B2B Demand Generation Requires Sales Content Marketing

by | Jan 20, 2012

This blog discusses how Gabriel Sales thinks about B2B Demand Generation and the hybrid role it plays in sales, sales marketing and market intelligence.  In short, Sales Marketing is always supporting the close of business.  In this blog we will share how you can close more B2B customers leveraging the opportunities in the new sales and content marketing engagement model we now all face.   This is Part 1 of a 3 Part Series.

To set some initial context to understand what Gabriel Sales means by “Sales Content”  Marketing and how it supports B2B Demand Generation it’s important to understand that B2B Sales Content Marketing, at least from our perspective, is about moving a deal forward in the customer buying cycle so it results in a closed deal.   Sales content supports the brand, but that is not its primary purpose. In a sales culture Demand Generation is  not about Lead Generation and Marketing Qualified Leads.   Who cares if a lead is Marketing Qualified.  Demand Generation is about “Demand”  meaning deals that are going to transact.  Demand Generation means handing sales qualified leads over to sales reps that they can close.

A solid sales organization needs to be organized around an inside sales and marketing team that can generate Sales Qualified Leads and a team that can close business.  As a sales outsourcing company we staff a team that can close business.  As an outsourced B2B demand generation company, our goal, and the goal of any sales organization, needs to be creating a high velocity sales machines with a staff that does three things:

  • Identifies and develops Sales Qualified Leads as quickly as possible so the sales team can engage
  • Continues to nurture and develop Sales Accepted Leads (not ready to buy but worth investing inside reps time in) until they are ready to buy
  • Profile Accounts – So you can score them for continued follow up by marketing efforts

This requires us to combine outbound sales efforts with inbound sales content marketing services (either creating digital content or creating the feedback loops for our client’s marketing team) because the goal is to move a customer through their buying cycle.


For a high velocity sales machine that integrates inbound and outbound efforts your inside sales team needs:

  • To be experts in using sale marketing content to move customers from Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Qualified Leads.
  • To be accountable for driving insights and recommendations to the marketing team.
  • To have the tools and technology to provide that feedback.

For true sales and marketing alignment, sales marketing efforts need to focus on generating closed business by supplying qualified deals and helping your buyer to transact.  This means your marketing team needs to:

  • Listen to the voice of the customer and the voice of the sales force
  • Quickly create content or support the creation of content that moves deals forward
  • Have their demand generation success scored on their contribution beyond simply putting MQLs in the pipe

As Forrester Research and the Society for New Communication Research has demonstrated (see graphic below)  Sales Content is no longer a nice to have.  It is a must have.

To summarize, B2B demand generation is about sales content marketing.  In part 2 of this blog series we will cover Gabriel Sales’ simple framework for aligning sales and marketing and simple steps you can take to get sales and marketing to work together towards a shared vision. In part 3 we will discuss how smart sales content marketing can be re-purposed to provide an exponential lift by increasing your marketing teams ability to put better Marketing Qualified Leads into your Sales teams’ pipe; and the role of Marketing Automation Platforms.

If you would like to learn more about how an outsourced demand generation solution may be able to help accelerate this alignment please feel free to CONTACT US for a free initial strategy conversation.  Or visit the B2B Demand Generation Resources section of our Website.

To Check out Part 2 in this Series B to B Demand Generation Requires Sales and Marketing Alignment CLICK HERE.

B2B Demand Generation Requires Sales Content Marketing

by | Jan 20, 2012

This blog discusses how Gabriel thinks about B2B Demand Generation and the hybrid role it plays in sales, sales marketing and market intelligence. In short, Sales Marketing is always supporting the close of business. In this blog we will share how you can close more B2B customers leveraging the opportunities in the new sales engagement model we now all face. This is Part 1 of a 3 Part Series.

To set some initial context to understand what Gabriel Sales means by “Sales Content” Marketing and how it supports B2B Demand Generation it’s important to understand that B2B Sales Content Marketing, at least from our perspective, is about moving a deal forward in the customer buying cycle so it results in a closed deal. Sales content supports the brand, but that is not its primary purpose. In a sales culture Demand Generation is not about Lead Generation and Marketing Qualified Leads. Who cares if a lead is Marketing Qualified. Demand Generation is about “Demand” meaning deals that are going to transact. Demand Generation means handing sales qualified leads over to sales reps that they can close.

