Rnordman

Remember that time when you’ve been ridiculously lucky that everything seems to be working on your way? Yeah, that was an awesome time. But what about those times when the sky seems to be falling down on you? We all had those moments. Even your B2B marketing has those moments.

There are numerous unexpected events that happen in the fast shifting B2B marketing generation, and you could only do as much as take it as it goes. But when it reaches a point where it could be a bit threatening to your B2B company, I don’t think you would want to just sit and wait for its effect.

These events might not affecting the process of your B2B marketing for now, but trust that preparing for it will come in handy.

The web is getting slower and it’s not even because of your Internet provider. It’s the increasing average site that takes it longer to load. Now you can’t possibly take off all of your images, scripts and custom-layout just so that your web page loads faster. What you need to do is simply optimize it. Remove unnecessary designs and limit the number of images in your website are a few. Keep your website visually appealing but not to the point that it takes minutes to load.

Social media has long played a huge part not just for digital marketing but for every lead generation campaigns. It’s no surprise that B2B companies jump into the notion of social media marketing because millennials practically spend an incredible amount of time in social media sites. However, though you’ve given much effort and focus into your social media campaign, it turns out the B2B prospect’s issues are often not met in social media sites. Now you are to make sure you’re not one of those who only uses social media for web traffic. Engage your B2B prospects by responding to them regardless of the platform they use.

One of the most used and effective method in lead generation is email marketing. However, as reliable as it still is, email marketing would indefinitely be replaced with emerging channels. It’s not something you should be worrying for now though. Sending out emails your B2B prospects still has a long way ahead. The challenge now for you is to level up your email marketing’s sophistication while it still attracts your target B2B prospects. Simply writing a script that seems more personal for your prospects can shoot up your response rate.

Not all tactics used to get B2B sales can go smoothly. Mishaps happen, certain setbacks occur but the bottom line is, there’s always something to work on your strategies to make them better.

WASHINGTON – Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates were mixed this week, marking slight increases or declines but remaining close to high levels for the year.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage edged up to 4.02 per cent this week from 4 per cent a week earlier. The rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped to 3.21 per cent from 3.23 per cent.

Mortgage rates have increased in recent weeks, in the midst of the spring home buying season, as the economy has shown signs of improvement.

Government data issued Tuesday showed that purchases of new U.S. homes surged in the Northeast and West last month, as steady job growth over the past year has lifted the housing market. Sales of new homes have soared 24 per cent year-to-date and are on pace for their best year since 2007. They’ve been bolstered by the additional incomes from employers hiring 3.1 million workers in the past 12 months and mortgage rates that remain low by historical standards despite their recent increase.

A year ago, the average 30-year rate was 4.14 per cent; the 15-year was slightly above its current level, at 3.22 per cent.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country at the beginning of each week. The average doesn’t include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 per cent of the loan amount.

The average fee for a 30-year mortgage was unchanged from last week at 0.7 point. The fee for a 15-year loan rose to 0.6 point from 0.5 point.

The average rate on five-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 2.98 per cent from 3 per cent; the fee remained at 0.4 point. The average rate on one-year ARMs declined to 2.50 per cent from 2.53 per cent; the fee rose to 0.3 point from 0.2 point.

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According to Demand Gen Report’s 2014 B2B Buyer's Behavior Survey, 34% of respondents said the number of team members involved in a purchase decision has increased over the past 12 months. With the number of influencers on the rise, marketers are using Account Based Marketing (ABM) to be more focused and targeted in their approach to engaging contacts at dream accounts—those big accounts that fit their company’s customer profile in terms of industry, revenue, stage in the buying cycle, or other criteria.

One of the strategies of monetizing your blog that pays the best is creating sponsored posts for brands that you work with. While many influencer firms, such as Clever Girls and MassiveSway, connect you with opportunities you qualify for. What if you want to work with a company that fits your niche but does not offer opportunities through your existing partnerships?

This week, I had the opportunity to interview expert blogger Claudia Krusch of TrendyLatina.com about pitching brands. She has worked as a content creator and influencer with many top name brands, such as Michael Kors and is Director of the social media management firm Social Coerce. Claudia’s philosophy? “I believe in honest, hard work to earn money.”

Pitching Brands Interview With Claudia Krusch

Hi Claudia, thank you for your time today. What advice can you give to bloggers who want to pitch brands they have not yet worked with?

Claudia:

Pitching, or better yet, co-pitching with other bloggers, a brand starts long before you reach out to them. You need to make your social media stream desirable. Brands are now looking back 2 to 3 months at your social media stream. At least one month before approaching a brand, you need to start sharing content that is in sync with their brand as well as following them. Don’t just share randomly. Set a social media strategy and then fill it with organic content that represents you.

Try to find brands that you’d spend money on anyway, not something new, so that it is organic to your lifestyle. Once you’ve set your strategy, reach out to the brands on social media. I prefer to private message brands on Twitter. Then, I tell them that I’d like to send them a media kit and discuss a partnership. If they are not following you, comment on their feed. I have not gotten a “no” so far in pitching!

Many bloggers are uncertain how to price themselves and work in exchange for one low-priced product or very low costs. What advice can you give them?

Claudia:

You need to value yourself! This is work – you’re not doing them a favor. You need to boost your strengths. For example, I’m very good at Instagram, so most of my work now is in that medium. I’m getting paid the same rate as I did for sponsored work, which takes much more time and effort for me than social media, which is my strength.

In addition, once you are ready to reach out and send your media kit, offer them 2 or 3 other potential blogger partners and options on what you will do for them. I’m mostly working with social media but I do offer blog post options. Brands like to have this all defined for them in advance. If you are setting up the campaign, it makes it easier for them to accept your pitch.

Also give them options on what you would like in return. Tell them, “This is what I do, can we work together?” If you’ve done the groundwork properly, I’m confident you’ll get a yes.

Are there any potential problems that bloggers can address that will help them look more favorable to brands?

Claudia:

Yes! I recently gave some advice to a new blogger who was struggling to get brands to work with her. I took a look at her stream and there was no strategy to her social media. There was no rhyme or reason to her posting.

As I told her, you have to define your brand. That is the starting point – without doing that, you can’t set a strategy. You have to be in sync with your brand and stay true to it. This blogger took my advice and then had the courage to reach out to brands. She landed her first review and is moving forward.

To be successful, you need all those elements to be tied together: your brand, your stream, you. Your followers need to find those elements in your everyday life. For example, my followers know what I like and that carries through my life and my stream. It’s not fake, it’s who I am.

Any mistakes they should avoid?

Claudia:

A lot of bloggers go looking for “stuff.” They want to get something or get compensated. That should not be your end goal. Compensation comes because you’re doing something you’re truly interested in.

Think deeper when you’re doing this as a business. Brand interest will come as you are sharing what you really care about. Then you need to find the best way to blend it all together.

Key Takeaways For Pitching Brands:

1. Make sure you create your own brand first.
2. Develop a social media strategy that is inline with your own brand and stick to that for at least 2 months before reaching out to a brand.
3. Pitch a complete campaign with options for what you can do for them and what you expect in return. Recruit other bloggers when possible.
4. When pricing or asking for product, remember this is work. Value yourself!
5. Don’t do it for the “stuff” or for compensation. Work on things that you like and care about.

What To Charge For A Sponsored Post

As Claudia said, you need to value yourself. Sue Ann Dunlevie of SuccessfulBlogging.com has an interesting article on what to charge for blogging. Even if your page views are 5,000 unique views per month on Google Analytics, you can very likely charge between $50-100 per post. If not, learn how to get your first 1000 page views. In addition, Claudia’s advice shows the importance of a strong social media following. Learn how to grow your followers.

Once you have a rate set for your blog, you can charge slightly less to post on someone else’s blog. I say less because when it’s your blog, you’re charging for work plus advertising. Remember that a sponsored post is advertising that never leaves your blog! This is why ads do not cost as much as sponsored posts. Ads are rotating fees that can be renewed and expire, and as such, will be a much lower fee.

Don’t Forget Your Media Kit

As you can see, it’s critical to have a media kit for pitching. Design one as soon as possible. This does not have to be a painful procedure! You can make it in your word processing software. You need to include the following items:

• Your photo (the one you use on your blog and as an avatar, which should be consistent), blog name and logo.
• Your contact information, including email and phone.
• Your blog’s mission and target audience. Tell them what your brand is.
• Any accomplishments that relate to what you will be offering brands. These can be viral posts, awards, workshops, ebooks you’ve written, influencer achievements, etc.
• What you can offer a brand, for example: sponsored posts, Twitter party management, conference representative, etc. Make sure your accomplishments are in line with this.
• Brands you’ve worked with in the past.

I will leave you with my own recent story. I’ve been working in the organic food/natural health space for over a year. During this time, my family has been working with a homeopath who is also a shop owner. She kindly gave me a gift certificate for a giveaway last winter. After that, we began to discuss how I might write for her. We spoke this week and she is keen on working with me in an even bigger capacity for networking efforts and conferences. This will be my biggest project to date and it all arose organically.

So brainstorm your brand, clean up your media stream, be authentic, value yourself and start creatively considering what you can offer a brand. You have nothing to lose.

In April, Google unveiled Project Fi — a new wireless service the company claims will deliver faster speeds and better coverage with a unique, economical approach to pricing. Today, we’re going to take a look at what Google wants to do, and how they plan to pull it off. What Is Project Fi? Project Fi is Google’s effort to ensure that everyone has access to a high speed wireless network all the time. Because, even in today’s connected world, there are still times when we need information quickly but don’t have a fast enough connection to get it. Project Fi aims to make sure that never...

Read the full article: How Google is Trying to Free You From Your Cell Phone Plan

I have a confession.

When I first started writing for WordStream, I didn’t know the first thing about AdWords. I was familiar with a handful of online advertising terms – I knew what pay-per-click ads were – but beyond that, I had no idea. I didn’t know what cost-per-conversion meant. I didn’t know what negative keywords were. I didn’t know the difference between an ad campaign and an ad group.

I literally found learning Japanese less intimidating than AdWords.

Although I haven’t kept up with my study of Japanese, I have learned a great deal about AdWords, all without going through the certification process.

Depending on who you ask (or what you do for a living), passing the Google AdWords exam is either absolutely vital or completely unnecessary. Either way, knowing your way around AdWords can be highly beneficial, even if you don’t go through with getting certified.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to get to grips with AdWords. In today’s post, I’ll outline six of them. Some of these resources focus primarily on the basics, whereas others deal with a mix of beginner, intermediate, and advanced topics, so there’s something for everyone.

1. Google’s Essential AdWords Courses

It should come as little surprise that Google’s learning resources on AdWords are among the best out there. Covering a wide range of topics and offering lessons based on three tiers of experience, the Essential AdWords Courses should be the first destination on any paid search novice’s path to mastery.

These courses are an excellent primer for the beginner, but those with at least some AdWords experience may find them more useful as a refresher before moving on to more in-depth material. If you’d rather take a more self-directed path, you can browse lessons and tutorials by topic in the AdWords Learning Center.

2. WordStream’s PPC University

Once you’ve devoured the official Google learning resources, check out WordStream’s very own PPC University.

Even if you’ve gone through Google’s Digital Marketing 101 and 102 courses, PPC 101 is still worth checking out. Here you’ll find lessons on core PPC concepts such as click-through rate, cost-per-action, and conversion rate optimization, as well as in-depth guides on ad text, Quality Score, and account structure.

The PPC 102 and Advanced PPC tracks cover a wide range of topics you’ll need to understand to become a paid search professional. In PPC 102, you’ll learn about negative keywords and keyword match types, how to optimize ad text and make use of extensions, landing page optimization, and the importance of A/B testing, among other topics. If you’re a seasoned AdWords veteran, check out the more advanced guides on Call Tracking, PPC for lead generation, dayparting, and mobile PPC in the Advanced Track. You’ll also find recordings of previous webinars and our “Ask the Experts” video series here.

3. Udemy’s Google AdWords For Beginners

Udemy is one of the best online learning resources out there, and its Google AdWords for Beginners course is certainly one of the most comprehensive.

Offering four hours of video instruction spanning 44 topics, Google AdWords for Beginners is a thorough introduction to the AdWords platform. It isn’t free, but for learners who want to really sink their teeth into a meatier resource, it’s hard to beat.

One of the major benefits of this course is the inclusion of screencast walkthroughs of a live, active AdWords account. The disconnect between theory and practice is one of the biggest obstacles for beginners to overcome, making this a great addition to an already comprehensive introduction.

4. The Ultimate Guide To Google AdWords, Fourth Edition

For our fourth resource, we’re going to go offline for a while, pick up an actual book, and read words printed on a page. Radical!

Renowned AdWords expert Perry Marshall’s landmark book, The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords (4^th Edition), is essential reading for AdWords newcomers. You won’t find a lot of detailed walkthroughs of specific features or (many) screenshots of the AdWords interface, but you will find a wealth of strategies and techniques behind successful advertising campaigns. Perry explains the principles behind the advertising part of AdWords, how to think like a successful advertiser, and the marketing techniques that can take your AdWords campaigns from “good” to “great.”

If the resources above are the how, think of this book as the why.

5. Lynda.com’s Google AdWords Essential Training

I’m a big fan of Lynda.com’s video tutorials, and this course is no exception.

