Funnel Vision

How to measure lead effectiveness

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 30 May 2012 22:50:19 +0000

Some businesses change their tactics with the same amount of science as they used to choose them in the first place - none. Others get themselves into such a state about how to decide whether to change or not, that they analyse themselves to death.

What’s holding your business back? Try this 12-point action framework

Bob Apollo — Sun, 27 May 2012 22:57:44 +0000

What would happen if you were able to double your sales and marketing resources overnight? Potentially, not a lot. Without a well-defined, scalable sales and marketing process you’ll inevitably struggle to attract, engage, qualify and convert enough of the right sort of prospects to increase revenue.

How to profit from buyers' problems

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:51:39 +0000

Businesses pay money to have their problems solved. Sometimes they will pay a lot, and sometimes they won’t. As a consequence, some problems are more ‘attractive’ than others to sales-oriented businesses that are offering solutions.

How to earn more profit than your competitors

Hugh Macfarlane — Sun, 20 May 2012 22:26:55 +0000

What do you do when a tough competitor enters your space? Many businesses cut their prices, starting a 'race to the bottom' as their previously unassailed niche becomes just another commodity product or service...

Aligning content with the B2B Buyer's Journey at DemandCon 2012

Hugh Macfarlane — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:48:12 +0000

Great content has become the foundation stone of B2B marketing. But with the customer changing the way they buy, you have to wonder if your content plays an effective role in advancing their decision-making process, or if it misses the mark entirely.

How to position in the category

Hugh Macfarlane — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:38:53 +0000

All businesses seek “brand awareness” in order to position themselves prominently in a given category. Salespeople often complain about how poor the marketing department is at positioning the qualities of their products and services relative to competitors.

How measuring lag can boost sales

Hugh Macfarlane — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:31:55 +0000

Most businesses have an accurate handle on the length of their sales cycle – the time that elapses between a lead being qualified and the closing of the deal. If your total sales cycle is six months, or three months, or twelve months, what does that mean and what can you change to improve results?

DemandCon 2012: Understanding demand marketing’s transitions and tensions.

AndrewSwan — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:42:52 +0000

Marketing is on a mission to gain control of the Funnel – to effectively manage and predict demand, yet today’s research tells a different story. The story exposes prevailing tensions in every area amounting to a serious disconnect between the vision of what Marketing should be doing and what it is doing in reality.

DemandCon 2012: Marketing & Sales Alignment - the journey one global organization has taken

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 02 May 2012 23:44:03 +0000

Growing bigger requires you to make big decisions about changing the way you operate and the cultural and organizational structure of your company can play an integral part in how to approach these big decisions. But where do you start and which changes should be made first?

The Changing Role of your Brand in Demand Gen at DemandCon 2012

Hugh Macfarlane — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:42:40 +0000

Does the market see your company as the life and soul of the party, devoid of personality or even worse, does the market think your brand exhibits a ‘split personality’ and doesn't seem to know what it wants to be? Michelle Martin will help you find out where you fit and how to change it when she discusses how today's best brands are built at DemandCon 2012.

Call your leads quickly, and stop calling after 20 hours

Hugh Macfarlane — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 01:29:19 +0000

B2B marketers know how important it is to follow up leads quickly. But do we know how quickly? And can call backs actually hurt your chances?

Building Global Lead Scoring and Nurturing Programs at DemandCon 2012

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:12:07 +0000

Do you know what your ideal customer looks like and are you doing anything to help them find their way to you when the time comes to buy? John Sweeney and Ceri Jones teach you how to spot, track and engage ideal customers using lead scoring and nurturing programs at DemandCon 2012.

The world's best B2B marketers all in one place? Must be DemandCon 2012!

Hugh Macfarlane — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:45:30 +0000

B2B marketers worship the Funnel. They spend their waking hours trying to design, control and influence its ability progress buyers but how many of us actually know the best to way manage it?

How to include buyers in your strategy

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:20:54 +0000

Some companies defy convention to become great. Stories abound of businesses that excel through innovative solutions which meet needs that buyers did not even know existed. Think Microsoft or the Sony Walkman, for example.

