delivery. “If you’re in retail, you have to step up to the new bar.”

Amazon, of course, doesn’t have to pay for the cost of store upkeep, not counting its new bookstore in Seattle. And it makes money from other non-retail areas, such as its cloud computing arm, so it can afford to offer delivery services others can’t.

“Retailers trying to compete with Amazon on the road Amazon created will always be at a disadvantage,” said shipping industry expert Satish Jindel. “There’s only so long they can absorb the cost, it’s a huge challenge for retailers.”

Providing hassle-free, same-day delivery has been a quixotic quest for retailers for more than a decade. During the first Internet boom, startups like Kozmo.com became ubiquitous in New York as employees with purple messenger bags fanned out to deliver snacks and household goods. But it didn’t make money, went bust, and became a cautionary tale for the future.

“I remember using Kozmo.com a decade ago,” said C.J. Dugan, 37, a TV producer in Chicago. “One night we ordered a tub of ice cream and the movie ‘Pitch Black.’ They showed up in about 30 minutes…. It was before its time, I guess.”

Fifteen years later, things are definitely different. Driver routes are easier to track with smartphone GPS technology, more brick-and-mortar retailers are speeding delivery by using their stores as de facto warehouses, and more people are willing to work in an “on-demand” fashion popularized by Uber and service apps like Taskrabbit.

So more retailers are taking on the challenge of same day. Start-up delivery service Deliv is working with Macy’s, Kohl’s, Express, Williams-Sonoma and other brick-and-mortar retailers to expand same-day delivery options. Macy’s offers same-day delivery in 17 cities; Kohl’s this month expanded same day deliveries from six to nine cities.

Craft-selling site Etsy is working with Postmates for a holiday season pilot that will let some shoppers in New York City have items delivered to their door within hours for a flat fee of $20. Apple is also working with Postmates on same-day deliveries in New York and San Francisco.

Uber is jumping into the same-day delivery game too. In October it launched an UberRush service in New York, San Francisco and Chicago that lets small businesses offer same-day delivery. Any small business within a certain geographic range in those areas can sign up for free and offer their online customers same-day delivery for a fee. In New York, UberRush will cost users $3 to start, then $2.5 per mile with a minimum of $5. Rates vary slightly in Chicago and San Francisco.

The holiday season will be a test for the new services. Not all businesses have found it’s what their customers want.

Last July, eBay shut down its eBay Now service, which it started in San Francisco in 2013 and expanded to four cities. The company said it’s now testing options that are “more relevant” to its sellers.

Rob Howard, who runs same-day delivery provider Grand Junction Inc., said eBay Now’s business model, which paid drivers to enter retail stores, buy an item and deliver it, was “very high cost and unsustainable.” Deliv, by contrast, works with retailers to have packages ready to go for drivers when they arrive.

And the cost remains a sticking point. Amazon offers some same-day deliveries for free, subsidized by revenue streams elsewhere. But others charge between $5 and $20 dollars, a cost that deters some users.

“It’s nice to have, if you can get it for free,” said Forrester analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, who tracks the e-commerce industry, describing the mindset for many.

Speedy delivery could help drive customer loyalty in some cases. Dugan, the former Kozmo.com user, doesn’t use one-day delivery a lot. But he recently ordered a mat for his standing work desk from Amazon Prime Now.

“From the time I placed the order to when it arrived at our reception was just over an hour — it was pretty awesome,” he said. “I can’t say I’ll use the service all the time, but this was about the perfect experience when I really, really needed something.”

The post Retailers are rushing to match Amazon’s same-day delivery – but it isn’t easy, or cheap appeared first on Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News.

Apple has a tiny market share of the smartphone industry — but it is making some truly massive profits.

The Cupertino company was responsible for just 13.5% of smartphones shipped globally in the third quarter of 2015, according to research firm IDC.

Despite this, it is taking the vast, vast majority of profits in the industry — a staggering 94%.

That figure comes via a new research note from financial services company Cannacord Genuity. Samsung comes in a distant second, making 11%. Yes, that adds up to 105%, because other handsets makers have either failed to make a profit or actively lost money.

It's a big jump on a year prior: In Q3 of 2014, Apple made 85% of profits in the industry. 

Canaccord does caution that its figures may not be perfectly accurate. "Given the ramp of Chinese OEM smartphone volumes and particularly strong Q2/2015 smartphone market share gains for Huawei, we note our industry profit analysis excludes a large portion of this group of OEMs gaining an increasing share of the smartphone and handset market profits due to the lack of available and comparable profit metrics," it warns.

However, "while this likely overstates Apple’s profits, we note some leading smartphone OEMs in China are growing global market share through aggressive pricing strategies limiting near-term profit levels."

In short: The 94% figure is probably an overestimate, but many of Apple's most successful competitors in China are deliberately unprofitable.

And the good times are going to just keep on coming. Canaccord says it anticipates "continued high-end smartphone market share gains for the larger screen iPhone 6/6S devices as our surveys indicate a greater mix of Android smartphone consumers are switching to the iPhone from Android."

Here's the data in full — click to expand:

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A model who uses social media for good explains what the viral 19-year-old got wrong about the internet

As sales people, we know we have to engage our customers in disruptive thinking. We need to them to think about their businesses or functions differently, we need them to see new opportunities, we need them to recognize changes going on all around them.

As we look at our customers from the outside, what we see is a corporate level view. We see the positioning of the company, we see the priorities of top management. We understand their strategies for growth, for competing. It’s these that drive or should be driving the actions, behaviors of everyone in the organization.

Yet the people we deal with, unless we deal exclusively at the C and BOD levels, have their jobs. They have the things that consume their time every day. Meetings, projects, designing and manufacturing all sorts of widgets, marketing, selling, supporting, and getting paid for them. Too often, “our customers” the people we deal with every day are “distant” from understanding the corporate priorities and strategies.

The CEO is someone they may see on video or in “all hands meetings.” But the challenges the corporation faces, their strategies to win, grow, compete are very distant from what our customers do every day. As a result, they often have difficulty connecting the dots between what they do every day and their contribution to those things the BOD, CEO, and top executives care about.

You may be asking, “So what, why do they need to know how what they do has an impact? Why should I care? I just want to sell them something!”

The critical issue is: If our customers can’t demonstrate how what they are doing or what they want to do impacts the ability of the corporation to execute their strategy, then it simply won’t be approved!

A corollary is: If they can’t see how the change that we are trying to sell them, contributes to the ability of the company to achieve it’s goals, they won’t take the risk of presenting that change and asking for funding to top management!

The problem is, too many times our customers may not recognize these issues. They, like everyone, tend to think just of their jobs, their roles, what they have to get done. They may engage in a buying activity as part of getting their work done. They may want to spend money on new tools, services, or other things–because it helps them do their jobs more effectively. But if those things don’t contribute, in some way to the things top management thinks is important, it won’t be approved.

As a result, both they and we can invest a lot of time and effort, only to be disappointed in the end with a “No Decision Made.”

To make sure our customers get what they want to do their jobs, we have to make sure they have connected the dots to the top priorities of the organization. They have to present and justify what they want to do in the context of how it impacts key corporate strategies and initiatives. It doesn’t have to have a huge impact–if they are buried very low in a large organization, it’s unlikely to move the needle, but it has to make a contribution.

We create greater value by helping our customers understand this, helping them build their business case, and helping them sell their change initiatives to their management.

Do you know how to connect the dots of what they are doing to the top goals of the organization?

Are you helping your customers do the same?

Of all the marketing techniques I involve myself with, I like email marketing the least. While some people are able to breeze through the ins and outs, it took me many years to learn the various methods for successful email campaigns. One of the most important lessons I have learned is to build organic email lists as opposed to borrowed, scraped, or purchased lists.

Some of this may seem like commons sense, but the little things with email marketing can make or break an email campaign. Forgetting the importance of organic lists can harm you more than you think. (highlight to tweet)

If you want to be effective with your email marketing, then make sure to focus on organically building your list.

Organic Lists Give You Better Delivery and Open Rates

According to Steven Macdonald from SuperOffice, delivery rates are higher for organic lists. “Organic list building not only gives you better results, but you will get a lot more emails delivered to your audience,” says Macdonald. “Compared to buying lists, where delivery rates are poor.”

This is an obvious stat, but some marketers overlook it.

If you send to a list of people who requested to receive your email, the likelihood of it going to an actual email address is higher. In fact, many of the “paid-for” lists have fake emails that people use simply to place their name on the list (either a giveaway, or paywall access, etc.). They never intend on receiving an email when they signup.

In addition to emails actually reaching their target, organic lists also give you better open rates.

Gretchen Roberts from Smoky Labs detailed a recent test she conducted which shows how open rates are much better for organic lists. “I recently ran two email campaigns that were structured exactly the same, except one was a cold, purchased email list, and the other was sent to an organically-grown email list that normally receives a weekly newsletter.” The results? You guessed it: a complete failure for the cold list.

“The cold campaign was a complete flop,” stated Roberts. “Not only was it expensive to purchase the list, but the open rate hovered around 1 percent for a supposedly highly-qualified list.” Of course, the organic campaign received a considerably higher success rate. “Open rates were over 50%, and premium content downloads were close to 35%.”

Overall, organic lists will give you leads that actually reach their target and will more than likely be opened, as the person receiving the email actually wants to see what you have to offer.

Scraping Emails and Buying Lists Just Don’t Cut It

Look, I scrape emails as well, but they are for one-time, specific, targeted offers to people who are more than likely going to use my service. Also, I don’t simply scrape and send. I vet everyone on the list and ensure that they will in fact be a qualified lead.

I also never add scraped emails to my email lists, as they never signed up to receive emails. They are used one time and then discarded, unless I receive a reply. As such, I consider these as low quality leads.

“Scraped or bought leads are likely to be low-quality and far more trouble than they’re worth,” says Michael Heiligenstein from Fit Small Business. He also makes a good point about using lists that were scraped or purchased. “If an email address is publicly listed, it’s already been blasted by tons of spam, and if it’s been bought, chances are it’s been sold to a lot of people. If anyone is still using that email address, they’re probably sick of spammers and are likely to report your message as spam.”

Brand engagement is also important for your email campaigns. An organic list contains leads that have signed up and WANT to hear from you. They are sitting there waiting to see what you have next for them.

“An organic email list is better because it is a more engaged list,” states Ashley Orndorff, director of marketing at the Visual Impact Group. “With a scraped/bought list, you’re sending emails to people who likely have not had any previous interaction with your brand.”

Not only is there no brand interaction with people who want it, but you are giving a bad impression to people whose first impression of your brand is coming from a purchased email list.

You Can’t Measure True Conversion Rates With Non-Organic Lists

I cannot emphasize this enough: You simply cannot judge the success or failure of an email campaign unless you use an organic list. Here is why.

Let’s assume you are selling an e-book that is specific to website building. Wouldn’t you think it’s better to target website developers or people looking for a website? These are the people looking for the information and more than likely to open your email.

Let me show you how it works.

Let’s suppose you purchased an email list from a company that says the recipients are your target audience (although you did not vet the list yourself). You build a landing page that is likely to convert, and you also create one of the most brilliant emails ever and send it on its way. If you receive zero return on that email, can you really judge how well the email was written or how well the landing page was designed? The simple answer is no.

Your landing page may be one of the best ever and likely to convert a large percentage of visitors—“targeted visitors,” that is. If thousands of people come to the page, and none of them are really the target audience you want, then you will think your landing page is not successful.

Now, let’s suppose you have an organic list that is targeted to people who are more than likely going to purchase the e-book. This is a list that you collected on your own, and the people on the list signed up to receive email updates on how to build websites. You use the same landing page and same email and send it out.

Now you can measure true conversion. If your campaign doesn’t convert, then the issue is likely with the landing page or the email itself. After all, the people coming to the page are the most ready to buy the book.

The Key to a Successful Email Campaign

It may not seem like rocket science, but having an organic list over one that is purchased or scraped is a huge deal. It can be the difference between a successful email campaign and one that falls flat on its face. Why spend all that time preparing an email campaign if you don’t send it to qualified leads who are more likely to convert?

Building an organic list takes longer than scraping or purchasing, but in the long run, it’s more effective. After all, having a 1% open rate with a purchased email list is going to net you fewer conversions than an organic list with 50%.

If you are still unsure and want to try yourself, take the path of Gretchen, and run your own test. In the end, you will find it would have been cheaper to just buy me a beer while we discuss this article rather than waste your time and money on a list that converts few (if any) leads.

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If you train salespeople, you know all about the ambivalent feeling that sets in after an event.

In one sense, you’re fired up—your reps are energized, confident and excited to apply the great skills and concepts they’ve learned out in the field.

On the other hand, your optimism is tempered by a very legitimate fear: Namely, that in just a few weeks time, the skills your team just learned may already be eroding.

According to Corporate Visions research, only 23 percent of managers provide a significant level of coaching to the skills after their sales force has been trained. That’s why you need to be prepared to provide “virtual coaching” to reinforce skills when your sales managers are strapped.

Corporate Visions’ Tim Riesterer and MobilePaks’ Chanin Ballance recently blogged about how great virtual skills reinforcement drives high adoption, keeps reps sharp on key skills and concepts, and ensures they don’t have to leave the selling workflow to get the learning content they need.

The two picked up on that topic again in a recent webcast, “Sales Transformation That Sticks.” If you’re serious about creating last behavior changes in the field for your team, so they can articulate value in the way they were trained, you need to give this a listen:

Webcast: Sales Transformation That Sticks

There are some investments that take years to make. They are often our best investments. Quizlet took something like five years to go from a company we got interested in to a USV investment.

In March 2009, we hosted an event we called Hacking Education. That was the official start of our focus on education. From that event came a thesis on how we would approach investing in education. We would invest in lightweight services and networks that allowed anyone to learn anything. We would not invest in services sold top down to the existing K-12 and higher education system. We wanted to obliterate, not automate.

We started hunting around for services and networks that fit our thesis. One that caught our attention was Quizlet, the leading web and mobile studying tool. We got an intro through Christina. Eventually Andy got a meeting. We found out that Quizlet had been bootstrapped, was profitable, and was not interested in raising outside capital. But Andy did not take no for an answer. He kept calling on them. He brought me to meet the two Quizlet leaders, Andrew and Dave, in September 2012. We got the same story in that meeting but we did make an impression. We started inviting them to our events in SF and they usually would come. So we kept doing that and kept stoping by to say hi when we were in SF.

Earlier this year Dave called me to say that they were going to raise outside capital. He and Andrew had concluded that the opportunity to build and develop peer to peer learning and studying tools for web and mobile was so large that they could not continue to bootstrap. So we jumped onto the opportunity and threw ourselves at it. That process had a number of fits and starts but we hung in there and eventually the financing came together the way Andrew and Dave wanted it to and we joined our friends at Costanoa, Altos, and Owl in a $12mm Series A round for a ten year old company. Just writing those last few words makes me happy. You don’t see many Series A rounds for ten year old companies. But when you do, they are generally good ones to do.

So what is Quizlet? Well if you have kids in middle, high school, or college, they probably use it. Quizlet is a studying/learning tool written by Andrew Sutherland for his own use ten years ago when he was studying for a french test. He put it out on the web a bit later. He was joined by Dave Margulius who helped him turn Quizlet into a business by implementing an elegant freemium business model. Quizlet is free for anyone to use. But if you want to do certain higher value things, you can pay a small amount every month for access to them.

Quizlet lets anyone create a study set and practice it online and on mobile. And it also allows anyone to use someone else’s study set. Quizlet is peer to peer learning. Over 100mm study sets have been created by users and over 1bn study sessions have been done on Quizlet. Quizlet has been a top ten education app in the mobile app stores for years, a fact I was constantly reminded of every time I went to look at the education category in the years we were chasing this investment.

Here are some examples I just found by searching around:

• a sine/cosine study set
• 35 essential french verbs
• aerobic and anaerobic respiration
• forklift test prep

Just imagine a massively open database of 100mm study sets like that which is growing by the day. And you get why we have been and continue to be so interested in Quizlet.

