So, this guy, Brian Carroll, has a great B2B Sales and Marketing Blog that I hope to bite from quite a bit. As you know in the blogosphere, biting is actually honoring and I will always link back to his articles. He covers alot of things that I live by in my day-to-day life in B2B marketing. This is not one of his newer articles, but it is one that is near and dear to my heart — creating a unified lead definition. I cannot agree with this article more. He details some of the steps along the way to creating this definition, but I would say at a high level is:
1. Sales and Marketing need to come to agreement on the definition. Frankly, part of the key to this agreement will affect the type of quantity sales may receive. In other words, if you put too many restrictions on the lead definition (has to be C-level, has to have budget responsibility, etc), this will affect the number that Marketing can/should agree to.
2. The definition drives everything. Brian is right: the definition needs to be blasted out to everyone. Once decided, relevant parties need to know this. NOW, proper targeted marketing programs can be developed (what lists to buy, where to get registrations, etc) and the handoff is cleaner and lead-to-pipeline conversions are higher as sales can be prepared for what to expect.
3. Define More. My experience has been every step from marketing to sales should have a definition and that definition should include who handles what.
Read: B2B Lead Generation Article on the value of a clear lead definition
So, i just read this article by Bambi Francisco about Linkedin.com. The article itself is interesting because the internet renaissance is putting tremendous value on these networking sites ala Facebook. I like Linkedin alot for reasons I will list below but never thought of it as a billion dollar company. Let me preface this, I am not subscribed for any of their services so I may not be as qualified as others to talk about this, but it is my blog so I will. It sounds like things are really moving for these guys: “Today, Linkedin has 70 employees and estimates to be a year behind popular social network Facebook in generating sales…That means Linkedin is set to generate between $45 million and $60 million next year. Linkedin CEO Reid Hoffman boldly predicts the company will hit $100 million in 2008.” And just like the other networking sites, Hoffman threw up Linkedin and figured out how to make money on it later.
This is The Funnelholic so I want to shart the value I believe Linkedin.com has for me:
1. Recruiting — it really is a great place to recruit bottom line. Not only can really find out who is doing what where, it is invaluable to figure out if you have an “in”.
2. Lead Generation — Linkedin today likes scale for this type of activity. For instance, I would not recommend the Oracle marketing department use Linkedin for lead generation. I will however say that for real target account selling, leveraging Linkedin is a great call. This is especially true if you are selling to Sales and Marketing. You can figure out who you want to talk to, who else is in their group, and if you have an “in”. It is a great tool for this.
3. Linkedin spam — I am not as popular as some but linkedin spam is a growing concern. I get a bit but not as much as Bill Gates did. (see below)
4. Bill Gates — There is a rumor that Bill Gates loves Linkedin and that he has been a user for awhile. He had a public profile but was getting inundated with link requests. The word is that he has a hidden profile on Linkedin and is a regular user.
Read the linkedin.com article.
So, my third post is another “Why the Funnelholic”-esque article. I am not trying, this article just hit my desk. These stats come courtesy of B2B’s “2007 Marketing Priorities and Plans” survey
Here are some important points from the article:
1. 62% of the B2b marketers surveyed are planning increase overall budgets, 75% plan to increase their online marketing dollars and try out new technologies. (Please see “Why the Funnelholic Parts I and I” - b2B marketing both the shift to online and the move to automation/optimization is ON!!)
2. 62% said their primary goal next year will be customer acquisition, 19.5% - brand awareness, 11% –
customer retention (11.0%).
3. Major Corporations are making the shift: HP made a “fairly significant” shift from traditional broadcast and print advertising to online marketing. HP is now regularly using webcasts, online video, blogs, podcasts, RSS and online communities to launch new products and develop ongoing relationships with customers.
4. One not so interesting tidbit from the article: Web site development will get the largest share of the online marketing
B2BOnline Survey Article
Amendment #1; the first two blog posts are the hardest. Anyway, I want to continue to answer the question” Why the Funnelholic”. There is a major movement going on in Lead Generation/Marketing Optimization. Venture Capitalists are giving money to new startups coming up in this genre. I am not sure exactly what spurred this as I have been in this business for awhile now. There are many theories such as Google adwords which has given life to a new world of remote controlled lead generation and some fairly solid reporting tools to go with it. Adwords has made the position of lead generation hip once again.
Overall, many of us we have been around the world of lead generation are starting to get excited with some of the new tools at our disposal. Trade shows, print media, and to a large extent cold calling are still part of the repertorie but are fast showing the least ROI. Don’t get me wrong, you have to do it.
- Trade Shows — great for business development, channel development, and for major industry announcements. For lead generation, ask any sales rep — trade shows just don’t do it for leads.
- Print Media — Advertisements in off-line magazines will die off soon. I have talked to alot of marketing managers who say today they but off-line ads in just so their bosses can see them working. (In other words, he/she reads it not prospects) On the other hand, I talked to someone the other day who said their ad in Southwest Airlines Magazine was one of their highest converting lead types.
- Cold Calling — I am not against cold calling. I think there is a place for it, especially in strategic account selling and in sales with long sales cycles. It doesn’t scale as your only source of leads….it does get you pretty good quality leads if (a.) done right (both process and messaging) (b.) backed up by marketing via email blasts, webinar invites, activity tracking of the lead. Again, cold-calling cannot be the only source of leads.
The Funnelholic is extremely relevant as we enter a new era of “hotness”. Its very exciting for those of us in the unglamorous world of lead generation.