A solid sales organization needs to be organized around an inside sales and marketing team that can generate Sales Qualified Leads and a team that can close business. As a sales outsourcing company we staff a team that can close business. As an outsourced B2B demand generation company, our goal, and the goal of any sales organization, needs to be creating a high velocity sales machines with a staff that does three things:

  • Identifies and develops Sales Qualified Leads as quickly as possible so the sales team can engage
  • Continues to nurture and develop Sales Accepted Leads (not ready to buy but worth investing inside reps time in) until they are ready to buy
  • Profile Accounts – So you can score them for continued follow up by marketing efforts

This requires us to combine outbound sales efforts with inbound sales content marketing services (either creating digital content or creating the feedback loops for our client’s marketing team) because the goal is to move a customer through their buying cycle.

    For a high velocity sales machine that integrates inbound and outbound efforts your inside sales team needs:

    1. To be experts in using sale marketing content to move customers from Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Qualified Leads.
    2. To be accountable for driving insights and recommendations to the marketing team.
    3. To have the tools and technology to provide that feedback.

    For true sales and marketing alignment, sales marketing efforts need to focus on generating closed business by supplying qualified deals and helping your buyer to transact.  This means your marketing team needs to:

    • Listen to the voice of the customer and the voice of the sales force
    • Quickly create content or support the creation of content that moves deals forward
    • Have their demand generation success scored on their contribution beyond simply putting MQLs in the pipe

    To summarize, B2B demand generation is about sales content marketing.  In part 2 of this blog series we will cover Gabriel Sales’ simple framework for aligning sales and marketing and simple steps you can take to get sales and marketing to work together towards a shared vision. In part 3 we will discuss how smart sales content marketing can be re-purposed to provide an exponential lift by increasing your marketing teams ability to put better Marketing Qualified Leads into your Sales teams’ pipe; and the role of Marketing Automation Platforms.

    If you would like to learn more about how an outsourced demand generation solution may be able to help accelerate this alignment please feel free to CONTACT US for a free initial strategy conversation.  Or visit the B2B Demand Generation Resources section of our Website.

    To Check out Part 2 in this Series B to B Demand Generation Requires Sales and Marketing Alignment CLICK HERE.

    My Sales Force Can’t Sell – Now What?

    by | Jan 19, 2012

    In the technology industry, having a great new product is no longer enough.  You need to know how to get the information about it into the right hands to close deals.  In order to make this happen, you need a clearly defined sales strategy that sets you apart from the competition.

    Once you have your new product ready to launch, it’s time to start selling. Your sales team needs to fully understand both the product and the current conditions of your target market.  They need to understand the benefits and strengths of your product, and be prepared with answers to possible sales objections they may be faced with.

    If you’re not sure how to make this all happen, outsourcing your sales and marketing may be a viable option.  A sales and marketing outsourcing company like Gabriel Sales can help you improve productivity, increase revenue and grow your business.

    A Sales and Marketing Outsourcing company allow you to:

    • Have access to a team of experienced sales professionals working directly for you
    • Understand your target market and build a custom ideal customer profile
    • Spread media content about your product efficiently and effectively
    • Have access to sales professionals already experienced in the markets you wish to sell to
    • Stay ahead of the competition by constantly pushing relevant sales content through your pipe

    Outsourcing sales and marketing may still sound like a foreign concept to some. But, many companies, especially in the high-tech industry, are finding that outsourcing sales has increased revenue and growth both during and after new product launches.

    Sales and marketing outsourcing companies help put a sales strategy in place that understands your specific needs as a company, and sets up a process that will quickly and efficiently close deals.  If you are interested in learning more about how this process works, feel free to contact us for a free pipe velocity review.

    10 Ways Sales Outsourcing Helps Entrepreneurs Succeed

    10 Ways Sales Outsourcing Helps Entrepreneurs Succeed

    by | Jan 13, 2012

    In this article we touch on entrepreneur challenges and 10 ways sales outsourcing will help.

    James Altucher  an investor and entrepreneur posted a great blog this week at TechCrunch – 10 Things Entrepreneurs Will Fail at.  For any entrepreneur out there its great to remember that you are not alone.   You can find the full blog at  http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/11/10-things-all-entrepreneurs-fail-at/. 

    As a sales and marketing outsourcing company we have worked with well over 100 entrepreneurs building go to market strategies and providing sale outsourcing services for new product launches.  We love working with visionaries.  We appreciate what they do and we are in this business to help them avoid as many of the hiccups on the way to success and wealth as we can.   Below is a quick summary of James Altucher’s blog (we advocate reading it in its entirety).  We personally feel like sales and marketing outsourcing can help you dramatically mitigate the risk and dramatically increase your chances of success in several of the areas mentioned below so we could not resist commenting.