Hugh Macfarlane to present Funnel Plan training workshop for b2b marketers at DemandCon in May 2012

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:11:06 +0000

April 16, 2012, Melbourne, Australia – MathMarketing Founder and CEO, Hugh Macfarlane, will present his trademark “Funnel Logic” in a training workshop at DemandCon in London this May.

What revenue performance management can do for you

Lauren Carlson — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:51:40 +0000

If you are at all familiar with marketing automation, you will have heard the term "Revenue Performance Management" floating around quite a bit. But what exactly is it and why is it relevant to you?

How to decide where to play

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:29:45 +0000

Strategic decisions involve choice: deciding what to do and, importantly, what not to do. This leaves businesses facing a conundrum. CEOs and managers understand the power and importance of focus, but what should they focus on, and what should they ignore?

People buy from people they like

Eddie Smith — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 22:59:12 +0000

On the face of it, the strongest solution should always win the new business, regardless of how much the client likes you. However, it’s commonly accepted that personality factors can influence decisions in awarding new business. So to what degree does this happen - if you have the strongest solution, is that enough to get you over the line? Or are decision-makers swayed by how much they like the person behind the solution?

How can B2B marketers get a seat at the table?

Hugh Macfarlane — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:36:01 +0000

First and foremost, we have to understand that this is not a game of musical chairs. Those with seats do not want to give up theirs, and they are unwilling to let just anyone pull up a new chair next to them. Funnel Masters (an alumni of Funnel Academy graduates and other funnel zealots) met in an effort to uncover the answer to this question...

3 Reasons Why Australian B2B Marketers Are Going Inbound

Chris Fell — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 23:03:05 +0000

Inbound marketing isn't a well-known phrase to Australian marketers (yet!), but 2012 sees B2B marketers quickly catching on to the inbound marketing revolution. Inbound marketing refers to the art & increasingly the science of attracting buyers to your site, (getting found) converting them to leads (nurturing) and figuring out what is and isn't working (analytics).

How to make money from failure

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:11:14 +0000

Sales and marketing teams are geared towards success, but it's how they handle failure that will make them rich. What do we do with the prospective customers who don’t proceed? Those who leak from our funnel? The answer is usually “not much”. They are usually dropped like a hot potato.

Scandalous Data! 33% Percent of B2B Marketers Don't Measure ROI

Chris Fell — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:36:13 +0000

New data reveals that many B2B marketers are committing a major marketing no-no by failing to measure and report return on marketing investments to senior executives.

How qualified are your leads?

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:24:45 +0000

The sales department wants the marketing department to provide more leads. But they want them to be “better qualified”. The real question is, “qualified according to whom?”

Closing sales opportunities faster

Eddie Smith — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:22:38 +0000

How often have we heard sales managers complain that they are generating lots of selling opportunities, but the Sales team just doesn’t seem to be able to close them fast enough? Certainly not fast enough to achieve sales budgets.

How to align your sales process to your buyer's journey

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:00:33 +0000

The buyer’s journey describes the process for typical business buyers as they move through the sales funnel. The journey is not an administrative process, but a cognitive one. How, though, can you more fully acknowledge buyers when shaping your sales process?

12 Online Lead Generation Mistakes to Avoid

Chris Fell — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:37:45 +0000

The internet is a tough environment to make a sale, or even commence and influence a sale, especially for small to medium businesses. It's so crowded with competition and flooded with data that when someone does visit your site, it's a ever increasing challenge for B2B marketers to keep them there.

How to build a great business (from a good one)

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 22:56:11 +0000

Standing out from the crowd is tough when your competitors are also working towards the same end. Occasionally, though, a business that has been doing 'fine' suddenly starts doing better than fine. In fact, it goes from being good to great.

Get Your Content Found: A 5 Step Guide for B2B Marketers

Chris Fell — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:16:04 +0000

A key challenge B2B marketers face when it comes to content marketing is coming up with the content itself - that is, what exactly to talk about. But that's only one part of the story. Ultimately, content marketing is about generating leads, and the way you distribute your content is actually what makes or breaks the success of your efforts.