There are over 7bn learners on planet earth. Within a decade, the vast majority of them will have a mobile device connected to this massively open database of study set which is available for free. These 7bn learners will be able to contribute and consume these study sets. And in the process the world will become more educated and more literate. That is hacking education and that is why USV is so excited to, finally, be an investor in Quizlet.

B2B sales lead generation is one of those fields that presents great potential for error, as many businesses have discovered to their chagrin. Here are four possible reasons for your own struggles in this area — and suggestions on how to overcome them.

1. Not Playing to Your Target Client’s Persona

Your marketing presence looks just as strong as those of your competitors, but looks can be deceiving — it’s the leads that count. Many businesses don’t understand why their message is falling on deaf ears because they don’t realize that they’re sending out the wrong message to the right people, or the right message to the wrong people.

Who is your ideal client? It isn’t good enough simply to respond with a job title or industry description. You need to develop a strong image of exactly who those individuals are — their needs, challenges, concerns, interests, et cetera, all in the context of what they’re trying to achieve for their business. This involves the construction of a detailed audience persona. You’ll need the answers to a great many questions regarding this hypothetical person’s demographic facts, relationships, career, personal/political/spiritual values, passions, and challenges. You must also consider how your ideal client uses the Internet, participates on social media, searches for answers and shops for solutions. The necessary answers to all these questions can be gleaned from opinion polls, industry white papers and reports, and other forms of market research.

An audience persona puts a face on your ideal client.

But to really understand who and what these people are, you must also know who and what you are. Maybe it’s time to take a detailed look at your company’s own persona. What is your company mission, brand image, industry position and unique value proposition? You must communicate these pillars of your persona clearly in every piece of marketing content you create. This persona will naturally appeal to those entities that have a burning need for what you represent and provide.

Once you know what you have to say and who you want to say it to, the next step is creating the appropriate content strategy. This makes it much easier to come up with a steady stream of articles, emails and other tidbits seen as genuinely helpful and insightful by your audience — which is bound to give your B2B sales lead generation a welcome boost.

2. Not Hitting Your Target Audience Where It Lives

Maybe you have a firm grasp of both your own persona and that of your ideal customer, and you’re monitoring their behavior on your inbound channels in great detail. You’ve even populated your website and blog with relevant, captivating content that appeals directly to their indicated interests and needs. Why, then, might you still be having trouble generating leads? The trouble could be that you’re failing to seek out and interact with your prospective clients in the communities they frequent.

Creating a strong initial web and social media presence won’t help your B2B sales lead generation all that much if you take an “If we build it, they will come” attitude toward these channels. Creating a website, even a well-optimized one, is not sufficient to reach your target market. Nor is merely maintaining a blog. You also need to find out exactly where your prospective B2B clients are spending the majority of their time on the Internet — and you need to join them there.

Which LinkedIn groups do representatives of your dream clientele belong to, and what conversations are they having there? Join those groups, join the party, and try to build a reputation as a thought leader within that sphere. Are there industry-specific, technology-oriented networking groups and events where you might meet your future clients in person? The answer might be as simple as a quick perusal of your local Meetup.com or Chamber of Commerce calendar.

3. Not Measuring Lead Generation Effectiveness

Here’s an odd fact, as relayed by an article in eMarketer: A survey of marketers identified brochures as one their major lead generation tools, yet only 9 percent of the respondents regarded brochures as highly effective for lead generation! This kind of strategic disconnect only serves to point out how far off the mark you wander when you follow established practices blindly instead of basing them on the best possible data. Many B2B marketers are making this critical error because they’re not tracking and measuring the relative lead-generating effectiveness of each form of content they produce.

Some types of content format and delivery tend to deliver more powerful B2B sales lead generation than others, as we noted in a previous post. Apart from direct customer and employee referrals (which blow the doors off of just about any other marketing method available), the highest lead-to-deal conversation rates are generated from permanent website and social media content. Email campaigns, lead lists, and events tend to trail significantly behind these other forms of marketing. You might feel like you’re making a big splash at that national technology expo or trade show, but you’ll have to work awfully hard to get the same ROI that you’d have enjoyed by focusing on online content generation.

To really get the most out of your B2B lead generation, engage a dedicated inbound marketing firm with the proper tools, expertise, and manpower to track your marketing response rates, not only by channel, duration, and volume, but also by content type. Once you know what content delivers the greatest ROI, you can adjust your overall marketing strategy accordingly.

4. Failing to Use Strong Lead Conversion and Nurturing Tools

Converting a visitor into a lead can prove a complex process. You might assume that the further along your sales funnel a prospect travels, the more of a “sure thing” he becomes. but there’s another factor involved, one that actually elevates the risk of that prospect dropping away from you — the increasing level of commitment you’re asking. Sooner or later, you’ve got to capture that person’s contact information if you want to have any hope of pursuing and converting the lead. Some businesses fail at precisely this stage because they haven’t provided that one extra enticement to win the lead over.

How do you overcome this stumbling block? The smartest strategy is to make sure you’re offering high-value content in exchange for their information and/or additional participation within the sales funnel. Technological white papers, ebooks on the state of your audience’s industry, access to members-only areas where they can peruse exclusive product reviews — these and other goodies make them feel that they’re making a sensible business exchange instead of just volunteering their email address.

Once your B2B sales lead generation appears to be working, you must nurture those leads until they finally blossom into sales. This is where that contact information you collected goes to bat for you. Email offers for discounted products or services (or announcements of new ones), invitations to sponsored industry events, seasonal articles and purchase suggestions can all keep you top of mind until that lead finally buys.

Want some additional tips on how to turn your company into a B2B sales lead generator? Download our White Paper: 8 Steps to Attract Qualified Leads for your Business, and you’ll be off to a great start!

 Enormous tech M&A deals have been announced recently: EMC/Dell, WDC/SanDisk, Lam-Research/KLC-Tencor. These follow a very busy year of large tech M&A, with Avago/Broadcom, Nokia/Alcatel-Lucent and Intel/Altera. This year is shaping up to be a record one for M&A activity across all industries. However, with the large number of multi-billion dollar mergers, there is a nagging… Read More

By Tibor Shanto – tibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca 

One attribute many successful sales people possess is clarity of purpose, this helps them plan and execute more effectively, as well as help them review their actions and results more objectively. Because they are more focused on ‘purpose’ rather than self, any negatives that may surface during those reviews are weighed against results and how they may have moved them towards their purpose.

In case you are wondering, the purpose is usually a balance of helping the customers and their employers achieve their objectives, while ensuring their own success.

As a result they are much more naked to the world than their less successful counterparts. The also-rans, spend time and energy building up calluses to protect their egos from constructive input, and change. While consistently success sales people contiguously seek feedback and critical input, understanding its importance to success.

Part of this is their willingness and ability to ask for HELP.

“Know-it-alls”, by definition don’t feel they need help, because hey, they know it all. I work with my share of these folks, most of the time nice people in every other respect, but just refuse to take steps to ensure they are improving. (Sounds like some prospects we know, n’est-ce pas?) They can do it all on their own, and would rather piss their pants than ask where the washroom is. If they can’t, it won’t get done. Which is not the worst thing in some cases, not getting it done in sales lets down two of the three parties mentioned above, remember the Buyer will always have other, better, options.

Many sales people have difficulty asking for help internally or from assets provided by their organizations, such as me or other providers like me. One thing I offer my clients is availability, if you need to better understand something I have introduced, you are about to go into a call and want to bounce ideas, anything pertaining to sales and the areas I have been hired to help with, call, no need to wait or schedule, help is at hand. You know how many people take me up on this offer? Exactly, only the proverbial 20%. The ones who were likely succeeding before I came, and get the most out of what they are taught, the ones who will drive the ROI on their company’s investment. The rest, well, the “know-it-all”, and need little or no help in not making quota.

But you know where asking for help has the most profound effect and return? Asking your buyers for help.

Now I am not suggesting that you undermine your position as a Subject Matter Expert, but there are other ways. Buyers are people, and people invariably like to help, it is the way we are built. It is amazing the power of asking someone for help, you would not believe what you can find out by using a simple phrase like “Help me understand”. No this does not mean you are wake, stupid, incapable, or uninformed; it just means you are open to learning. That just as you are willing to ask for help, you are willing to offer it.

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Tibor Shanto

A study by Blue Nile Research has taken on the enormous task of answering the following questions:

• What content really compels people to buy?
• What channels do consumers use to make a buying decision?
• How does that differ when making a B2C purchase versus B2B?

Over 500 US sources were surveyed. The study sought to “better close the gap between published research on what marketers do and what actually works.”

Creating engaging content is a major part of SEO. But creating the right kind of content is even more important. Let’s take a look and see what kind of content leads to the buying process.

What B2B And B2C Buyers Want To See

These days, buyers do a lot of research before making a purchase. Try it—just type a product or brand into Google. You’ll get page upon page of websites trying to connect you with what you’re looking for. But if you click on them, these sites show many different kinds of results. Different kinds of content are targeted toward B2B and B2C buyers. But did these hold up in the research?

The test paired up different headlines to different content types. The survey takers then decided which headline they were most likely to click on. Here are the results:

B2B and B2C want data and stats. B2B buyers chose the headline containing hard facts and statistics 46% of the time, while B2C buyers chose it 45%. Buyers cited being able to “compare specifications” and price as a factor.

This could be because the info that buyers are looking for is immediately apparent in the headline. In the interest of time, data and stats are suited for our fast-moving Internet culture. With so much content demanding our attention, it’s understandable that buyers would want to get the info and get on with their lives. In this regard, the best kind of content is that which serves their needs right away.

B2C buyers like blog posts way more than B2B buyers. B2C clients say the “personal experiences” and “recommendations” they get from blogs help influence their buying decision. If you think about it, this makes pretty good sense. Consumer buyers could be more willing to buy a recommendation from a source they trust. Showing off products in an interesting way is a blogger’s bread and butter. It wouldn’t take much to influence a buying decision if it was coming from a blogger you trust.

B2B buyers prefer videos compared to B2C buyers. This one may be a bit hard to wrap your head around, but stay with us. B2B buyers like videos because they’re “to the point.” That’s true for B2C buyers too. But videos are more significant for B2B buyers because of “explainer videos.” These are used to break down complex business products into more understandable terms. Kind of like how whitepapers are inherently useful documents, but you wouldn’t give them to clients. For businesses, though, they’re a no-brainer.

Infographics aren’t as compelling as you think. What’s not to like about infographics? They’re self-contained nuggets of information, all packed into one convenient image. If they go viral, they can expose your brand to thousands of eyes. But only 10% of respondents chose this headline. This suggests that virility isn’t a reliable conversion factor. This is one example of content that has all the right pieces in place but is best kept at the top of the marketing funnel.

(Image source: Blue Nile Research)

How Should You Use This Data For Content Creation?

The takeaway from all this is that you need to diversify your content. Content creation companies should be smart about putting out content to meet every need. There’s no sense in going all-in on data-heavy whitepapers when you can attract more creative minds by writing a blog post. By that same point, a video can work for all audiences, but then again, so can a really good infographic. Remember, although data and stats was the most compelling content type, it was not an overwhelming majority.

Of course, the study only shows what people would choose when asked. The type of content buyers choose when they’re on the hunt may differ quite a bit. But this study does get us closer to understanding how to give what buyers want. And that’s what we’re all about.

Creating tailor-made content for your website is a vital part of a search engine optimization strategy. So let’s work together and give your customers what they want.

Adding a random pack of gum or extra magazine to your shopping cart has helped retailers make a crucial few extra dollars for decades.

But, as the industry increasingly moves to e-commerce, is the impulse buy dead?

Ad Age recently reported that companies that rely on checkout line activity, such as Mondelez, Hershey, and Wrigley, are scrambling to find new ways to convince shoppers to make impulse buys. However, since 30% to 50% of all offline purchases are impulse buys, the problem extends way beyond the snack industry.

As companies search for ways to recoup the lost in-store impulse sales, here are four tactics bringing impulse buying to a new era.

Set the mood.

Impulse buys are triggered by product encounters, whether in-store or online. For customers to actually purchase something on the spur of the moment, they have to spot it — and be in the mood to respond positively.

The No. 1 factor in triggering impulse shopping online is a calm, friendly, and knowledgeable website with attractive merchandise, according to a 2011 study by researchers at the University of Amsterdam Business school.

The ability to browse through aesthetically-pleasing photos helps encourage online “window shopping,” without intent to necessarily make a purchase — with the assumption, of course, that eventually the impulse to shop will take control. That’s why the vast majority (about 87%) of impulse buys are made from users navigating website categories, not via search engines.

Other ways to cash in on customers’ good moods is through partnerships, sneaking the ability to purchase an item into an enjoyable digital activity, from buying Mondelez snacks while scrolling through Facebook to ordering Pizza Hut while watching a TV show on Hulu. However, when the inclusion of the buy button is annoying and clunky, as opposed to seamless and enjoyable, the likelihood of an impulse buy sharply decreases.  

Make it easy.

If setting a positive mood keeps people scrolling through an e-commerce site, an easy purchasing option is key to sealing the deal.

Obviously, ease of experience is a big factor in if people will shop in any store, digital or brick-and-mortar. However, when it comes to impulse buys, the ease of purchase is even more important, as impulse shoppers are driven more by instant gratification than someone making a purposeful purchase.

Amazon Prime is one of the most perfectly crafted e-commerce sites for impulse shopping, offering both the ability to buy products with just one click and the promise of delivery in as soon at two hours. Unsurprisingly, Hershey, a company that’s facing declining checkout counter impulse sales, has worked with Amazon Prime Now.

Amazon is trying hard to make impulse shopping even easier, increasing its mobile presence and expanding its Amazon Dash program (Hershey and Wrigley both have buttons to sell Ice Breakers and Orbit gum).

Incentives.

The most common incentivization for the online impulse buy is to offer free shipping — but only after shoppers spend a certain amount. Nearly half of shoppers reported that free shipping caused them to make impulse purchases, according to a 2000 study by The Yankee Group.

When faced with a shopping cart that is $5 short of the free-shipping minimum, it is easy to justify adding one more inexpensive item to the cart.

However, there are infinite ways for e-commerce sites to incentivize low-cost impulse buys, especially through loyalty programs.

While Starbucks may not be the first company that springs to mind when it comes to e-commerce, 21% of all transactions at the chain are made using mobile devices, in part due to the company’s thriving loyalty program. The relative low cost of beverages and the speed with which customers can earn rewards has helped fuel mobile growth — much of it through impulse buys.

With partnerships where users can also earn Starbucks stars at companies such as Spotify, the New York Times, and Lyft, this loyalty program may soon be able to incentivize impulse buys (and rides) at other brands as well as its own.

Target impulsive shoppers.

Most research on impulse shopping demonstrates that the biggest factor in if someone will make an impulse purchase isn’t anything the retailer does. Instead, it is whether or not the shopper in question is an impulsive person.

This is one area that e-commerce has a huge leg up on traditional retailers. While stores cannot control who walks through the door, online, retailers can control who they advertise impulse buys to.

Online retailers and other digitally-focused companies have a sometimes scary degree of access to our personal information — including how we interact and shop online. Facebook, for example, was able to conduct a massive experiment on how people's feeds could affect their mood, in which it actually made unknowing users happier or sadder.

Using big data, companies already target customers' ads based on past purchases, where we live, what we read online, and many other small pieces of personal information. At this point, it would be surprising if social networks that offer direct purchasing options weren’t working to identify, and isolate marketing to, impulse buyers, sparing purposeful shoppers from unnecessary ads.

E-commerce websites can similarly identify which shoppers tend to add a last-minute item to the cart, saving this information along with the rest of users’ personal and payment data. If someone is a chronic impulse buyer, websites could provide prompts for these shoppers, while avoiding disrupting the process of those who are not intrinsically impulsive.

