The Inbound Growth Blog

What Is Lean Business Development?

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 13:51:33 GMT

6 Characteristics Of A Good Management Consultant

neil@bildtomorrow.com (Neil Bellefeuille) — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 18:45:25 GMT

Really skilled management consultants typically have some common traits stemming from years of experience and hard-won lessons acquired from advising clients on a spectrum of unique issues and opportunities. The great ones stand out specifically because they create tangible results and nurture mutually beneficial (and ideally enjoyable) relationships that deliver value time and time again. From our collective 4 decades of experience working as, and working with a wide range of management consultants, these are the top 6 characteristics you should be looking for.

The Coronavirus and Business Development - What to Do?

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 15:10:50 GMT

As I write this article, the one word that best describes the impact of the Coronavirus on our lives is uncertainty. We just don't know exactly how this will all play out. But there are some inevitable changes that will hit the world of business development.

Embed Inbound Into Your Business Development

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 18:00:42 GMT

The inbound marketing concept, as developed by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot, has evolved into a full-customer lifecycle way of doing business. The original concept was based on a funnel approach which progressed from website visitor to lead to customer. Once they became a customer, they were passed over to customer service. HubSpot has evolved their philosophy from a funnel to a "flywheel", where the inbound approach is part of the customer lifecycle long after they become a customer.

Managing The Top Of The Professional Services Sales Funnel

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 14:57:36 GMT

A consistent flow of new opportunities is the lifeblood of a growing professional services business.

Many professional services businesses have a growth pattern characterized by peaks and valleys. This is related to the nature of most professional services businesses. While some professional services businesses have dedicated sales professionals, most employ professionals who produce new business, manage projects and the business relationship, and often manage the business.

The typical scenario is that a principal produces new business and then dedicates her time to implementing and managing the new business. When the new customers are successfully implemented, she finds that her pipeline is dry. Because she dedicated most of her time and energy to onboarding those new customers, she didn't spend time generating potential new opportunities. I must confess, I have found myself in this situation before.

With inbound lead generation, these peaks and valleys can be avoided. While you are onboarding new clients, your website content can be generating potential new opportunities.

That's why it's so important to manage the top of your professional services sales funnel with inbound lead generation.

The Fundamentals of Inbound Lead Generation

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 15:03:28 GMT

Have you installed iOS 13 on your iPhone yet? There are many cool features, but for me, one stands out - the Silence Unknown Callers feature. This feature sends any caller who isn't in your contacts list directly to voicemail. If you're like me, you're sick and tired of the relentless robocallers who blow up your phone 24/7.

So what does this have to with the fundamentals of inbound lead generation? It places a dagger in the heart of the old way of generating leads, dialing for dollars. Buyers turn to the internet when they're researching purchases and connect with sellers on their terms.

Inbound lead generation isn't the only way to sell today. Networking, referrals and cross-selling to existing customers are also effective ways to generate revenue. All of these techniques have one thing in common - they are the result of relationships built on trust. Trust is earned by educating potential customers and helping them solve problems.

Simply put, inbound lead generation is no longer a choice. That's why we've just published a new eBook: The Fundamentals of Inbound Lead Generation.

Business Development 101: How Do Your Buyers Buy?

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:33:23 GMT

Sales enablement, as defined by HubSpot, is the the processes, content and technology that empower sales teams to sell efficiently at a higher velocity.

Put more simply, sales enablement is a recognition that the B2B buying process has changed. Buyers buy based on their needs and processes, the role of sellers is to understand those needs and processes and to facilitate the buying process. In order to be successful in the modern sales paradigm, you first need to understand how your buyers buy.

DemandGen Reports recently released 2019 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey Report gives great insight into how buyers are buying today. While many trends have continued from previous years, there have been some significant changes in buyer behavior this year that should inform your business development strategy.

8 Tips To Optimize Your Professional Services Sales Funnel

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 17:24:28 GMT

3 Ways HubSpot Can Help Your Business Grow

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 16:15:43 GMT

As sales and marketing technology becomes more effective and more affordable, B2B sellers are increasingly using it in their business development efforts. But many aren't realizing the benefits that this technology has to offer.

As a HubSpot Certified Agency Partner, we work with businesses to help them use sales and marketing technology to make their business development processes more effective. Which is an important concept to understand - sales and marketing technology should be used to make your processes more effective. It's counterproductive to build your business development process around the capabilities of your software.

Most businesses start seeing the value of a well-designed sales and marketing technology implementation when they use it for 3 primary purposes.

Is Digital Marketing Part of Your B2G Strategy?

john.beveridge@rapidanstrategies.com (John Beveridge) — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 15:14:27 GMT