How to leak your sales funnel gracefully

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:38:26 +0000

Deals can drift, delay or simply disappear. For many buyers, ‘do nothing’ is a legitimate option – and a popular one. Sure, you can also make mistakes, or do well and still lose to a competitor. Whichever the case, how you exit that ‘thanks but no thanks’ conversation is just as important as your opening call.

How to use five core strengths to win business

Eddie Smith — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:27:24 +0000

How many leads do you need per campaign?

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:43:14 +0000

Calculating the number of leads needed for a campaign seems simple. You can do it on the back of an envelope: Firstly, work out the real target: Consider your revenue target, reduce this by any annuity revenue to get your “sales target”.

Think your market is too small? Try recycling

Chuck Besondy — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:31:27 +0000

I was speaking with an executive the other day who repeated the concerns of her management team that their existing market was too small to sustain their growth. Expanding into new markets may look enticing, but there are large risks and costs associated with this strategy.

Do face-to-face meeting quotas work?

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:23:21 +0000

Salespeople have a reputation for avoiding paperwork and administration. They are also traditionally resistant to the idea of working to a meeting quota. But getting busy and recording the results is precisely the path to sales success.

Four steps to winning new business

Eddie Smith — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Winning complex new business requires a disciplined strategy. By using a systematic approach, business developers can increase the flow of opportunities and identify which specific actions will close the deal.

How to align your B2B marketing to your buyer's journey

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 22:20:44 +0000

A common lament of marketing teams is that they often find themselves acting as a service desk to the sales team. In b2b marketing, it is a consistent dilemma.

MathMarketing appoints Bob Apollo as Funnel Coach

Annelies Huls — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:20:25 +0000

8 February, Melbourne – MathMarketing is pleased to announce the appointment of Bob Apollo of Inflexion-Point, as an accredited Funnel Coach.

After successfully completing his sales and delivery accreditation in Manchester, England on the 27th of January Bob Apollo will now sell and deliver Funnel Academy and Funnel Camp across The United Kingdom.

How B2B Marketers Must Adjust to Shrinking Deal Sizes

Chris Fell — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:33:48 +0000

According to Marketing Sherpa data just released, average B2B deal sizes are shrinking. What does this mean for the B2B Marketer? Its implications are highly significant.

How to allocate limited budget

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:13:04 +0000

There is never enough money and never enough resources in a business. Whether you work in a multinational corporation with billions of dollars to splash around, or a micro business with only a few staff, budgeting is always tough.

The Best Time to Align Marketing and Sales

Chuck Besondy — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:31:27 +0000

If you sense that your revenue engine is under-performing and believe that aligning Marketing and Sales will lead to the necessary transformation you might next ask when is the best time to launch an alignment initiative.

How to size your funnel - top, bottom and middle

Hugh Macfarlane — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:00:19 +0000

Market sizing is often done with a degree of rigour, but far less rigour is applied to the task of sizing your own sales funnel. The proposition that "there is plenty out there" might be true, but sizing is not just about working out if the market can support you.

How saying goodbye to your customers can help you re-engage with them

Eddie Smith — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:49:16 +0000

We’ve spoken about Funnel Logic and the way we manage work-in-progress using a sales funnel. One of the critical things in this process is keeping your funnel clean, as there’s nothing worse than a clogged funnel.

10 A/B test Do's & Don'ts for B2B Marketers

Chris Fell — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 23:52:41 +0000

When was the last time you tested some part of your marketing? If it takes a bit of thought, you're probably not doing it enough. The problem with that is, even just a minor test can go a long way - improving traffic, leads, and even sales if done right.

How to make your strategy more buyer-centric

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:21:26 +0000

All businesses strive to recognise the needs of buyers when developing strategies for sales success. Well, at least you should.

Maximising the propose to close ratio

Eddie Smith — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:31:38 +0000

Many selling organisations are submitting an increasing number of proposals, in the hope that this will lead to an increased number of sales. But, proposals don’t always close. So, how can you fix a low propose to close ratio?

Six Strategies for Sales and Marketing in 2012

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 22:36:07 +0000

The liquidity risks of 2008/9, public bailout, market nervousness and contraction, financial market uncertainty, high unemployment and subsequently sluggish US economy have all commanded world attention for the last two or three years. None of this though prepared most of us for the genuine risk of sovereign debt default for a growing group of member states, and the potential collapse of the European Union, or at least that of the Euro Zone.