Aimed primarily at beginners, Lynda.com’s Google AdWords Essential Training is precisely that – a step-by-step guide on how to get started with AdWords from beginning to end. Spanning more than three hours of video instruction, this series (like all Lynda titles) is broken into short, easily manageable videos, meaning you don’t have to sit for hours at a time to get what you need out of each lesson.

In addition to the very basics, such as setting up an AdWords account and using the Keyword Planner for keyword research, this course also includes some nice bonus lessons on slightly more advanced topics such as A/B testing, remarketing campaigns, and getting started with video ads.

6. Certified Knowledge’s AdWords Lessons

Few people know PPC as well as Brad Geddes, once of the paid search world’s most highly sought consultants and speakers. Brad’s company, Certified Knowledge, offers a remarkably in-depth AdWords training program that anyone who’s serious about the AdWords mastery will want to check out.

Offering more than 150 video tutorials, these training resources are among the most comprehensive of any provider out there. Although the Fundamentals and Introduction to AdWords lessons are worth looking at, it’s the Intermediate and Advanced tutorials that really shine. Once you’ve gotten a little experience under your belt, dive into these courses to learn everything from advanced bidding strategies and location targeting to AdWords reporting functionality and even Display Network campaigns.

As Certified Knowledge is an official Google-authorized training provider, you can rest easy in the knowledge that these video tutorials are of a very high quality. They may not be free (see this page for pricing), but for serious AdWords practitioners and committed learners, it’s a worthwhile investment.

Still Stuck? Ask The Experts!

These resources should be more than enough to get you started on your AdWords journey. However, it’s virtually impossible for any site to preemptively answer all your questions, which is why WordStream launched the “Ask the Experts” video series.

How did you learn AdWords? Did you bother to get certified once you figured out the platform? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

One day, my husband and I were doing what many married couples do – having an argument. In the heat of the debate over a very serious topic – which Starbuck’s drink is most popular (such an important issue, right?). Rather than drawing out the argument any further, I settled things quickly by reaching out to our trusted advisor (A.K.A. Google). Upon a quick search, the answer to the question was presented in the search results (in case you’re curious, the most popular drink varies by region). The argument was settled, and we could go on with our day.

In a sense, Google’s ability to instantly resolve an argument is a good thing. A husband and wife no longer have to deal with unresolved conflict over Starbuck’s most popular drink. Conversely, it’s also not completely positive because it does the “thinking” for us. With a fine-tuned machine like Google, many times we don’t have to use our problem solving skills to reach a solution. The “thinking” capabilities of Google’s platform are scary yet fascinatingly promising. And, they are very much a good representation of what artificial intelligence has in store in the future for inbound marketing.

What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the use of computer systems to mimic human decision making, problem solving and reasoning. It is an area of computer science that attempts to reach the level of intelligence in humans through the use of computers and software. In some instances, you may see artificial intelligence used interchangeably with machine learning; however, the terms do differ.  Machine learning is an area of artificial intelligence that aims to use behavioral and learning principles in algorithms to help achieve artificial intelligence in software without programming. In this blog, we’ll focus on the broader topic of artificial intelligence.

How Does AI Impact Inbound Marketing?

As you likely know, inbound marketing is an approach to online marketing that naturally brings in customers through campaigns that provide the customer value and make it easy for the customer to find the company online when they need them. In inbound marketing, the customer and their needs are at the foundation of marketing activities. To put the customer at the center of marketing campaigns requires constant collection and measurement of the customer’s online activity. Inbound marketing and automation software like HubSpot helps to do this and collect the data needed for artificial intelligence to work.

AI Evolves Inbound Marketing Technology

Because of the goals driving inbound marketing, the data and capabilities of inbound marketing software has grown exponentially. Inbound marketer’s have at their disposal a mass amount of data that can be mined and analyzed to help make predictions and decisions as to where to focus future marketing campaigns. These goals have driven a need for more complex technology solutions. Technology solutions that are evolving to encompass artificial intelligence.

For example, InboundWriter.com is a software that allows marketers to gain predictions in performance on content ideas before publishing them. The software’s algorithm uses real-time web data to take the guesswork out of content. As this example demonstrates, AI is already making a subtle impact on inbound marketing and has been since inbound’s inception.

Google’s AI Investments & Inbound Marketing

In a Search Engine Land article published in March, Nate Dame emphasizes that Google has been investing heavily in AI technology and talent in recent years. Considering the fact that Google can provide an answer to nearly every question we have and even predict the question we are asking as we type it into the search bar, this investment in AI technology is clearly paying off for Google. However, are Google’s AI capabilities going to be a hindrance or facilitator to inbound marketing campaigns?

Because both Google’s algorithm changes and inbound marketing share a common goal to put the customer first, it’s likely going to be a facilitator to inbound marketing. As long as inbound marketers focus on creating content built for their customers not search engines, Google’s AI capabilities will work in their favor.

AI Is Only As Good As The Data Mined

Marketers are already beginning to see the wrath of data overload, but because artificial intelligence relies heavily on data, data overload could have negative implications for AI.  To make AI work in inbound marketing, marketers need to improve the data they have, keep it up-to-date and gather it in real-time.  With accurate data, AI coupled with big data can have a big impact on the performance of campaigns.

Performance Will Improve With AI

A major force that’s driving artificial intelligence growth in inbound marketing is the need for improved performance and ROI from campaigns. Marketers have more and more pressure to maximize results while minimizing costs. AI technology helps to provide marketers with predictive analytics that will improve the performance of their campaigns.

Looking To The Future

In a recent article from Marketing Land, Paul Roetzer describes well what the future of AI has in store for marketing campaigns:

Imagine an algorithm-based recommendation engine for all major marketing activities and strategies. The engine will use a potent mix of historical performance data, industry and company benchmarks, real-time analytics, and subjective human inputs, layered against business and campaign goals, to recommend actions with the greatest probabilities of success. If built or acquired by marketing technology heavyweights, these tools will add algorithmic marketing strategy to the automation mix.

Although for some marketers AI is seen as a threat because the more we can rely on AI the less we’ll need humans to the do job, we’ll always need humans to ensure that these systems are working properly.  According to a 2013 study by Oxford, artificial intelligence could replace nearly half of U.S. jobs. Yes, artificial intelligence replaces some jobs, but it also creates jobs in other areas, and as mentioned, humans will always be needed to ensure AI is working as it should. After all, we’re already an overworked society. Why not let machines carry some of that load to make us even more efficient?

Millennials are marketers’ biggest challenge. They have tremendous buying power but are skeptical of traditional marketing. This presents a unique challenge, as marketers will need to prioritize the values that matter most to millennials—such as authenticity, individualism, and brand experience—in order to connect with this elusive audience.

Here, we offer five concrete steps to improve your brand’s Millennial marketing strategy:

1. Tap into Social Networks

In the past, advertising was consumed through traditional marketing channels such as print and television. But Millennials are the most digitally connected generation, consuming content across multiple online channels. One way to market to Millennials is to evoke a multi-platform approach through social media. A total of 71% of Millennials are daily users of social networks and are spending a daily average of 5.4 hours on social platforms (Ipsos, 2014.) The best way to access Millennials is through the platforms they trust and are already active on.

2. Leverage Mass-Individualism

While Millennials still enjoy and value brands, they no longer want a logo to define them. They want to be the trendsetters, trailblazers, and nonconformists. Along those lines, Millennials also love being recognized for how they use your products post-purchase. The key is to bolster the bearer. Highlight the innovative ways Millennials are using your products by reposting their photos on your owned media. It’s a symbiotic relationship—you validate your Millennials as individuals and they validate your brand.

3. Use Peer-to-Peer Word-of-Mouth

Millennials are selective in who they trust. However, studies show that they exhibit high levels of trust for content generated by their peers (The McCarthy Group, 2014.) In response, marketers should prompt dialogue between current and perspective millennial customers. There are many ways to leverage the content generated by your consumers– but the first step is to identify your brand influencers.  If you can develop good relationships with your brand influencers, you might be able to get them to share your brand message with their followers. Word-of-mouth marketing is not dead—rather, it is as powerful as ever due to the prevalence of social network use.

4. Start a Two-Way Conversation

Millennials are the first generation to be truly open to engaging and sharing your brand’s advertisements. Consequently, traditional one-way marketing is an ineffective tactic for driving brand messaging to a generation that has unprecedented access to finding and sharing information online. Engaging in a two-way conversation on social platforms fosters genuine relationships with Millennial customers and helps to win their loyalty. Pay close attention to brand mentions from your customers on social media and try to make an effort to “like” and “comment” on all positive submissions. Remember that social engagement converts customers into brand loyalists, creating a peer-to-peer megaphone of online brand endorsement.

5. Create a Seamless Omni-Channel Experience

In today’s hyper-connected world, it’s essential to streamline your brand experience across multiple devices. Millennials are digital natives and 87% use two to three devices at least once a day (Elite Daily, 2014.) Your brand also needs to find innovative ways to bridge the physical and digital divide. The path to purchase (regardless if it’s offline, offline, and across multiple devices) needs to be made easy. Millennials have high standards for their purchasing experience, and making your website mobile friendly, creating a great native mobile shopping app, and offering in-store pick up—are just a few ways to bridge the chasm.

Millennials are ready to spend money and to advocate for your brand– if you play by their rules. This generation is looking for brands that have evolved past traditional marketing and understand the nuances of advertising in the digital space. Millennials are not impossible to sell to, but marketers need to take steps to grow their trust by adapting both channel and message.

It's summertime, and the living is easy — but the selling is hard. Even the most prolific salespeople aren't immune to the summer slowdown.

When prospects are on vacation, calls go unanswered, and LinkedIn connection requests remain pending for days. It's a rough time for people whose job revolves around connecting.

But the worst thing you can do is panic amid a summer slowdown. Instead, check out these 15 tactics to get back on track during a slow season.

A Data-Backed History of Summer Slumps

How will this summer compare to past pre-pandemic summers? To find out, HubSpot surveyed 100,000+ customers around the globe and compared their summer results to pre-pandemic benchmarks.

Here are a few key takeaways.

Closing Deals

Good news: In 2021, businesses saw a higher deal closings rate than in pre-pandemic years.

Industries with the most significant growth include Leisure and Hospitality (+44.7%), Manufacturing (+13.65%), and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+10.62%). Industries with the slowest growth were Construction and Financial Activities.

Having trouble seeing this graph? Click here for a PDF.

Web Traffic

Now the bad news. Last summer, global traffic dipped across almost all industries and segments. Unlike in pre-pandemic years, businesses saw less website traffic and fewer qualified leads.

Having trouble seeing this graph? Click here for a JPEG.

June of 2020 was the month with the most seasonal changes or slumps. The industries that saw the largest dips in traffic were Construction (-12%), Financial Activities (-11%), and Manufacturing (-7.2%).

The data is clear — businesses experienced more deal closings but less traffic last summer than in pre-pandemic years. If you notice these trends with your own business, continue reading to learn the best tips for increasing sales in the summer.

How to Bounce Back From a Summer Slump, According to Sales Leaders

Here are 15 tips to get yourself back on track during the summer. Taking action will improve your attitude and, at best, snowball into a steady stream of sales.

1. Prospect, prospect, prospect.

No movement at the bottom of your pipeline? Take some time to refill the top.

According to Colleen Francis, founder and president of Engage Selling, the secret to beating quota month after month is to maintain a consistently full pipeline. This way, even if you miss your number once, you're laying the groundwork to crush quota in the future — and possibly make up for your slow period.

2. Tune into trigger events.

Just because people are on vacation during the summer doesn't mean business screeches to a halt. Paying attention to trigger events and using them as sales openings is a best practice year-round but can be particularly helpful during a slump.

Set up Google alerts for your prospects' companies to keep abreast of any major announcements. If relevant news is announced — big or small — pounce on the opportunity to send a message connecting your offering and/or expertise to the event.

In addition, keep an eye on buyers' LinkedIn profiles and take note of changes. New title? Updated summary? Send a message and rekindle the conversation.

3. Seek referrals.

"I like to call top customers in July to check in regarding the state of our relationship and see if there are other divisions or connections that can use similar help," Dan Tyre, Marketing Fellow at HubSpot, adds.

If your prospects are unavailable, call your customers and ask if they know anyone who could benefit from your product or service. Because you'll be kickstarting your relationship with the referred prospect with a personal recommendation instead of earning trust from scratch, the deal can close much faster.

4. Upsell.

Since you're calling happy customers anyway, you might as well inquire about their usage of your product or service and ask if they're bumping up against any of the limits. If so, time for an upselling conversation. Remember — sales isn't all hunting, all the time. Farming can be just as profitable (and is often far easier). In fact, half of companies see 11-30% of their revenue come from upselling.

Image Source

5. Revisit old deals.

Remember that prospect who said it wasn't the right time a few months ago? Well, it just might be the right time now.

While it's unlikely that deals in the pipeline for six months or more will close, it doesn't hurt to give it one last-ditch effort.

Consider sending a breakup email to the prospects you put on ice a while back. This type of message is especially effective at generating responses. Once you get the prospect talking again, you can determine whether the deal is worth pursuing further or if it's time to purge it from your pipeline.

6. Set a goal.

Of course, you have a quota to hit — that's the ultimate goal. But if you're in the depths of a summer slump, it can be helpful to set a few mini goals to sustain a good amount of activity and keep your spirits high.

