2014 is nearly here, and before we make our resolutions and goals for next year, we wanted to take one last look at our best and most popular blogs of 2013. While we believe that many strategies, processes and tactics in B2B sales and marketing will change and evolve in the coming year (you can find our predictions for 2014 B2B sales and marketing trends here), many of things we worked so hard to develop last year will continue to be relevant.
Here are 5 of our most popular blog articles from 2013:
The Shift to Bought, then Sold
“…in today’s digital landscape, your buyers are becoming more self-directed. They want to buy on their own time and expect to be educated digitally. Only once they feel educated are they ready to be engaged by a sales rep.” Continue reading.
Marketing Automation is Not What You Think
“Nearly every business today is looking for ways to generate more leads and close more deals. Many companies are now looking to marketing automation as a means to achieve this and end up dissatisfied with the results. The reasons for dissatisfaction vary; some are challenged by the complexity of the software itself, others are frustrated by the software’s lack of integration with sales. Whatever the reason, we believe dissatisfaction with marketing automation stems from the same misunderstanding.” Continue reading.
B2B Buyer Personas: The 6 Types of B2B Buyers on the Internet
“As the buying process changed with the introduction of web-based technologies, buyers changed too. Buyers adapted new traits and behaviors conducive to the new digital space they occupy. By understanding these new traits or characteristics and incorporating these insights into your sales strategies, you can make better connections, earn more trust and ultimately, close more deals.” Continue reading.
3 Reasons Your B2B Sales is Failing
“Many B2B companies have started to catch on to the fact that marketing in the digital space is dramatically different than marketing of the past. Selling in this space means playing by different rules (i.e. the buyer runs the show), however, many companies have not taken the time to understand the complexities and intricacies these new rules contain.” Continue reading.
B2B Sales Pipeline Management
“B2B companies need to think of sales as a process to be managed that is backed by logic and data. Management of your sales process should be focused on your pipeline. A sales pipeline ‘is the amount of business you attempt to close in a given month, quarter or year’ (inc.com). You can manage the data of your sales pipeline using spreadsheets or sales and marketing technologies and then use that data to give you insights as to how to forecast better, improve your conversion rate and refine your marketing messages.” Continue reading.
If you would like to learn more, you can download our 2013 white paper called, New Rules for B2B Sales & Marketing in 2013. To learn about the B2B sales and marketing outsourcing services we offer, feel free to visit our services page.
Contact us with any questions.
