REGISTER NOW! Critical Success Factors for Business Recovery and Growth After the downturn, now what? Businesses are looking for insight into strategies they can implement to help them recover and ultimately grow – from concrete demand generation ideas and tactics to high-level growth strategies. On May 27 at 2:00pm, we’re bringing together two experts who [...]
It's snowing here this morning. Yup. Snow. And not just a little. Sure, it will only last for the day, but it feels like a HUGE setback. We're all looking forward to warmer weather, sunshine, and better times...but the snow just seems like a huge kick in the...ahem. You know what I mean. But on [...]
“Call Me After COVID” Sound familiar? It’s what our sales teams have been hearing for a while now….but it seems like we’re getting less of this. The economy is getting ready to kick back up – and we may be seeing signs of recovery. What are your teams seeing? Here is what the experts are [...]
Here is the latest update for you – if it's valuable, please forward it to your colleagues. And please share your findings back – I’d love to hear from you! Here are some takeaways from the past week: 1. Deal Volume and Sales Response Rates are Down - HubSpot has been providing some great real-time [...]
I’ve recently witnessed some marketplace changes that I want to share with you. This past week our client teams have noticed that response rates and live conversations with B2B prospects have picked up considerably. Of course, I am hoping this trend continues. Are your sales teams finding the same? Here are some takeaways from the [...]
As I process everything going on these days, I find myself reflecting on past experiences as I push forward. What is the role of change now? Here are some takeaways from the past week: 1. Your Brand New 100% Inside Sales Organization! When I started Virtual Causeway in 2001, it was mainly due to a [...]
I usually don’t listen to webinars ‘live’ but this one was different. As someone who helps to manage and implement webinar strategies for our clients, I rarely attend them live. I typically wait for the replay or recording. Today I watched a timely and thought-provoking webinar hosted by Gartner and TOPO: COVID-19 – Strategic Sales [...]
This webinar is designed for SAP Partners. Join Rick Endrulat and Marlene Keay for ‘Webinars that Boost Sales: Virtual Causeway's Webinar Program for SAP Partners'. In this brief 12-minute webinar, learn how you can leverage webinars to generate demand for your SAP solutions and how SAP contributes to support your effort. You'll learn Why use [...]
What a week it’s been! I wanted to remind you that you’re not alone. As I’ve been talking to clients, partners, and vendors this week, I realized that I need to share more. I can add value to the business community by sharing what I am seeing in the market – so I wanted to [...]
Lead machine webinar coming in hot! Join Rick Endrulat for ‘5 Simple Steps to Building an Integrated Lead Engine to Grow Sales’. In this 20-minute webinar, learn how to build your own complete targeted content marketing process that effectively generates qualified B2B sales leads. You'll learn A complete lead producing process The role of content [...]
When it comes to digital B2B marketing, most people immediately think of B2C and the flashy tactics used to grab the attention of prospects. Businesses have been selling to businesses for a very long time. It's only until recently that B2B has been taken to a whole new level with advancements in digital marketing and [...]
A lead is a potential contact, individual, or organization that expresses an interest in your goods or services. Typically, the marketing department is responsible for generating these leads to pass onto the sales department to pursue and convert. Leads are important for any organization; they are what will eventually (hopefully) turn into a sale. Having [...]
@c_blazquez posted this great infographic (by Anna Vital) about startups on twitter based on Paul Graham's essay: Startups in 13 Sentences. https://twitter.com/c_blazquez/status/892327223285493761 We thought we would provide our own take on Paul’s 13 Sentences on Start-ups. Pick good co-founders There are so many challenges that come along with starting a business. Many entrepreneurs find that [...]
Long after all the other social media giants have adopted video sharing features, LinkedIn has finally jumped on the bandwagon. The business-centric social media network will now let users take and upload videos with the updated in-app camera or upload clips from their phone’s camera roll. Currently, LinkedIn says the native video feature is currently [...]
Social media started out at as a tool to communicate and stay in touch with friends, family, and colleagues. Eventually, it became popular among business-to-consumer companies to help find and communicate with their customers. Today it has become an integral part of any businesses marketing strategy and B2B is no exception. When reading about social [...]
Sales leads are what drive your business. You probably have a bunch of them pouring in already, but are they good, quality leads? Traditional sales and marketing strategies tend to focus on casting a wide net and capturing as many leads as possible instead of focusing on the good ones. If you’re not getting the [...]
We have all encountered spam at some point or another while scrolling through the web or sifting through your email inbox. Some people - and even software - are really great at identifying it and dealing with it, but some are not. While nobody likes receiving spam, the fact is many businesses are actively sending [...]
Sales calls are something that many people tend to avoid. Customers can now learn everything they need to know about a product through friends, industry peers and online research. Having to listen to sales pitches from overly preppy salespeople can sometimes become irritating. While trying to reach quotas and encourage a sale, salespeople often forget [...]