Ultimately, e-commerce isn’t killing the impulse buy. Instead, it is forcing the behavior to mutate, taking on a second life that has the potential to become even more powerful than its previous iteration.

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NOW WATCH: The most surprising brands millennials love

You made a strategic (and smart) decision to build an app and add it to your marketing mix. It’s not easy to align resources, people, and tech to accomplish this, so you deserve a hearty pat on the back for your leadership swagger.

But now, the other big thing keeping you up at night is fear that your app’s main competitor will be…your own website. 

You’re worried that your foray into mobile will be marked by the cannibalization of your other marketing channels. Will the growth of your app come at the cost of your email, online, or brick-and-mortar success?

Not if you play your cards right. Not if you understand your app’s place in your marketing ecosystem.

5 Key Components Of A Cohesive Mobile Strategy

You don’t need to be afraid of your website losing power – the best apps work with other components of your ecosystem, not against. The best apps don’t exist in a silo, cordoned off from a company’s other marketing initiatives. On the contrary, they fill gaps, innovatively address problems, and seamlessly connect to your other channels.

Isolated, your app is merely another promotional tool. Integrated, your app can boost your entire business.  Here’s how CMOs, VPs, and other marketing heads can build a cohesive mobile strategy.

1. You Should Assign Ownership To A Bipartisan Team

Assigning ownership of your app is a tricky thing. Which department do you hold responsible for bringing your app to life? The product team or the marketing team?

The answer is both, right from the start. 

Alone, a team of developers and designers will deliver an app that’s full of slick features, responsive to screen size, with a beautiful user interface. With marketing’s early involvement, you can also be sure that app features match people’s needs and goals, there is a solid launch plan in place, and thought has been given to how you will earn, engage, nurture, and retain users.

2. Your App Should Give Customers Something New

Don’t blindside your customers with an app that looks and feels foreign to your other marketing channels. But don’t duplicate your website for smartphones, or squeeze your emails into a push/in-app message, either. Take advantage of mobile’s unique strengths (like high-quality cameras, touch screens, etc.) and add some innovative app-specific functionality.

For example, although Amazon’s app includes the ecommerce giant’s most used and most loved web features, it also allows shoppers to find items by simply scanning them (something shoppers can’t do on it’s website).

3. Your App Should Pull In Information From Many Sources

Continuity between devices and channels is becoming increasingly important. Brands need to provide customers with a consistent experience as they move from your store to your website, and from your website to your app.

Did someone add an item to their shopping cart on your website? Make that item visible in their mobile shopping cart too. Did someone sign up for a rewards card in your store? Use this new information about their demographics and in-store buying patterns to better personalize your app marketing. Has someone ignored your last 10 emails? Try using enticing push alerts to re-engage them with your brand.

The point is: your app should absorb behavioral and profile data about your users from many different channels (in addition to monitoring people’s in-app behavior and attributes). You can only deliver the most relevant, timely, and targeted experience if you understand what your users are doing inside your app, and who they are in the real world.

4. Cross-Promote Your Other Marketing Channels

A well-integrated app will amplify, not diminish, the success of your other marketing endeavors. How? Because it will be able to usher customers to the most appropriate place based on what they’re trying to do, and make your traditional channels more interactive.

When someone reads an article in-app, your app should provide a frictionless way to share that article on social media and nudge them to follow your brand on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. Similarly, if someone wants to see or try on your products, your app should surface the nearest store’s address.

For example, Target’s app helps increase traffic to its physical locations. By providing aisle maps and speedier checkouts, Target’s app makes in-store shopping more efficient.

5. Your App Should Fold In Operational Functions

Finally, keep in mind that your app is not just a vehicle for growing sales and increasing leads; it can help you retain customers and deliver post-purchase support too.

Think about the scenarios in which loyal customers would turn to your app. How can your app provide customer service? How can it collect feedback? How can it simplify common customer processes?

The answers to these questions will vary based on your business, but some examples of solving for your customers including adding a click-to-call button that connects people to reps, and one-touch reordering. In a nutshell, make things easier and faster for your customers.

Take a look at Zipcar’s app. It introduces newbies to the company’s service and improves the lives of its current members by transforming into a digital key that can unlock cars.

21 Actionable Tactics For Properly Integrating Your App Into Your Ecosystem

An old proverb goes, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Your app is an extension of your brand. It would be a huge missed opportunity if you released it into the wild without integrating it with the rest of your marketing family.

An app that exists in isolation will either fade into obscurity or play tug-of-war for customers, dollars, and time with your other channels. To help you avoid these pitfalls and turn your app into a vital part of your organization, we’ve compiled 21 tips and examples into an eBook. Click below to learn how to connect your app with your website, email, print collateral, social media, and more.

“Tell me how you measure me, and I will tell you how I behave.”

As a result of how most reps are measured -- activity-based metrics and quota -- most reps put a tremendous amount of effort into high-volume outreach. Instead of slowing down and identifying good fit prospects who would actually be interested in their product or service, reps simply grab that extra cup of coffee and send out another 100 emails in hopes of getting through to someone (anyone).

But consider that a mere 2% of cold calls results in a meeting, and as much as 50% of a sales rep’s time is wasted on unproductive prospecting. Imagine putting that time into building meaningful relationships instead.

So who does the volume game benefit? Certainly not the people getting cold called, and in most cases, the rep himself suffers as well. In the opinion of many customer experience experts, sales has become "over-caffeinated," so to speak. (And this is coming from a regularly over-caffeinated blogger.)

It’s time to throw away the “activity drives results” playbook. Today, the most successful reps are slowing down and studying buyers and their journeys. Salespeople who can hone in on a few targeted prospects and present value through careful research and useful insights will close more deals than if they were to “spray and pray.”

If you’re the quintessential over-caffeinated sales rep, calling and emailing hundreds of folks every day, use the following tactics to slow down your activity, and accelerate your results.

Make the ultimate commitment.

Instead of relying on a scripted approach or a one-size-fits-all mentality, familiarizing yourself with each prospect and their unique situation can make a huge difference in your relationship -- and this starts with doing the research.

A great sales process is built on the idea of solving for the customer. This means knowing their business, how they operate, and doing your best to discover and solve their pain points. In order to do this, you have to commit to researching each and every prospect you decide to engage.

In the era of social media, there’s no shortage of sites on which to learn about your lead. For the ultimate list of places to research your prospect before a sales call, check out this post.

Learn the laws of attraction.

Over the past few years, we’ve learned that prospects place a tremendous amount of value in great content. In fact, 95% of buyers in a DemandGen study chose a solution provider that “provided them with ample content to help navigate through each stage of the buying process.”

Instead of making cold calls and sending cold emails to anyone and everyone, modern reps can gain traction by drawing prospects to their products through content. Posting content relevant to the buyer you’re trying to sell and engaging with your target audience on social networks will help you attract new leads organically.

And if you have urges to create your own content? All the better. Peruse our blogging 101 guide specifically tailored for salespeople to get started.

Send valuable follow ups.

It’s imperative that reps stay in touch with prospects who might buy in the future. However, following up can become a slippery slope when reps start sending a few too many emails with not a lot of value.

Keep in mind that more activity doesn’t always equate to better results. If you’re going to reach out, make sure you have a legitimate reason to (not just a weak “wanted to check in”). Do your best to offer value every single time you reach out to a prospect.

Remember: any given touchpoint could be the deciding factor behind whether or not a prospect decides to purchase. Get six solid ideas for value-added check ins here.

Sales reps now have to adjust to a new buyer, and a new methodology. In this new environment, a sales strategy based on high activity might not be the best bet. Instead, focusing on fewer high-quality prospects that are a good fit for your product is the way to go. By committing to research, offering guidance, and providing value, you’ll be able to connect with better fit prospects more likely to say “yes."

Struggling to grow your client base without breaking the bank? Email marketing delivers up to 3600% ROI — $36 for every $1 spent. Automated workflows drive results even further, generating 320% more revenue than standard email campaigns.

At FEED.The Agency, we relied on referrals for 90% of our clients. But with a tight budget and no room for pricey ads, our growth hit a wall. We needed a fast, cost-effective solution — so we turned to automated follow-up email workflows.

That shift paid off. Our automated sequence brought in $100,000 in just 30 days. Best of all, we did it with free HubSpot tools, which is proof that you don’t need deep pockets to drive big results. Now, I’m sharing the process and tools that worked for us so you can build your own high-converting email workflows and start closing more deals today.

Table of Contents

• What is an email sequence?
• How long should an email sequence be?
• How to Create an Email Sequence
• Email Sequence Examples
• 7 Email Sequence Examples
• The Email Sequence That Made Us $100,000
• Email Sequence Best Practices
• From Theory to Practice: Implementing Your Email Strategy

What is an email sequence?

An email sequence is a set of automated emails that you send to prospects, users, or customers through automation software.

Specific actions or time-based conditions trigger each email in your sequence. Common sequences include welcome emails, onboarding sequences, and lead nurturing campaigns.

Why create an email sequence?

Email sequences combine automation and personalization, allowing you to scale meaningful relationships while optimizing time and resources. Here are four more reasons why you need to create an email sequence.

1. You can build stronger relationships with potential customers.

I’ve learned that strong customer relationships happen because you show up. Regular emails keep your brand front and center because people buy from brands they remember. But visibility alone won’t cut it.

You need trust. And trust comes from consistent, valuable communication.

Share useful content, tips, and resources tailored to their needs. When your audience sees you as a source of value, you’re no longer just another brand in their inbox.

2. You improve conversions and sales.

Sales don’t happen overnight. You have to warm up cold leads, turning skepticism into curiosity, then curiosity into action. Educational emails, case studies, and customer stories make your product feel real because nothing convinces like proof.

When the timing is right, send out behavior-based email promotions. Abandoned cart? Nudge them with a reminder and maybe a discount.

3. You can segment and personalize outreach.

Not every customer wants the same thing. So why send everyone the same email? Segment your audience by behavior, preferences, or purchase history. Because when people get emails that feel like they were written just for them, they engage.

Trigger personalized follow-ups: “Since you rocked our winter jackets, here’s 20% off the scarves that complete your look.”

I’ve seen how even small personal touches like referencing their past purchase can transform a cold lead into a loyal customer.

4. You can gather insights and improve marketing.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Track open rates, clicks, and conversions not just for numbers but for answers. What’s working? What’s falling flat? A/B testing helps you find out.

Try two subject lines: Which one gets more clicks? Change your CTA: Which one drives action? I always remind myself: Data isn’t the goal, it’s the guide.

The real power is in what you do next. If open rates drop, I rethink the hook. If clicks lag, I tweak the offer.

Why are automated email sequences so powerful?

When you write your emails beforehand and set them up with email marketing automation to reach your email list, you can follow up with prospects automatically. Automation drives timely follow-ups, keeps leads warm, and eliminates extra manual effort. Plus, you can personalize sequences at scale to boost engagement and conversions.

This is not just theory. Automated email sequences drive real results. Here is how we proved it at FEED.

We built a follow-up sequence using HubSpot’s free Email Templates tool. In 30 days, it generated $100,000 and drove a 215% revenue increase.

How? Short emails. Clear CTAs. Follow-ups every three days. Engagement soared, and conversions followed.

The results were clear. Structured sequences, timely follow-ups, and strong CTAs are not just best practices — they are revenue drivers. You can replicate this success with your own sequences.

Tools you need to create an effective email sequence:

• Lead Generation Form. Capture leads with a form that matches your offer — like “Download our guide” — to ensure a qualified audience. Start by deciding how you will collect information, working backward from your goal of sending the email.
• Email Builder. Segment your lists and tailor sequences to user behavior. For example, create different flows for cold leads and warm prospects. Look for a tool with list-segmenting capabilities, an intuitive design interface, and a reasonable send limit for your pipeline.
• Subject Line Checker. A/B test subject lines to maximize open rates. Use a subject line testing tool to fine-tune your subject lines before you hit send. If your subject line flops, nobody reads the email, no matter how good it is.
• HubSpot Email Marketing Tool. Build sequences with HubSpot’s free templates and automate your outreach with ease.

Get started with HubSpot. HubSpot’s Email Marketing Tool is a great place to begin building personalized email sequences for your prospects or customers. Start using their free templates and customize your first sequence for a specific audience segment.

Source

How long should an email sequence be?

When we set out to design an automated email sequence, we quickly realized there was no magic number.

The length depends entirely on who you’re talking to, where they are in their buying journey, and how long your typical sales cycle runs. But here’s what mattered most to us: every email needed a job.

Defining Our Goals: What We Focused On

Here’s how we approached our nurturing sequence:

• Educate prospects along their path to purchase. We started with emails that shared customer success stories and practical tips.
• Handle objections before they arise. We addressed common concerns upfront, using FAQs and a comparison guide that highlighted our unique edge.
• Establish our authority and build trust. Our welcome email shared industry insights and a free resource, positioning us as experts from day one.
• Stay top-of-mind until they’re ready to buy. We followed up with value-packed newsletters. No hard sells, just helpful insights.

As we refined our sequence, we looked to successful examples in the field. Take food photographer Regan Baroni. She mastered the art of nurturing leads while positioning herself as an industry expert. Here’s how her approach inspired us:

• She used free resources — like “5 Tips for Better Food Photos” — to educate and engage her audience.
• She addressed objections (“Can I afford professional photos?”) with case studies that showed how her work boosted her clients’ bookings.
• She built trust by sharing her process upfront and highlighting testimonials from happy clients.
• She stayed top-of-mind with a monthly newsletter offering photography tips and behind-the-scenes content.

Source

Key Takeaways for Your Next Email Sequence

In the end, it wasn’t about how many emails we sent — it was about how well each one guided prospects toward a decision. Here’s what we learned:

• Make every email count. Focus on education, trust, and consistent value.
• Address objections head-on. FAQs, comparisons, and testimonials help prospects move forward.
• Stay helpful, not pushy. Nurture your audience with insights, not just offers.

The takeaway? Build sequences that nurture, not nag. Give value, answer objections, and stay helpful every step of the way.

How to Create an Email Sequence

So, we’ve covered what email sequences are, when to use them, and how long they should be. Now, let’s dive into how we create personalized sequences tailored to our audience and how you can do the same.

1. Determine the sequence’s purpose.

Before building our automated workflows, we got crystal clear on why each sequence existed. Every sequence needs a job. Are you:

• Driving a direct action? (e.g., booking a demo)
• Nurturing a lead? (e.g., turning ebook downloads into SQLs)
• Re-engaging cold contacts? (e.g., reviving dormant leads)

When you define the goal upfront, you can measure success and guide prospects toward the next step in their journey. Here’s how we approached it.

Follow-up Sequence: Converting Conversations Into Demos

Prospects are most engaged right after a conversation. This is your moment to drive action.

How we structured ours:

• Email 1. Recap the conversation and share promised resources. (Sent immediately)
• Email 2. Follow up with a client success story or testimonial. (Day 3)
• Email 3. Send a friendly nudge with a calendar link. (Day 5)

Here, our KPI was a prospect booking a meeting through our scheduling software.

Nurturing Sequence: Turning Content Leads Into SQLs

Not every lead is ready to buy, but they are ready to learn. Educational touchpoints build trust and keep you top-of-mind until they are ready to engage.

How we built ours:

• Email 1. Provide a resource aligned with the ebook they downloaded.
• Email 2. Share a webinar invite or a case study tackling their pain point.
• Email 3. Softly introduce your solution with a CTA like “Ready to explore how this could work for your business?”

Our nurturing campaign didn’t just educate. It converted leads into sales-qualified leads (SQLs) and primed our pipeline for success.

Whether you’re following up, nurturing, or re-engaging, every sequence should have a clear outcome.

2. Identify the enrollment criteria (or trigger) for the sequence.

You’ve built your email sequence. Now what? Without the right triggers, it just sits there, waiting. Triggers are what launch your automation at the perfect moment, turning clicks, downloads, and meetings into real opportunities.

When we set up our automated workflows, enrollment criteria were everything. They’re your automation’s “on switch,” the rules that decide who gets your emails and when.