Competitively superior in-field targeting

Glenn Guilfoyle — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:43:41 +0000

Fish where the big fish are! Go for the 80/20! Don’t mess around with the small end of town – spend your time at the big end of town. All laudable exhortations. As a fledgling Sales Exec decades ago, I heard them all. You probably did too, huh?

How to make your funnel flow faster

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:39:28 +0000

Yes, you can speed up the time it takes for a potential buyer to make the purchase of your product or service. But not by skipping steps along the buyer’s journey.

How long is your revenue runway?

Chuck Besondy — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:40:11 +0000

Many business managers I speak with don’t have an accurate view of how long their revenue runway is; or to put the metaphor aside for a moment, they are unclear about how much time is required for the marketing and sales team to create enough customers to achieve a revenue target.

How to choose measures you can act on

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:47:47 +0000

If you don’t know what’s working, how do you know what to change? So measure inputs (not outputs), measure buyer progression, and don’t measure what you’re not prepared to change (or can’t).

Social media: from B2C to B2B

Annelies Huls — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:08:09 +0000

Although B2C companies were first to jump on the social media bandwagon, B2B companies are starting to recognise that social media can also work in a B2B context. But, as a B2B marketer, where do you start?

How to size for sales success - know thy funnel

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 23:19:06 +0000

Most sales teams have an inherent awareness of how many customers they need to see in order to make a sale – in other words, the key ratios that affect their business. But how do you drill back into your statistics to determine the total number of activity steps needed to achieve a result?

Regular healthchecks....on the key customer interfaces with Sales and Service

Glenn Guilfoyle — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:34:29 +0000

The medicos tell us that it is good fundamental health and wellbeing practice to undertake a regular health assessment. You know the stuff………blood pressure, cholesterol, weight: height ratios, lifestyle questionnaires etc - a simple and quick way to ensure our all-important health and wellbeing is on track. The same principles apply to B2B sales organisations.

Top 3 priorities for B2B marketers: Marketing Sherpa

Chris Fell — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:55:16 +0000

According to new research from MarketingSherpa, published recently by eMarketer.com, marketers are concerned primarily with 3 stages of the marketing funnel. While 60% of B2B marketers revealed that lead generation is their top priority, converting leads into customers trailed closely behind with 57%

Equipping your sales team for success

Eddie Smith — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:28:06 +0000

We’re often asked by clients: “How can we replicate the results that are being achieved by our top sales performers?” In other words, they want to know what they have to do to get their whole team performing at the same level.

How to make recycling pay

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:17:01 +0000

In sales and marketing, we celebrate winners – the salesperson who returns with the signed contract is a hero, as is the marketer who exceeds their quota of qualified leads. But what about recycling?

Are your Salespeople asking the right questions.......

Christian Maurer — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:38:39 +0000

to add value to the conversation with an informed, self-driven prospect? Reading Paul McCord’s contribution to an interesting discussion on sales force ineffectiveness, initially started by Dave Brock over at The Customer Collective, led me to this question.

Reset the Sales Funnel for Revenue Forecast Accuracy

Chuck Besondy — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 22:42:12 +0000

In case you didn’t notice your customers are buying differently today than they did last year. The differences could be subtle or obvious, but if you observe closely you’ll see that the process they follow to make a buying decision –the buyer's journey– has changed.

Tailoring your sales pipeline for superior prospecting (hunting)

Glenn Guilfoyle — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:36:13 +0000

It costs seven times the blood, sweat, tears and dollars to win a brand new client than it does to maintain an existing client. Heard that one before? A million times, I bet. This old adage has become so oft trotted out that most of us no longer even know where or who started it.

How B2B firms can use LinkedIn for effective lead generation

Chris Fell — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:53:20 +0000

When I ask Australian B2B firms if social media and LinkedIn in particular has a place in their communications and marketing strategy I generally get a look that could best be described as worried or hesitant and occasionally dismissive.