Maybe you want to make three calls by the end of the day. Perhaps you're striving to present five demos this week. A smaller goal can keep you pushing ahead — especially when the quota seems hopelessly out of reach. You might find that the big number becomes much more attainable after you soar past a handful of smaller hurdles.

Salespeople say that setting goals or receiving clear goals and expectations is the number one aspect of internal sales culture that helps them succeed. 

7. Change up your messaging.

Is no one answering your emails or calls? Draw inspiration from the season to change up your messaging. A bit of seasonal humor can go a long way in grabbing buyers' interest.

For example, you might kick off a voicemail with "You're probably on a beach somewhere now, but ... " or, "If you can pull yourself away from the barbecue ..." Of course, the more rapport you have with the prospect, the more effective these blips of humor will be.

8. Remind prospects about upcoming obligations or deadlines.

There's nothing like reminding a prospect about a looming fall deadline to ramp up the urgency. It can be hard to concentrate on — and plan for — the months ahead during the dog days of summer.

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If the prospect needs a solution in place by [X] date or an upcoming goal they're at risk of missing, gently nudge them to take action now — before it's too late.

9. Network on vacation.

Sales reps deserve some R&R, so be sure to take some time off from the everyday grind. For maximum vacation restoration, leave your laptop behind and turn your cell phone off.

But just because you've cast your go-to tools aside doesn't mean you have to stop networking. Chat with the people at your hotel, or start conversations with the folks one umbrella over on the beach. You might just find a referral source — or, better yet, a new prospect.

10. Make it easy for prospects to schedule meetings with you.

Summer is often a frustrating time to book meetings. One week you're on vacation. The following week, your prospect is. Add in a holiday weekend, and the back-and-forth scheduling emails can get old quickly.

Consider installing a calendar app like You Can Book Me or Doodle to make it easy to nail down a time. Eliminating friction points in the buying process can boost your merit in prospects' eyes and make them more likely to buy from you.

11. Ask your director about sweetening the pot.

Every business goes through sales slumps, and it's the job of sales managers and directors to formulate a company-wide strategy to combat them. Odds are, if you're having a dry spell, some of your colleagues are too.

Approach your manager about levers you can pull to get more prospects biting — discounts, freebies, relaxed contract terms, etc. Salespeople say that this strategy works, and offering discounts/promotions not only increases sales but also draws in new customers, which is exactly what you’re looking for during a challenging summer pipeline. 

Image Source

To convert new customers during a summer slowdown, the most effective discounts to consider offering are bundling your products, free trials, and loyalty programs (if applicable to your business model).

Be mindful that these options should only be used as a last resort. You should always strive to sell buyers on value, not price or terms.

12. Collaborate on new marketing collateral.

When business is slow, consult with colleagues in marketing about new collateral. As a sales rep, you're in a prime position to identify topics that would resonate with buyers. If you provide marketers with the idea, they can bring it to life. And a new piece of content that effectively attracts or nurtures leads means more prospects for you to sell to down the line.

13. Plan your outreach according to when people are on vacation.

It's common knowledge that summer is vacation time. But certain weeks are more popular than others.

For example, you can almost guarantee an automated reply the week of July 4th. In fact, according to data from Tripadvisor, July and August are the most popular vacation months. With this in mind, reps can plan their outreach accordingly.

14. Take advantage of the summer holidays.

Although the summer holidays can make outreach challenging, they provide an excellent opportunity to market and advertise your business’ products and services. Draw inspiration from the summer holidays to create advertisements that show prospects how your business can benefit them throughout the summer.

You could, for example, pick a date and capture prospects' attention by sending targeted emails for holiday sales. 

The list below are key summer holidays to consider: 

• Memorial Day: Last Monday of May
• Father's Day: Third Sunday of June
• Independence Day: The Fourth of July

To capture your prospects and customers' attention in an unique way, you can leverage more memorable and humorous summer holidays in your outreach: 

• National Donut Day: First Friday of June
• Take Your Dog to Work Day: First Friday after Juneteenth
• National Handshake Day: Last Thursday of June
• Get to Know Your Customers Day: Third Thursday of July
• Talk in an Elevator Day: Last Friday of July

15. Develop an out-of-home marketing strategy.

During the summer, your prospects will spend less time in the office and more time on vacation. Whether your audience takes a flight far from home or opts for a staycation, they will spend less time looking at computer screens and more time looking at out-of-home and direct mailers.

According to a 2021 study by the Out of Home Advertising Association of America, out-of-home advertising leads consumers to discover new businesses and brands. About 34% of consumers in large urban areas say out-of-home advertising influenced their decision to buy a product.

Invest in billboards, bus shelters, mailers, and other out-of-home and direct mail advertising to reach your prospects outside their inboxes and keep your business top of mind during their summer vacations.

Back To You

You might go through a sales dip in the summer, but don't let your shoulders slump. Come fall, the business will be booming once more. Model your disposition after the weather — the sunnier, the better.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Responsive images have been keeping us on our toes for quite some time, and now that they are getting traction in browsers, they come with a scary problem: the need to efficiently resize all our image assets. The way responsive images work is that an appropriately sized image is sent to each user — small versions for users on small screens, big versions for users on big screens.

It’s fantastic for web performance, but we have to face the grim reality that serving different sizes of images to different users means that we first need to create all of those different files, and that can be a huge pain.

The post Efficient Image Resizing With ImageMagick appeared first on Smashing Magazine.

For a salesperson, persuasion is the ultimate superpower.

How often do you get a call from a prospect you’ve never spoken to before who says, “I love your service and it’s the perfect fit for my business. Where do I sign?”

Probably not that often.That’s where persuasion comes in. Some deals are easier to close than others, but all sales conversations will involve some degree of persuasion -- even if both salesperson and buyer know your offering is the best choice.

It’s not easy -- if persuasion were simple, far more than one-third of all salespeople would make quota. But adopting the techniques below can make you more convincing, and influence prospects to buy.

This guide is divided into four sections. Use the table of contents below to quickly navigate to each:

1) Quick Tips

2) Conversational Pointers

3) Timeless Advice

4) Psychological Hacks

Important note: Salespeople should not sell prospects unless they're confident the product or service will benefit them. Persuading someone to reach a mutually beneficial goal is one thing. Lying is another. Don't cross the line.

Quick Tips: Persuasion Hacks

These four tips provide quick and easy ways to immediately boost your self-confidence and perceived authority.

1) Make the right amount of eye contact.

They say that eyes are the “windows to the soul” for a reason. Eye contact engenders a subconscious sense of connection. In a Cornell University study, researchers altered the eyes of the Trix cartoon rabbit on several boxes and then asked adults to choose one. Participants most frequently chose the box where the rabbit was looking directly at them.

How much eye contact is enough? According to body language expert Carol Kinsey Gorman, you should aim to make direct eye contact for 30% to 60% of your conversation.

2) Smile and dial. 

You won’t always be able to meet prospects in person. So it’s a good thing we are remarkably sensitive to vocal intonation even when we can’t see the speaker’s face. One study even showed that we’re able to identify different types of smiles based on audio alone. 

With this in mind, you’ll come across as more engaged and helpful if you smile during a conversation, and your prospects will be happier to talk to you.

Fun fact: Nestlé actually places a mirror at each salesperson’s station as a reminder to reps to smile while they dial.

Smiling can help your own state of mind as well. Research shows that even a forced smile decreases stress levels and makes you happier. So smile! It’s good for you, and people will respond positively to your enthusiasm and upbeat mood. 

3) Use “power poses” to increase your confidence.

“Fake it ’til you make it” is oft-given advice, but does faking it actually help you achieve your goals?

According to psychologist Amy Cuddy's TED talk "Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are," it does. Cuddy conducted a study where she asked participants to stand in poses associated with high-power and low-power positions for two minutes.

Saliva tests revealed that the high-power group saw a 20% increase in testosterone levels, a hormone associated with confidence, and a 25% decrease in cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress. The low-power group experienced a 10% decrease in testosterone and a 15% increase in cortisol.

When you’re confident, you inspire confidence in others. Your prospects don’t want to listen to a meandering, uncertain salesperson -- they’re looking for an authoritative guide who can lead them through a confusing purchasing process.

So the next time you want to instill trust, strike a pose. High-power poses include standing up straight with your hands on your hips, leaning back in your chair with your feet on your desk, or sitting with your legs and arms spread. Low-power poses include sitting hunched over or shrinking in your chair.

You can see more high-power and low-power poses in the recording of Cuddy’s TED talk on the subject, starting at 10:40.

4) Nod at your prospect.

Like smiling, the physical act of nodding is so associated with agreement that it has measurable effects on opinion. Research shows that people who nodded while listening to a radio broadcast agreed with the broadcast’s content more than people who shook their heads or made no head movements while listening.

Because humans naturally mimic each other, your nods will likely be contagious and prime your prospect to say yes.

5) Use your hands.

If you're meeting with the buyer face-to-face or over a web conferencing platform like Skype, use hand gestures. 

"Emblematic gestures, such as the OK sign or extending two fingers to signal two, are particularly helpful in aiding memory," writes Richard O. Young, author of Persuasive Communication: How Audiences Decide.

One study found audience members remembered 34% of a message when the presenter used emblematic gestures, compared to just 5% when they didn't use any gestures.

Conversational Tips: What to Say and How to Say It

The number of words you say in a sales conversation represents the number of opportunities you have to win that deal, so make every word count. Use these tactics to make sure you’re communicating the right way.

6) Use your prospect’s name.

Remember that a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language. -Dale Carnegie

You should know all your prospects’ names and the names of their businesses. If you don’t, learn them. (Memory not your strong suit? Try out HubSpot's free CRM to help keep track of all the prospects and deals you’re currently working.)

Not only is remembering (and using) your prospect’s name common courtesy, it also subtly reinforces your relationship and demonstrates that you respect them as a person, separate from your business dealings. It's the reason a personalized "Hi, [recipient's name here]" is becoming near ubiquitous in email marketing.

7) Sequence your questions strategically.

The best way to get somebody to agree with your argument is to make them think they thought of the idea first. That means understanding your prospect’s strengths and weaknesses as well as or better than they do, and asking questions designed to guide them to your proposed solution.

To do this, start with questions you know will be answered with a “yes.” This strengthens your prospect’s faith that you understand where they’re coming from, and gets them in the habit of agreeing with you. It also helps you build your case piece by piece, instead of having to stop and handle objections every five minutes.

Word your questions in a way that reinforces your product as the best choice. Instead of asking, “What’s the best way for you to improve [X part of your business]?”, emphasize the value of your product: “If you were to perform [X action enabled by your product] and it created [Y positive business result], would that be valuable for your team?”

A tip from the lawyers’ playbook: Once you’re past the initial discovery and solution-building stage of the sales process, avoid asking questions you don’t know the answers to. Instead, do enough upfront work so you know everything you need to know in order to anticipate and mitigate objections.

8) Mirror your prospect.

We naturally pick up the mannerisms and speech patterns of the people we spend a lot of time with. Why? It makes us more likable.

In one study, people were more likely to report positive feelings toward those who mirrored them. In addition, once a participant had been mirrored, they acted more favorably to people in general -- even those who hadn’t been involved in the initial conversation.

While you should stop short of blatant imitation, be attuned to your prospect’s behavior, and calibrate yours accordingly. If they seem timid, don’t overwhelm them with exuberance, and vice versa.

9) Affirm your prospect’s concerns and questions.

There’s no such thing as a stupid question. When your prospect raises objections or asks for clarification, use language like, “I see where you’re coming from,” and “That’s a great question” to reassure them that they’re being heard and respected. 

10) Avoid putting prospects on the defensive with the Ransberger Pivot.

If a prospect misrepresents information you’ve provided or objects to one of your points, you have two options. You can respond with, “You’re wrong,” and put them on the defensive, or you can use the Ransberger Pivot to bring them around.

(Hint: go with the pivot.) 

Developed in 1982 by Ray Ransberger and Marshall Fritz, the Pivot is a three-step technique designed to positively address disagreement:

1. Listen to your prospect’s objections.
2. Understand your prospect’s objections, or ask questions until you do.
3. Find a common goal in your prospect’s objections and convince them that your solution is the best way to achieve those goals.

For example, if your prospect raises concerns about your lengthy onboarding process because they want to hit the ground running, acknowledge their desire to see results as soon as possible. Then point out that while you're fully supportive of their goals, they'll be able to better achieve the desired outcomes if they spend the initial time upfront to learn every facet of your product.

11) Avoid filler words.

According to a study from call analytics platform TalkIQ, steering clear of filler words like "um" and "like" can lead to longer sales calls. 

"There was 30% less use of these words in longer calls than shorter calls," explains TalkIQ CEO and cofounder Yon Nuta. 

Filler words make you sound less confident and credible. They're also distracting, especially if you use them so often the buyer starts anticipating when you'll say one next. 

Luckily, there's a simple fix. Replace filler words with short pauses. Not only will you sound more self-assured, you'll also give your prospect more time to digest your message.

Timeless Advice: How to Win Deals and Influence Prospects

In 1938, Dale Carnegie penned the now classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People. In this section, we’ve taken some of Carnegie’s best tips and given them a sales-focused spin.

12) Appeal to the nobler motives.

Maybe your prospect wants to make enough money to hire an additional employee so they can get a raise, or look good to their boss. And your offering can help them do just that.

