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The Evolution of B2B Selling: Focus on Helping Customers Buy
Many B2B companies are experiencing longer sales cycles, declining win rates, and increasingly unreliable forecasts—not because their sales teams are ineffective, but because their customers are struggling to buy.
| Executive Takeaways |
| B2B buyers face overwhelming complexity, not a lack of information. |
| Long sales cycles and no-decisions often reflect buyer indecision, not sales failure. |
| Winning sellers focus on boosting buyer confidence, not pitching products. |
| Helping customers buy is now the key to competitive differentiation. |
CEOs seek Digital CMOs to Lead Growth
Thu, Apr 20, 2017 — Don’t have a digital savvy CMO? You’re likely losing the digital game. A CMO’s job description is no longer just about brand awareness and big positioning, but more about driving revenue, now and in the long term. In fact, 70% of CEOs expect CMOs to lead revenue growth. CMOs are expected to do more because of the digital tools that allow them to do more. New digital marketing tools better connect companies with their customers in ways they couldn’t before. It’s a constantly evolving process, and the key to growth is to get into this game sooner versus later, so you can win.
Optimizing the Marketing Organization
Tue, Mar 14, 2017 — Hiring, outsourcing and leadership considerations In my previous post, we explored the question, “What should my marketing organizational roadmap look like?” In this installment, I’d like to discuss three additional questions that often surface as CEOs build their marketing organizations.
How to Build Your Marketing Team for Growth
Tue, Mar 7, 2017 — A marketing organizational roadmap for B2B venture CEOs After slogging through the early startup phase and acquiring the first handful of customers through relationships, sheer selling tenacity and perseverance, many founding CEOs at B2B ventures ask me: “To scale my company, I know I need a marketing team. But I don’t know where to start and what path to follow. Can you help?”
Grow From Within: Three Ways to Enlarge Your Slice of the Pie
Sat, Feb 25, 2017 — Psst. I have a secret. I’m talking to you, CEO. While your counterparts are handwringing about how to grow their business by earning more customers, or by stealing more customers from their competition, you and I are going to have a Zen moment.
3…2…1… We Are “Go” for Product Launch
Wed, Feb 8, 2017 — Part 1 – Gathering Strategic Insights B2B product companies have to move quickly to innovate and release new offerings to remain viable and sustain growth. All too often, B2B companies rely too heavily on their sales channels to launch their products. Because we are always connected to the Internet, your sales prospects have access to a wealth of information making the traditional sales journey less relevant. Your marketing team now has a greater responsibility than ever in driving success of a new product launch.
Is Your Business Planning or “Strategically” Planning?
Mon, Jan 9, 2017 — You might be thinking… “This is the year that my business really focuses on developing the best strategic growth plan.” Then the process starts and the questions surface… Am I developing a strategy or a plan? What’s the difference? If they are different, does my business need both?
5 Ways to Drive Business Growth from the Outside
Mon, Dec 12, 2016 — There are two critical elements to achieving your business growth goals: One, you must successfully run your business from the inside. Two, you must monitor the external environment. While most CEOs know the inner workings of their businesses, they are less in touch with the outside factors that affect it. Case in point: In a recent webinar I hosted, “External Factors that Stall Growth and How to Combat Them,” I asked participants, “Do you have a system to identify and monitor external factors that affect your business?” One-hundred percent of participants responded, “No, but I do want to create a system.” The presentation then focused on helping to identify the external factors businesses should be monitoring and how to monitor them.
Timing is Everything: Three Ways to Set the Clock to Your Advantage
Tue, Nov 8, 2016 — Flash back with me for a moment to the 1980s. The decade of big hair, Reaganomics and the DeLorean, the 80s was also the cherry on top for more than three decades of stupendous growth in the music industry.
The Three Levels of Listening: Deeper Insights for More Enduring and Effective Sales and Marketing Strategies
Wed, Oct 19, 2016 — No matter how many shiny new products and services emerge every year in an industry, there will always be a few established brand giants waiting at the top of the Mountain of Customer Loyalty, waiting to force the weaker ones into submission.