Set them right, and your workflows run smoothly, delivering emails when they’re most effective. Set them wrong or skip them, and you risk losing leads before they even reach your inbox.

Common Enrollment Triggers (and When to Use Them)

Different triggers serve different goals. Choose the ones that match your sequence’s purpose.

Lead Capture Triggers: Start nurturing sequences when a lead takes action.

• When a contact submits a form (e.g., downloads an ebook).
• When a contact subscribes to your newsletter.

Behavioral Triggers: Follow up based on what a contact does.

• When they visit a high-intent page (like pricing or case studies).
• When they click a key link in an email.

Lifecycle Stage Triggers: Automate sales outreach based on lead qualification.

• When a contact moves from MQL to SQL.
• When they engage with a specific sales pipeline deal stage.

Event-Based Triggers: Respond immediately to key moments.

• When they book a meeting (send a confirmation and pre-call resources).
• When they miss a meeting (trigger a re-engagement sequence).

How We Used Triggers

Here’s how we applied these triggers with our automated workflows:

• Sales Follow-Ups. We manually enrolled qualified leads after discovery calls using our CRM. No hot lead got left behind.
• Content Nurturing. A simple ebook download triggered a three-step nurturing sequence that moved leads from interest to SQL.
• Demo No-Shows. A missed meeting auto-triggered a follow-up sequence with a new calendar link and a friendly re-invite.

Each trigger ensured our automation reached leads at exactly the right time — when engagement was highest.

Pro tip: No matter which triggers you use, your automation is only as good as your data. We learned this the hard way — one misconfigured property caused us to email old leads with the wrong offers (ouch). Now, we regularly audit our CRM to ensure every trigger is accurate and every workflow fires as expected.

If you’re using HubSpot (like we did), you can create triggers using properties like page views, form submissions, or lifecycle stages.

Bonus: HubSpot’s built-in filters help ensure only qualified leads enter your sequences — so you send the right emails to the right people. Learn more about HubSpot’s enrollment criteria here.

3. Determine the duration of the sequence and the number of emails required.

Your prospects’ inboxes are crowded. Hundreds of emails compete for their attention every day. So, how do you make yours the one they actually open, read, and act on? It starts with getting your timing and touchpoints just right.

When we built our automated workflows, we didn’t guess how many emails to send or when to send them.

We built our cadence around the buyer’s journey. The length and frequency of the sequence had one job: Move leads step-by-step toward conversion without overwhelming them.

Here’s how we planned our sequence and how you can, too.

Sales Follow-Up Sequence: Matching the Sales Cycle

Since our average sales cycle was about 30 days, we planned twice-a-week touchpoints, enough to stay top-of-mind without spamming. That meant:

• 8 emails over 30 days. We spaced them out to nurture interest, answer objections, and drive action.
• Each email had a purpose. From recapping the conversation to sharing success stories and offering a clear path to book a demo.

The result? Higher engagement and more meetings without adding more manual follow-ups to our workload.

Nurture Sequence: Pacing for Long-Term Engagement

When leads downloaded our ebook, we knew they weren’t ready to buy yet. Instead of rushing, we built a slower, value-driven sequence:

• Five emails over 45 days, delivered weekly.
• Each touchpoint delivered actionable insights, case studies, or resources to educate. By the time we introduced a soft CTA, our leads already trusted us, which made conversions easier.

Short Follow-Up Sequence: Timing for Warmer Leads

Not every sequence needs eight emails. For follow-ups after face-to-face meetings, we kept it short and personal:

• Three emails over seven days, then a task to follow up by phone (automated through our CRM).
• Short, friendly reminders plus a “just checking in” note kept the conversation going without feeling pushy.

Our Framework for Sequence Planning

When mapping your sequence, start with your goal and work backward:

Sequence Type	Typical Length	Best For
Sales Follow-Up	6–8 emails over 30 days	Shorter sales cycles, demo conversion
Nurture Campaign	4–7 emails over 45 days	Longer buying journeys, content leads
Post-Meeting Follow-Up	2–3 emails over 7 days	Warm leads from calls or events

It’s not about how many emails you send. It’s about when and why you send them. The best sequences meet prospects where they are — with the right message at the right time.

4. Write the emails for the sequence.

Once we had our sequence mapped, it was time to write emails that didn’t just land in inboxes. They hit a nerve. Forget generic “just checking in” emails.

We built every email around a pain point our prospects were already feeling, then showed them how to fix it.

Here’s how we approached email copywriting and how you can, too.

1. Every email had a job built on pain, not a pitch.

We refused to write “just following up” emails. Every email attacked a frustration, showed what it was costing them, and then offered a way out. Our emails did one of three things:

• Expose a pain. Call out a problem they already know is killing their progress.
• Agitate the cost. Show them what happens if they don’t fix it without fear-mongering.
• Offer a path forward. Position the call-to-action (CTA) as relief from their frustration.

2. We wrote evergreen emails but made them feel personal.

To scale, we kept emails evergreen, but every line felt like it was written just for them. We did this by:

• Behavior-based hooks. We started every email with why they were getting it.

• “I noticed you downloaded [resource], so you might be hitting this roadblock…”
• “You visited our pricing page, so I’m guessing [common hesitation] might be on your mind.”

• Sharp personalization. We went beyond personalization tokens and referenced their role, problem, and industry.

3. Our proven pain-point email structure.

We used a simple structure that kept every email short and impossible to ignore.

• Subject: Name the problem or consequence (“How long can you afford this?”).
• Opening: Go straight to the pain. Skip the small talk.
• Agitate: Show what it’s costing them.
• Solution: Offer a way out. Keep it short.
• CTA: Simple, low-commitment action (“Want to see how this could work for you?”).

Example 1: “Silent Killer” Email

Sent: When they downloaded a resource.

Subject: [First Name], is [pain point] quietly killing your pipeline?

Hi [First Name],

You downloaded [resource], which tells me you’re trying to fix [problem]. But here’s the thing:

The biggest killer of pipeline deals isn’t a bad product. It’s silence.

And that silence usually happens because:

• Your follow-ups come too late or not at all.
• Your emails blend into a sea of “just checking in.”
• You stop reaching out after two touchpoints (when most conversions happen after five).

The cost? More lost deals. More ghosted demos. And more “we went with someone else” emails.

Want to see how [Company X] fixed this and booked 35% more demos without manual follow-up?

Here’s a quick link to chat: [Calendar Link]

[Your Name]

Example 2: “Stop Wasting Warm Leads”

Sent: To pricing page visitors

Subject: [First Name], how many warm leads are you losing like this?

Hi [First Name],

Saw you checked out our pricing page, so I’m guessing you’re weighing your options. But here’s the real cost to consider:

How many warm leads are you losing before they even decide?

Most teams don’t lose deals at the pitch; they lose them in the follow-up gap. Here’s why it happens:

• Your fastest competitor responds first (and wins the deal).
• Leads go cold when they don’t hear from you quickly enough.
• You give up too soon. Most conversions happen after 5+ touchpoints, but most teams quit after 2.

We built an automated workflow that fixes this, and it helped [Company Y] increase conversions by 40%. Want to see how it works? Here’s a time: [Calendar Link]

Best,[Your Name]

Example 3: “They Chose Someone Else”

Sent: To handle objections

Subject: [First Name], here’s why they went with your competitor.

Hi [First Name],

Ever lost a deal to a competitor and thought: “But we were the better fit”?

It wasn’t your solution. It was your timing. Here’s why most teams lose deals they should win:

• They reply too slowly: By the time they follow up, the prospect’s moved on.
• Their follow-ups sound like templates. Zero relevance, Zero replies.
• They stop too soon. 80% of deals need 5+ touchpoints, but most teams quit after 2.

[Company X] fixed this with an automated follow-up sequence that:

• Replied to new leads within 5 minutes — automatically.
• Sent 6 touchpoints over 21 days — without adding manual work.
• Increased demo bookings by 40% — without hiring more reps.

Want to see how this could work for your team? Let’s find 15 minutes: [Calendar Link]

Best,[Your Name]

Pro tip: The highest-converting emails don’t “sell.” They expose the pain your lead is already feeling and make your solution the obvious way out.

5. Build the emails using email software.

With our emails written and ready to convert, it was time to bring them to life in our email software. This is where strategy meets execution because even the best emails won’t drive results if you build them poorly or send them at the wrong time.

Here’s how we built our emails.

Sales vs. Marketing Emails: Matching the Build to the Goal

We didn’t treat every email the same. We matched how we built the emails to what they needed to do.

• Sales Sequence Emails. Plain-text, no heavy formatting because personal, one-to-one emails from a rep drive more replies.
• Marketing Nurture Emails. Structured layouts with headers, CTA buttons, and visuals because these emails needed to educate, nurture, and drive clicks.

Here’s how we build out emails:

1. Copy the text into the Email Builder. Paste directly. No fancy formatting that breaks on mobile.
2. Match the email to its goal.

• Sales emails: Plain-text with a clear reply prompt.
• Marketing emails: CTA buttons, headers, and scannable sections.

3. Add personalization tokens. [First Name], [Company], or [Last Action] — small touches that make a big impact.
4. Embed tracking links. Add UTM parameters to every CTA to measure performance.
5. Set previews and snippets. Write preview text that complements your subject line — don’t leave it to default.
6. Check mobile view. Test button sizes, font spacing, and load times.
7. Test deliverability. Run a spam check to catch issues before hitting “send.”

Pro tips:

• Use plain-text for sales and visuals for nurture. Sales emails should feel like personal outreach, nurture emails should guide clicks.
• Keep emails under 125 words. Short emails are less overwhelming and get more replies.
• Be sure all images have ALT text. If images fail to load, your message still gets through.
• Over half of your leads will open on their phone — make it easy to read and reply on mobile.

Great copy without clean, mobile-optimized delivery is like a billboard in the desert. Make sure your emails don’t just say the right thing. They should show up the right way, too.

6. Set up the automation.

This is where everything came together. With our emails ready, it was time to automate — because a sequence only works if it reaches the right lead with the right message at the right time.

Here’s how we set it up — and how you can, too.

Sequence Structure

When building automation workflows, every sequence followed this simple structure:

1. Trigger (When). What action starts the sequence? (e.g., Downloading a guide).
2. Action (What). What happens next? (e.g., Send Email 1).
3. Timing (Pacing). How long between each email? (e.g., Wait 3 days).
4. Logic (If/Then). What happens based on their behavior? (e.g., If they reply, exit the sequence).

Example: Our Sales Follow-up Workflow

Scenario: Following up with leads who booked a discovery call but didn’t convert.

• Trigger. Contact books a discovery call but doesn’t move forward.
• Email 1 (Day 1). Thank-you email + case study link.
• Wait 3 days. If no response …
• Email 2 (Day 4). Share a customer success story with a clear outcome.
• If they click the link, create a task for a sales rep to follow up personally.
• If no click after 5 days, Send a final “door closing” email.

Here are some resources for working with HubSpot’s automation tool:

• Creating Workflows
• Creating Sequences

Pro tips:

• I recommend starting simple triggers + follow-ups first — then adding conditions as you learn.
• Use delays wisely. A “Wait 2 days” delay outperforms immediate sends — less pressure, more response.
• Score your leads automatically. Add points for clicks, replies, or bookings — then notify sales when they’re hot.
• Add exit conditions. Stop the sequence if they convert — no one likes “Did you get my email?” after they booked.

7. Test the sequence.

We learned this the hard way: One broken link can kill a campaign, and one personalization error can kill trust. Testing isn’t a checkbox — it’s how we made sure every email worked before it reached a prospect’s inbox.

Here’s how we tested our sequences:

1. Proofread for clarity and errors. Triple-check spelling, links, and personalization tokens. If there’s a typo, readers will see it.
2. Test across devices. Don’t lose conversions to bad formatting or poor rendering on different devices.
3. Check deliverability. Run the email through a tool like GlockApps or MailTester — because emails that land in spam never convert.
4. Verify personalization tokens. Send a test email to yourself. If you see “[First Name],” so will your leads.
5. Test timing and triggers. Preview the automation and run a test contact through the sequence — broken triggers mean broken campaigns.

In one of our early sequences, we missed a personalization token, and every email opened with:

“Hi [First Name],”

The result? A 20% drop in replies. Worse, some leads replied just to point out the error which is not great for trust. Since then, testing personalization has been our first checkpoint — every time.

Email Sequence Examples

You’ve sent follow-up emails, but what other sequences can drive engagement?

7 Email Sequence Examples

Let’s explore seven powerful email sequences you can use to captivate your prospects.

1. Nurturing Email Sequences

A nurturing sequence introduces the prospect to you, your company, and your offerings. It’s often called a welcome sequence. Subscribers may have downloaded an ebook or opted into a content offer, but that doesn’t mean they’re sales-ready.

A nurturing sequence builds trust by showing social proof, handling objections, and demonstrating value.

Here’s an example from Moment:

Source

This type of sequence is ideal for companies with short sales cycles, such as consumer packaged goods or simple B2B digital tools.

To get the best results from a nurturing sequence, I recommend focusing on educating your prospects, not selling to them. Share valuable tips, resources, or insights. Build trust, and when they’re ready to buy, you’ll be top-of-mind.

What I like: Moment uses its nurturing email to stay educational rather than salesy. It feels warm and authentic. The email builds trust by showing the value upfront without pushing the product.

If I were receiving it, I’d appreciate the helpful tips that make me feel like the company understands me as a customer. Plus, it’s short and sweet, just right for a nurturing email.

Pro tip: Keep these emails simple and value-focused. A short story, a testimonial, or a quick resource can work wonders.

2. Onboarding Email Sequences

After you sign up for a service, what’s the first thing you want? Clear direction. That’s where onboarding email sequences come in.

An onboarding email can be as simple as a welcome message or a straightforward outline of the next steps.

These sequences can be plain text and direct — you don’t need fancy designs. Since new customers expect to hear from you, open rates are usually high.

Here’s an example of an onboarding email from Writing From Nowhere:

What I like: I like how Writing From Nowhere keeps its onboarding email direct and approachable. It’s plain text, which feels personal — almost like a message from a friend.

The email offers a clear next step. No overload, just what I need. Because it’s simple and fluff-free, it sets the tone for a smooth working relationship: direct, fast, and trust-building.

Pro tip: Make the first email fast, friendly, and useful. Include a single, unmistakable action they can take immediately to get started.

3. Engagement Email Sequences

An engagement email sequence uses email to build rapport with prospects. The goal is to get them to click, reply, or share your content so you stay top-of-mind.

Here’s an example of an email in an engagement sequence from A Kids Book About:

Source

In this email, A Kids Book About promotes upcoming events with clear dates and titles, making it easy for readers to decide which ones to attend. The layout is clean, with event details front and center. No hunting for information. Plus, the subject line builds excitement without being clickbaity.

This type of sequence is perfect for brands with frequent events, launches, or content updates.

Engagement emails work best once you’ve already built some relationship — when recipients look forward to your emails.

What I like: This email gets straight to the point, with dates, titles, and why the reader should care. It feels organized but not overwhelming. The design makes each event easy to skim, which I’d appreciate if I were busy but curious.

What really stands out to me is how they balance promotion with value. They aren’t just saying, “Come to our event.” They’re making it easy for me to choose which event is right for me. If I were a subscriber, I’d feel like they respect my time by keeping it brief but useful.

Also, I love how they build anticipation without shouting. There is no over-the-top urgency; it is just, “Here’s what’s happening; we’d love to see you.”

That approach feels more authentic and community-driven, which perfectly fits their brand.

4. Conversion Email Sequences

A conversion email sequence is designed to drive action, whether it’s booking a meeting, scheduling a demo, or claiming an offer.

Unlike nurturing or engagement emails, conversion emails are direct: the goal is to turn interest into commitment. These emails should be clear, concise, and centered around a single CTA.

Great conversion emails often use these strategies:

• Identify the reader’s persona or archetype. Call out their pain points to show you understand their needs.
• Focus on a specific problem. Position your solution clearly and tie it to their goals.
• Keep one clear CTA. Don’t confuse the reader: one button, one action.
• Add social proof. Use testimonials or results to remove doubt.