    10 Things Entrepreneurs Will Fail At and 10 Ways Sales Outsourcing Helps

    1. You will lose some customers. Not everyone will be happy with your product forever.

    • Demand Gen outsourcing keeps the pipe full to replace them.

    2. You will lose some friends and family. You’re spending so much time on your business that inevitably you will not be able to match all of the expectations of the people who love you.

    • Maintain some life balance and let us do the grinding day to day blocking and tackling so you have time for the wife, kids, partner

    3. You will lose the faith of investors. Not all of the time, and hopefully not at the end, but there will come a time when the investors question you.

    • Sales and marketing outsourcing provides hard core third party verified numbers and sales metrics to defend your ability to keep valuation and confidence levels up on the sales front.

    4. Your idea. Your idea might be a bad idea.

    • We vet your idea and test it in the market fast with qualitative and quantitative feedback loops so you can improve and readjust.

    5. You will fail some of your employees. Employees are there for many reasons. Sometimes they won’t always get what they want.

    • As a sales and marketing outsourcing company working with entrepreneurs we only have understand success is mutual and dependent on closed business.   Not a great deal of grey area or misalignment. We are half way through the 10 ways sales outsourcing helps.

    6. You will fail at keeping stress levels low. Sometimes the stress is too much.  

    • Sales and marketing outsourcing can alleviate many of the day to day headaches of headcount and employees

    7. Sales. You can’t win them all.

    After losing a potential sale there’s a few things you should do:

    • Call the decision maker and say, “Just for my own learning, is there anything we could’ve done better?” Then take sincere notes.
    • Then ask, “Is there anything else we can do for you. Any other way I, personally, can help you succeed at your job.”
    • And conclude with, “Well, it was a real pleasure going through the process and learning about your business. Please call us if you need anything new.” And check in every month after that. Send monthly updates of customers you are winning, new products you are building,
    • Sales and marketing outsourcing is always about knowing why you win and knowing why you lose. CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

    8. Communication. Some people are just simply going to disagree with you.

    • We manage sales by presenting the facts and the data and then take our marching orders based on your strategic targets

    9. Raising Money. I just saw this happen: great idea, great people, revenues, and profitable and…the company in question could not raise money from professional venture capitalists.

    • We focus on driving revenue and giving you bullet proof metrics so you can raise money without a dip in sales

    10. Yourself. You will certainly fail yourself during the process. You can’t do everything. You can’t get everyone to like you. You can’t get everyone to buy your service.

    • Sales outsourcing allows you to focus on your core competency

    If you are considering sales and marketing outsourcing as a solution and want to better understand the 10 ways sales outsourcing can help you take a new product to market or prove the ratios of your sales process, a Gabriel Sales sales outsourcing solution may be a great option. Feel free to CONTACT US to see what we can do to help.

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    Some Things Sales Outsourcing Can’t Do

    by | Jan 12, 2012

    sales outsourcingThe services provided by a B2B sales outsourcing company often span a diverse and wide range.  However, there are limitations to what they can do, and problems they cannot solve for you.  While sales outsourcing companies increase revenue, expand sales and grow business, they cannot solve any and all problems with your business.

    Here at Gabriel Sales, we have found limits to what services a sales and marketing outsourcing company can provide.  Here are three things we cannot do:

    Lower Costs.

    When using an sales outsourcing company, you reap what you sow.  Over our 12 years of experience in the sales industry, we have come to understand that the type of work we do is of extreme value to our clients.  And our sales and marketing services are not cheap to execute.  While the long-term results of a sales outsourcing partnership may indeed succeed in lowering your overall costs, it should not be expected up front.  Sales outsourcing should be taken on by companies looking to grow and expand, rather than those simply trying to cut costs.

    Solve in-house political issues.

    We aren’t magicians; we can’t make everything better.  If your company has in-house problems, such as poor management or communication between team leaders, we probably won’t be of much help.  We cannot help people who are unclear about their needs or goals.  Only when there is agreement and consensus between members of a company, is it possible to grow and expand.

    Sell an unsellable product.

    During our many years of sales experience as outsourcing sales and marketing company, we found out that some products or services simply won’t sell.  If your product, service or technology is not ready for market, hiring us will not make it sell.

    If you are interested in learning more about the B2B sales outsourcing services we provide, please contact us for a free pipe velocity review.