But framing the entire sale as a salary or promotion play won't get you very far. Even if you win over your contact, they certainly won't be able to secure buy-in from decision makers by emphasizing how this purchase will help their individual position.

“A person usually has two reasons for doing a thing: one that sounds good and a real one,” Carnegie writes. “All of us, being idealists at heart, like to think of motives that sound good. So, in order to change people, appeal to the nobler motives.”

With this in mind, figure out your prospect's real motivations for buying (or not), and repackage these intentions into a loftier cause.

13) Dramatize your ideas.

At its core, a closed-won deal is an exchange of money for a product or service.

Described this way, it sounds like one of the least interesting things in the world. But you know that a sale is more than that -- it’s the promise of better outcomes for both you and your customer, and describing it this way is far more inspiring. 

At some point you're going to have to make a business case, but your conversations shouldn't exclusively focus on dollars and cents. Show your prospect what their business could be, and how your product will take them there.

14) Arouse an eager want.

A crucial part of winning people over, according to Carnegie, is to always appeal to what they want. Placing yourself at the center of a purchasing decision is the wrong strategy. 

Instead, step into your customer’s world and tap into their motivations. If you do this right, you hand your prospect a sense of empowerment.

As Carnegie put it, “Customers like to feel that they are buying, not being sold.”

Psychological Hacks: Using Science to Your Advantage

Inspired by this infographic from Everreach, the following tactics use psychology to persuade.

15) Scratch your prospects’ back.

Why? Because they'll be more likely to scratch yours.

One study found that when waiters gave customers a complimentary mint, their tip increased 3%. Giving two mints saw a 14% increase. When the waiter left one mint, then turned around and said, “But for you nice people, here’s another mint,” his tip increased by 23%.

This is known as reciprocity. Going above and beyond for your prospects -- especially with a bit of theater -- will make them want to help you if they can.

16) Ramp up the urgency. 

People want things that are scarce. If you’re offering a discount or something else that your company provides on a limited basis, let your prospect know. Also make sure they're aware of what they stand to lose if they don’t act soon.

17) Establish yourself as an expert.

It’s simple -- people trust people who know what they’re talking about. Signal to your prospects that either you or your company (ideally both) are highly knowledgeable in their industry.

18) Ask for a small initial commitment.

People who have said “yes” once are likely to say “yes” again. It’s why so many technology companies offer free trials. Laying the groundwork with small asks also moves prospects closer to the ultimate “yes” -- a signed contract. 

According to Everreach, people hoping to persuade would be wise to first seek “voluntary, active, and public commitments in writing.” In this way, you hook your prospects little by little, which makes the big decision at the end seem like a natural and foregone conclusion.

19) Make your prospects like you.

Nobody likes helping people they dislike. In one study, two groups of MBA students were asked to come to a mock business agreement. One group was told to skip all pleasantries, while the other was asked to identify one similarity each student shared with their negotiating partner. Fifty-five percent of the group that got straight down to business came to an agreeable solution, but 90% of the group that took time to find common ground were able to do so.

Remember -- we’re all human. Establish a relationship with your prospect outside of the sale and your deal will likely be easier to close.

20) Use consensus to your advantage.

It’s not that we’re lemmings ... but we’re kind of lemmings. People look to others’ behaviors to determine what’s socially acceptable and how they should act.

You can leverage this by using testimonials and case studies from happy clients in your sales collateral. You can also reference your total number of customers or following on social media to emphasize your company’s wide reach. 

But what if you only have one customer? Lean on reviews or assessments from industry experts. If you don't have impressive numbers as of yet, it's best to avoid them altogether.

21) Limit the number of choices you give your prospect.

It's far harder for humans to make choices if we're presented with too many options -- a study by Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar found that while more variety draws us in, it fails to convert interest into purchases. 

So be careful not to overwhelm your prospect. Even if your product comes in 37 colors or variations, start narrowing down that pool from the first conversation so you can present your prospect a much smaller, more manageable set of options.

Persuasion is a tricky skill to master. Changing someone’s mind isn’t an easy thing. But the right mix of the tactics above will get you at least one step (and hopefully many steps) closer to convincing your prospects you’re the sales rep they want to sign with.

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

Today’s customers are more vocal than ever on the social web, which gives sales and marketing professionals a rich pool of insights from which they can arm themselves to propel conversion rates and sales performances.

If you think about it, valuable information is publicly available within reach at the micro-level. You can get to know about a prospect’s network, their interests, what they complain about and what they’re looking for, the way they speak and perhaps even real-time life stories. The wealth of information on social media makes it easy for you to do groundwork before getting in front of prospects, starting a strong relationship and ultimately understanding and providing them with the most accurate solution for their particular needs.

But that’s not all. Many prospects will also use the social web to self-educate early in the sales cycle, so it’s up to you to create a content strategy for great brand storytelling and to implement a natural but well-thought out website experience to help them ultimately make the right purchasing decision – to buy from you.

Social prospecting and social selling are crafts that can be mastered over time. So we’re going to step back for a couple of minutes and learn from experienced social strategists like Brian Solis or Tim Hughes about social selling and customer-based marketing. From fundamental questions to the most actionable tips, we’ve compiled this month’s best advice from social media influencers to help us all learn how to become social selling rock stars.

Here are the top 10 articles published in June and ranked by virality (level of shares, likes and comments):

1. Susanna Gebauer: “Social media is about selling”

• Give valuable information, tons of interesting posts and advice
• The personality of the person behind a social media account can achieve much more than an anonymous brand
• Give something before getting something out of it, to build a loyal audience that trusts you
• Turn your sales pitch into giving valuable information

2. Pratik Dholakiya sings the conversion alphabet

Some interesting takeaways:

• Make good use of that FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
• Customer testimonials are a must to influence purchasing decision from your potential leads
• Answer customer questions in a timely fashion and diligently follow up with inquiries
• Don’t underestimate the value of email campaigns
• Giveaways are a great technique to showcase a new product
• Find your X-Factor: go above and beyond what others expect

3. Shane Barker speeds up page load time

• One golden rule for conversion rate is a fast page speed, otherwise visitors will turn to your competitors. Some figures:
— Even a two-second delay in load time can cause an abandonment rate of 87% on transactions.
— Just one second in delay can cause 7% loss in customer conversions too.
— “Two thirds (67%) of UK shoppers and more than half (51%) of those in the US said that site slowness is the top reason they’d abandon a purchase.”

4. Sandi Krakowski tells great stories to loyal fans

• Do great ads regularly
• Have relationships
• Plan a great storytelling over videos, graphics, posts and more, for your direct response marketing. Individual pieces will tell your story collectively.
• Constitute a highly targeted follower base for exceptional engagement and referrals

5. Brian Solis knows the right questions to ask

• Think about strategy first, and then about technology
• Ask yourself #WDYSF (What Do You Stand For): what is it that really makes your brand relevant?
• Provide a real experience with content the audience is looking for – generating buzz only comes second
• Humanize your audience and find out what questions they’re asking
• Really learn about the people you’re talking to and let them inspire you. That’s what Steve Jobs did very well.

6. Drew A. Hendricks monetizes his social profiles

• Structure your social media profiles and link them to your website and relevant sales pages
• Drive traffic to landing pages that lead to direct purchasing possibilities
• Perfect the art of PPC advertising
• Use social selling tools that turn your profiles into ecommerce-enabled pages
• Use Twitter to gain insights and increase visibility

7. Robin Fray Carey has a people-centric approach

• Establish trust long before a request for action
• Look at sales in a less transactional way
• Content sharing is key
• Engage with prospects on social media for a more human approach
• Integrate the social selling process into traditional CRM

8. Ron Sela thinks outside the box

• Use remarketing ads to target your website’s visitors
• Refer your visitors from social media to dedicated landing pages promoting your offers
• Connect with consumers on visual networks
• Practice social listening, but not necessarily in real time
• Drive conversions without stating the obvious
• Build the process into your CRM
• Don’t be just a sales person, be a people person

9. Tim Hughes values Millennials

• While C-Suite signs off budget, the buying process is delegated to and influenced by “People in the know”, 48% of which are Millennials
• Millennials will consume your content, blogs, video, etc. before purchasing. Make sure to supply all that information and make it easy for them to use it

10. Kristi Hines masters conversion content marketing

• Start by Setting Goals
• Track Conversions for On & Off-Site Content
• Include a call to action for each piece of content your create (e.g. A banner that invites visitors to sign up for a free trial, an opt-in form to encourage people to sign up for your mailing list, a contact form in to entice people to learn more about your business, a bonus piece of content visitors can download free in exchange for their email address, a link to a landing page where visitors can buy a product discussed in your content, etc.)

Illustration Credit: Designed by Freepik

One of the things I’ve always struggled with as an investor in high growth tech companies is the tension between getting profitable vs growing more quickly. It has become a central tenet of tech growth investing (in both the public and private markets) that growth is more valuable than profitability and you can always focus on profits once you have “captured the market.” This leads to behaviors like investing heavily in sales and marketing to increase the growth rates of a business beyond what it can grow at “organically.”

A few months ago, I blogged about a formula I came across at a board meeting a while back that says your year over year growth rate plus your pre-tax operating margins need to be at least forty percent. Meaning you can grow at 100% per year and have operating margins of -60%. Or you can have flat growth and have 40% operating margins. Or you can grow at 20% per year and have 20% operating margins. There is no magic to the forty percent target, but I do like establishing some relationship between acceptable levels of profitability (or losses) and growth. Too many times I have seen companies invest in growth for growth sake without having any constraints or sanity checks on that investment and the losses that result from that investment.

We have worked with/invested in a few super high quality companies over the past decade that did not make this tradeoff. They got profitable early on in the life of their company and then were able to use their profits to reinvest in the business and continue to grow at very high year over year growth rates without having to burn money and raise capital. Indeed.com is probably the best example of this group but we have had a number of them and they are all special companies that I have enormous respect for.

These experiences lead me to question the orthodoxy in the world of technology that says if you are not investing heavily in growth (and losing money), then you are not maximizing the potential value of your business over the long haul. It doesn’t have to be that way. Now maybe you need to have a very special company that has real structural competitive advantages in the marketplace to avoid this tradeoff. Or maybe you just need to be a really sharp and experienced business person to be able to do this (that’s how I would describe Paul and Rony, the founders of Indeed.com, for example).

I also think the profit motive, generating more revenues each year than the expenses you are spending to do that, is a really valuable constraint on a management team. It forces them to think creatively and logically about the investments they want to make. It roots out bad investments in people, product, sales, marketing, and elsewhere in the business and helps to maintain a lean and mean highly functioning organization. If you don’t need to make money because there is plenty of capital available to fund your losses and you are “investing in growth”, then you can also avoid making the hard decisions that focus an organization and insure a high quality team where everyone is pulling their weight.

I don’t want to come off as a positive cash flow freak. It is our business to invest in companies to allow them to run operating losses in order to get a product in market, grow the business and team, and create value for the founders, management, and shareholders. Most of our portfolio companies lose money and we are used to reading income statements with lots of red on them and staring at runway calculations showing when the money runs out.

But I’m a bit sick and tired of the objective of every operating plan I see is to get the business to a point where it can raise money at a much higher price. That’s nice and it’s how the VC/startup game is played. But at some point I’d prefer to see an operating plan that has the objective of getting to sustainable profitability. And I do mean sustainable.

Because, as I said earlier, some of the very best companies we have worked with at USV got profitable early on in their life and maintained profitability while revenues grew100% year over year for a number of years. It can be done. Maybe the reason that many entrepreneurs don’t think it can be done is nobody is telling them it can. So I’m doing that.

When I first started with social media, I was all about the follower counts on Twitter. I quickly learned that there were tools out there that could help me build a strong follower count very quickly. I quickly built follower counts over +20,000 on my personal account and 7,000 om my company account. The truth was, this was all a big waste of time. Even though numbers went up, the fact was no one cared about the information I shared, except for a few people. Those few people became the best connections I could have and they represented 1-5% of the total follower group. In addition, I was connecting with people, lets just say, if you saw them in person, you would never connect with them.

Next, I thought it was about having a presence on all social media platforms. I was on Twitter, Linkedin, GooglePlus, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube, Vine, Foursquare, and Medium. Having a presence on social media is important, but trying to have a presence on many platforms is not a smart idea and it leads to a very diluted message that no one really saw or understood. I learned that most of my clients are on Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Each platform is a bit different and has its pros and cons, but it is much easier to manage time on a few sites than spreading a message over several platforms. I also try to have a presence on GooglePlus, because its Google and its important for me to be in the loop with what Google is doing.

Most of the information above is probably something you already knew if you have been working with social media platforms over the past few years. Here are the other items that have been difference makers for me and I see these attributes in some of the super people I connect with on these sites.

Make sure you have a Blog Site!
You need to maintain your own blog site on your own property. This is really critical. People need to be able to find you and your company and know that your information can be found outside of social media platforms. This site needs to be updated on a regular basis and it needs to be mobile friendly.

Get Two ID’s – One Personal/Professional and One Company
Take the time to setup two separate accounts. You need to build up your personal brand and your company brand. Hopefully, the company id can be managed by a trusted representative in your company. People need to see that your company brand is active online. The company brand should have its own id on social media platforms and its own blog site. Also, consider setting up your own personal blog site and presence on social media. I prefer to lean towards being professional with a little personal items thrown in from time to time. The value here, is that people start making the connection of you as a person and you as a company representative. When people combine the two, it can send a confusing message about the company and the person, especially if the conversation gets personal and negative. Protect yourself and use two id’s.