How to create real value for your buyers

Eddie Smith — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 05:20:43 +0000

We invest a lot of effort into building great sales teams. We pay our sellers generous amounts of money, invest in solid training programs, and ensure that our team is effective at what they do. So, despite our best efforts, why do we get the impression that our sellers just aren’t adding value in their interactions with prospects?

How to find a needle in the haystack

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 22:20:47 +0000

Mature marketplaces provide clear targets for new growth – the firm demographics have already been mapped. But how can you segment or target for growth in the virgin territories where little is known of who's buying what and why?

Does my bum look big in these jeans?

Brett Bonser — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 22:53:33 +0000

There are some questions that simply shouldn’t be answered. Consider the fear cast into the hearts of men the world over when they get asked this prickly question: “Does my bum look big in these jeans?”

Align to Buyer’s Journey then Flip the Switch for Marketing Automation

Chuck Besondy — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:57:46 +0000

I recently read another great post on the Marketing Automation Software Guide. The article entitled, Close the Gaps to Close More Sales with Marketing Automation, was written by Sharon Drew Morgan who has written and spoken passionately about the need for new sales models and processes.

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig...

Glenn Guilfoyle — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:42:51 +0000

The term “market” must be just about the most over bandied term in...ironically...marketing. As Sales and Marketers, we use the term occasionally when we mean market. Accidentally or with educated intent.

Are you suffering from “Top of Funnel Myopia”?

Christian Maurer — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:00:30 +0000

Bob Apollo recently launched a poll on LinkedIn asking: “Which one of the following initiatives has the greatest potential to boost your organisation's sales performance ?” a) Finding more qualified opportunities b) Shortening our average sales cycle c) Increasing average sales win rates d) Qualifying bad deals out earlier e) Improving sales & marketing co-operation

Protecting client relationships

Eddie Smith — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 00:07:51 +0000

Your existing client base is the most important asset in your business. Protecting and building on your key relationships is essential to both your immediate and long-term success.

How to select tactics that move buyers

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 23:36:38 +0000

We often accuse salespeople of pitching too early: “I’m ready to sell – I hope you’re ready to buy”. But it’s much the same with Marketing. We make offers designed for buyers who are ready to choose between options, but many buyers aren’t there yet…

Why are sales and marketing not aligned?

Chuck Besondy — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:07:32 +0000

At two different speaking engagements I asked the audiences of marketers if they thought lack of sales and marketing alignment was the biggest obstacle in their company to achieving revenue growth. At both events the results were similar. Over 60% agreed that the leading nemesis to greater revenue performance was the lack of alignment between their department and Sales.

How to dominate a market

Hugh Macfarlane — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:31:46 +0000

Many businesses do their b2b marketing strategy in the rear-vision mirror. That is, they slide into a space by accident, and then seek to justify their position with a retro-fitted "strategy"!

What happened to the real CMO?

Hugh Macfarlane — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 05:28:37 +0000

Once upon a time not so long ago in a kingdom not so far away, Marketing asked for a seat at the big boy’s table. Determined to lose the tag of being purely a communications role, CMO’s insisted that it was marketing that held the key to improving the bottom line - and therefore, must be included in all strategic business decisions...

Striking the right balance of sales and service

Glenn Guilfoyle — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 23:35:44 +0000

A good sales professional not only finds new win-win opportunities to sell additional products or services to meet the customer’s evolving needs, but also takes personal accountability as the “go to” point of reference for all issues relating to ordering and delivery of the customer’s requirements.

How measurement can align Marketing and Sales

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:50:21 +0000

According to our benchmark study of 1,400 businesses, one in three of them places alignment between the sales department and the marketing department as the No. 1 priority. Measurement makes a surprising contribution.

B2B marketers should be sadists

Chris Fell — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:52:57 +0000

Are you a sadist B2B marketer? You should be...and here's why! You should want your targeted buyer to be in pain, real pain. Pain, in business terms, is the impact of severe problems that are without a solution. Your buyers should be in so much pain that they are desperate to stop the agony.

How to understand buyers

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 23:36:41 +0000

Nothing is more frustrating for a salesperson than a potential buyer who, after acknowledging they need your product or service, decides not to buy. Why do they do this, and what can you do about it? Remember that businesses buy products and services, in essence, to solve problems. They may have too much of something that is undesirable, or too little of something that is good.