Here’s an example from Yokel Local:

In this email, Yokel Local opens by addressing the different roles a reader plays in their business, immediately making them feel seen.

They zero in on a common pain point: struggling to generate leads. The email quickly shifts to a solution: Book a meeting to solve your lead generation challenges.

The layout is clean and purposeful: one bold CTA button, “Book a 30-minute free strategy session,” so there’s no confusion about the next step. Plus, they use customer results to build trust — letting outcomes, not promises, do the selling.

What I like: I really like how Yokel Local structures this email. It feels personal and targeted.

I also like how they identify the problem (too much work to do, taking their focus away from lead generation) and tie it directly to their solution (book a meeting for help). No jargon, no fluff.

5. Follow-up Email Sequences

A follow-up email sequence is designed to reconnect with prospects who haven’t responded to your initial outreach. Just because someone didn’t reply doesn’t mean they’re not interested.

They may be busy, unsure, or need a reminder. Follow-up emails are crucial for keeping the conversation alive without being pushy.

Great follow-up emails often:

• Keep it short and polite. Respect their time. Brevity is key.
• Acknowledge the silence. A soft nudge works better than a hard sell.
• Re-state the value or offer. Quickly remind them why they should care.
• Have one clear CTA. Make it easy for them to take action.

Here’s an example of a follow-up email:

Source

What I like: This follow-up email is simple but effective. It opens by politely checking in. No pressure, just a quick “Following up” to stay on their radar.

Then, it restates the value: solving their productivity problems. Finally, it closes with a clear, easy CTA, “Schedule a call,” making it effortless to respond.

The value reminder is quick but sharp. There is no long pitch, just a clear solution to their pain point (productivity). If I were on the fence, this email would remind me why I reached out without overwhelming me.

6. Re-Engagement Email Sequence

A re-engagement email sequence is designed to win back subscribers who have gone cold. People who stopped opening your emails or engaging with your content. The goal is to remind them why they signed up and rekindle their interest.

Great re-engagement emails often:

• Acknowledge the inactivity. Be direct. Let them know you’ve noticed they’ve been quiet.
• Offer value or an incentive. A free resource, discount, or exclusive content can re-spark interest.
• Make it easy to stay connected. One-click options to update preferences or re-subscribe.
• Give them an opt-out option. It’s better to clean your list than keep disinterested contacts.

Here’s one of our account deletion re-engagement emails:

What I like: I like how this email gets straight to the point. The subject line alone, “Your HubSpot account will be deactivated in 30 days,” grabs my attention because it’s specific and urgent. If I were disengaged, this would make me pause and consider taking action.

The design is minimal and effective: no clutter, no unnecessary images. Just a clear warning and a big, easy-to-spot “Sign in” button. I love this because there’s zero friction. One-click, problem solved.

Plus, they give me a deadline (30 days) but without panic-inducing language. The balance is perfect: firm but friendly.

7. Reminder Email Sequences

A webinar reminder email sequence is designed to ensure registrants don’t forget the event. Even if someone signs up, life gets busy, and reminders boost attendance rates.

Great webinar reminder emails often:

• Keep the subject line clear and time-sensitive. Simple lines like “[Webinar Name] starts tomorrow!” or “Don’t miss us at 2 PM!” drive urgency.
• Reinforce the key details. The time, date, and webinar link should be instantly visible.
• Offer an easy calendar add. A quick “Add to Calendar” button reduces no-shows.
• Build excitement with value. Briefly remind attendees what they’ll gain by attending.

Here’s an example from Dyspatch:

Source

In this email, Dyspatch does a great job of making the details crystal clear: the webinar title and time are right at the top.

What I like: I like how well-designed this email is. It’s straight to the point and easy on the eyes. The clean layout and bold headings make the essential details impossible to miss. I’d know exactly when and where to join the webinar within seconds of opening the email.

The best part is the direct “Join Webinar” button, which is clickable and right up front. If I were rushing between meetings, this would be a lifesaver. I hate when webinar reminders bury the link halfway down the page.

The Email Sequence That Made Us $100,000

What if you could turn a simple email sequence into $100,000 in 30 days? That’s exactly what we did — without paid ads, a huge list, or complex funnels. And now, we’re breaking down every step so you can do the same.

This sequence worked because it tapped into three powerful emotions that drive action:

• Recognition (Pride). People love being acknowledged as it grabs attention instantly.
• FOMO (Regret). If they don’t act, they’ll lose out on an opportunity their competitors might seize.
• Reciprocity (Gratitude). Provide value, insights, or tools, and they’ll feel compelled to engage.

Here’s exactly how we built this sequence, from finding the right leads to sending the perfect follow-ups. Every step, every email, and every insight that made this work.

Step 1. Find prospects who are mentioned in the news.

As a branding agency in the healthcare industry, the majority of our clients are doctors or dentists. To hit $100K in 30 days, we needed the right leads.

Our target? The doctors and dentists featured in the news. These professionals were getting attention but didn’t always know how to capitalize on it. That’s where we came in. Most businesses chase cold leads. We focused on warm prospects: professionals already being talked about who just needed help leveraging that visibility.

And the best part? These leads weren’t just warm — they were likely to reply because we weren’t selling, we were congratulating.

How We Found Them

1. Set Up Google Alerts to automate lead discovery.

• Go to Google Alerts.
• Enter industry-specific keywords (e.g., “orthopedic surgery” or “cosmetic dentistry”).
• Click Create Alert to get email notifications whenever relevant articles are published.

2. Use Feedly for Industry News (Curated Lead List)

• Sign up for Feedly and create a new feed.
• Add high-authority industry websites (e.g., KevinMD.com, TEDmed.com, AdWeek).
• Check the feed daily for doctors or dentists who are getting media coverage.

In the example below, we track the keyword “orthopedic surgery” in Google Alerts. After entering the keyword and my email address, I click “Create Alert.” Now, I will receive an alert any time the news mentions orthopedic surgeries or orthopedic surgeons.

Feedly is another tool to use when monitoring news topics. It is a space where you can privately organize and research topics relevant to you. It is an alternate tool Feed the Agency uses to discover doctors mentioned in the news.

To use the platform, add websites to your “feed.” When a website you’re monitoring publishes a new article, you’ll receive an alert within the platform.

For example, a website we follow in our industry is KevinMD.com. To add it to our feed, I:

• Click “+Add Content.”
• Enter the URL in the search bar: KevinMD.com.
• Click the green “+Feedly” button.
• Click “Add.”

In those four steps, we added KevinMD to our feed. TEDmed.com, AdWeek, and Advertising Age are other websites we’ve used to acquire new customers. They are examples of other websites I have added to my Feedly account.

To view the content from these websites, I click on the “Health” tab, where all the content appears at once.

Step 2. Send an email congratulating them on their news coverage.

Finding the right prospects is only half the battle. The first email determines whether they engage or ignore you. Our goal? A warm, non-sales introduction that stands out from the dozens of emails cluttering their inbox.

Using the free email templates builder from Sales Hub, here’s one of the emails we sent in our first outreach:

Subject: Dr. [Last Name], saw your feature — quick question

Hi Dr. [Last Name],

I saw your feature in [Publication]. Congratulations — great to see your expertise getting recognized.

Many doctors we’ve worked with tell us that after a big media feature, patient inquiries spike — but so do branding challenges. Suddenly, you’re more visible, but are the right patients finding you?

We recently helped Dr. [Similar Name] turn their media exposure into a 30% increase in patient inquiries — without relying on expensive ad campaigns or generic marketing.

If you’d like to learn how we did it, let’s set up a quick call. Please schedule 15 minutes on my calendar.

Best,

Matthew

Why this works:

• There’s recognition first. Opens with genuine congratulations, making the email feel personal.
• We use the pain point hook. Taps into a challenge they may not have considered yet.
• There’s a soft CTA. No “hard sell” or meeting request — just an offer to help.

If they don’t respond within 24 hours, we follow up with Email 2: A personalized and valuable offer.

Step 3. Send a follow-up email with helpful content personalized to their industry.

Not every prospect responds to the first email, and that’s normal. The key to a great follow-up isn’t just “checking in”; it’s offering something so valuable they can’t ignore it. This email shifts the conversation from a simple introduction to real value, positioning us as a trusted resource, not just another pitch.

Email Template – Follow-Up with a Personalized Tool

Subject: Dr. [Last Name], I made this for you

Hi Dr. [Last Name],

I know you’re busy, so I’ll keep this quick. I reached out earlier about your recent feature in [Publication] — and I put something together that might help you make the most of that momentum.

It’s a Physician Brand Differentiation Survey that reveals how your practice stands out, or doesn’t, compared to other top doctors in [City]. Most doctors are surprised by what they find.

See how your brand compares. Take the 3-minute survey here. [Insert Link]

When we speak, I’ll compare your results to those of the top physician brands nationwide. If you’d like to discuss your results, please schedule a time here: [Calendar Link].

Best,

Matthew

Add names whenever possible. Adding a doctor’s name to the survey increased our response rates.

Although it was a small tweak, personalization is a powerful tool. If this email fails to drive prospects to reply or book time on my calendar, I’ll send a second follow-up email using the “Trying to Connect” email template.

Step 4. Handling No response (The “Trying to Connect” Email)

At this point, we’ve sent two emails with no response. That doesn’t mean they’re not interested — it means they’re busy or undecided. This email keeps the conversation alive by removing pressure, offering flexibility, and making it easy to say “yes.”

Email Template – The “Trying to Connect” Email

Subject: Still interested? I can make this easy.

Hi Dr. [Last Name],

I know your schedule is packed, and I want to make this as easy as possible for you.

Many physicians tell me they’re too busy to think about branding — until patient inquiries slow down or competitors start taking market share. I’d hate to see that happen when a simple shift could keep you top-of-mind with the right patients.

I’m happy to accommodate your schedule, including early mornings or weekends.

Let me know what works, or schedule a time here: [Calendar Link]. If now isn’t the right time, just reply “later,” and I’ll follow up in a few weeks.

Best,

Matthew

Why this works:

• The message has a confident but low-pressure tone. No apologies, just an easy way forward.
• The writer reintroduces the pain point subtly. Reminds them why this matters.
• The writer gives them an easy out. “Reply later” reduces friction and keeps the door open.

If there’s still no response, we move to Email 5, the “Permission to Close” Email, where we introduce scarcity and force a decision.

This single email had the highest response rate of all the templates. Why? Offering extended hours could be the key.

Without mentioning explicit hours, prospects might automatically assume that scheduling times are during their business hours. Offering times outside of regular “9 to 5” hours can push prospects to take action.

Step 5. The Final Follow-Up (“Permission to Close Your File?”)

Silence doesn’t always mean “no” — sometimes, it just means “not yet.” But instead of chasing unresponsive leads, we shift the power dynamic. This email works because it gives them two options: engage now or lose the opportunity forever. The fear of missing out does the rest.

Email Template – The “Permission to Close” Email

Subject: Dr. [Last Name], should I take you off the list?

Hi Dr. [Last Name],

I wanted to follow up one last time. We’re finalizing our client list for the month, and I wasn’t sure if you still wanted to explore how to turn your recent media coverage into a patient growth strategy.

I don’t want to clutter your inbox if this isn’t a priority. But if you’re still considering it, now is the time — we won’t be reopening spots for another few months.

Just reply “yes” if you’d like to schedule a call or “close” if now isn’t the right time. Either way, I’ll take care of the next steps.

Best,

Matthew

Why this works:

• The message applies subtle scarcity. Frames this as a now-or-never decision.
• The email keeps it effortless to respond. A one-word reply makes it easy to act.
• The writer maintains authority. No begging, just a professional close-out.

If they don’t respond? We move on. The worst thing you can do is keep chasing dead leads.

Step 6. Improve your email sequence templates by measuring their performance.

A sequence is only as good as its results. Even a well-written email can fail if it’s sent at the wrong time, to the wrong person, or with the wrong message. That’s why tracking performance isn’t optional.

HubSpot’s free email templates tool allows you to measure open rates and click rates. These templates give you the potential to get similar results. Try it out. Create a free HubSpot account, open the email templates tool, and click send.

At Feed.The Agency, we measured email performance and made improvements as we saw fit.

We didn’t just track numbers. We used them to make strategic changes. Here’s what we measured:

• Open Rate. Did our subject lines work? (Target: 50% or higher)
• Reply Rate. Did the email drive engagement? (Target: 10% or higher)
• CTA Click Rate. Were people taking action? (Target: 15% or higher)
• Conversion Rate. How many leads booked a call? (Target: 5–10%)

Key insight from our testing:

One small tweak made a huge difference: We changed the subject line of Email #1 from “Free to chat?” to “Dr. [Last Name], saw your feature — quick question.” That alone increased open rates from 42% to 58%.

Our Email Optimization Framework

We didn’t guess our way to better results. We tested systematically by:

1. Identifying the weakest link. We identified the underperforming metrics: Open rate, replies, clicks, or conversions.
2. A/B testing. When running an A/B Test, we changed only one variable at a time: the subject line, CTA, or timing.
3. Tracking and comparing. We measured results over 7–14 days. Keep what works, discard what doesn’t.
4. Refining and scaling. We applied winning changes across the entire sequence.

If you don’t track and refine, you’re wasting money. The only way to build a high-performing email sequence is to test, tweak, and optimize it repeatedly.

Email Sequence Best Practices

No matter the kind of email sequence you’re creating, there are some best practices you have to keep in mind to ensure that you get the best results possible.

1. Set SMART goals.

Ever feel like your email sequences are just shots in the dark? That’s where SMART goals come in.

Before starting an email sequence, ask yourself: What do I want to achieve with this?

All email sequences have goals, but only SMART goals make success measurable. For example, a lead nurturing sequence might aim to gain 100 webinar signups in 14 days, while an abandoned cart sequence could target a 10% recovery rate within a week.

When setting goals for your sequences, make sure they’re SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This framework ensures that you set realistic goals and achieve them on or before the deadline you set.

Here’s how to apply SMART goals in action:

For a welcome sequence, a goal could be: “Convert 5% of new subscribers to customers within 30 days by offering a limited-time discount.”

Without clear targets, your email sequence becomes guesswork. That’s why I think SMART goals are essential — they help you track success and adjust when needed.

Before you draft your first email, write down your SMART goal and how you’ll measure success.

2. Create an outline for your email sequence.

Ever stare at a blank page, unsure where to start your email sequence? That’s where an outline saves the day.

Creating an outline will help you determine how many emails will be in each sequence. Write down everything you want to include in your emails. When you’re done writing out your ideas, group similar topics into categories.

When grouping your ideas into categories, think about your sequence’s purpose. For example:

• If you’re launching a product, group emails into categories like ‘Product Benefits,’ ‘Customer Stories,’ and ‘Limited-Time Offers.’
• If you’re teaching a skill, outline categories like ‘Getting Started,’ ‘Common Mistakes,’ and ‘Pro Tips.’

Once your outline feels solid, work backward from your main goal. For example, if you’re teaching your subscribers how to start a podcast, your outline might include categories like:

• Choosing Equipment
• Recording Your First Episode
• Promoting Your Show

Outlines aren’t meant to be perfect. They’re roadmaps. Expect to adjust them as you write and refine your emails.

So, grab a notebook or open a doc and start writing down ideas for your next email sequence.

3. Write evergreen content.

Here’s the beauty of automated email sequences: You can write them once, and they’ll keep working for you day after day. Make your email content evergreen and relevant to everyone in the customer segment that’ll receive the sequence.

I recommend avoiding trendy jokes or information that won’t be relevant in the next couple of months. If you include these, you’ll have to constantly edit your email sequence, which defeats the purpose of saving time and providing your customers with a personalized experience.

Instead, write content that centers on your audience’s long-term goals or pain points, such as onboarding guides, case studies, or how-to resources.