Share other people’s content and add your thoughts
Too often, people like or retweet other people’s articles and that is all. Be different and take the time to tell people why you retweeted an article. Share your own comments about the article and show the writer and others that you really feel this article has valuable information. I really believe this is where the next level of social media is going. Providing recognition is really important in today’s world. Sharing comments is a way of showing others that the information you are reading is credible.

Social media and content marketing are coming together. You need both to have a successful experience. You need great content that is worth sharing and you need to know how to share that content online in a way that you can easily be found and heard. If you are not seeing results with your social media efforts, it may be time to step up your game. Stop doing some things and start doing other things.

The US is leading the world in fintech investing.

Again.

Have a look at the chart, provided to Business Insider by Accenture and the Partnership Fund for New York City.

The rate of the value of startup financings rose nearly 200% from 2013 to 2014, substantially outpacing growth elsewhere in the VC market.

This might not come as a surprise. From Bank of America to Wells Fargo to Capital One, big Wall Street firms are out to defend themselves from an army of startups looking to capture their business.

The largest percentage of the investments being made by big banks are going into the payments portion of the fintech sector.

Big rounds were closed for payments startups including Stripe and Square last year, the report notes. But there are plenty other of deals in the payments space that captured both banks' investment dollars, as well as top venture firms.

There are plenty of lending startups getting funding, as well. Banks aren't able to lend as much as they were pre-crisis and in recent years startups have emerged to take on student loans and other types of financing. 

The graphic below illustrates what kinds of companies in the US received how much in 2014.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Once proposed as a virtual representation of identifiable pieces of information from the Internet, the Internet of Things (IoT) is taking on an entirely new life of its own. Moving from a control of networks, it now signifies advanced connectivity among devices, systems, people, services, and things. And it is even reaching beyond machine-to-machine communication to cover a variety of processes, domains, and applications.

As the IoT is embedded into every physical object ranging from baby monitors to industrial sensors, investors, entrepreneurs, and engineers are eager to cash in the possibilities. IDC estimates that IoT-based technology and services will grow from $4.8 trillion in 2012 to $7.3 trillion in 2017 with a compound annual growth rate of 8.8%. Plus, most of this revenue will likely come from services, not the products themselves.

Think the Internet of Things isn’t for you? Here’s why you should reconsider.

What about your business? Does the IoT present an opportunity to grow revenue and become more profitable? It may be hard to believe that companies that are not manufacturers, retailers, telcos, or logistics providers could be impacted by the IoT. However, according to the America’ SAP Users Group (ASUG) IoT webcast “IoT and Industrie 4.0 – European Perspective, Examples, and Business Models,” every business in any industry and of any size is impacted.

Not convinced? Here are 4 surprising trends powered by the Internet of Things that may make you reconsider.

1. Change is already in progress and widespread.

The hyperconnectivity associated with the IoT is revolutionizing our behaviors in every facet of our lives. We know how to get the information we want, when we want it, and with the ease of typing a phrase and clicking submit. Technology lifecycles are overrunning economic cycles as innovations are now adopted within hours – not 2, 3, or 10 years.

As a result of this evolution, we are all sharing intelligence, roles, and responsibilities with people and machines through intuitive models, applications, and simplification. At the end of the day, that means more-informed and well-rounded decision making to move the business forward.

2. The IoT conversation addresses different things to different organizations.

It is widely known that plant floor view the IoT as an opportunity to become more productive and less disrupted. However, the way of consummation directly impacts supportive functions such as procurement, marketing, and aftermarket services.

• Procurement sees its potential for adopting greater process automation, reaching better purchase agreements, and creating a network of suppliers to reign in maverick spend.

• Marketing is targeting cost savings, thanks to the opportunity to collect and analyze actionable customer data, automatically update social media feeds, and most important, engage consumers that were once unreachable.

• Aftermarket services are also emerging onto the scene by learning from manufacturing how to keep their customer’s products seamlessly operational and well-maintained.

3. The IoT is no longer just “cool” – it is transformative.

Senior leaders are not buying into the IoT rhetoric because it is cool or the latest fad; rather, they are fed up with the linear, insulated view generated by classic thinking and systems. After all, customers want results, and they are clearly and loudly asking for them. They are not willing to wait for vendors to eventually get the message and respond a couple years later. They want results now.

The IoT delivers a foundation for gathering information automatically and in real time, and for igniting customer-focused thinking, decision making, and action. By focusing more on achievable business models that create value and minimize waste in time, money, and effort, companies can innovate, behave, and lower costs in a manner that satisfies customer demands.

4. Federal governments are getting on board.

Yes, even governments see the value of the IoT. One example is Germany’s Industry 4.0 program. Designed to transform the nation into a manufacturing powerhouse, the initiative is focused on using digitalization of devices, information, processes, and things to eliminate waste from the overall system.

Why is this so important to a government body? Whenever a business increases productivity and revenues at the same time, employees realize higher wages. For the government, that means higher tax income and GDP despite declining populations. And that is what Germany hopes Industry 4.0 will deliver.

Start making the Internet of Things a reality for your business

Watch the entire Webcast series, “Internet of Things (IoT) Community Webcast Series,” presented by ASUG and SAP. Topics include:

Replay available: Making the Internet of Things Real
Replay available: Transform Business Operations and Reimagine Business
Replay available: From Big Data to Smart Data (IoT)
Replay available: IoT and Industrie 4.0 – European Perspective, Examples, and Business Models
Replay available: Operationalizing IoT Data for Predictive Analytics
Replay available: IoT – From Vision to Value
June 30: Transforming Your Business with IoT – SAP Partner Perspectives
July 9: Accelerating IoT in your Organization: Introducing SAP’s IoT Development Platform

For more on how technology is transforming the way we live and work, see Big Data, The Internet Of Things, And The Fourth V.

Are you struggling to fill your sales pipeline with quality leads? You may need a lead generation mindset change. Here’s how to think about it.

Do you remember when prospective customers used to contact you as they were starting their buying research? Yeah, those days are over.

Lead Generation Has Changed

In the old days (5-10 years ago), lead generation could be driven more by interruptive marketing like mass advertising, cold-calling and email blasts. From that external stimuli, a prospective customer would contact the seller to get more information and begin the buying process.

The buyer would then expect to be educated by the sales team and guided through the sales process. Sales was accustomed to speaking with uninformed, early-stage buyers (many of whom were not qualified leads).

Information scarcity was at the heart of this dynamic where the buyer would seek information from the seller. That’s why the buyer would contact the seller at the outset. And a good salesperson could use the information the buyer sought as leverage to influence the buyer’s experience and decision to buy.

With the rise of the Internet however, the world of information scarcity for the buyer has all but vanished. Today, buyers can access a variety of information resources through search engines, social media and other online channels. On the Internet, the buyer can research their initial problem, possible solutions and even the seller and their products and services.

Now, buyers can delay talking to sales until they are experts themselves. According to Forrester, these days buyers might be anywhere from two-thirds to 90% of the way through their purchase before they finally contact the seller. This late-stage contact makes it much more difficult for a salesperson to influence a buyer.

This new era of information abundance (and growing attention deficits) has changed the buying process – which has changed the lead generation process.

Modern Lead Generation Is About Getting Found

Not surprisingly, buyers are overwhelmingly finding their vendors instead of the other way around. This was affirmed in a MarketingSherpa study:

This makes your digital presence more important than ever for generating leads.

To generate leads now, sellers need to get found online while the prospect is doing that research prior to contacting the seller.

A modern lead generation strategy using content marketing will help you capture the interest of your buyers and build trust during their self-directed, self-education buying process. Doing so enables your company to collect information on potential buyers in order to nurture them toward becoming a customer.

A modern approach to lead generation means your sales team can waste less time cold calling a list of unqualified leads. And more time time actively selling and closing deals.

Modern Lead Generation Works

And it works, too. According to a benchmark study by Marketo, companies with mature lead generation practices achieve better sales productivity and higher revenue growth.

• Mature companies achieve 133% greater revenue versus their plan than average companies and 174% more than the least mature companies.
• And the sales reps at those companies spend 73% of their time selling (rather than on administrative tasks, training, etc.). At companies without mature lead generation strategies, sales reps spend only 57% of their time selling.

This sea change in how people buy has been the focus of Google’s ongoing Zero Moment of Truth study.

According to Google, 71% of people use the Internet for their business purchase decisions.

Conclusion

From a B2B lead generation standpoint, the early bird gets the worm. Do you want to get found by your prospective customers as they are beginning their buying journey so that you can travel with them? Or do you want to have them contact you for a price quote after they have preference for and trust in your competitor?

It seems at least once a week that I talk to a B2B company about how to shrink their sales cycle. Sales executives and CEOs get especially frustrated because their quarterly sales forecasts become much harder to predict when the sales cycle timing is all over the map. For example, we have one technology client where it seems half their deals close in days or weeks, while the other half can take six months or more. So what is going on and what can us B2B marketing types do about it?

The first thing we need to do is accept certain realities, regardless of the pain involved.  And the first reality is that buyers have more control over the sales cycle than sellers. They have come to understand that the offer you claimed was for today only can easily be had tomorrow or next month – especially if they wait to buy until the end of the quarter. And even more significantly, our prospects know they can use Google to find out a great deal of information about your company, your competitors, the product or service category, and what past buyers think about you and everyone else in your space.

Here is the relevant point about the new realities: the important thing is not the actual sales cycle (how long it takes the prospect from the time they start their research to the time they buy). Rather, the key metric is what we refer to as the “effective sales cycle” – how long the prospect is actually in touch with your company.

If you organize your business around the new type of selling model as shown below, the “effective sales model” will shrink and your close rate will go up. This is true because the potential purchaser completes all or most of the first three parts of the process without engaging with your sales staff. In this example, if you start interacting with prospects at the fourth stage, close rates can skyrocket – from a typical 1-3 percent of raw inquiries to as much as 10 percent of those who are educated and self-qualified.

So how do you create the environment to support everyone from early-stage information gatherers to hot prospects who are ready to engage or buy today?  Here are a few tips:

As you can see, marketing can help shrink the effective B2B sales cycle, but it may require a new of thinking – as well as some concrete actions to align your selling model with your prospects’ buying behavior.

Let’s be honest, attracting visitors to your online store is only half the battle. If you want those visitors to turn into fully fledged customers then you need to supercharge your site for conversions.

The good news is there are plenty of tools out there to help you do exactly that! Take a look at our top 8 below…

1. LiveChat

With 83% of shoppers actively needing support when completing a purchase, real time chat can seriously help you boost your conversions.

The great thing about a chat platform is that it will instantly connect you to your visitors. If a person has a question that they can’t find the answer to, they’ll likely leave and shop elsewhere. But if a chat box pops up with a friendly customer service advisor on the other end, they can get their questions answered quick and efficiently.

We really recommend using LiveChat as it will seamlessly integrate with your online store, and offers a bunch of tools to keep track of your performance so you can continue to improve your conversions.

2. Yotpo

Reviews can be a great source of conversion which is why we’ve included Yotpo in our list of tools. This is a tool that you can integrate with your site so that your customers can leave reviews on the products that they have bought.

The great thing about featuring reviews on your site is that it builds trust with other visitors. In fact, an impressive 90% of customers have said that a positive online review has influenced their buying decisions.

The truth is, people trust people ahead of brands, so the more product reviews that you can feature, the more you’ll be able to sell.

3. Optimizely

Understanding what your customers want is the secret to conversion success and that’s why an A/B testing tool like Optimizely can help you achieve this. If you aren’t familiar with A/B testing then it’s basically a way for you to test out two different design options on your site, to see which one your customers prefer.

You can use it to test out pretty much anything you like. For example, are your customers more likely to click the sign up button when it’s placed to the right? Does the shorter copy entice people to buy? Or do they prefer to add a product to the cart when it’s highlighted?

Testing what works for your store is the very best way to get into the mindset of what your visitors are looking for.

4. MailChimp

With 66% of consumers making a purchase as a result of an email, this marketing method will be one of the best tools that you can use to drive traffic that will convert. MailChimp is one of our top picks for an awesome email marketing platform because it’s got a bunch of tools that can help you succeed!

You can set up email automation campaigns so that you can target customers, depending on where they are in their buyers journey. This is particularly helpful when trying to combat cart abandonment rates. If a customer leaves something in their cart, you can send out an email to entice them to come back.

Take a look at our previous blog, 5 email marketing tops for Ecommerce merchants , for more help on this.

5. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a great tool to measure business performance, and it’s a smart choice to make for any Ecommerce owner looking to grow their online store. The good news is that you can use Google Analytics for free, and enjoy benefits such as finding out where your traffic is coming from, or learn where the problems might be on certain web pages.

But if you really want to grow and learn then you should consider using their premium version as it’s been built with businesses in mind. You can enjoy helpful tools such as AdSense and Adwords, so you can optimize your ad content, and let your entire organization gain access to the tools they need to manage campaigns.

6. YouTube

According to this report , StacksAndStacks.com said that their visitors were 144% more likely to purchase after watching a product video. Now that’s a lot of sales that you can’t afford to miss out on, so we’d really recommend that you start using your YouTube channel.

