Blog Cover Image 1

Book Review: Authors, Publishers, Entrepreneurs (APE)

Why I Read It

My reasons may be different from yours. Even if you have no interest in writing a book, this is one I would still recommend for your business book library. Skip ahead to "What I Learned" and ask yourself how you could apply the lesson...

Sales 2.0 Tools, Your Sales Process and Your Customer

Why Sales 2.0 Tools Might be Hazardous to Your Sales Process

There seems to be a lot of buzz lately about sales 2.0 tools. Sometimes I feel like I am waving my arms at the masses and screaming "WAIT!" *sigh* If people just did what I told them,...

Why is a Sales and Marketing SLA Crucial for Smarketing?

What is a Sales and Marketing SLA?

A SLA, or service level agreement, is like a contract between sales and marketing departments or functions. It is the feedback and handoff that happen between the sales and marketing functions as a buyer enters...

What Convergence Marketing Could Mean to Your Business

This is mostly an observation that I felt compelled to point out. It stems from many sales conversations, my hubby's latest college course on media convergence, and a hot new TV show that caught my eye.

Never underestimate the importance of you in your marketing strategy.

If you have seen my LinkedIn profile, you have likely read the part that says, "Inefficiency drives me crazy, continuous and sustainable improvement is always my goal." It used to be angry, not crazy, but I've learned a few things.

Building Trust in the Sales Process using Buyer Persona Modes

How to use Buyer Persona Modes

Recently I explained how using buyer persona modes for sales and marketing strategy was like watching your favorite TV show series. You get to know and understand the characters by their mannerisms (ie: analytics,...

What questions are missing from your sales and marketing strategy?

Sales and marketing strategies and plans are really just the 'how- to have a conversation that develops a trusted contact'. At least they should be. For most companies, the question that their sales and marketing strategy is missing is: What do we...

Customer retention or customer acquistion: Are you playing the odds?

This might be a bit of a stretch, and it might be a bit of a rank because I am still irked by the Patriots non-win on Sunday. But in the 5 minutes of time I spent listening to post-game analysis one thing became apparent to me. The Pats played...

My 5 Not-So Obvious Sales & Marketing Reasons to go to Inbound 2012

Why I'm Going to Inbound 2012

As you are reading (or listening) to this blog post, I am driving to Boston for my start of Inbound 2012. Monday night is VAR night, and despite my rabble rousing, bear-poking ways in the Hubspot Partner forum, I am...

CEOs- Are Your Buyer Personas Just a Figment of Your Imagination?

As you develop your ideal customer profile, how do you know if it is realistic?

I have to admit, the most nerve wracking part of what I do is this question that is always on the forefront of my mind. It must be how professional matchmakers feel...