For example, Asana sets up new enterprise users with a quick start guide that won’t need updates, which saves them time and resources:

4. Write effective subject lines.

No opens, no results. It’s that simple. The key? Writing irresistible email subject lines.

Consider running A/B tests within your email automation software. A/B tests don’t just boost open rates. They reveal what language, tone, and topics connect with your audience. Test, analyze, and refine so you can consistently craft subject lines that drive higher open rates.

Preview how your subject lines look using a subject line tester, like CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer, to spot length issues and improve readability before you hit send.

Source

5. Include a CTA.

No matter the kind of email sequence you send out, you should always include a CTA to help your readers know what to do next if they decide to act. A clear CTA prevents confusion, drives action, and increases conversions — because without direction, most readers won’t act.

For example, if you’re sending out an abandoned cart email sequence, include a CTA such as “Continue shopping” or “Return to cart” to guide customers back to your website to complete the purchase.

If you don’t include this CTA, they'll close the email and forget about the cart completely.

So, before you hit send, ask yourself: Is my CTA clear, actionable, and easy to find? If not — fix it. If you’re unsure, test it: Could a reader act without reading anything else? If not, make it bolder, shorter, or more urgent.

6. Test all aspects of your email sequence.

Testing your subject line boosts open rates, but why stop there? Every element, from CTAs to design, can impact engagement, clicks, and conversions, so I believe it’s worth testing beyond the subject line. Test every aspect of your email sequence, including CTAs, design elements, email body copy, and the number of emails in a sequence.

Start with one variable at a time, such as testing two subject lines or different CTA placements, to identify what moves the needle.

For example, test subject lines over a week to gather statistically significant data or alternate CTA placements across two email campaigns to identify performance differences. Running split tests on these email elements will help you know which ones resonate most with your audience and encourage them to take action.

When you have this data, you’ll be able to increase open rates, boost click-throughs, and drive more conversions. With 38% of brands increasing their email budget, testing and optimizing your sequences isn’t optional. It’s how you stay competitive. Are your budget and testing strategy ready to keep up?

7. Personalize beyond their first name.

Make your emails feel like they’re written for the reader, not at them. True personalization goes beyond adding a name to the subject line. Tailor emails based on behavior, preferences, and purchase history because personalization isn’t just a tactic. It’s a trust-builder.

For example, you can send follow-ups based on clicks, downloads, or purchases to meet subscribers with exactly what they need when they need it. If someone downloaded a free guide on marathon training, follow up with a discount on running shoes or an invite to a virtual coaching session.

“Hey Jamie, still thinking about those running shoes? Lace up with 10% off — because your next mile is waiting.”

If you’re not using behavior-based triggers, you’re leaving money on the table. I’ve found even one personalized follow-up can drive conversions.

8. Build trust before, during, and after the sequence.

The relationship doesn’t end when the sequence does. Focus on clarity, consent, and follow-through — because trust is earned in every inbox interaction.

Trust me, nobody wants to hunt for the unsubscribe button or, worse, log into some forgotten account. And nothing kills trust faster than unsubscribing and still getting emails. (You know the ones: “You’ll stop receiving emails... in 7-10 business days.”) Why is it so hard to just leave?

Make unsubscribing human and easy. No guilt trips. No hoops. No delays.

Try this: “Not loving our emails? Tell us what you’d rather see or unsubscribe — no hard feelings.”

People come back to brands that let them leave without a fight. If you want to reduce your unsubscribe rate, let subscribers choose how often they hear from you.

Here’s what you can add to your next welcome email sequence:

“Get emails your way. Choose ‘weekly updates,’ ‘just the big news,’ or even ‘email-free vacations.’”

Let them stay on their terms. That’s how you build trust because trust isn’t what you say. It’s being considerate enough to respect their time and preferences.

From Theory to Practice: Implementing Your Email Strategy

Our journey started with a simple goal: Find a cost-effective way to grow without relying on referrals. What surprised me most was that it wasn’t just about earning $100,000 in 30 days.

It was discovering that the most powerful emails weren’t the ones with fancy designs or complex automation. They were the ones that felt human, celebrating others’ success before asking for anything in return.

Remember how we started with the ROI stats — email marketing’s 3600% return and automated workflows generating 320% more revenue?

Our experience proved these weren’t just numbers. But here’s what really matters: You don’t need a massive budget or complex tools to get started. Whether you’re a solo practitioner or running an agency, the same principles apply: lead with value, stay consistent, and make every email count.

Ready to write your own success story? Your next breakthrough might be just one sequence away.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don’t want to be treated as a cost center? It’s time to have measures that tie to revenue.

“We need to cut costs this month to hit our earnings, can you dial back the digital ad spend?” The dreaded, yet recurring, question (or more accurately, order), given to the CMO during an exec staff meeting. A tough quarter, and the CFO has lost confidence in the pipeline, so it is time to reduce costs to hit earnings goals. Who has the easiest dial to turn back? Marketing.

Marketing can only blame themselves. While Sales is producing pipeline reports and closed deal metrics, Marketing brings a 30-slide deck showing social reach, website traffic, event badge scans, webinar attendance, form fills, drip campaign open rates, new collateral, etc. until eyes glaze over. What they do NOT typically do, however, is show the mathematical formula of how their activities are impacting revenue. Their might be a beautiful funnel graphic, but there isn’t a formula to back it up.

This is because Marketing is rarely, if ever, held to a quota. Bonuses tend to hinge more on general activity then on actual, quantifiable, metrics that can stand up to scrutiny. This results in bonuses that are more of an “atta boy” than something that impacts performance. Why is this?

All the data is there, in the CRM and marketing automation systems to measure all the impact we need. It needs to be brought together into one place, analyzed and tracked. Then develop an attribution formula for first touch, last touch, and everything in between. From that model, you can construct a waterfall report from first touch (remembering that 60% of the customer journey occurs before talking to sales), all the way through to won deals. At the end of that exercise, you know the numbers needed to hit your goals, and more importantly what you need to exceed them.

With all the numbers in hand, a marketing quota is easy. Set monthly, quarterly, and annual goals for each of the stages in formula (the formula that has been calculated and tested). Pay bonuses for meeting and exceeding those goals. Reward the team for the contacts, the leads, the opportunities and finally the revenue that marketing generates.

Imagine saying this with mathematically validated and statistically significant numbers: “You realize that for every $100 reduction in digital ad spend, we drop our web traffic, which results in fewer form fills, and with fewer sales opportunities? In fact, cutting advertising right now will have an immediate impact on our traffic, pipeline creation for next quarter, and revenue in the quarter after that? How can we afford to cut our future revenue by that much?”

KEY TAKEAWAY:

Marketing is no longer a cost center, and instead is on the other side of the ledger where they belong.

About Guest Blog Author: Erik Charles

Linkedin Tip 1: Copy Sales Strategies That Already Work

The human attention span is getting shorter. In fact, scientists now reckon our attention is shorter than that of a goldfish! The point is, as marketers, we all want to generate more leads – and ultimately improve our sales – but it’s tough, primarily because everyone is so easily distracted and busy. Generating leads and increasing sales is tricky business!

So what can we do? One possible answer may lie in the use of video.

There’s no getting away from it, video is hugely popular. In fact, by 2017 it’s predicted that 74% of all internet traffic will be video content! So let’s have a look at what you can do with video to to generate leads and improve sales.

Building Understanding

One of the easiest ways to discourage a potential customer is failing to explain your product or service simply. It’s a no-brainer — if you don’t understand something, you’re probably not going to buy it.

A short 1-2 minute explainer video on your home page is one of the most effective ways to build user understanding. A Wyzowl survey earlier in the year found that 73% of people have bought from a company after watching one of their videos.

Create an explainer video and use A/B testing to determine the best position for it on your website. And remember to keep your explainer video short and sweet — 94% of marketers told us they believe the perfect length is 2 minutes or less.

Building Trust

Often, what makes people buy or invest in a product or service is that they trust the brand behind it. Humanising your brand will go along way to making people trust you – you can become a group of real human beings, and not just another faceless company.

Video is a great way to humanize your brand. Take your audience behind the scenes of your business, show them what you do, the characters in your team and demonstrate your passion for your product or service.

One interesting trend in video marketing is the rise of Periscope — and it’s an awesome way to build trust.

Periscope is a live streaming video app that allows you to broadcast video from anywhere. People viewing these live broadcasts can comment and like in real-time.

But how will this improve your sales? Well, it can bring transparency to your brand, build trust with your customers and also put a face, or faces, to your company. Here are just a few ideas on how to use Periscope for your business.

• Behind the scenes — show your customers what goes in the company, show them the process and the people behind it all. Again, building trust is a HUGE deal. The Office of Fair Trade found that 30% of consumers who don’t shop online, cite a lack of trust as the main factor.
• Live Q&As — Helps put a face to the brand and allows you to show off your industry knowledge. This will hopefully lead to a better customer relationship and can establish your business as a thought leader.
• Professional How Tos — Sure,you can do these on YouTube but with Periscope you have the added live element which creates opportunity for live queries from your customers as they watch.

As I said these all help to build trust and humanize your brand as consumers love video. According to data released by Animoto 64% of consumers said video helps them learn more about a company they intend to purchase from. Therefore, live broadcast can only be a good thing for your brand as everything is happening there and then without any editing.

Generating Leads

• Gated video content & CTAs

So you’re creating video and people are watching, they’re interested in what you have to say. This is great – but the problem is, all too often,they’re watching and leaving.You don’t hear from them and you have no way of contacting them. You don’t even know who they are.

There is a solution to this problem. Gating your videos — that is, asking your users to hand over a few details before they can watch all or part of them — is a nice way to turn visitors into leads.

This won’t work for all videos, clearly – you still need those top of the funnel, promotional videos without gated restriction otherwise they won’t bother watching at all.

Instead, like you would with whitepapers or ebooks, you want to use their invested interest to create leads. We’d recommend gating your mid-funnel videos,where your visitors interest is piqued and they’re ready to find out more.

The example above is taken from our Wyzowl knowledge videos, where viewers are asked to input a few straightforward details before seeing the funny out takes and bloopers. They’re likely to input their details because they’ve seen the information they require from the video, which will hopefully inspire trust, they’re not asked to fill out too much, and the reason for filling out their details is given.

The benefit to you is you know these leads are genuinely interested in what you have to offer because they have filled in the data form. Basically, gating your content helps you identify qualified leads who can subsequently be nurtured.

But is it going to work? Well, Wistia offer a gating facility for lead generation called ‘Turnstile’ and they’ve found that videos with forms in them converted at 16% – across more than 2,500 accounts. They also found that videos with forms within the first 20 seconds of the video received 43% conversion rate!

Another thing you can do to take advantage of a viewers interest is close out with a clear call-to-action. If they’ve watched to the end of your video don’t just leave it at that:instead, give them clear direction to another piece of content or the next step in your buyer journey. This lets you keep your video content short and sweet, while actively moving users down your sales funnel.

Vidyard found that viewers who clicked on a CTA at the end of their video converted to trials at a rate of 21% versus 1% of viewers who didn’t get the CTA.

Remember, there’s no need to add forms and CTAs to every video on your site as this could be overkill — not every video is suitable. Instead,think about where in the buyer journey your visitors/leads are – based on the type of video they’ll be watching – to decide if it requires either a gated form or CTA.

Closing Sales

While there’s an increasingly widespread acceptance that video carries serious value for businesses, it remains an under-utilised resource. Even among video marketers, the majority are using 10 or less. The idea of using a video as a series, or as part of your drip-feed email campaigns, hasn’t quite caught on yet.

The thing is, video is such a compelling resource that its uses extend FAR beyond awareness and consideration. Using video in your email nurture sequences is a great (and highly trackable) way to move customers along the buyer journey — adding value every step of the way. Using video metrics around which videos a buyer has viewed, and how much they engaged with it, can play a key part in your lead scoring strategy.

Closing Thoughts

Video is a great way to add value to your customers at every stage of their buyer journey. It helps them learn more about your product or service in a short space of time, gives them valuable knowledge, sets realistic expectations and lets them know they can trust you.

It’s also a valuable tool for your business as it can directly generate leads, play a role in qualifying those leads, and, ultimately, close them into completed sales.

There are almost limitless possibilities with video — and you’re sure to get more leads and ultimately more sales if you make it part of your marketing strategy.

Marketing has entered its “uncanny valley” moment. That term was first used to describe the deep unease people feel when a robot or computer-generated human facsimile nearly succeeds in passing itself off as the real deal. It may walk like a person and talk like a person, but without the nuance, context, and tone that make for real engagement, what’s left rings false. And that’s off-putting.

Some marketing efforts give off the same vibe, like that creepy feeling when a casual online search leads to a glut of ads for the same pair of boots or getaway destination. While this type of engagement represents a step forward in personalizing experiences with customers, clumsy efforts at retargeting often feel intrusive and annoying.

It’s worth trying to get right. We know that personalization can deliver five to eight times the ROI on marketing spend, and can lift sales by 10% or more. Although the marketing industry has been promising personalization at scale for the past 20 years, expecting a machine to generate the perfect personalized experience is a fool’s errand. Rather, we’ve found the best way to achieve meaningful personalization is by systematically testing ideas with real customers, then rapidly iterating. Until recently, however, the tools and capabilities to execute this operation—delivering truly relevant personalized offers and content to millions of customers and prospects, across channels, content formats and touchpoints–have not existed.

Further Reading

That’s finally changing. Marketing technology, automation, and advanced analytics techniques have now reached the level where effective personalization at scale is possible. And yet getting this “test and learn” engine to run properly requires a fundamental re-architecting of a company’s marketing analytics processes. The goal is to create a learning ecosystem, one that connects insights to outcomes as part of a continuous, self-improving cycle.

Integrating the Three D’s

This requires the integration of three things: data discovery, automated decision making, and content distribution.

Data discovery is about sourcing and combining traditional and behavioral data to uncover meaningful insights about customers (such as their preferences, interests, and needs.). Not that this is easily done. Given the complexity of coaxing meaning from a wide range of data, companies tend to limit the data they use, generally focusing on the data that’s easiest to get. In addition, traditional CRM systems, built on more rigid, relational databases, often don’t have the flexibility or scalability to manage vast piles of structured and unstructured data. What companies need are systems that can run the advanced analytics to discover useful and practical insights, and then trigger the sending of appropriate messaging, e.g., if customer “A” does action “B,” send item “C.”

An emerging answer to this issue is the customer data platform (CDP), which is the modern version of a customer data warehouse—though one that is far more flexible and interconnected. CDPs integrate first-party data, including customer-supplied data and purchase history, website or app behavior, and marketing response and engagement information, with third-party data on customer interests and shopping behavior, to improve individual targeting.

The brains that drive automated decision making are the advanced analytics models that produce propensity scores for each customer or prospect. These scores define the probability of an individual responding to a specific offer, or engaging with specific content. Whereas standard data models can only pump out messages or offers, modern automated decision-making processes allow two-way communication—collecting and tracking customer reactions and using that information to guide future messaging and offers. More complex decision-making rules, exceptions, or unacceptable variances can be programmed to be escalated to managers (although these exceptions should be less than five percent of all decisions).

The last mile of personalization is content distribution. A good system will use customer and prospect scores to trigger personalized ads and landing pages, and to distribute specific content, offers, or experiences across channels. For example, a telco could personalize the bundle offered to anonymous website visitors based on the type of car they drive, their city, and the stores they frequent. Similarly, an airline can set rules to help automate decisions on the lowest cost offer for a ticket and predict which types of customers will respond to the offer over email, a display ad, or within the mobile app.

For these three “Ds” to operate successfully, companies need to integrate their technology systems, often through APIs, to allow data to flow where it’s needed and decisions to happen in real-time. Doing so allows much of this cycle to learn and adapt in real time, automatically. A series of virtual “pipes” feed response data from customer interactions into the CDP to develop better statistical and event-based models (e.g., response rates based on an event and context). Predictive marketing analytics then make recommendations on which actions drive the highest conversion rates.

