MarketStar Blog | Best Practices

I’ve been spending a lot of time supporting demand generation efforts for several large B2B and B2C businesses – with lead nurturing center stage. When organizations hear the value proposition behind nurturing, they can’t hold back their excitement and jump blindly into the initiative.

Most people can agree that the sales environment has become more competitive, and more complex, to the point that sales require more than a good call list and a plane ticket. In order to solve a customer’s problem and drive more revenue, marketers and sales leaders need to consider outsourcing some or all of their market development, lead qualification, appointment setting, and end-to-end sales activities in order to not lose sight on developing great products and services. 

The B2B sales model is changing. Where outside sales reps were once seen as a cost-effective and efficient way to close new deals and build revenue, more companies are bolstering their inside sales team. The migration from the traditional sales approach to inside sales is helping B2B companies more closely align sales and marketing, improve lead generation, and create a better customer experience.

With a phone in almost every hand today, Short Message Service (SMS) marketing's popularity has only been growing from strength to strength recently. Bulk SMS marketing is at the peak of its demand for various reasons today, especially in the e-commerce sector.

Engaging the partner channel isn’t as easy as it once was. Partners are more diverse and specialized, margins have thinned, and hard-good solutions are rapidly transitioning from one-time fees (with service contracts) to subscription-based solutions. Those companies who recognize that the partner channel is changing, and embrace the change, will be positioned for success in the coming years. But, those who choose to maintain business as usual, will likely see their channel slip through their fingers. 

Nobody ever said enterprise sales was easy. Enterprise tech sales is one of the toughest types of sales jobs, no matter whether you are engaging in enterprise software sales, hardware sales, or cloud services. Another industry term for enterprise sales is complex selling because there are so many variables.

No sales rep succeeds on their own. Successful sales performance is the result of many factors. You need the right leads, the right sales pitch, the right conversion tools, the right customer service, and more. Sales success is the result of solid sales enablement, which is why successful companies are more focused on developing a frictionless, integrated sales process.

Selling complex technology requires special skills and technical expertise, but knowing how to sell the technology doesn’t mean you have to know how to build it. However, when you engage in consultative selling, the prospect is looking for sophisticated, custom solutions to complex problems. That’s why selling technical solutions requires sales engineers (SEs).

If you are in sales (or a movie buff), you have undoubtedly heard the phrase “ABC, always be closing,” from Glengarry Glen Ross. That may be a good motivational mantra for selling real estate, but it’s less effective in B2B sales. When dealing with lead qualification for B2B technology, selling it makes more sense to think of ABC as “always be consulting.”