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We’re already two weeks into the first quarter of the new year! Sometimes we just need a good kick in the butt and some direction to perfection to get things rolling. Have a listen to this tune by The Killers with me while you read on… and don’t bring yourself down!
Here are some takeaways from the past week:
Marketing Trends to Watch in 2021
Everyone is talking predictions for 2021. I’d rather we just focus on the trends we’ve seen, and decide for ourselves how the year is going to look! HubSpot has done a great job of polling some experts to highlight some of those key trends for this year. Spoiler alert – virtual events!
Of course, none of this is ground-breaking, but there are some interesting opinions:
- A/B Testing – will become a waste of time and budget
- Marketing Budgets – decreasing, with smaller teams!
- The Panic Pivot – moving to a more proactive, purposeful reinvention
- Cross-Channel Integrations – increasing performance and effectiveness
Read the report here, and make up your own mind! How do you think 2021 is going to play out?
Can Your Sales Rep be Influenced by Commission?
As we are working through sales kickoffs (virtual, of course) and planning for 2021, I know sales commissions and compensation are top of mind for many of us. But are your sales reps actually influenced by commission?
According to Forrester, compensation is important, but it’s not always the most important sales motivator. Sales leaders often assume that money motivates reps to sell more, but assessing your team on three factors can help determine their level of influence to drive sales:
- Sales environment
- Sales rep influence
- Ability to measure results
If, after reviewing these areas, you can see that reps have a high degree of influence on moving deals, then compensation changes can have an impact on sales performance. Ensure your comp plans are aligned with the organization’s overall goals!
Artists Who Have Sold Their Song Catalogues
I highlighted the sale of Bob Dylan’s song catalogue in a recent post – seems like 2020 was a busy year for artists to sell their songs to a new breed of company buying up these catalogues! Here are just some of the artists that sold recently:
- Bob Dylan (100% of his catalogue), est. US$400-500 million
- Neil Young (50% of his career catalogue), est. US$150 million
- Imagine Dragons (everything they’ve done up until now), est. US$100 million
- Stevie Nicks (80% of her catalogue), est. US$100 million
- The Killers (all releases up until 2020), price undisclosed… but most likely a BIG number!
See the whole list here.
There are many contemporary bands in this list (Killers, Imagine Dragons) that will still presumably put out new material and sell new music in the immediate future. So it seems that this isn’t just a trend for the retired, aging rocker. Perhaps this is a means to generate cash to help fund the ‘second act’ of a newer band’s career? Or a way to capitalize on current popularity and ensure the largest possible payoff?
With live music on hold right now, I believe we’ll see many more bands leverage their song catalogue to generate big revenue numbers while they try to reinvent themselves in a post-pandemic world.
How can this apply to your B2B organization? Do you have consistent revenue streams you can leverage as you reinvent your business?
As always, if I can help you out, let me know! Don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.
Looking forward,
Rick
Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat