The Competitive Advantage

October 16, 2018

Case Studies: Your ‘Proof Source’ for Closing Deals.

This past week, I sat in on a webinar entitled, “How to Engage and Sell Today’s Corporate Research Buyer,” hosted by GreenBook. It was the presentation of data collected by GreenBook, Collaborata and David Harris. In it, a lot of really good information was presented, but one of the recurring themes – directly stated by the buyers themselves – was the value of ‘case studies’ and their role in the buying decision.

Some content – eBooks and checklists, for example – are used to generate interest and awareness… to get prospects into the “top of the funnel.”

Other content – for the middle of the funnel – is used to educate and inform (and showcase your Subject Matter Expertise). Think webinars, blog posts and infographics.

But at the bottom of the funnel – at decision time – your prospective buyer wants proof. Proof that you can do what you say you can do… and that’s where case studies come in to play.

October 6, 2018

Revenue Forecasting for 2019… It Doesn’t Need to Be a Guessing Game!

It’s getting to be that time of year when you’ll start thinking about and planning for 2019. And one of the first questions you’ll have to answer for your firm is, “What’s our revenue goal for next year?”

Traditionally – and unfortunately – this is answered in one of two ways:

September 26, 2018

7 Guidelines to Make Your Webinars Awesome!

Webinars continue to be one of the most effective marketing channels in the B2B space. Done right, they can help to establish [and cement] your position as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), define your competitive advantage in the marketplace, build awareness for your firm and – maybe most importantly – generate and nurture qualified sales leads.

But, webinars have more ‘moving parts’ than most marketing tactics. So, to ensure success when you’re delivering them, follow these 7 guidelines (in no particular order, except the first one!):

September 18, 2018

5 Follow-up Strategies for New Sales Leads

Suppose you decide to create and make a White Paper available for download from your website.

And suppose that 50 people – some clients and some ‘potential’ clients – download it in the first three days.

That’s great! Now what?

September 11, 2018

Does Your Logo Really Make a Difference?

I was on an elevator this morning when the stranger who got on with me looked over and said, “Nice shirt!” I was wearing one of my polo shirts from The Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta, GA. This happens to me all the time when I’m wearing one of these shirts. The logo is such a recognizable image – even without the word ‘Masters’ written across it (see image) – that people seem compelled to comment on it.

What is it that makes this logo so well-known? While we can’t replicate the world-wide TV audience and golf superstars associated with the event, there still are several lessons – as business owners and marketers – that we can take from this:

September 4, 2018

7 Sales Management Lessons for Leading Your Small Sales Team

I just got back from a 3-day visit with a client in the northeast, conducting an audit and assessment of their sales operation – staffing, structure, processes, etc. It was a terrific start to the engagement… and reinforced a number of sales management lessons we all should keep top-of-mind as we go to market with a business development initiative.

August 21, 2018

Marketing is Not a Substitute for Sales

For years, I’ve said that ours is an industry that does not embrace sales & marketing. And even for those firms that employ marketing, rarely do they have anyone dedicated to selling.

Forgetting for a minute the incorrect assumption that, “Selling doesn’t work for a firm like ours,” when asked about it, the response is often, “We don’t need sales… we do marketing.”

Seriously?! Let’s think about that for a minute…

August 14, 2018

4 Sales Reports You Need But Probably Aren’t Using

When tasked with managing sales, we often get into a certain rhythm – or maybe it’s a rut – with the way that we manage the program. And when it comes to sales reports, we have probably gotten used to the same ones… reports like:

• Sales vs. goal
• Sales vs. same period last year
• Sales by sales rep
• Basic sales call reports, etc.

And while those are a good place to start, let me suggest 4 other sales reports that you should add to your management arsenal… reports that will give you a deeper view of what’s really going on with your sales effort.