What would you say your most crucial selling tool is in your day-to-day business? Chances are you don’t consider Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to be such a big deal. The reality is, along with 75% of other companies, you’re a fool to think so and you’re missing out. *Here’s the actual title of this [...]
Snapchat started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 2nd, 2017, offering 200 million shares at $17 each. By 12:00pm ET, their price had risen to $25.38 per share. That all sounds really great for Snapchat, but it doesn’t really help you at all. So, instead of continuing to bore you with financial [...]
And hope that everyone catches it like the Flu. The Internet is bursting at the seams with content and information. It is important to stand out so you are getting the most out of your B2B marketing strategies. I recently read a book called Contagious by Jonah Berger, Professor of Marketing at The University of [...]
For those who have little-to-no graphic design skills. You’re in good hands because I am a pro... Not really but they tell me I’m pretty good. There has probably been a time where you had wished you knew how to whip up a quick graphic for your marketing campaign. Whether it’s an advertisement, a graphic [...]
Hop on the bandwagon, you're missing out! Last year we saw the importance of visual content, such as video, emphasized by the changes that took place across almost every major social network such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Most notable were the launch of Facebook and Instagram’s live feature, Facebook’s pre-roll video ads, and [...]
Overcome complacency. Achieve Marketing stardom. The biggest killer for any marketing department, marketing campaign, or marketing professional can best be described using one word — complacency. I’m guilty of it. If you’re honest with yourself, so are you. There is just so much going on in our day-to-day lives, not to mention the non-stop meetings, [...]
Top 5 things you can do to stop the whispers. Any Marketer who has been on the job for more than a few months will have experienced this. Of course, most sales professionals can claim the same thing. Isn’t it interesting how you never really hear that about Development or Finance or even Human Resources? [...]
I’ve written about it before, and I’ll write about it again. It’s a popular discussion among us Marketers, not to mention a source of frustration. Every time I reach out to my network of respected marketers, looking for inspiration on what to write about, it’s almost the first thing they mention. It’s so bad I [...]
One of the things I enjoy best about being a veteran marketer (that’s “marketing” for saying I’m old) is that I’ve had the chance to mentor and develop a lot of young marketers. It’s something I think I’m good at. It’s definitely something I take a lot of pride in. I consider it one of [...]
One of the biggest challenges I’ve ever had, as a veteran Vice President of Marketing, was getting consensus on how a lead is defined. This challenge occurred in almost every single organization I’ve ever been engaged with. Even more interesting, when you interview the key stakeholders in an organization and ask how a lead is [...]
The biggest challenge any revenue-generating professional will face is connecting with a customer — via email, phone, social media, or in person — and actually getting them to listen. It has become a ‘skimming’ society with too many priorities competing with too little time. The customer has issues and they’re looking for solutions. The window [...]
Everyday, each of us sees them, yet very few of us know much about them. I am talking about display ads (formerly called banner ads), Unlike search ads that rely on someone typing a keyword into a search engine, those running display advertising platforms learned how to show ads to people based on the context [...]
I think of myself as someone usually on the front-end of the technology adoption curve. When I first studied Geoffrey Moore’s “Crossing the Chasm[i]” in business school, I remember completely identifying with those technology Innovators. Or, at the worst, I thought I might be an Early Adopter. Well – here it is – and I [...]
As the market for marketing automation grows - platforms such as Pardot, Marketo and Eloqua help large businesses drive revenue by converting leads into customers. The marketing automation industry realized there was a market for small companies and thus gained popularity Act-On, Infusionsoft, and Nurture. What does this mean for you as a business leader? [...]
Popularity and Effectiveness of Digital Marketing One of the most important aspects in marketing is content marketing. In order to have a great content marketing strategy, we have to write – and write LOTS! As marketers, we have a natural tendency to want to grow our business fast and write in every outlet possible. [...]
I’ve been a marketer for a long time, much of that spent as a senior executive. I’ve had large teams, small teams, and no teams. I’ve made many mistakes. I’ve even had employees come into my office to stage pseudo-intervention, asking me to trust them to do their job rather than micro-manage them. What I’ve [...]
Working in sales, you are familiar with the gatekeeper. In my experience, I have learned the gatekeeper can be your best friend or your worst enemy. They will let you through to your target contact or bluntly tell you the target contact is not interested. Today, most gatekeepers have absolute power over the phone, e-mail [...]
A B2B Marketer’s Word Jumble....Leads vs Deals What do leads and deals have in common? Well....same letters, different order? The image of a word jumble comes to mind - remember the word jumble? You would see it in the newspaper? I’m sure you can play it online somewhere....(Note to self – look for an online [...]
Earlier on, Rick wrote a post about WHY we are blogging - the end result - content. Blogs are everywhere! There are literally (figuratively) dogs writing blogs. Not kidding - check it out (Alfies Blog). With the saturation of the blog market - ever get stuck thinking about WHAT to blog about? Here are some [...]