Selling skills for a changing market

Eddie Smith — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 23:28:11 +0000

With greater demands now being placed on salespeople, the need for improved selling skills has never been higher. Typically, as organisations look for ways to remain commercially competitive, many try to strip costs out of their business. Overheads are usually the first place they start, and unfortunately, the inclusion of selling costs within this category means that sales resources are often the first to feel the pinch...

How to play right

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:50:09 +0000

Strategy is about deciding what to do and what not to do. In the same vein, choosing how to play is inextricably linked with choosing where to play. For a business, it comes down to choice – that is, assessing which markets are attractive and which the business is best placed to target.

Looking for SEO keyword researcher / analytics guru

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:57:41 +0000

We are a highly developed user of SEO, but the CEO is the main creator / resident geek re key word research, page optimisation, and analytics, and that is poor leverage of his skills. We're looking for an SEO analyst who is very efficient in researching key phrases (quantitative and qualitative assessment of competition for phrases, volume and trends) on-site and off-site optimisation, and analytics / optimsation tests.

Looking for Office template guru

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:30:10 +0000

We are a highly developed user of Office templates, but the CEO is the main creator / resident geek re templates, and that is poor leverage of his skills. We're looking for an Office template guru who is very efficient in building / evolving templates for Word, Excel and PPT, including styles, headers, page inserts, tables, graphs, logo inclusions, and occasionally, macros that operate on opening.

Do marketers have the right stuff to be revenue marketers?

Chuck Besondy — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 23:38:03 +0000

In the past few months a cool new term has appeared on my radar. That term is, “revenue marketer”. Wish I had thought of it first. It defines a new level of marketing professional. While I’m energized by the term, sadly, I’m concerned that too many B2B marketers don’t have the right perspective and skills to play in this new league...

How to really upset your buyers

Hugh Macfarlane — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:38:32 +0000

We live in a world where customer service and satisfaction is everything. Marketers build programs to reward regular customers and to make them feel special, and invest in satisfaction surveys to measure their success. So why are we saying you should upset your customers?

The surprising math of cities and corporation

Hugh Macfarlane — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:41:13 +0000

B2B marketing may have universal properties. Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities -- that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the city's population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how it works and how similar laws hold for organisms and corporations. Enjoy the video, then our views on how this phenomenon plays out in the world of the funnel.

Getting the right people on the bus sometimes means losing others

Hugh Macfarlane — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:07:04 +0000

B2B marketing can be a tough grind, sometimes. We’re big believers in Jim Collins’ findings from his Good to Great research (and book), and one of the keys to the success of high growth businesses is about getting the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus.

Ask 'why' five times

Christian Maurer — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:41:30 +0000

This is the method Taiichi Ohno, pioneer of Toyota production systems, recommended to get to the root cause of a problem. My thought was that this principle could serve well in sales. In specific, it can be used to find out whether an opportunity exists and if it is real and worth your while to win.

How to size your resource load

Hugh Macfarlane — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:26:50 +0000

If a face-to-face sales call is the most effective tactic to progress buyers from one stage in their journey to the next, should you simply load up the top of your funnel to ensure your sales force is fully occupied?

Featured Workshop: Hugh Macfarlane presents at ADMA: The Science of Marketing

GabriellaKarge — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:26:13 +0000

Hugh Macfarlane, Founder and CEO of MathMarketing will lead a high-impact half-day workshop at the 2011 ADMA Multi-Channel forum. Hugh will provide you with a framework for B2B marketing strategy; from planning to execution including:

Featured Workshop: Hugh Macfarlane presents at ADMA: The Science of Marketing

GabriellaKarge — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:22:03 +0000

Developing an effective B2B strategy for greater ROI

18^th August 2011, Sydney

Morning seminar: Learn how to generate marketing qualified leads

GabriellaKarge — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:34:26 +0000

I’m pleased to be joining Jonathon Calver, CEO of StrategyMix, to host a seminar that offers simple steps for your marketing to generate more qualified leads more consistently. The format of this event will be a blend of strategic discussion and very practical “how to” advice.

