"The insights are from a true practitioner and far more relevant and valuable than most marketing classes at top-tier B-schools”

CMOs can get themselves into a pickle when pipeline generation falls short. By the time they realize they are below the target, it may be too late to recover. I’ve borrowed a practice from my sales brethren to help me avoid this problem. Most B2B marketers are familiar with sales forecast calls. These meetings are typically held weekly by sales leaders. Sales reps review their deals and expected outcomes. Sales leadership inspects the deals by asking questions about timing, competition, access … [Read More...]

A favorable showing in an industry analyst report can result in millions in new sales. Being a laggard can mean you won’t even get invited to pitch your product. So, how can you make sure your company’s product moves to the top? The two most influential analyst reports for B2B tech buyers are the Gartner Magic Quadrant, aka "the MQ," and the Forrester Wave. I’ve been briefing analysts from these two analyst firms for many years now. By way of credentials, my teams and I have moved three … [Read More...]

“Hey, what’s the 802.11 password?” I’m guessing you’ve never heard anyone ask that. But someone asking you for the Wi-Fi password? Every family vacation you have taken in the last five or so years? I was on a ski trip recently and was wondering how we ended up with phones that connect to my Audi via something called Bluetooth, an iPad that streams Netflix in the condo using Wi-Fi, and somewhere a router connected to the granddaddy of packet pushers, a thing called Ethernet. Three memorable but … [Read More...]