Companies that succeed in integrating and automating their customer and marketing data platforms can test, track, refine and optimize themselves in real-time—ensuring that the right offer goes to the right customer or the best leads get routed to the best salespeople. This allows brands to shape their customers’ decision journeys, deepen their relationships, and gain a distinct competitive advantage.

Providing the Right Functional Support

Of course, it’s not enough to gather insights, even at a massive scale.  The organization has to be able to act smartly on those insights. Addressing that problem requires changing how things are done, particularly in the following four areas:

1. A coordinated strategy. Marketers need to determine where they’re going to play and how they’re going to apply technology to engage consumers. That means defining specific use cases, coming up with schemas, taxonomies, and then orchestrating the right internal and external resources (e.g., agency and technology partners) to manage the process. In many organizations, these responsibilities exist loosely through disparate activities, but they need to be coordinated and managed as a cohesive function to put insight into action at scale.
2. Experienced campaign management teams. While automation implies that you can sit back and let the system run itself, there is no autopilot. It takes experienced marketers to set up, deploy, and manage always-on campaigns. Organizations can run systems internally with a dedicated team or enlist their agency to support them—provided they still appoint an experienced individual to liaise with those agencies.
3. A sustained commitment to analytics. Data and analytics are the backbone of personalization at scale, but an IT-only project won’t work. Senior leadership commitment and cross-functional involvement are required to support the infrastructure and continuously update the data and advanced analytics models that fuel the decision-making engine. Leaders need to continually test business use cases and adjust the data and tech infrastructure, managing these integrated elements in the way one would a “live entity,” one that is dynamic, fluid and ever-evolving. Because the marketing technology ecosystem evolves quickly, systems need to be flexible so that technologies can be swapped out when necessary.
4. A lot of very good content. Content fuels personalization — and someone needs to develop and organize it. You don’t want your “robots” to guide people to stale, irrelevant, or low-quality content. This puts a significant onus on developing a strong content “supply chain” fed by designers, copywriters, animators, and videographers. All content attributes can and should be tested regularly—to refine the look and feel and tone, calls to action, and the value proposition.

Getting to the other side of the “uncanny valley” takes commitment and discipline. But it may be the best option for companies that want to personalize at scale and accelerate their growth in the digital world.

This is the second post on marketing best practices, some of which you may not think impact your overall marketing effectiveness, like deleting old contacts, but they do in a big way. Standardization is one of those areas that can make or break any marketing program and impact an organization long-term if not done correctly. Without standardization of fields, metrics, data and processes, reporting will be skewed, integration of the technology stack will prove challenging, and too many manual processes will be necessary to understand performance, if it’s even possible

Where to start? Focus on building the basics listed here and then go from there:

Perfect your reporting:
When you have clean, normalized data in your fields, not only is it easier to pivot data (utilize data in various ways) but it’s also easier to show results from programs and attribute them to specific tactics. Marketing will be able to show hard numbers for their efforts if there’s adoption around standard values across the organization. Think about what data you need to have to measure results and build a robust database, and then work backward to ensure consistency across the organization.

If data fields aren’t consistent across the organization, there is a chance that vital customer or prospect data will be lost or disregarded, and may cause an opportunity to be missed according to a recent article in MarketingLand. This leads me to my next point that standardization will create happy reporting across all your technology systems.

Optimize integrations across the Marketing Technology Stack:
Long gone are the days of the simple technology stack consisting of a marketing automation platform, one CRM system and a few other technologies sprinkled in. There are apps and platforms for just about everything that promise to make your work a little bit easier, a little faster and a lot better. No matter where your ‘one true source’ of data lives, it’s in your best interest to be collecting information in a standard format across your Marketing Technology Stack.

Update progressive profiling fields often and ensure your lead sources and tracking fields are consistent across the organization (marketing, sales, support, customer success, accounting, and others). All of these impact reporting and will save manual cleanup time by standardizing.

Remove manual processes:
There’s no winner when you have a large database full of dirty data. Data clean up may keep your summer intern busy, but there are better things for an intern to do. Standardization removes a bulk of manual process around any data uploads, cross-platform data, and the weekly/monthly/or quarterly cleanup done before formal reporting. It not only saves time, but also reduces the margin of error due to complexity across systems and departments.

The topics of clean data and standardization aren’t sexy, but are an essential part of any marketing best practices that impact results. These tasks aren’t easy, can be time-consuming and tedious, especially when coordinating across multiple team, brands, business segments, or global strategies. However, once done properly and strategically with an eye on ways to utilize the data for optimization (cross-sell, up-sell, customer retention or new product launch), it’s worth it. The only data that matters is actionable data and if it is not standardized, it’s not truly actionable on a large scale.

The horrifying attacks that hit Paris last week, killing at least 130 people, seem set to fuel the rise of the already strong far-right parties across Europe.

Even before the attacks, for which the group ISIS has claimed responsibility, Europe's tolerance toward the hundreds of thousands of mostly Muslim refugees flowing into the continent had started to fade.

The tolerance had been increasingly replaced by exasperation, amid an overflow of migrants and failure by authorities to deal with the crisis.

And it has proven to be a windfall for the far-right throughout Europe. In France, the far-right National Front party has surged. The Sweden Democrats, in their country, have experienced a similar phenomenon. And in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has endured one of the most tumultuous stretches of her political career amid the migrant crisis.

Only a few years ago, reverting to a pre-Schengen agreement — referring to the 1985 accord that allows for the free movement of people and goods across the European Union – would have been regarded as nearly impossible. Today, it seems more and more like a very tangible possibility.

"We haven't heard rhetoric like this in Europe since the 1930s. It really worries me," Morgan Johnansson, Sweden's migration minister, told the BBC days before the Paris attacks.

Over the past week across Europe — and in the US, too — calls to stop taking in refugees, for more surveillance and for tighter border security have become overpowering.

The politicization resulting from the Paris attacks began Saturday. In Lille, a city in the north of France, anti-Islam protests broke out at a rally calling for unity. 

'It made Bush seem restrained'

Marine Le Pen, the head of the Front National party in France, wasted little time after the attacks in displaying her rising clout.

In a speech the day after the attacks, she declared that "France and the French are no longer safe." She insisted on the importance of re-establishing border controls in France, something that seems to have struck a chord with much of the increasingly anxious public. 

"No matter what the European Union says about this, it is essential that France regains control of its border, for good. Without borders, there is no protection or security possible," Le Pen said. 

Her speech about the attacks was widely shared on social media, and it even appeared to bring in some who were previously skeptical. Among the more typical reactions: "I don't normally like her, but she is right."

Yet, French President François Hollande’s perceived strong reaction might yet spur others against aligning with the far-right party in December's upcoming regional election.

Anand Menon, a professor of European politics and foreign affairs at King's College in London, said Hollande's reaction thus far — France pounded ISIS' stronghold in Syria not 48 hours after the Paris attacks — have made former US President George W. Bush's post-September 11, 2001, response seem "restrained."

"Francois Hollande set himself up to be the defender of security in France," Menon said, pointing to the "hawkish speech" the French president delivered after the attacks.

"I thought it made Bush seem restrained in the aftermath of 9/11."

Hollande's steps — declaring a state of emergency, closing France's borders, and upping its military campaign against ISIS — helped him appear as a determined, driving force inside an increasingly distraught Europe.

"Hollande has cast himself as a national symbol of unity," Menon said.

Others have also drawn parallels between the 1995 terrorist attacks on the Parisian metro system and the ensuing rise in support for the Front National. Menon said there are two big differences between the two sets of attacks.

"Today, the Front National is already polling as high as they probably will," Menon said, alluding to the fact that the far-right party is now already among the most popular parties in France and may not have much more room to grow.

According to the last seven polls — spanning from July 2014 to November 2015 — conduced by the French public-opinion institute Ifop, Le Pen has led each time when voters are asked, "If the next presidential election was next week, which candidate would have the best chance of getting your vote?"

As Menon suggested, it's unclear whether Le Pen has room to expand.

The second difference between the pair of attacks, Menon argued, is the fact that ISIS remains viewed largely as a foreign entity that France is bombing abroad. Menon said this frame more favorably casts the image of a government that is acting vigorously against the threat abroad, rather than against homegrown extremists.

'A free country facing chaos'

Still, far-right parties have been gaining momentum in Europe over the last few years, and the recent refugee crisis has intensified their already strong positions. And the attacks on the "City of Light" could further cement their lead in not only France, but also a slew of other countries in the European Union.

In an article published in the UK magazine Prospect, University of Kent Matthew Goodwin wrote that far-right groups across Europe are garnering support because they have recognized "that public anxieties over migration, refugees and Islam are as much about perceived threats to their cultural security, values and ways of life as they are about welfare states and the distribution of resources.”

The attacks on Paris could therefore further cement their lead in many countries throughout the continent, as fears grow of further attacks and of the possibility that terrorists could hide among the Syrian refugee population. (A refugee passport was found on the body of one of the attackers, but the circumstances of how it ended up there are not clear.)

"We have images of refugees every day, and now, terrorism," Nonna Mayer, of the CNRS research institute, told The New York Times. "The National Front has been saying, 'We have been warning you for the last 10 years.' At first sight it will help their dynamic, which is already excellent."

In Sweden, the country's far-right party, the Sweden Democrats, received more than 12% of the vote in last year's election. In Austria, the anti-immigration Freedom Party received just more than 20% of the votes in 2013.

And in Germany, Merkel's popularity has been tumbling since she announced her open-door policy. According to a poll conducted last week, the AFD (Germany's far-right party) is now the third-most popular party in the country.

And, even if the Front National and other far-right parties do not get added support following the attacks, their dynamic has placed current governments under more and more pressure to take drastic measures against real and perceived threats.

The French prime minister, Manuel Valls, unveiled on Thursday a new security bill that would strip those convicted of terrorism of their French nationality. 

"This bill will also encourage the closing of mosques if they become too radical," Valls said. "This bill is the answer for the right of a free country facing chaos."

SEE ALSO: ISIS is setting a trap for Europe

Join the conversation about this story »

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Before coming to grips with the more complex definitions of Framing, it should be understood that Framing is perceptual; in other words, Framing is not about what is said, but how it is said. There are several complex definitions of framing which can be broken down into simpler language:

• Framing is the relationship between context and information as it determines meaning.
• Framing is a template or data structure that organizes various pieces of information.

Framing then, is how things are “put.” Or the way words and concepts are presented and “slanted” so that they will produce a wished-for effect. The principal field of human endeavor that comes to mind when discussing Framing, is… Marketing.

A famous example of framing is one that employs different words to describe a car accident. Participants in a study watched a video of a car accident. A question about the speed of the vehicles as they “touched” was framed in two separate ways:

1. “How fast were the cars going when they contacted each other?”
2. “How fast were the cars going when they collided, or smashed?”

Participants who were asked the first question typically responded that the cars were going at a lower speed, than participants who were asked the questions when it was framed as a collision or a smash.

Did the cars contact or collide?

While most people believe that they are constantly making rational decisions and that they are in control of the cognitive and emotional processes that lead to making a decision, this has been proved to be untrue, for at least some of the decisions that are made, especially those which involve buying, selling and marketing.

Smokin’!!

A good marketing campaign must take into account the attitudes and wishes of those to whom the campaign is directed; advertisers are keenly aware of the benefits that can come from exploiting cognitive biases.

Marketing campaigns which were designed by the tobacco industry to influence consumers to take up smoking, or to quit smoking, have demonstrated strong examples of the knowledge of particular demographics, such as teenagers, women, men, sportspeople, tourists, those on the dating market and the sufferers of airways-related diseases.

The Marlboro Man Advertisement, which first appeared in 1954 in the US is directed at the Macho Man and it infers that strong tanned stockmen and ranchers smoke Marlboro cigarettes. It’s a persuasive advertisement and the verbal lure “Come to Where the Flavour Is” indicates that Marlboro smokers know where to find the good things in life. The ad frames cigarette smoking as a powerful and attractive habit and as a practice that will increase a man’s machismo and sex appeal. A slimmer, quieter man could easily be influenced by this advertisement, as the advertising executives at Marlboro exploit the vulnerabilities of men who feel that they do not appear to be enough of a rugged He-Man.

Not enough of a macho man? Maybe stay away from our product..

The 1968 advertisement for Virginia Slims which shows the three-quarter side-on image of a woman with a knowing smile was vilified by feminists who felt that the history of the women’s movement had been mocked. What kind of audience is this advertisement focussed on? Women who are well-off enough to wear fur? Women who are sophisticated and knowing? In any case, the woman who smokes Virginia Slims has Come a Long Way.

That advertisement frames cigarette smoking as progressive, something the intelligent, worldly woman would do. It may attempt to cognitively bias a younger, less well-off, or less well-educated woman to think that by smoking the new slimmer (more sophisticated) Virginia Slims she can layer a glossy patina of worldly-wise glamour onto her life.

The huge financial benefits which accrue to marketing companies who create these advertisements, is derived from careful Framing and Cognitive Biasing techniques which use images and language in precise ways. The consumer is moved away from rational decision making into an irrational area where decision making is made from a consciousness that has been tweaked and manipulated in the zones where it is most susceptible. In both the above cases the potential smokers of Marlboro and Virginia Slims cigarettes stand to gain something indefinable but precious, a stronger Self Image.

Framing Effect – Is It Worth It?

Online marketers know the value of framing; utilizing keywords and taglines that show how a customer will benefit from consuming a product can lead to more conversions.

The L’Oréal campaign for marketing its brand of women’s cosmetics has been famous for its tagline “Because You’re Worth It.” for decades. This tagline frames a woman’s desire to purchase skincare products, especially those from L’Oréal.

Why does a woman buy skincare products from L’Oréal? – Because She’s Worth It. The company L’Oréal has employed many actors and models to speak this line; to have a beautiful, famous woman tell you that you’re worth it adds a degree of impact and permission that could be lacking if this line was spoken by a business woman. Or would it?

The line “Because You’re Worth It” effects issues that women may have about self-esteem and beauty; these are cognitive biases of an extremely personal nature. Thoughts such as: “Am I beautiful?” “How can I become beautiful?” “Do I deserve to be beautiful?” “Should I purchase skincare products?” are influenced by the verbal frame “Because You’re Worth It.” These four words answer all these questions at once and seemingly resolve any residual guilt or doubt about skincare purchases or the right to think about one’s personal appearance.

The L’Oréal advertisement addresses the issue of a woman’s independence, her right to make choices on her own behalf. It soothes away all the difficult questions which touch on a woman’s integrity and her perplexity about her personal appearance. Yet they also issue a challenge: If you don’t buy our product, does it mean you don’t think you’re worth it?

Beauty issues offer up to advertisers the rich vein of desire mixed with insecurity that women feel about their looks. The reason that it is a beautiful model or actress who speaks the words “Because You’re Worth It.” Is because women may want to be successful, but they want to be beautiful, too.

If the aim of marketing is to influence behaviour, L’Oréal have skilfully used the context of fame and beauty to influence women to purchase their skincare products.

The L’Oréal cosmetics campaigns show the Framing Effect put to a very profitable use. Most women are rational enough to know that beauty cannot be bought in a jar and yet, week by week or month by month, this rational opinion is forced aside by the adept use of Framing because – as Beyoncé Knowles or Blake Lively declare – “You’re Worth It.”

In the five years since Saeed El-Darahali started SimplyCast, a start-up in Dartmouth, N.S., not one of his employees has ever quit. For the 40 people who now work for him, office hours begin as late as 1 p.m., ice cream cakes are common, mini-putt tournaments are encouraged, and footwear is optional.

“I come up with these crazy, unique ideas,” says El-Darahali, 34, who learned to progam computers at age eight. “It means we can hire the best of the best and make sure our employees have good lives.”

But there is one paramount perk, prompting recent grads to start applying by the dozens: El-Darahali will make the minimum monthly payment on an employee’s student loan. He began advertising this perk in May, and the first two employees to benefit from the system will begin working in the fall, after passing a three-step interview process. The most expensive of their loans will cost El-Darahali $490 per month, which he will pay directly to the employee, on top of the $60,000 annual salary. By December, he intends to hire another four graduates, who will all likely bring debt for El-Darahali to inherit.

