Here is what the experts are saying, and some takeaways from the past week:

More ‘Cautious Optimism’ from HubSpot and VanillaSoft Benchmark Data

Here are the results from HubSpot this week:

• All industries tracked have increased in Deals Created and Deals Closed
• Countries that have begun reopening parts of their economy are also showing promising signs
• Email prospecting increased 7% the week of May 4
• Call prospecting increased 10% the week of May 4

On a cautionary note, last week, the data suggested that sales teams were replacing the time they spent calling prospects with emailing instead, which has been ineffective in converting interest to date.

Check out the full report here.

For another datapoint, VanillaSoft, the Sales Engagement platform, shared the data below. Using benchmark data from pre-COVID, we saw that sales activity in their platform has decreased, but is only down approximately 1% end of April vs. pre-COVID levels.

What does this mean? Keep the sales and marketing activity going and you’ll see results! It’s easy to become paralyzed and slow or stop sales activity.

The dip (peaked at about 8%) week of April 6 seems to be due to the transition to WFH and the short-term loss of productivity whilst sales teams figured out their processes and their “new normal”.

Companies need relevant solutions that deliver results more than ever. So review your messaging, adjust as needed, and keep getting it out there.

State of the Music Industry

You may not know, but one of my real passions besides all things B2B is music. I read an excellent article by Bob Lefsetz, esteemed Music Industry pundit. It’s a great analysis of the music industry and how the current pandemic has affected it. Not surprisingly, labels are doing fine. Artists? It depends. Promotion is all about the content! Yes, this is a recurring theme – content is king!

And concert promotion and live events….well….who knows? According to Bob, everyone but Live Nation and AEG will go bankrupt.

But never forget, the live business was burgeoning before the virus and will burgeon after it because you can’t get that experience anywhere else. The music is the special sauce that creates joy and brings people together. But we may need to be patient for the “brings people together” part!

So, let’s keep envisioning a better future and working towards it.

Webinar – What do B2B Marketers Do Now? Featuring VanillaSoft

I’ve got something new for you. It’s the first of our new ‘What do B2B Marketers Do Now? (in 29 minutes!)’ webinars on May 27 at 2pm ET. In this inaugural webinar we discuss marketing and sales strategies to help organizations gain traction on the road to business recovery and growth. It features Darryl Praill, CMO of VanillaSoft, and leader of the ‘INSIDE Inside Sales’ podcast. Each month, I’ll feature subject matter experts and discuss key sales and marketing topics! I hope you can join us – register here.

Rick Endrulat | President | Virtual Causeway | 519.866.1600 x622

The post Finding Promise in 2020 B2B Marketing and Sales appeared first on Virtual Causeway.

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 saying, and some takeaways from the past week:

HubSpot Sales Metrics Showing Signs of Recovery

After weeks of decline, it seems that sales metrics are moving in a positive direction, and companies that had paused ‘business as usual’ are beginning to move forward in a new normal. Some key data points:

• Deals created & deals closed increased by almost 10% the week of April 20
• Buyer engagement reached historic highs – high marketing email open rates, and salespeople are booking more meetings
• Average Call Volume has maintained 20% decrease over pre-COVID levels, but the volume of meetings booked has rebounded to a level higher than pre-COVID averages!

This is all very positive as it shows that activity is increasing, and buying cycles continue to move forward!

Check out the full article here.

Content Matters Now More than Ever!

According to Forbes, Internet traffic has surged between 50% and 70% over the past month. Those increased hours online aren’t limited to YouTube and online shopping. Business executives are also spending more time researching potential solutions to help their companies emerge stronger after this crisis.

A recent study from NetLine showed that content consumption among professionals is skyrocketing as well. And consumption patterns differed among leadership, managers and individual contributors. Different members of the buying committee were engaging with different types of content at different stages—with “how to” content popular with some audiences versus tips and enablement content with others.

So – based on the research above and the HubSpot data, we can see how important it is to keep your sales and marketing machine running! Relevant content that adds value to your prospects will help you continue to move your sales and marketing organization forward.

Rick Endrulat | President | Virtual Causeway | 519.866.1600 x622

The post Call Me After COVID appeared first on Virtual Causeway.