The great thing about YouTube is that it’s a free video hosting software and comes with plenty of tools to help you optimize your videos. Whether you want to invest in an explainer video, or create one for yourself, a video really can help you sell more stuff because it’s the quickest way to show off your product.

A person will no longer have to spend time trying to read product features, they can simply press play and see it right in front of their very eyes.

7. Affirm

Sometimes a customer may want to make a purchase, but they don’t always have the full amount in their account. So that’s where financing company Affirm comes in. This is a tool that you can integrate with your site and it allows shoppers to split up their payments into monthly affordable payments, while instantly receiving the product that they wanted.

The good news is that with Affirm you don’t have to worry about losing out on any money. They will pay you upfront and take 100% of the repayment and buyer fraud risk – sweet!

8. Nextopia

When a visitor lands on your site they need to be able to effortlessly find what they’re looking for – and that’s where Nextopia comes in. Nextopia is a fully functional search engine that will help customers find products without any hassle. It doesn’t matter if they make spelling mistakes, and the search can be filtered by price, rating, brand and color.

Site navigation is an important aspect to boosting conversions, with 50% of sales lost because a customer cannot find what they are looking for. Creating the perfect site navigation can be tough, which is why we’d recommend using a tool such as Nextopia.

Takeaway

No matter where your visitors land on your site, you must ensure that you have the tools needed to get them to make that all important sale. The above 8 are just a few of the tools that can be integrated with your store. Looking for more? Check out our infographic to find out how you can supercharge your online store .

And don’t forget, if you want an Ecommerce solution that will seamlessly integrate with tools such as these then give us a call today!

Finding great salespeople has always been a challenge because selling requires core aptitude and personality traits that less than 20% of the general population possesses.

On the other side of the coin, hiring salespeople for a tech startup can be even more difficult because many people do not possess the requisite technical aptitude to understand the very technology they are selling.

Put the two together, and you can see how the numbers work against hiring managers looking for both.

Which is More Important: Industry Specific Knowledge or the Ability to Sell?

Of the two aptitude sets, the aptitude to sell must be in place and is key to long-term sales success.

This may seem counterintuitive to a tech company whose very culture has been built upon technical prowess and expertise, but it should not — just as great technical people respect the special prowess required to innovate and operate in the technical industry, the same level of specialized prowess is required to generate and sustain performance in sales.

Even the greatest technology will not sell itself, so you need to start by finding a sales hunter, someone who scores very well on a sales aptitude test that measures for Drive. Once you have identified this high-potential salesperson, you can then begin to determine if he or she can learn the technical information he will need to be credible in the technology marketplace.

 

Identifying the Right Sales Aptitude

As you may already know, extensive data and research shows that high performance salespeople share three, innate personality characteristics that push them to succeed, to compete, and to shield them from rejection . . . a combination most people do not possess as a complete package. These traits include:

Need for Achievement

A salesperson who pushes himself, hard, because that is just how he is wired. He wants to do well for the sake of doing well.

Competitiveness

Someone who loves to compete, and not just with his coworkers, but even with the prospect, which he sees as a part of a wonderful contest of wills. He wants to win the prospect over to his point of view.

Optimism

This is a salesperson who is supremely optimistic. He does not take rejection personally; it is simply part of a game he loves to play.

These three, non-teachable characteristics form the master combination of Drive, and all three must be in place to predict a favorable outcome after training and deployment.

 

Use Technology to Find High Aptitude Sales Candidates

The best way to find and identify candidates who have this core aptitude to succeed is through a scientifically constructed sales personality assessment that focuses on these traits.

The tech world is built on data, so why not use unbiased, data-driven hiring tactics to help you determine whether a sales candidate has these traits, before investing significant time and money in the vetting process?

Further vetting through behavioral interviewing and references are of course necessary, but the process becomes infinitely more efficient when only high aptitude candidates are allowed into your recruiting process.

This can take some patience on the front end because a high percentage of people who apply for sales positions do not have the aptitude to achieve and sustain high performance. But given the enormous cost of hiring, carrying and, ultimately, terminating unsuccessful salespeople, usually into six figures per failed salesperson, it pays to develop a very rigorous program upfront.

 

Employing Your High Aptitude Salesperson into the Technology Market

Once you have identified and hired a high aptitude salesperson you must then determine if he has enough technical intelligence to carry the sale on his own or far enough before bringing technical personnel into the conversation.

If you determine that your new recruit does not have the necessary technological expertise to handle selling on his own, you have two options.

1. Provide him with in depth sales training specific to your company’s technology.

Take the time to train your new hire on your company’s products and services and the technology behind them. Training can take several months and it may be helpful to partner your new salesperson up with a seasoned employee to maximize their learning and training.

2. Team your new hire up with a technical engineer.

If you do not have the time to train your new salesperson, pairing him up with a technical person, also known as a technical engineer is another alternative.

The idea is your new high-Drive salesperson can be out hunting for new business and scheduling meetings with prospects.

When those meetings are conducted your salesperson will be joined by a technical engineer. The technical engineer’s job is to handle the prospect’s technological questions or concerns.

This was the approach IBM used in its formative years to great success. Their salespeople were very smart and could “talk tech,” but for the deeper tech conversations they always had a technical engineer at their side in the meetings. The key thing to keep in mind however is there would be no meetings without the highly Driven salesperson churning up leads in the marketplace.

 

In summary, sales requires a specialized personality and skill set, much like technology requires a specialized personality and skill set. You would never hire a computer scientist or engineer that is not equipped to handle the technology mission. The same standards must be applied when hiring salespeople for tech startups. The process starts by determining if a candidate has the core aptitude to succeed in sales. Everything else builds from that foundation.

 

The post How to Find Successful Salespeople for a Tech Startup appeared first on SalesDrive LLC.

Sales process and sub-goals

The sales process or sales cycle is flow of events and sub-goals which resembles the climbing of a huge mountain. These sub-goals are in-between successes – like reaching the camps on the mountain.
Although the entire sales cycle is one process, it has been chucked up into several stages just for administrative reasons:
– Initial contact
– Lead stage
– Prospect stage
– First meeting stage
– Qualified prospect stage
– Follow-up meeting stage
– Proposal stage
– Negotiation stage
– The close
– The deal transaction
– The retention stage

Of course the most important stage is when the invoice gets paid !

No single sales cycle will go through these stages perfectly as there always will be deviations or retreats in the process.

Sales process stages characteristics

Although many steps have been defined with sub-goal achievements:
– None of these steps are equal
– The efforts required reaching each of the sub-goals are not equal
– The time required for each step may differ enormously: some can happen immediately others can take weeks, months, …
– It is the buyer who dictates the speed of the sales process
– The required participation or involvement of the potential customer is not equal neither

Synchronizing sales- and buyer process

This last one is most important as the sale needs a customer going through his buying cycle at the same time as the salesman. The salesman cannot move ahead without the buyer.
In real life no two processes will ever synchronize, there will be discrepancies between the efforts on the sales side and the efforts made or lacking efforts on the buyer side. Hence moving through the sales cycle stages can be painstaking slow.

A sales cycle can only move ahead if both the salesman and the potential customer reach the next sub-goal together. Both have to be involved and engaged.

Leader of the sales process

As the sales cycle should be compared to climbing a steep mountain with the salesman as the leader of the climb. In some cases important sales the sales manager takes the lead although he is not entirely involved in the process but involves and manages reaching the sub-goals. Still it is possible that during some stages the lead or prospect actually takes the lead in the climb as he is under pressure of getting a solution in place.

Retrograding sales process

However whenever there is a problem or an unexpected event occurs or new information comes to the deal, the climb can become a descend instead. This can happen it is required to have an assessment or aggregation at a previous stage.
In such case the prospect retrogrades or moves back to a previous stage, more work and effort lies ahead for the salesman or sales team. In most cases such a retrograding is due to one of the competitors.
The amount off effort the salesman then has to generate and put into the sales process can be huge as it will can stop the sales process for the vendor company.

Customer effort indicator

The best indicators of the commitment of the potential customer to buy is the amount of effort, time and interest the potential customer puts into his buying process.
In order to measure the commitment of your leads, prospects, potential customers and customers all companies should implement a website visitor revealing solution as in all cases people will visit your website. These solutions allow to retrieve and measure from your company website the amount of interest generated by the potential customer as they visit your company website for gathering additional information or want to verify your statement made during sales pitches and conversations.

How do you measure the involvement of your potential customers ?

If you’ve used online meeting tools before, you know they offer a basic level of functionality that gets the job done. But just barely. Here at ON24, we’ve got a new video that builds on our tradition of making entertaining business-related comedy, such as “This Is How You Webinar” starring DJ Dave.

As our new video points out, in rather Goofus and Gallant style, online meeting tools can be pretty dull and face a number of limitations. Meeting and conferencing tools are built for…meetings and conferences. They’re the wrong tool for the job. Webinars created with meeting tools are less reliable and less accessible and provide minimal audience analytics. They also make users download software, have limited scale and reach, and offer little to no branding or marketing capabilities within the registration materials or meeting console.

So we’re challenging marketers to look at webinar tools as a way to address the limitations of traditional web meeting products. If you’re stuck with an old-school web meeting platform, you should consider the benefits you’ll receive when switching to a “real” webinar solution, including:

• Easy access to events for the audience – With no software to download and true any-device (PC, laptop, tablet, mobile) access, using a webinar platform means that your audiences can get to your content quickly and easily. You won’t lose them for reasons of inconvenience.

• Full branding capabilities – The audience console for web meetings is a total snoozer. With webinars, you can brand the entire audience experience, from outbound marketing and registration materials to landing pages, the webinar console and even follow-up emails, with your company’s colors and logo.

• Interactive capabilities, including video and social – With the ability to seamlessly integrate video, as well as chat, polling, social sharing tools and other interactive features, real webinar platforms offer much more in terms of the interactivity that will get attendees engaged and keep them with you for the duration of your event.

• Integration, reporting and analytics – A purpose-built webinar platform can easily send leads directly into integrated marketing automation and CRM platforms, where they can be analyzed, scored and moved quickly into the sales funnel. In addition, webinar platforms provide data that reflects audience behavior and engagement, enabling marketers to know more about their audience and fine-tune strategy and content.

• Performance – Web meeting platforms limit your audience size and often have problems with audio and video quality. With a true webinar platform, audiences ranging from just a few viewers to thousands can be easily accommodated via scalable, cloud-based technology.

The above are the “whys” to switching from a web conferencing tool to a webinar platform – and the “how” is incredibly easy.

Lead generation is a top priority for manufactures. That may be stating the obvious, but if you work within the manufacturing industry, you know there is fierce competition for a limited pool of customers – the same customers that your competitors are after.

So what are some of the techniques industrial companies are using to fill the sales pipeline? According to a 2014 benchmark report by Cultivate, 62% of manufactures rely on referrals. This is no surprise. After all, your current customers can be your biggest fans, especially when you provide high quality products and personalized service. Your customers will share their experiences, have conversations on social media, and leave positive product reviews.

While referrals bring in a huge percentage of leads, email and social marketing are not far behind. 53% of respondents indicated that email produced leads, and 45% are generating leads from social.

Today’s consumers, whether they are shopping for shoes or researching truck fleet purchases, are shopping and interacting with companies across more digital channels than ever before. Research shows that as much as 57% of the purchase decision is completed before a buyer engages a sales rep. And according to research by GlobalSpec, 84% of industrial professionals use the Internet to find components, equipment and services and 74% use the Internet to compare products across suppliers. While technology and data won’t replace the personal touch, they play an important role to reach these prospects through every point of the purchase journey.

Finding Social and In-Market Prospects

Discussions about your products and services or your competitors are happening frequently – especially on social media. Your customers and prospects are actively seeking to engage with you and NOT participating in the conversations is no longer an option. Every manufacturer must have some sort of presence to encourage referrals, share information about your products, and nurture relationships.

Just as importantly, social media conversations are a great source to find prospects who are searching for products you offer – prospects of whom you are most likely completely unaware. Finding each of these leads can be quite a challenge. However, using a solution such as Data-as-a-Service, data and technology can be used together to find and target social prospects with personalized offers.

Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) is an approach in which a vendor sources, structures and delivers streams of highly qualified prospects to your marketing systems. These may be prospects sourced through web scraping services, such as specialty niche databases or RFP sites. Or social media sites may be monitored for people talking about products and services you offer, a competitor’s name, or other purchase signals such as management changes or venture capital investments.

Targeting Prospects with Digital Messaging

DaaS sources prospects based on “in the moment” and real time behavioral triggers. Therefore, these prospects must also be targeted in real time.

Digital marketing channels such as email allows marketers to send customized and personalized messages based on a prospect’s individual interests. And according to The Direct Marketing Association, the average Return on Investment (ROI) is 40:1.

Here are even more compelling stats:

1. A recent study concluded that email is almost 40 times better at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter. (Source: McKinsey & Company)
2. 44% of consumers made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email they received. (Source: Convince and Convert)
3. Email conversion rates are three times higher than social media, with a 17% higher value in the conversion. (Source: McKinsey & Company)
4. 75% of marketers report that email marketing is the most effective channel for customer retention, leading social network marketing by almost 20%.

