October 1, 2019

How to Use Account Based Marketing to Drive Business Success in 2019

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Now that technology has allowed virtually every consumer experience to become more personalized, it’s not surprising that marketing has become more customized, too. Just as inbound marketers create a buyer’s journey that gives individual buyers the kind of content they’re actively searching for, account based marketing, or ABM, is creating a better way for marketers to target an account or company.

More than 80% of marketers say that their ABM initiatives outperform other types of marketing investments. The key word here is “investment.” ABM requires a much different approach than traditional marketing services, and, in order to be successful, it’s critical to put the work in up front before you pull the trigger.

Sales and Marketing Alignment, Sales Enablement
May 30, 2019

7 Key Elements of a Great Sales Enablement Strategy

m3-blog-7-Key-Elements-of-a-Great-Sales-Enablement-StrategyIn order for your sales enablement program to be successful, you or your content marketing agency need to have a well-thought-out strategy in place. This strategy will direct your efforts, keep you on track to reach your goals and help you see when (and where) you need to make adjustments.

Think of it like a business plan for your sales enablement program. You wouldn’t start a business without identifying your objectives and determining how you’ll reach them. The same should be true of your sales enablement program.

The right strategy helps you define and collect all the different components involved in your program and determine what needs to be accomplished by each person who is responsible for each step. It also offers a useful set of guidelines to follow as you grow, because it provides a documented reminder of what you want to accomplish and serves as the foundation for your growth.

To begin creating your strategy, bring key stakeholders from both sales and marketing together to provide input. This will ensure that the strategy you create is attainable and reasonable, and it’s also easier to get buy-in from all departments when they’re given the chance to participate.

As you outline your strategy, here are seven essential elements to include that will lead to a great sales enablement strategy.

Sales and Marketing Alignment, Sales Enablement
May 24, 2019

How to Choose the Right Technology to Supercharge Your Sales Enablement Strategy

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For organizations that use content marketing to promote their business and spread awareness of their brand, sales enablement is all about aligning sales and digital marketing specialists in order to propel the sales process forward. While that requires having team members work side-by-side to improve efficiency, it depends heavily on technology to bring those processes together.

There’s a significant payoff in having the right technology; a study by Forrester Consulting found that companies who use sales enablement technology are able to increase the speed of closing deals by 43% and boost company growth by as much as 60%.

Implementing technology is an important step, but it can only be done after you know what processes it needs to serve and what you expect it to do. Once you outline your processes, you have to identify what types of sales technology stack will support and further them, then ensure that everyone involved knows how to use that technology to its fullest.

After all, the greatest technology in the world is only effective when it’s being used properly. If you don’t believe that, hand a smartphone to your grandmother and see what happens.

Sales and Marketing Alignment, Sales Enablement
March 15, 2019

8 Simple Steps for Writing an Amazing White Paper

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As a business owner, you’re always trying to figure out ways to attract new prospects and turn them into loyal customers. It all starts with making them aware of your business by providing them with useful and interesting content like blog posts, videos, infographics and e-books. One popular form of content that has gained traction — especially in the B2B world — is white papers. 

White papers are in-depth, authoritative reports that are usually several pages long and educate readers on particular topics. They are well researched and sometimes take weeks or months to produce. Using white papers, consumers can solve specific problems and have their questions on niche topics answered.

When done right, white papers can bring in new potential customers and entice them to consider your products and services. According to Curata, 76% of buyers are willing to share information about themselves in exchange for a white paper, and according to Forbes, 79% of B2B buyers said they are most likely to share white papers with their colleagues.

If you want to create a white paper that will attract your audience, offer them interesting information and ultimately convince them to continue on their buyer’s journey, follow these eight simple steps.

Sales and Marketing Alignment
March 13, 2019

How to Get Started With Sales Enablement

sales enablement

The way customers buy products has changed dramatically with the growth of e-commerce, but many businesses still depend on the old way of selling. Not surprisingly, that doesn’t yield the same kind of positive results that it used to.

The fault can’t really be placed on sales teams; without the proper tools to sell in this new environment, they can’t adequately compete. But, when given new ways to educate prospects, they can make significant progress.

That’s why sales enablement, a relatively new concept that has grown out of the unique needs of today’s business environment, has gained so much traction.

Sales enablement creates the processes that provide sales departments with the tools, information and platforms they need to increase their effectiveness. As they become more efficient at leading a potential customer through the buyer’s journey, they can provide that lead with the experiences and information needed to make a purchase.

In doing so, they’ll see greater success when it comes to closing deals.

That sounds great on paper, but what does that actually mean — and how does it work? Does it really work? Let’s take a closer look at sales enablement and how it can improve your company’s effectiveness.

Sales and Marketing Alignment, Sales Enablement
November 6, 2018

Breaking Down the Different Types of Digital Marketing Agencies

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If your company is looking for a digital marketing agency, there are a plethora of options at your fingertips. A quick Google search of “digital marketing agency near me” will bring up a map full of red pins around your area and an endless amount of search result pages.

With so many marketing agencies, how do you know which one is best for your business? Before we look at each type of digital marketing agency, let’s define what digital marketing is, exactly.

Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Sales and Marketing Alignment
October 31, 2018

5 Spooky Marketing Tactics That Will Scare Prospects Away

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There are many terrifying things in the world — spiders, tornadoes, losing your mom in the grocery store, just to name a few. For marketers and salespeople, however, the scariest thing may be how easy it is to lose a potential customer. Just when you think you have them… poof! They disappear like a spirit at a Ghostbusters convention.

Why does this happen? It may not be the prospect’s fault. It may actually be that your marketing tactics. You might be scaring them away with your outdated techniques! Things like cold calls and unexpected emails can spook even the bravest of prospects.

Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Sales and Marketing Alignment
October 9, 2018

How to Qualify Leads with Long-Term Revenue In Mind

Quality Leads Long Term Revenue

Spending time on the right leads is crucial for any business growth. When talking with prospective clients, we often forget to ask ourselves whether this is the type of client that could bring long-term value to our business.

Start-up founders and business professionals often get blinded by the possibility of turning a lead into an active client, forgetting to take into consideration the opportunity cost of on-boarding a bad lead. Understanding how to qualify leads becomes an important part of every sales process.

As a business owner and a sales professional, the time you spend qualifying a lead is synonymous with the success you will have. Leads should be prioritized based on their importance and relevance to the business itself.

Applying this simple-yet-effective thought can save you and your salesforce a lot of time in negotiation with potential clients who will bring more troubles than revenues.

Inbound Marketing, Sales and Marketing Alignment, Sales Enablement, Sales Strategy
July 24, 2018

The Secret to Sales and Marketing Alignment: What Every CEO Needs to Know

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ROI. It’s a term most are familiar with, but very few can agree on. Marketers think it’s one thing, salespeople think it’s something else and C-levels think it’s another thing entirely. Why do so many companies struggle with agreeing on simple things like terminology? Why does there appear to be so much disharmony among marketing, sales and leadership teams? Why can’t these teams just act like they’re on the same side for once?

When it comes down to it, it’s not a collaboration issue. It’s a communication issue.

Sales and Marketing Alignment, Sales Enablement, Sales Strategy