Insights

What a year of go-to-market disruption and transformation we have seen in 2024 As the year winds down, we have been reflecting on the experiences of 2024 and the lessons we have learned. The environment for both SaaS and Services businesses has shifted in significant...

Sales coaching is essential to developing high-performing sales teams, but frontline sales managers often struggle to find the time for coaching. Theresa Smith, CRO at Level Data, perspective is that “front-line managers need to own the coaching plan, but peer...

Marketing to sales alignment on outbound conversion activities is an often missing step in capturing those buyers who have already demonstrated interest. If you are like most marketing teams, you have hundreds to thousands of leads that have come to your website or...

A guided content experience for buyers creates more quality leads that convert at a higher rate. That's the perspective of Ray Goforth, SVP of Marketing at Verana Health. She explains, “Don’t just create content to have content on your site. If nobody comes, reads it,...

Sales performance gains come from a commitment to continuous measurement and improvement at three levels -- the market level, the team level, and the individual level. This is the approach of Adam Ellingson, Chief Sales Officer at CeriFi.  Adam has led the...

Almost all performance gains come from individualized skills development plans. Don’t believe me?  Have you ever tried to follow a random workout plan on YouTube? Or tried to fix your golf swing by following the advice someone else got? I have…  How’s that...

Your website is your #1 tool to capture buyer demand. However, many companies have a huge divide between their website and their digital marketing Too often buyers transition from engaging with a digital ad to your website only to be confused by disjointed content and...

A strategic focus on capturing inbound intent through personalization is the key to successful demand-generation investments.A focus on capturing intent of in-market customers will not only transform how you engage customers but also how you convert prospects into...

All too often, marketing leaders focus on generating MQLs through sophisticated intent scoring, but ask yourself, are you measuring the right things? Candice Mueller, a marketing leader at ABC Fitness, Aforza, Salesforce, and Oracle, argues that MQLs often miss the...

Teams, individual athletes, dancers, musicians, actors, and public speakers who excel all engage in regular practice and coaching routines. In previous posts, we have discussed the link between these professions and those of us who interact with prospects and...

Everyone owns the top of the funnel. It’s an old expression that needs a new definition for a buyer journey that has become 70% digital and self-directed. Let’s take a look at recent research from Salesloft and the Bridge Group to see how this new buyer journey is...

Sales playbooks are the most basic building block for any high-performing sales organization. That’s the view of Phil Charland.  He’s learned the critical role of sales playbooks in more than a decade as a CRO and VP Sales leader at companies including...

Personalization has become more than just a trend—it's a necessity. Companies that contextualize for individual buyers earn not just customer loyalty but also a significant competitive edge.  Contextualizing for each buyer means delivery of impactful proof...

Growth at all costs demand generation is now dead. It’s being replaced by intent generation that optimizes spend on in-market buyers with demonstrated intent. Heavy demand generation investments have killed profitability for many B2B companies, with Salesloft’s data...

In today's highly competitive landscape, marketing and sales alignment is a key revenue growth driver. It only works with agreed-upon metrics and measurement. That’s that view of Grant Johnson, and he should know.  Grant is a six-time CMO responsible for...

In the past, event-driven, one-off training events have been ‘the thing’. These events can be valuable in building culture, developing relationships, and aligning goals. But the truth is, the impact of this kind of training on performance has been proven to be...

If you're not seeing a return on marketing investments, it might be time to better align your sales and marketing teams. The evolving buyer journey and technology have blurred the lines between sales and marketing, and failure to adjust is often why marketing ROI...

Rapid growth is good, but only if you can also build your revenue team rapidly.  Otherwise, you can blow a lot of capital. “Companies that rapidly scale before having repeatable marketing and sales processes often hit a wall,” says Theresa Smith, CRO at Level Data....

Parent Square’s Personalization Practices: Personalized Content Streams Across the Buyer Journey Seventy percent of the buyer journey is now digital and content-driven.  Buyers may consume 5 to 6 content assets before any sales conversation.    When they do engage in...

We’re in a buyer-driven era where cold outreach is becoming obsolete. Today, modern marketing and sales are all about helping buyers reveal their own needs. It’s no longer about pushing products but creating personalized value and guiding buyers through their journey....

In times of economic downturn, it's common for company leaders to consider slashing marketing budgets as a quick way to save money.  However, research from McKinsey and other industry experts shows that maintaining or even increasing marketing investments in uncertain...

Question #1: Ever wonder where the term muscle memory comes from?  Here’s how Gemini summarizes the neuroscience that underpins the phrase: “Myelin sheaths insulate neural pathways, making signal transmission faster and more efficient. Repeated practice thickens these...

In sales, like in any sport, success comes with practice. Think about professional athletes. They have playbooks, they train every day, and they continuously refine their skills. Your sales team may have a playbook, but are you practicing it? If not, you’re missing...

Data does not always create business value. It may just create noise. Knowing the difference is critical for companies with data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence offerings. “Within our customer accounts, there are multiple buyer sets,” says Ray Goforth,...

Buyer personalization is not an oxymoron. Sure, it is impossible to personalize marketing for each individual buyer. But true scalability in personalization isn’t about focusing on every single buyer. It is about honing distinct personalization categories within your...

Our MQLs suck Our SDR team doesn't know what they are doing Marketing makes content that nobody looks at or cares about Marketing doesn't understand who our buyers are Sales goes rogue; they don't sound anything like our brand or positioning  Sales makes promises our...

Not having a shared, cohesive sales process will lose you money. It leads to fewer closed deals, less accurate forecasting, and lower deal values. This is Growth Blocker #9 that Eric Rudolf and I identified in our conversation on the 10 most common blockers preventing...

Content may be king, but personalization is the crown jewel. Not all content is created equal. When it comes to your buyer journey, content that personalizes value is all that matters! