Just when I need encouragement, I got it from the Big Picture Guy. True to his name, his comments to my post “Turn on the Juice” looked at the ‘big picture’ of what it means to be a marketing manager–what the expectations of upper management would be. I’ve read and re-read his comments, and I [...]

Sometimes I have to wonder what takes so long to get an order these days. About half of the items on my May forecast haven’t closed because the order is trapped in red-tape. You’d think technology would make getting an order easier these days.
Here’s an email from a Fortune-50 customer of ours that is [...]

How does one sustain the energy to do your job sometimes? For all my years of being a salesperson, I’ve found that the surprise of the next incoming call can drive my energy. Even if in a slump, a phone call causes me to automatically ‘turn on’…its a reactionary type of energy.
Now I will be [...]

Salespeople love winning ’sole source’ business because they don’t have to compete. For their company, and even their customer, it may not be the best thing.
Here’s an outtake from a buyer’s perspective at ThomasNet’s Industrial Market Trends blog/newsletter (bold highlights are mine, as well as the collective ‘vendor’ reaction):
Single Sourcing: Pros & Cons:Buyer’s Pros:1. Having [...]

While I’ve had some recent run-ins with whiney leads who don’t want to be contacted, they are the exceptions. MarketingVox confirms that assumption with this post this morning: Study: Same-Day Lead Follow Up Boosts Satisfaction:
“88 percent of those contacted on the same day said they were happy, where only 70 percent said the same when [...]

Most of us marketing bloggers seem to be from small companies. Myself, I’m a cube dweller in a company of about 100. How would it be to drive a beemer to work, take an elevator to your floor, and going to your own private office?
Let me introduce you to Big Picture Guy’s blog at BigPictureSmallOffice.com. [...]

My belly burned and cheeks flushed as I read Mike Boyink’s post today, titled So What? His comments could have been written by one of my website’s prospects, and it kind-of hurts:
“So I came to this website and read about your product. You’ve given me a product description, features and benefits, and product photos, [...]

My post on friday about some recent propects’ blatant contempt for our attempts to contact them was just a reflection of my salespeople’s frustration. But the comments I got brought me back to being a marketer, so thanks.
Alanmed told me its a bad message when our isn’t pricing on our website. Yes, but its also [...]

Is this bizarre behavior or this now the norm to expect from prospects?
Case 1: We had a web-lead request for a quote on 12 of smaller product, which would total over 100K, but all he left was his email address at a university. This was certainly an attention-grabbing request, but we wanted to find out [...]

We B2B marketers have been taught that we need to give our prospects facts so they can make a rational decision. But then we wonder why they end up selecting their existing vendor anyway. How can we change their behavior? Seth Godin has been telling us in his Liar’s Blog that it is an [...]