A report by Aquity also reported some significant mobile statistics B2B marketers must consider:

• 24% have made a purchase for their company using a mobile device.
• 55% of Millennial buyers (age 18-25) use mobile phones for procurement research, compared with 36% of respondents over the age of 45.
• 50% of Millennial B2B buyers use tablets to conduct product research, compared with 31% of buyers over the age of 45 who do so.

Websites and emails must be optimized to be viewed on mobile devices, especially as the percentage of millennial buyers grows in the workforce.

Lead generation in manufacturing has moved well beyond traditional methods. And by embracing data and technology to drive customer acquisition, manufacturers can significantly boost market share.

To learn more on how manufacturers are generating leads, view our latest webinar here.

Leave a comment: What is the leading source of marketing leads for your company?

The initial sales pitch is the first step in building a lasting relationship with prospective clients. To perfect that first step, the pitch has to be informative, succinct, and sensitive. In this post, I’m going to outline 5 sales pitch tips that are proven to close more deals.

Here’s the problem: Clients are receiving umpteen pitches a day–consisting of anything and everything to better their business and brand.

They know the drill. As a pitcher, treat your email pitches as if you were, in fact, a pitcher in a baseball game. Except, in this metaphor, you’re a rogue pitcher who wants the batter to hit a home run. If not, you’re the one who strikes out.

The Wind Up

Know who you’re pitching to. Prospects won’t waste time on you if you don’t know exactly what they can and can’t hit.

Study them, their business, and its needs prior to executing the pitch. A prospect isn’t going to swing at a pitch outside of their strike zone.

Start by perusing their website or LinkedIn profile!

Recommended tool: Charlie App

Before every call, there’s a few things you MUST know about your prospect:

• Where are they from?
• How long have they been in their role?
• What does their company do, who do they compete with, and how big are they?
• What relevant past clients have you solved similar problems for?
• What does a <insert title here> typically wake up in the morning thinking about?

The Step

The right discovery questions will get your prospects talking. The questions need to be jolting, forcing the prospect to become attentive and anticipate the throw.

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Build rapport, and help your prospect frame the problem you’ll be solving.
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Make the prospect want to tighten their grip on the bat, set their feet, and prepare to swing.

Here are some good open ended sales questions to incorporate:

• We’ve been following X for a while, and are excited to chat. What sparked your interest to talk today?
• In your role (or for your team), what is currently top-of-mind?
• We wake up in the morning thinking about how to improve <X> for our clients, can you help me understand how you accomplish <X> for your team now?
• Why? (as a follow up to most questions always leads to deeper understanding and a better outcomes)

The Throw

The throw needs to be seamless. A 100 mph throw makes for a 100% seamless delivery.

A fastball is straightforward, carries all the momentum from the pitcher, and is an easy hit for the prospect.

“A meaty fastball down the middle of the plate makes for a home run. Your presentation should be just like it.”

Here’s a great example of formatting an excellent demo pitch from Open View Labs.

Additional Sales Pitch Tips:

– Confirm the time you have available before the demo starts: “I have us down for 20 minutes, is that still okay?”

– End 5 minutes before to talk about next steps.

– If a lot of your sentences start with, “This is how you….,” you’re on the wrong path. Focus on clients, stories, and outcomes versus how-tos.

– And finally, my favorite tip is to be empathetic. Someone has given you time, and it’s not for show and tell. Define five places in your pitch or demo that you can relate back to their business.

The Hit

Swing batter batter! Assuming the client responds positively, have some questions prepared that will help you determine the next step.

At this stage, it may be trial, business case, or deeper discussion with a larger team. A one-call close is rare these days, so have your next move in mind before you follow through.

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Confirming and establishing the next step keeps the sales process fluid.
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It makes the prospect feel comfortable and not rushed. Once you reach an understanding with a prospect, confirm a time to show your product by asking something along the lines of:

“Can we throw some time on the calendar next Tuesday to go through a more in-depth demo with your VP to discuss X, Y, or Z?”

The Follow Through

 

If you perfect the pitch from the recipient’s perspective, you’ll be able to pitch that person again and maintain the client relationship.

All it takes is that first memory of a fly ball.

However, perfection takes practice. Keep yourself and your team conditioned by maintaining and updating your own approaches and styles.

At Lesson.ly, we use our own software for company updates and sales prospect learning.

How does your team stay in tip-top sales condition?

The post 5 Major League Sales Pitch Tips To Win More Deals appeared first on Sales Hacker.

When you pick up a forkful of food, incredibly complicated anatomical interactions have to take place before the bite gets to your mouth. Your brain has to send signals to your hand to keep your fingers wrapped around your fork, direct your arm upward while keeping your hand level, then aim the fork into your mouth. It’s a seemingly simple action that’s actually not simple at all.

Sales-Marketing alignment is a little like that.

Each team has to stay in sync so things run smoothly. Falling out of step could mess with the entire operation.

The difference is that Sales-Marketing alignment is far more costly than dropping a forkful of food. In fact, decreased sales productivity and wasted marketing efforts due to misalignment costs a whopping $1 trillion a year.

Nope, you didn’t read that wrong.

What contributes to this scary price tag? Marketing teams generate leads for their sales organizations, but an alarming 79% never convert to sales, partly due to a lack of nurturing. Of the leads that get passed to salespeople, 73% are never contacted.

Aligning Sales and Marketing has real impact. Organizations with good alignment not only achieve 27% faster three-year profit growth, they also close 38% more deals. Businesses with effective Sales and Marketing alignment achieved 208% higher marketing revenue than organizations with disjointed teams.

But how do you get Sales and Marketing on the same page?

It’s crucial to set mutually agreed-upon definitions for "lead" and "qualified lead," determine key metrics for each team, and maintain healthy channels of feedback, among other tasks.

This infographic from Wheelhouse Advisors offers helpful tips on how to get Sales and Marketing headed in the same direction, and details even more ways Sales-Marketing alignment benefits your business.

Companies have quickly tuned into the fact that they need a content marketing strategy in place. Though they see the value of content marketing, many are having trouble with effectively running and measuring the return on investment with their campaigns which can be easily solved by the right content marketing software.

According to the Content Marketing Institute’s “B2C Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends–North America” white paper, only 23% of B2C marketers reported that they were successful at tracking their ROI. In addition, 37% of B2C marketers says that their organizations were actually effective at content marketing. Though the number is low, it’s up three percent since last year.

Many marketers, in an attempt to increase the success of their strategies, are utilizing content marketing software. One study from International Data Corporation, a global market intelligence firm, predicted that this year, worldwide spending on marketing software will reach $22.7 billion. In 2018, spending is expected to jump to $32.4 billion. 

“If you’re serious about content marketing, you need to get serious about the tools you use to support that strategy,” says Stephanie Tilton of Ten Ton Marketing. “For most organizations, the goal is to produce and share content that resonates with the target audience and ultimately drives new business. The right software makes it easier to get the work done and measure the results.”

Stephanie Tilton

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that content marketing software can provide to your company.

Content Marketing Software Keeps Your Company Organized

If your company is running an internal content marketing strategy, there are probably a number of team members, from the CMO, to the strategists, writers, social media specialists, and SEO experts. Very quickly, a strategy can become disorganized if it’s not documented all in one easy to access location.

“The average client has anywhere from three to 10 people involved in every piece of content at some point along the creation, editing, approval, legal and publishing chain,” says Scott Severson, president at Brandpoint, a content marketing agency. “When you have that many people involved, the back and forth on revisions, collaboration, managing and tracking approvals and publishing content to your various channels becomes very cumbersome without tools designed to manage campaigns and workflows within those campaigns.”

Scott Severson

Though spreadsheets, emails, and Google docs may seem like they’re enough to keep you and your team organized, the deeper you go into your strategy, the more chaotic it’s likely to become.

Content marketer Seth Price of “The Craft of Marketing Playbook” podcast says, “One of the more challenging things for any company is figuring out the different types of content and mediums for different stages of the buying cycle and buyer personas. That can become complicated to keep on top of. In addition, you’re thinking about SEO and how social and search strategies are going to work. You’re trying to be very dynamic with each piece of content that you create and also be focused on a goal. You can’t keep that in your head or on a static spreadsheet.”

Seth Price

Software Shows You What You’re Doing Right + How You Can Improve 

Brianne Carlon Rush, content marketing director at Kuno Creative, says that without software, it’s not possible to track and analyze how your campaigns are doing.

Brianne Carlon Rush

“Content marketing can quickly become overwhelming. Perhaps you have a few target audiences you need to address. From there, you want to create content for the top, middle and bottom of the sales funnel — in multiple formats and for numerous campaigns. After just a few months, you may have created hundreds of content elements. How can you not only track those pieces, but also measure their success without the appropriate software?”

When you put content out there, you have to be able to see how it’s doing. “You need to understand which efforts are garnering views, shares and, ultimately, leads,” says Carlon Rush. “By understanding what your buyers want, you can provide more of it and, consequently, build trust more efficiently.”

As Content Marketer and Host of the “A Slice A Day” podcast Mark Tennant pointed out, content marketing software will have “some type of analytics built-in to help you measure who, what, when and where leads or prospects are engaging with your content. This can help tremendously as you’re always searching online to find where your audience is hanging out, what they’re looking for, what interests them, and what problems you can help solve.”

Mark Tennant

Content Marketing Software Does The Job Of More Than One Person

If you run a small business, you may not have the capacity to hire different team members to work on content marketing initiatives. Thanks to software, you can get multiple jobs completed at once and not have to spend more on payroll.

“Software is an amplifier,” says Price. “If you have some goals in mind and you take the time to create a strategy that works for your business, then the software can be a force multiplier. One person can really do the work of three or four.”

What To Look For When Choosing Your Content Marketing Software

When choosing the best software for your company, consider the following:

• What are your business objectives and goals? If you want to focus on social media strategy, go with software that has strong Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, etc. integrations. If you’d like to increase the effectiveness of your email list, look up which software comes complete with the highest-rated email marketing tools.
• How much are you willing to spend? Content marketing software can be pricey, but you need to realize that it is an investment, and as long as you’re not breaking the bank, it is worth it. It’ll help your organization grow and prosper.
• Do you need extensive support or are you self-taught? Companies that produce content marketing software range in size. If you’re going to need help navigating your software, go with a smaller company with more personalized service. If you can teach yourself, focus on functionalities instead.
• Do companies in your niche use a certain type of content marketing software? Look at what your competitors are utilizing for their campaigns and consider going with the same software. If it’s working for them, it’ll likely work for you.

NewsCred provides comprehensive content marketing software for organizing, curating, publishing, distributing, and measuring licensed, original, user-generated and social content. For more information, click here or contact us today.

One of our primary activities at the Brian Carter Group is Facebook advertising for clients. We’ve spent a good amount of that time over the last year doing lead gen campaigns for both B2B and B2C, sending people to lead gen pages from Facebook ads. And we’ve seen some great results.

Facebook Isn’t Just for Business-to-Consumer Marketing

There are a couple common misconceptions disproved by our case studies.

First is the misconception that social media can’t be measured beyond engagement and sentiment. We posted what were, as far as we know, the first Facebook profit case studies ever back in 2011.

We’re certainly not the only company proving you can get leads and sales from social media and track that success, but some marketing and PR folks still are not informed about what social media has been able to do in the last five years.

The other misconception is that Facebook is only for B2C.

“Facebook doesn’t work for B2B,” people say. “Users aren’t on there for work.” You’re right! People are on Facebook to be distracted. “I’m bored,” Facebook users say. “Show me something awesome!”

If that something awesome you show them happens to help with their work, they’ll click on it. That’s what the data tells us about B2B Facebook advertising.

Why Facebook works for B2B: Facebook users want awesome distractions. Show them something awesome that helps with their work, and they’ll click on it.

Besides, we live in an era where the line between home and work has blurred.

We have found that Facebook is a viable (and sometimes preferred) channel for B2B lead gen. (highlight to tweet) Our case studies below prove it.

6 Business-to-Business Facebook Marketing Case Studies

Here are some of our B2B Facebook advertising case studies over the last 12 months:

1. An attorney got a case worth $100,000 from Facebook after spending just a few hundred dollars on Facebook advertising.
2. A cloud hosting company got new business leads from Facebook advertising and a whitepaper for $59 each. The most affordable ads brought in leads at just $29 apiece. The most expensive ones targeted CIO’s and cost $74.08 each.
3. A new B2B financial industry business discovered their offering wasn’t needed or wanted by the target audience. They discovered this (via extraordinarily low clickthrough rates) with an investment of just a few hundred dollars in Facebook advertising. They saved tens of thousands of dollars by not going further down that dead-end path.
4. A financial industry event generated 305 registrations at $71.34 each, while ads reached 1.5 million people and generated clicks from 18,125 people.
5. A marketing agency generated new client leads for $29.26 apiece.
6. An SaaS company used a whitepaper to generate 504 leads and 92 new demo signups for $26 per demo signup. Notable here was that the target was people who worked at Fortune 1000 companies.

 

Based on our experience above, people do click and opt in for B2B offers while they’re on Facebook.

The Advantages of Facebook Ads

Facebook ads have four key advantages over AdWords and LinkedIn ads:

Facebook has the largest audience. Google is almost as big, but you can only target people looking for what you have. Facebook lets you target people based on job title, company, etc. LinkedIn is much smaller than the other two.

Facebook ads are prominent enough for a lot of people to click. Google also does a good job with this. As for LinkedIn’s self-serve ads, what’s the last one you remember seeing? Exactly. Unless you spend $10k per month, you can’t use their more prominent “enhanced” ads.