Morning seminar: Learn how to generate marketing qualified leads

GabriellaKarge — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:21:00 +0000

Date: Wednesday 17 August 2011

8.15 am Registration
8.30 am Seminar Begins
10.00 am Ends

Location: Level 5, 100 Walker Street, North Sydney 2060

Add Calls To Action (CTAs) to drive lead conversion

Chris Fell — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:43:25 +0000

Calls To Action (CTAs) are relatively simple devices that are so often overlooked by b2b marketers in their inbound marketing campaigns. Getting quality traffic to your site can be hard work so you should spend some effort to keep them there, nurturing the lead, engaging with them further and pulling them down the funnel towards making a purchasing decision...

Seeking graduate marketer / writer ready for business

GabriellaKarge — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:19:41 +0000

Got a way with words and a passion for B2B marketing? Finished uni, and ready to enter the business world?

The Company

Seeking graduate marketer / writer ready for business

GabriellaKarge — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:18:14 +0000

Do you want to use your brilliant writing skills to develop content for world's best companies? Do you want to be trained and mentored by Australia's leading B2B marketers? Do you want to take the fast-track to marketing communications success?

Improve your propose to close ratio and get the John Hancock on the dotted line

Brett Bonser — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:15:58 +0000

It’s July 4th in Australia and so, as well as being my wedding anniversary (tip to the males like me who have problem remembering dates, pick a wedding date you can remember), it’s the American Independence Day. Regardless of your origin, I’m sure you will recognise the date and its significance but like many things in history there is a twist. And it’s the subject of this week’s blog - reducing propose to close sales leakage. Interested in the connection? Read on...

The Best Time to Align Marketing and Sales

Chuck Besondy — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 23:54:25 +0000

Maximising CRM investment to drive productivity and return

Glenn Guilfoyle — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 23:50:58 +0000

(Too) Many sales organisations undertake a CRM strategy and associated hefty investment, and then when the software vendors come on site to undertake their (too) often “generic customisation”, the purchasing sales organisation is jolted into a process that forces them to retro-think about the functionality and the process support that can be derived from their investment.

Is VC Funding the Best Strategy? A Look at Marketing Automation

Lauren Carlson — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 01:25:08 +0000

Marketing automation software is still considered a relative newcomer in the enterprise software space. However, there are new entrants popping up regularly, leading to a lot of activity and buzz in the market. With the growth in this space, the topic of venture capital comes up fairly often. Some vendors are taking on new rounds from top tier VCs, while others are pursuing what they perceive to be the more sustainable method of bootstrapping...

Why lead generation is a waste of time for B2B Marketers

Chris Fell — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 00:01:18 +0000

Those of us who provide marketing services and solutions for B2B Marketers get to speak with many, many marketers and organisations during the course of a year. Its one of the best parts of my job. I have had four prospect meetings this week. It was a week of extremes. On one end of the spectrum I met with a gargantuan international Telco and at the opposite extreme a classic smart, entrepreneurial small software business. What I found interesting was despite almost every facet of their businesses being so different, they had the same issue...

Equipping your sales team for success

Eddie Smith — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 02:03:53 +0000

Eddie Smith, Founder of Sales Schematics Australia, writes... We’re often asked by clients: “How can we replicate the results that are being achieved by our top sales performers?” In other words, they want to know what they have to do to get their whole team performing at the same level...

Sales Quota Attainment: Whose Performance is Measured?

Christian Maurer — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 01:19:19 +0000

Christian Maurer, a Paris-based Consultant, Trainer and Coach, writes... When companies approach the end of their fiscal year, their sales leaders start thinking about the next year. One of the key parameters to figure out is the sales quota to be assigned to salespeople...

2011 Miller Heiman Sales Summit

Inka Wibowo — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 06:29:36 +0000

The annual Miller Heiman Sales Performance Summit will be held on the 23^rd of June, in Walsh Bay, Sydney.

Account Ownership as an Alignment Indicator

Chuck Besondy — Tue, 31 May 2011 00:50:08 +0000

Charles Besondy, President of Besondy Consulting & Interim Management, writes... The attitude your company has and the processes your company employs for its strategic accounts can be an indicator of the degree of alignment between Sales and the rest of the organization...