Good Read: Drake Morton

Solving Common B2B Problems,

Part 3: Getting Higher-Quality Leads

By: Bryan Brown

At the recent MarketingSherpa B2B Summit, I was honored to be named Lead Gen Apprentice for my innovative solutions to three common business problems. This is the third part of a three-part series in which I elaborate on each problem and my proposed solution. (Read part one and part two.) While the dollar amounts and company details may not exactly match your specific scenario, the strategies and tactics outlined here should prove useful for addressing these common challenges.

The business problem: An authentication solution company has no problem winning over IT practitioners, but they keep losing to larger competition with executive relationships. Channel partners with executive relationships who have a high close rate only bring the company’s name into the mix when asked to do so. VC investors are becoming nervous and scrutinizing the company’s pipeline, so they need to bring in more executive-level leads in a one-month period.

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Good Read: Drake Morton

Is B2B Really Ready For Social Media Marketing?

by David Murdico , Thursday, Feb. 9, 2012

Is B2B (business to business) really ready for social media marketing? The short answer is “no.” The long answer “is almost. Let’s just say that generally speaking, these kinds of companies are  “social media curious.” My agency gets a lot of B2B inquiries from marketing, sales and PR executives with companies that are genuinely interested in “doing something a little different — you know, funny and more edgy.” Half the time they chicken out and go back to whatever they were doing before they called us, which usually includes sleep-inducing  product videos and downloadable PDFs that they will no doubt force upon corporate buyers who have grown accustomed to this, along with their bland breakfast and lukewarm coffee every morning.
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