The boss had student loans of his own, after graduating from Saint Mary’s University in 2002. His degree in computer science and his later M.B.A. left him $50,000 in debt, which he had to pay off as he and his wife started a family. After working as an intern for four years at places including Innovacorp, a government-funded agency that helps to fund and mentor entrepreneurs, El-Darahali invented a platform that became the foundation of SimplyCast. The technology offers automated marketing and customer services for businesses, and it merges email, phone and social media systems for individuals or businesses to become more efficient. SimplyCast’s clients include the Bank of America, Eastlink and members of the U.S. Congress.

For entrepreneurs in Dartmouth, El-Darahali wants to create opportunities locally, so they don’t have to look for work abroad—not even across the bridge in Halifax. “He considers himself a native of silicon Dartmouth,” says James Eddie, a history student who has worked with SimplyCast for about a year as an account manager. “He can offer something for everyone.” In the hiring process, applicants have the option of creating their own jobs, where they pitch themselves and their skills. If Eddie continues to work for SimplyCast after graduating in 2016, he will benefit from the debt-payment program. “It’s fantastic,” he says, “and the workplace is all about having fun.”

The office has an Xbox room, a napping room and a lobby for playing guitar. “It’s almost like home,” El-Darahali says. “Some guys grow their beards very long. Others have blankies at their desks.” Employees choose their hours, as long as they are in the office between 1 and 5 p.m. “If their kiddos are up all night, or they have doctors’ appointments, it makes sense for them to come in late,” he explains.

SimplyCast made nearly a million dollars in its first year, and is now seeing double-digit growth each month. Part of the company’s success stems from El-Darahali’s ability to pick and choose whom he hires, as he receives applications almost daily. Employees are motivated to grow the company, not only because they will get promoted for securing new clients, but also because they value their utopian jobs. And if people fail, the boss celebrates their mistakes by offering them a podium to share what they have learned. In this unconventional company, interns offer opinions at senior decision-making meetings, where the executives are listening as they sit in sock feet. “I spend 80 per cent of my week without shoes on,” says El-Darahali. “But we don’t go barefoot. You never know what it could smell like.”

Despite his playfulness, El-Darahali has always been driven. On report cards, teachers remarked, “Saeed never sleeps and is always working.” At age 14, he started a company selling cotton candy to 150 stores across Nova Scotia, with his dad driving the van until he got his licence. Two years later, while he was in high school, he joined the military reserves and ran the candy business on weekends. Now with four children under the age of 10, and a company growing as fast as his kids, the pace is only picking up. He wants to set an example for other businesses, especially within Nova Scotia, to create jobs that sustain the well-being of employees. “I guess my hidden agenda is that I have kids whose lives I want to be good later on.”

For El-Darahali’s team, staff parties this year might include rock-climbing, a harbour tour on a tall ship, or all-you-can-eat sushi. The competition among applicants is fierce, but, at least until December, he is hiring.

The post The boss who pays student debts appeared first on Macleans.ca.

When Dave Sandoval was 17 years old he decided to move out.

"I couldn't live in a house without food anymore," he tells Business Insider. "I made myself homeless. I walked away, and it was a better life than the one I had."

Sandoval, now 53, has mostly good memories from his year as a vagabond — like sleeping on the beach and being the first person to catch a wave in the morning, or pretending to be drunk at parties so the hosts would offer him their couch for the night. "When you're that young, you're used to acting defiant," Sandoval says. "And making myself homeless was a way of proving to the world that I didn't need a home."

The carefree and entrepreneurial-minded man spent the next 35 years jumping from job to job. He worked at a bowling alley, sold stereos, fixed golf carts, worked at an oil factory, washed trucks, sold real estate, and eventually sold stocks. He got fired from every single one of those jobs, "not because I wasn't there on time, but because I kept telling the boss 'We could do this better or cheaper,'" Sandoval says.  

In the early 90s, after hearing that his aunt died of multiple sclerosis because of the way she ate, Sandoval went to work for a Japanese pharmaceutical company to promote healthy living. However, he soon learned that the company was not in fact selling organic and unpasteurized products. "I said, 'Who the hell is going to do something just because it's right? Why does everything have to be driven by somebody's self interest?'" Sandoval says.  

That's when he started making 100% pure products out of his home in 1994, and he now has 100 pharmacists and almost 30,000 salespeople around the world working for his company, Purium Health Products, which hit $47 million in revenue last year and is expecting to hit $75 million in revenue this year — a 276% growth in just three years.  

He says there are three important lessons he's learned that have helped him get to where he is today:

SEE ALSO: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

1. Don't place blame on others.

If Sandoval could tell himself one thing at age 17 when he left home, it would be: "Do not blame my parents for my situation." 

He says he was angry at them for a while because they didn't do the things for him that his friends' parents did for them. "That was a mistake," Sandoval says. "The only thing they have to do is give you the opportunity; it's up to you after that."

While you may be born into a less-than-ideal situation, he says you can't focus on that — you have to make decisions based on how you can move forward today. Blaming others won't get you anywhere. If anything, the negativity and bitterness that come along with pointing fingers will hold you back from succeeding.

He says you should go even one step further and take responsibility for your actions and decisions. Just own them. It'll pay off in the end.

2. You have to be willing to work hard.

When Sandoval was in seventh grade, living in Bellflower, California, his father was working at a trucking company that helped ship Hershey's chocolate. Sandoval figured a can or two of the chocolate wouldn't be missed — so he started making chocolate Rice Krispies treats with it on the weekend to sell at school. 

At 50 cents a piece (and a good amount of work), the treats brought in about $80 a week — more than his dad was making with all of his side jobs, including wrapping newspapers, cutting copper out of wire, and collecting bottles. "I thought, 'Wow this is pretty cool,'" Sandoval says. "Every entrepreneur has a story like that."

3. If you want to succeed, you have to gain people's trust.

The single most important lesson Sandoval has learned, he says, came from a coworker during his time as a stereo salesman. 

Sandoval says he had always been the best salesman at any job he took...until he worked with Mike. 

Mike sold the most stereos every week — even when he was on vacation — because people trusted him. 

Sandoval had been trying to sell stereos by describing all of its features, but Mike just walked up to potential buyers and said, "Oh my god you're gonna love the way this sounds with that other stuff I sold you! This is just fantastic!" And they would go, "Okay Mike, I'll take it" because they trusted him.  

Sandoval says this was the number one lesson he took with him to Purium Health Products. "When I started my company I said the number on thing that I'm selling is trust."

He knew if people trusted him, then they would believe him when he said, "These products are 100% pure." 

Later, after he had started his company, Sandoval became a regular guest on different radio shows in New York. He says when listeners called in, the radio station would often ask them, "Why do you listen to this show?," and they all said one thing: "Because we trust Dave." 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A buyer’s journey is similar to that next great trip you’re embarking on. In B2B sales the difference is you’re travelling with a bunch of colleagues instead of friends and family. Also, a few executives are probably holding the purse strings instead of your parents or significant other.A few perfect strangers, along with a few of their friends potentially, are coming along and may completely ruin your trip. Or at least that’s what happened when we were buying new cell phone plans, and had a salesperson that wasn’t in lockstep with us on our journey, trying to sell us a bunch of stuff we didn’t need. I felt like I was being treated like a fanny-pack-wearing tourist being offered “authentic hand made products” I didn’t need, which I knew were churned out in a factory.

Were they trying to rain on my vacation? No, the reality is that they failed to follow some basic principles we all use in planning trips – they didn’t read up on what I needed and lacked the proper tools to keep up with the group that was making the decision. That is if your group even knows which direction they’re headed. Much like people with very little time off, planning a vacation, coworkers are not exactly in agreement on which direction to go with a purchase, when, and how to get there.

My colleague’s recent blog “5 Lessons Learned From 300 Companies Investing In Sales Force Enablement” talks about the enormous benefit of creating content and enabling sales from the customer perspective, accelerating lead to opportunity conversion by 38% and helping 13% more reps attain quota. However, the results exposed by a CSO Insights report can feel as difficult to achieve as pulling off a successful vacation.  To help you move down that path, here are 4 best practices I use when I travel in a group that correlate to the buyer’s journey, and will have your salespeople viewed as the best travel guides / sherpas / friends your customers could ever ask for.

1) Know people’s past, what they want, and get alignment around goals

I used to start planning trips by sharing all the places that I wanted to go with my companions in an email, and similar to a mistake salespeople regularly make by prescribing before diagnosis, I pushed my favorite locations as if they were products and features. It didn’t work out so well. The first thing to do is understand where other people have been and where they want to go.

The same is true early on in a buyer’s journey. Doing research by talking to the buyer to understand where they are in their buying cycle is critical.  Is what you’re offering part of their initiative? What are their needs? What pain do they feel as part of their current process?  What was their experience last time they bought something? Have they worked with others on a project like this before? These answers will give you the basis for the next phase and the depth of understanding you need to align them to your solutions.

2) Narrow to the best locations and solutions based on their goals

Instead of constantly sending group emails back and forth with different opinions on where to go, it’s easier to make decisions with data. One way is to use a Google survey with a list of places curated based on the common goals. In addition, find out more details. Ask people to write a bit on why they chose each location to give others more context, clarity, and consensus.

This logic applies to a group trying to decide on the vision for a solution, as salespeople constantly solicit and share information back from the group to gain alignment around a decision. Without the right data on all these disparate buyers, you’ll end up having to guess where your buyers’ heads are at. Giving Sales a solution to instantly share and present content while measuring consumption over the sales cycle keeps everyone on the same page.

3) Optimize timeline and methods of transportation for results

You’ve got a destination, but now logistics come into play. What is the timing of all of this? How will we travel between locations? Working backwards from the end of the vacation is an easy way to figure this out in chunks of time, but why reinvent the perfect vacation when people have done this before? Lonely Planet is a great guide that provides content for each segment, and companies like Zozi actually plan trips for groups with every step carefully curated and purchased by them, based on their expertise.

In the same manner, you should work backwards from a purchase leveraging a compelling, timely event for your buyer – their next corporate initiative, sales kickoff, a big event, or a project deadline. Align your content in buyer-centric playbooks much like travel guides to give your salespeople and their customers the best practices on how to progress to a purchase. Every vacation and buyer journey are different, so make sure playbooks take personas into account.

4) Leverage technology and data to make everything easy and fun

The best trips are effortless, unique, and have a mix of fun and education. Today you can stay in the exact location you want with AirBnB, save maps and itineraries offline, and even use walking audio tour apps like Detour. All this data is crowd sourced, ranked, and accessible. The role of technology and apps in our personal life that provide better data has drastically impacted the ease, cost, and enjoyment of travel. Forget searching 10 airlines, guessing where the best locations to go are, and not having access to information when you’re there.

Forward-thinking companies are investing in similar technologies for sales teams where content analytics align sellers with what the buyer cares about. A recent IDC report found that companies that address the “content disconnect” with technology and process see a 36% increase in revenue and a 30% decrease in costs. Using tools can facilitate this co-operation by giving everybody accurate, objective, and measurable data that each group can build on. 46% of executives claim that a lack of visibility into which content is read and used impairs their ability to plan, forecast, and budget. The key to success is giving leaders the analytics to understand the buyer’s journey to create the content and playbooks that move the prospect along it.

Let us know how you map to your buyer’s journey, or we’d love to hear your travel tips. To learn more about how you can align Sales and Marketing to the buyer’s journey, download the  CSO Insights 2015 Sales Enablement Optimization Key Trends Analysis report here.

This article originally appeared on the Showpad Blog.

The US auto industry is one big story of innovation, success, failure and recovery.

One look at the bankruptcies and bailouts of the last half-decade among America's big three — GM, Chrysler and Ford — and it's easy to see that even the giants were liable to fall.

The economic crisis also touched some well-loved import brands, like Volvo and Saab. Saab filed for bankruptcy in 2011. Volvo flirted with an unceremonious near-collapse in the late 2000s.

All of these carmakers have bounced back in their own way, but the story of Volvo's revival might be the most inspiring. Business Insider sat down with Volvo Cars of North America CEO Lex Kerssemakers at the 2015 LA Auto Show to learn how the Swedish brand turned itself around.

A loss of identity

Volvo went through an identity crisis after Ford bought Volvo Cars for nearly $6.5 billion in 1999. The Swedish vehicles once known for their quirky, offbeat styling and robust performance, began what would be a decade-long march toward irrelevance.

Though the carmaker would sell nearly 140,000 vehicles in the US under Ford's ownership in 2004, sales would fall off a cliff from then on. Ford was having a crisis of its own. It sold its other luxury brands — Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin — in 2008, but held on to Volvo, hoping to expand the line to compete with BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the US.

The effort wasn't successful. Volvo sales bottomed out at just under 54,000 models sold in 2010 — the same year that Ford sold the hobbled brand to China's Geely Holding Group for nearly $1.5 billion.

Volvo minus Ford

Volvo was left scrambling. "We had to literally reinvent the company," Kerssemakers recalled, citing that harrowing 2008 to 2010 period. "[We had] no platforms and no engines because they were all Ford ... we faced an aging XC90 at that stage, and we had no platform to put a car on."

Kerssemaker's introspective tone betrays a sense of urgency. Clearly, Volvo was fighting for survival, and it all depended on the product. The Swedish carmaker had to reclaim its identity. It started with the engines.

"We went for 4-cylinder turbos," Kerssemakers explained, "we combined it with plug-in hybrid technology because we strongly believe that's the best alternative."

If you think this amounts to the diminution of engine performance, you would be mistaken. As Kerssemakers put it, "you get V8 power with 4-cylinder fuel efficiency."

Of course, a new engine is no good without a new platform to pair it with. Volvo made "a new platform that was scalable, which facilitates batteries from the start," Kerssemakers said of Volvo's Scalable Product Platform (SPA).

The first pitch

With a brand-new engine and platform, Volvo still had to show a sign of life — proof that its multibillion-dollar comeback strategy was really taking shape.

That's where the the new XC90 crossover came in, Kerssemakers said.

The XC90 concept first debuted in spring 2012, three years before the production model hit US dealers in 2015. It has been very well received. The first batch of 1,927 "launch edition" examples sold out in just under 48 hours.

As of the end of October this year, customers have snapped up nearly 7,300 new XC90s, and just this week, Motor Trend named it SUV of the year.

To Kerssemakers, this is confirmation that Volvo is finally headed in the right direction. The award "supports our platform strategy, our engine and electrification strategy — that's big for us. Getting a prize like this, you know that what's coming [next] is good. That's why it's so emotional."

The next phase

Volvo plans to put its newly minted platform to good use.

In the "next four years, we're going to replace everything," Kerssemakers said, suggesting that Volvo's flagship S80 sedan and its smaller crossover, the XC70, are due next.

And with the help of its first-ever US assembly plant, the company wants to pass the 100,000 vehicle sales threshold again.

In addition to new product launches, Volvo is also wading deeper into autonomous technology, with its "Concept 26" program. It's built on the premise that connected autonomous vehicles could give back the average 26 minutes that drivers spend commuting in the US.

After its decade of uncertainty, Volvo's transformation into an energetic and self-assured brand is proof that, despite tough odds, the Swedish automaker hasn't lost an ounce of its grit.

But challenges remain. Volvo can claim only half a point of market share in the US, while BMW and Mercedes handily send hundreds of thousands of customers home with their vehicles year after year.

And as popular and capable as the Volvo XC90 is, the company has to move quickly on its next new batch of vehicles. Some of them will be based on a smaller platform Volvo is co-developing with its Chinese owner — which itself could be an iffy proposition with choosy American buyers. 

Getting back to the 100,000 annual sales mark still may be a stretch goal for Volvo since the company's new South Carolina plant won't be able to hit those six-digit production numbers until after 2018.

But, if nothing else, Volvo has proven its skill in beating the odds.

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