As a head of marketing, I get a lot of unsolicited emails. Because of the exploding marketing stack, and Gartner’s now well known prediction that CMOs will soon have more IT budget than CIOs, I sit in the crosshairs of thousands of eager software sellers. Many of the emails I get are really bad, and have about a zero percent chance of converting. Every day, I get more and more of them, the best of which are punchless, and the worst of which are downright annoying. I'm not here to shame the … [Read more...]
Working Forwards and Backwards: The Two Important Mindsets for Marketers
Really effective marketers have mastered two modes of thinking – forwards and backwards. Following in the footsteps of your buyer is thinking forwards. Deriving your overall marketing goals from your revenue targets is thinking backwards. I’ve found that most marketers are not especially good at either because they spend their days spinning their wheels slogging through piles of marketing tasks. Decent marketers may have a forwards or backwards mindset. Great marketers do both. As I sat … [Read more...]
A Step by Step Guide to Building an LDR or SDR Team – Part 2 – Managing and Measuring
If you followed the checklist from part one of this post, you now have a clear strategy for your sales and lead development efforts. You have decided on either SDRs or LDRs, or both; and you know what the objective of each is. You should have a clear understanding and agreement on who does what, and have determined what kind of people you are seeking to fill the roles. That’s a good start, but don’t let your efforts stall due to inattention. A common mistake is not actively managing these … [Read more...]
A Step by Step Guide to Building an LDR or SDR Team – Part 1 – Strategy and Structure
Sales Development Reps (SDRs) and Lead Development Reps (SDRs) are not new. But they are a hot topic right now, especially in the SaaS and Cloud marketing circles I frequent. With all the buzz, I’m surprised how few people truly understand proper strategy and structure for these roles. Quite often, these teams underperform because the up-front thinking has not been done. In this two part series, I present a checklist for doing it right. I’ve worked with and set up several SDR and LDR teams … [Read more...]
Problem First, Not Product First: How to Hook Your Buyers Problem-Solving Content
Sometimes you hear something and think, "I heard that five years ago. Ten years ago. How is that still a problem?" Now, I’m not talking about global warming or peace in the Middle East. No, I’m in marketing world here, and specifically, talking about the old saw “sell solutions, not products.” Marketers have been told to focus on solutions countless times. So why are marketers are still focusing on product? We marketers are human, after all, and the problem with adages like this is that … [Read more...]
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