Posts Tagged ‘value’

Content that captures attention

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

One of the greatest challenges companies have today is capturing prospects’ attention.  In a world where everyone is overwhelmed with information, only the most relevant messages get through.

For that reason, I advise my clients to get as much information as they can about prospects’ and customers’ priorities–and then develop marketing messages that address those priorities.  Nevertheless, I left out one important tip.

Here’s the tip: look to your customer service department for help.  Earlier this month, I learned this lesson by direct example.

Speak to prospects’ priorities

How search and social media will shorten the B2B sales cycle.

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers and a leading authority on B2B marketing,  just published a draft of the first chapter of his upcoming book, Social Marketing to the Business Customer on his blog. He had me on the second page when he spelled out what I’ve always seen as the differences between B2B and B2C sales–but have never been able to articulate as clearly.   The points Paul makes –about buyers’ focus on value, group decision-making, and sales cycle length especially resonate with me as someone who focuses on marketing IT products and professional services to corporations.

Linked In: 5 tips for generating sales

Monday, June 14th, 2010

In today’s guest post, fellow Wharton alum , Craig James, offers tips for leveraging Linked In to generate sales.  Craig is the founder of Sales Solutions, a sales productivity improvement business located in suburban Boston.  Contact him directly toll-free at 877-862-8631, or by e-mail at craig@sales-solutions.biz

Sales people and others responsible generating business for their organizations will find LinkedIn a valuable tool.  Unlike sites such as Facebook and MySpace, LinkedIn tends to attract those looking to develop business relationships, as opposed to friendships.

Social media for B2B Marketers via Paul Gillin

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

A lot of what we read and hear about social media focuses on how businesses can use it to market to consumers (B2C).  Yet, as a business-to-business marketing consultant, I’m far more interested in its B2B applications.

This is perhaps the main reason I was looking forward to Paul Gillin’s breakfast seminar at the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council last week. The other reason is that Paul has an uncanny ability to connect the dots in ways that add new meaning to any topic that he addresses.

B2B Marketing differs from B2C marketing