Facebook has the lowest cost per click. Google ads average over $2.50 per click. LinkedIn ads average over $3.00 per click.

Facebook ads reward you for testing more ads and targets. You can lower the cost by 50% or more with diligent testing. Google ad cost per click doesn’t change much with your testing. LinkedIn ad cost per click doesn’t change much either. Facebook ads reach more people, grab more attention, and cost a lot less if you diligently test ads.

7 Tips for Facebook Advertising Lead Gen Results

Now that you know Facebook ads work for B2B, why aren’t you using them for lead gen? Here’s how.

1. Get Professional. Use the Facebook Ad Manager, not Boost Posts. You’re going to need all the features of Ad Manager. You can use Power Editor if you like, but it’s not required 99% of the time.
2. Squeeze Your Leads. Create an effective squeeze page, rather than relying on your website to convert them (unless your website’s lead conversion rate average is 5% or higher). Use a tool like LeadPages or Clickfunnels to base your work on proven squeeze page templates.
3. Track Conversions. Create and place your conversion tracking in the thank you page after the squeeze page, and select Website Conversion ads as your objective. This video will teach you how to set that up.
4. Know Your Audience. Check out Audience Insights to learn more about your customers or prospects. It’s located inside the Facebook Ad Manager in the lefthand navigation. If your company isn’t listed, try a bigger competitor, industry magazines, or associations. See what other pages they like. Record this info to use for your ad targeting.
5. Test Targeting First. Test your targeting first with a simple ad and basic image. There are usually at least five to ten ways you could target your prospects. Find the one or two audiences that convert best at the lowest cost per lead.
6. Test Creative Second. Then test more creative images, headlines, and body text. Test 20–25 variations on your proven targets. You aren’t really doing Facebook ads well until you’ve created 15–20 ads.
7. Optimize Ads Scientifically. With every review of the results, theorize why some ads or targets worked and others didn’t. Use those theories to create even better ads and continue to revise your theories.

 

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Executives tend to turn toward fellow executives for advice. Historically, best practices on hiring, manufacturing, and sales all emerge when talking to someone else who has sat in the trenches. But the ways we do business have changed dramatically over the course of the last decade, and it’s become more necessary to reach outside of your expertise – or industry — to gain perspective on your business and leadership style.

In this era of continuous digital transformation, every manager can benefit from learning a few best practices from the boutique industry of venture capital. Motivating people to take moonshots, predicting changes, and making transformational bets are what the venture industry is predicated on. Great investors understand these things drive return and have structured their work lives to optimize these outcomes. As industrial era companies, from Mattel to GE, start to transform into software-enabled businesses, executives stand to benefit from understanding three principles that drive venture investors.

Returns are defined by home runs, reputations are defined by singles

Venture capitalists never expect their work to be repaid evenly. It’s a well-known characteristic of the industry that “home runs” define investor performance. Being an early investor in Uber or Facebook, for example, makes up for many other investments in unsuccessful businesses. But the best VCs also know that in order to hit home runs you need to have a good swing. That’s why they continue to support their entire portfolio of companies and entrepreneurs.

With the growing significance of software-enabled businesses, managers within companies of all sizes will see some projects scale enormously and drive performance — while others won’t be as impressive. When I was at SAP, we would outline around 10 key initiatives for the company on an annual basis. Not all of them would turn into meaningful businesses. However, if one or two of those did, it was transformative.

The challenge this creates is the potential for two very different types of employee experiences. A few employees will be seen as world conquerors, driving massive return for the business. The majority, on the other hand, will feel deflated after seeing their initiatives fail or their efforts unappreciated.

Execs need to take a page out of the VC playbook and ensure that they’re spending the right amount of time supporting, enabling, and advocating on behalf of all the company’s initiatives — not just the home runs. In order to keep making bets on what could be big businesses, execs need to create a culture that rewards all purveyors of strategic long-shots. Sometimes getting your hands dirty and trying to save a stalled project can inspire the sort of sentiment that leads employees to take more shots at creating value for you.

The best teammates don’t mind the hard questions

A lot of ideas sound great at first. I’d love a software-based assistant that anticipates my needs and schedules meetings accordingly. I’d love a CRM system that coordinates outreach among all my team members. I’d love an application that allows me to take a photo of my food and tells me how many calories I’m ingesting. But even the best sounding ideas often have little substance beneath them.

It’s far easier to figure that out when you’re surrounded by people who ask the tough questions. The best performing VC teams ask hard-hitting, but respectful, questions of one another. They help each other uncover the most challenging issues with any investment, so they can analyze them accurately and make a decision. Partners ask whether individual bias or affinity for a given founder is driving a decision. They dig deep into the assumptions of a potential investment, asking bluntly whether things like the unique behavior of Manhattan residents translate to other cities. And with every hard hitting question, the team finds itself in a better position to make the right decision faster.

Many corporations have cultures where asking pointed questions is viewed negatively. Politics dominates the psyches of employees, who have to carefully calculate whether to call out a problem, discuss it in private, or ignore it entirely. Your company can’t take advantage of every new opportunity, so to find the ones worth your time, you have to encourage senior management to ask questions and disprove assumptions. The folks who are willing to ask and answer the tough questions are the ones who keep you sharp, keep you moving forward, and keep you honest.

The future is far out, until it isn’t

Ernest Hemingway once wrote that there are two ways you go bankrupt: “Gradually. Then suddenly.” Binary events are like this. You’re profitable, then you’re not. You’re growing, then you’re not. You’re employed, then you’re not.

Every VC understands this from the other side of the equation. They look at tiny businesses and see a future world where they are significant. In the eyes of most onlookers the shift from irrelevant to meaningful happens in the blink of an eye. A fast-growing company might have just $5 million in revenue – a drop in the bucket for a global corporation. But two years later, it could have $50 to $100 million, and suddenly everyone is paying attention. That growth can even happen as companies scale. Just look to Tesla as an example. In 2012, Tesla had just over $400 million in revenue. In 2014, it was catapulted into the limelight and had surpassed $3 billion.

The future comes quicker than we think. When executives forecast on 3-5 year time horizons, they focus on the things that they can seemingly control. Unfortunately, focusing too heavily on near-term issues often leaves you unprepared for the future. By the time you start planning for a change on a three-year cycle, other companies will have been addressing those issues for years. Instead, it’s a much better strategy to acknowledge the future state of the world and focus your planning cycles on the inevitable changes you believe are going to impact your market. Mark Johnson, of Innosight, calls this planning based on your “Future State.” It a necessary piece of venture investing. But it’s becoming ever more critical for executives trying to adapt to an increasingly digital world.

During my time as an operator within SAP, I wish I’d truly appreciated these three things. Each amplifies your ability to execute, transform, and lead in an era defined by change and opportunity. To build teams that are willing to take home-run swings again and again, quickly identify what’s working and what’s not, and ensure long term opportunities aren’t missed, managers would do well to learn these lessons from VCs.

Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of options and tools meant to “help” you sell more effectively?

Yeah, me too.

If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for options that are easy to use, that integrate easily into your sales cycle, and that provide the most value to the prospect you’re talking to.

So to help your search, here are six tools that have become must-haves in my sales process.

1.  Sidekick From HubSpot

Sidekick is a lightweight email tracking tool. When you send an email out, it lets you see how people are interacting with your message. It can be helpful to gauge interest, and also for timing your phone follow-ups to when the buyer is most interested in you (e.g., when they are actually reading your email).

Email is still a smart and useful method of communication in the B2B sales world. Sidekick helps you make it smarter by tracking your emails and becoming more responsive to your buyers.

2.  LeadMetrics From PeopleMetrics

LeadMetrics by PeopleMetrics (that’s us!) is a great predictive sales technology that helps you understand how your buyers feel throughout the B2B sales experience.

It sends a simple feedback form to your prospects immediately after key interactions in your sales cycle. Then it generates smart action alerts based on their answers—giving you a better grasp on how they’re feeling about buying from you, and what you can do to impact their decision. Check it out below, and click the picture to enlarge.

LeadMetrics also presents all of your data in an online dashboard, so that you can see how each sale is changing, moving, and performing.

Rather than a closed-lost/closed-won survey, it provides real-time understanding of your prospects during their B2B buyer’s journey.

And buyers want to give feedback. Research shows 7 in 10 buyers have never been asked for feedback on the sales experience. And 81% of those buyers said they would definitely or likely respond. We’ve found the simple act of asking for feedback, especially when coupled with a customer-centric selling approach, can really help differentiate you from competitors.

3.  Crystal

Crystal is a brand new tool for understanding your email communication and how it affects your sales process. It takes the guesswork out of how you should communicate with your prospect by scraping data available across the web. It then analyzes the person’s communication style and gives you suggestions, right in your email, to improve your communications.

The whole tool is built on empathy, and creating an empathetic connection with your prospect will do wonders for getting the point across. Here’s an example of how it works:

4.  LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is an upgraded version of good ol’ LinkedIn. There are quite a few options available for different roles in your company, but for social selling, Sales Navigator is the best.

Having some sort of LinkedIn upgrade is essential for today’s salesperson. Social selling is the future, and LinkedIn is a super valuable network to prospect within.

With the upgraded version, you get a variety of features. You can also set alerts for specific buyer search profiles so you can get automated lists of the people that may be interested in your products.

5.  Calendly

The B2B buyer is pressed for time, so it helps to have multiple ways for them to get in touch with you easily.

Calendly is an online tool that syncs with your calendar. It allows your buyers to self-select times to talk with you. When they confirm the appointment slot, Calendly books the time directly onto your calendar.

Some people use TimeTrade, but I prefer Calendly. It looks great, is easy to use, and is free if you use it the way I do. (If you find you need more advanced features in your scheduling system, you might want to check out TimeTrade.) I even have a link to my online calendar in my email signature, to speed up the scheduling process if a person needs to talk to me.

6.  Your Telephone

According to our newest research on the sales experience, more than twice as many buyers classified their experience with the winning vendor as “high-touch” compared to the rejected vendor. That means you have to keep in contact with your buyer in a variety of ways.

Email is our default: it’s an easy, convenient way to get in touch with someone. But giving a buyer a ring on the telephone shows you care enouth to take time out of your day to get the answers they need. This is key to securing a meeting, moving an opportunity along, or just getting some answers. And it just takes a few minutes.

Recap: Six Tools For Smarter B2B Sales

1. Sidekick from HubSpot: An email tracker that alerts you when your buyers are reading your emails.
2. LeadMetrics from PeopleMetrics: A tool to automagically send feedback opportunities to your prospects.
3. Crystal: A tool that gives you suggestions for written communications with your prospects.
4. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: An upgraded version of LinkedIn to use for prospecting and keeping in touch.
5. Calendly: A calendar that allows buyers to self-book appointments with you.
6. Your Telephone: A tool likely sitting on your desk. We promise it won’t bite, but it will help you land deals.

What’s The Next Big Thing?

The world of selling is changing drastically. Customer-centric selling is the new way of closing sales. As such, you need tools that enable you to sell with the buyer in mind.

But value during the sales process leads to future advocacy. Happy buyers turn into happy clients. And that matters a lot, because 78% of buyers seek recommendations from their network when beginning the search for a new partner.

So when you sell the right way—when you add value and focus on the prospect experience—you are setting the business up for more referrals.

And more referrals = more sales.

What do you use to help you or your team provide more value to your prospects? You can download the ebook about the prospect experience.

In an industry as competitive and ever changing as business telecommunications, you can’t invest too heavily in just generating new leads.

Instead, your telecom sales team needs to be equally, if not more, focused on closing new leads into retained customers before your competitors steal those business opportunities.

As for leads your sales team will work with once current prospects are closed, look to business referrals.

Your team needs to be able to successfully turns leads into lifetime customers and customers into a valuable mine of referrals – without wasting time on lead generation. Here are some guiding principles to help you establish and build those business referral connections in your telecom sales process.

Why You Should Prioritize Referrals Over Other Leads

Every telecom sales team tacitly understands that referral selling is by far the most effective lead generation and customer retention strategy. Not only are referrals “hot” leads, but they also come with a built-in testimonial for your prospect.

Other benefits of referrals include:

• You bypass the gatekeeper, with easier access to the actual decision maker
• Your referred prospect is already familiar with your ability to deliver results
• You already have a level of trust and credibility with the prospect
• Your referred prospect is more likely to refer your business again
• You have a more qualified lead to work with (requiring fewer leads overall)
• You face less competition overall in order to close the sale

Why You Need To Create A Business Referral Strategy

Despite the clear benefits of referrals, many telecom service providers don’t have a solid referral strategy as part of their lead generation process. In order to leverage this critical element of your sales process, your team needs to develop a written referral-selling strategy, establish periodic referral goals, train on referral-selling skills and track the success of incoming business referrals.

Remember, referrals most often come from satisfied, retained customers. If your customer retention strategy still needs work, you must establish a solid retention strategy before asking current customers for referrals. Once your current customers are content, train your sales team on the perfect timing and approach to ask for a referral.

When it comes to telecom sales, your business needs to be quick to respond to changing trends while maintaining a relationship-oriented sales process. This means solving your prospects’ pains and problems, retaining them as satisfied customers and then leveraging their networks for the right referrals. Create this process, and you will close more deals than ever before.