3 Ways to Tell if you Need “Big Kid” Marketing Automation

After personally using 4 different email management systems over the past 7 years to create, launch, and track over 650 email campaigns in both the B2C and B2B worlds, I can assuredly tell you, there are differences between them. There are differences between the little guys that charge nominal fees, and the marketing automation systems that will cost you thousands of dollars per month and pick up your dry-cleaning. Read more

Why IBM Supports Social Media for B2B Tech Sales

Big Blue Fosters “Personal Online Branding” for Sales Reps 

It’s my pleasure to catch up with Ed Linde II, one of IBM’s successful inside sales managers and leading advocate of marketing and selling via social media. Ed was a client of mine in a past life – about 20 years past – and I was impressed when LinkedIn revealed to me that Ed was still enjoying his tenure at IBM to this day. When it comes to B2B tech sales via social media, Ed is certainly a “person to know”. Read more

Shattering the 5 Myths of Effective Sales Follow-up

Watch a great video clip from one of Judy’s training seminars

Perhaps the most misunderstood and debilitating part of the average sales process is…the follow-up. This is where your intelligence, your ego, and your empathy can absolutely be your worst enemies to converting prospects. I recently ran into a very talented corporate sales speaker/trainer, Judy Garmaise, who brings a unique focus to the practice of sales follow-up. Read more

6 Small Town Sensibilities to Boost B2B Social Media

What are the methods behind the followers?

As more of our B2B colleagues jump into the social media pool, we quickly begin to see who is making a splash, while others tread water or stay on dry land. Some participants develop a supportive online community with apparent ease. They converse with their growing online network as easily as if they were bumping into friends at the local diner. Read more