Sales

Sales pipeline

It’s common for leaders to measure their sales pipelines by the probability of the deal closing. And a common mistake. Probability of close is a subjective measurement that requires the sales rep to make a judgment about their chances of making a sale. It requires interpretation, bias and is ripe for abuse.[read more]

Socially Stephanie to the rescue!

In the inaugural post of our new social media advice column, social media pro Stephanie Frasco has some tips for Knackered Knitter in Nashville, who wants to know how to build up a social media presence for her knitting company...AND find time to actually knit.[read more]

Real estate is one industry that seems to be dipping their toes into social media, but has yet to dive in. Some real estate companies are making an effort at social media , but it’s a bit halfhearted and nothing done halfway will be successful.[read more]

smarketing/shutterstock

If you’re in marketing you’ve probably encountered multiple conversations with your sales team about what a qualified lead is, or simply put, defining the handoff process. When should the sales team take over a lead? If you implement Smarketing, it can solve those issues.[read more]

It seems that Target may have finally found its way into the next frontier of digital retail. Within the last week, Target has launched Cartwheel, a responsive website which will eventually become an application that allows users to earn and redeem in-store savings via Facebook and their smartphones.[read more]

Consumers, aided by social, mobile and internet technologies, are expecting more from the brands with whom they choose to do business. They are beginning to define a brand mostly, if not solely, by its online presence. To offer value and increase website conversion, make sure you fix these any or all of these five elements if they are broken.[read more]

down the rabbit hole?

Inbound Marketing is a salesperson’s dream. As long as you are willing to properly review the data analytics, it shortens the sales cycle timeline, allowing for more conversions and more success.[read more]

eCommerce site building

Building and maintaining a great e-commerce site can be overwhelming at times as it seems there is no end to what needs to be focused on. Wordpress is a great tool for e-commerce sites just starting out. But even small sites focusing on e-commerce should follow these simple rules.[read more]

A recent study shows Twitter outperforms LinkedIn and Facebook 9 to 1 for lead generation. For B2B marketers, that's a big deal. Here's a quick guide on getting the most out of your Twitter for lead gen campaign.[read more]

Video storytelling: Chanel

For some time, marketers have been moving away from the traditional selling tactics of TV commercials. It is no longer enough to tell audiences that your product is great and that they should buy it. One of the buzzwords that characterizes the shift away from pure selling is ‘storytelling.'[read more]

Search marketing is the defacteo route to market for the vast majority of retailers attempting to grow revenues. The question is, however, is; is there a better way? A smarter way to get ahead of the curve and future proof your strategy away from a complete reliance on Google dollar? The answer is undoubtedly ‘yes!’[read more]

The truth is, LinkedIn is a personal network, not unlike meeting someone at your local Chamber of Commerce. You wouldn’t go into your monthly Chamber meeting, walk up to someone you’ve never met, and say something that sounded automated. Unfortunately, however, I’m seeing more and more people take exactly that approach on LinkedIn.[read more]

mother's day

 

How important is Mom in the scheme of things? Check out this infographic about how is spending how much on Mom. Some of the numbers surprise us…do they surprise you?[read more]

Happy Mother's Day!/shutterstock

There more ways to show moms mad love on social media than there are web pages in existence. Don’t worry if your mom isn’t active on social networks, there are plenty of ideas that don’t involve sending a tweet.[read more]

Let's be real here: People buy because of people. It’s our interactions and experiences with others – whether we know or even trust the source – that lead us to any purchase. This is what makes the buying cycle so sophisticatedly unique, every time, and out of our control as marketers.[read more]

Kind of has that too-good-to-be-true ring to it, doesn’t it? Well, I’m not going to try to sell you on some never-before-heard-of facts. Instead, I’ve rounded up some of the strongest case studies that demonstrate how blogging for business can lead to sales for your business. Check out the findings on content-based conversions.[read more]

eCommerce

If the $42.3 billion spent online this past holiday season has taught retailers anything, it’s that capturing customers—and their dollars—online is crucial. But online is a big place. And mobile, which can seem like an entirely different universe, looms ever larger. So where to even start?[read more]

The Sales Solution is a targeted platform that helps find prospects, and then helps build relationships with them. “We find interested people at interesting times (in their lives),” says Garrity “For example, a salesperson will know instantly if a prospect is celebrating a birthday or a child’s graduation. Then we integrate that into the other social platforms the prospect is using.”[read more]

Gamification (photo: Tama Leaver)

I like the idea of gamification…in theory. In its simplest definition, it is creating an action and reward system for members of your community. Humans like games because we get some immediate gratification. The gamification of experience, however, leads to some odd “rewards” for those who play.[read more]

Social media advertising is a great way to enhance the reach of your brand message and to help influence prospects at the evaluation, or middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU), stage of the buying cycle.[read more]