In this week's episode of Marketing Smarts, author Bob Burg explains why giving—consistently providing value to others—is not only a nice way to live life but also a financially profitable way that helps build valuable relationships. more

These days, B2B sales teams are carrying their product demos, order forms, cool presentations—you name it—with them in handy tablet form. And the tablet of choice is often the iPad. Dealmaker 365 blogger Donal Daly has been using the iPad on sales calls since the first model was introduced—and over time, ... more

How would you rate your company's all-around lead gen game? "Some companies are good at generating B2B sales leads [and] others are good at qualifying and closing those leads," writes Christopher Ryan at Great B2B Marketing, "but the top performing companies are those that leverage B2B lead management techniques and ... more

B2B marketers recognize the need for a data-driven approach to marketing and fully eight in ten (80%) say they are spending more time and resources on critical marketing metrics in 2012, according to a survey from Pardot. more

Though buyer personas loaded with biographical details might help salespeople manage relationships, they don't really help marketers segment and target B2B leads. To get the most marketing bang from your buyer persona buck, buyer personas must do four things. more

Best-in-Class B2B companies generate on average 17% of their leads from social media channels, roughly 230% more marketing-generated leads than other companies (5%), according to a new report by Aberdeen Group, which examines the social marketing strategies of top-performing B2B companies. more

B2B salespeople spend roughly two-thirds of their time selling in virtual environments—via the Web and telephone—yet most companies haven't adapted their sales skills or content marketing tools to deal with this new reality, according to a new report by Corporate Visions. more

"Lead generation is hard," writes Cliff Langston at MarketingProfs. "Why make it harder by doing it without a strategy?" But vague goals and loosely articulated objectives aren't enough—it's important to document what you plan to do, and how you plan to do it. Especially since you can craft a solid ... more

When you hear about an out-of-town conference you'd like to attend, the cost-benefit analysis can be intense. Is attending an in-person event worth your time and money? Here are four reasons the answer is yes. more

Some 61% of B2B marketers say generating more leads is their biggest marketing challenge in 2012; however, nearly two-thirds say their marketing mix does not meet sales pipeline demands (32%) or they are unsure of whether their marketing mix is effective (31%), according to a new report by BtoB Online ... more

"Nearly every marketing expert will agree: For a [website] visitor to become a customer, you must take the visitor through three basic stages," writes Sookie Shuen at MarketingProfs. "Those stages are know, like, and trust." In other words, a potential customer won't become a paying customer until she knows what ... more

The use of social networks, particularly LinkedIn, among engineering, technical, manufacturing and industrial professionals continues to rise: 55% of surveyed tech professionals now use LinkedIn, up 18 percentage points, or 48.6%, from the 37% who did so a year earlier, according to a report by GlobalSpec. more

When measuring the success of online display advertising, agencies tend to place great importance on performance metrics such as conversion, even for branding awareness campaigns, according to a survey from Maxifier. more

So you've developed a groundbreaking inbound content marketing effort that's pulling in prospects in droves! Congratulations! But here's a question: Have you adapted your internal processes to match your prospects' newly acquired expectations? As Ardath Albee notes in a post at the Marketing Interactions blog, when a clever new outreach effort ... more

Businesses that use primarily inbound marketing strategies for lead acquisition consistently report lower cost-per-lead (CPL) rates than those using outbound-centric strategies, according to the 2012 State of Inbound Marketing report by HubSpot. more

"According to an old expression, even a man lost in the woods knows where he wants to go," writes Dan McDade at MarketingProfs. That adage can apply to the lead gen jungle as well. Say there's a disconnect that is undermining the success of your marketing and sales teams, and ... more

"Email is still the most effective marketing technique," writes Bill Rice at the Better Closer blog. "It's easy to automate and highly efficient at bringing in qualified new leads." But a successful email program doesn't just happen. You must convince prospects to open your message, read it, and take action. ... more

Conferences are ideal venues for plugging into the zeitgeist and networking with colleagues. But they're also expensive. "[And] if you happen to be an introverted marketer, which likely means a conference is not the most comfortable of settings, you'll need a strategy for ensuring your company gets its money's worth—in ... more

"When consumers hear of a local business that is not well known, it's only natural that they conduct some research before making a purchase," writes Nathan Hanks in an article at MarketingProfs. And when they do, they're most likely to choose results that appear first. "Thus," Hanks continues, "'owning' the first page ... more

Not every potential buyer approaches your business with the same enthusiasm or interest. In a MarketingProfs article, Paul McKeon identifies the four stages of the B2B buying cycle—and how to produce content specific to each one. The unaware buyer. "Content for the unaware buyer must be interruptive. It has to cause ... more

Ah, the B2B sales pipeline. That mish-mash of possibilities that can surprise, delight, or infuriate at a moment's notice. Is there really any way to predict the true likelihood of a sale by crunching pipeline data? Thomas Barrieau says yes—if you know what to look for. Writing at the Sales Operations ... more

Many marketers approach SEO by targeting the keywords in their industries with the largest monthly search volumes, but they often neglect the "long-tail" or low volume keywords, which when combined with multiple keywords can total, or exceed, the volume of the one desirable search term, according to a study by ... more

According to Dan McDade, the foundation of any lead generation program is the right offer—one that intelligently addresses a prospect's real problems. "When you fully understand their pain points and needs and can align them with a clear offer and comprehensive benefits, the sales nurturing process will leapfrog ahead," he ... more

There are plenty of internal computer platforms that promise to make employees more efficient: standalone CRMs, heavy-handed intranets and project management software that needs managing all on its own. Then there are social platforms that, on top of everything else, vow to improve morale and boost collaboration! It's easy to ... more

Group deals are gaining popularity among local businesses: 12% of surveyed local merchants say they have offered a group-deal promotion, up 33% (3 percentage points) from the 9% who said so in June 2011, according to the seventh annual MerchantCircle Confidence Index. more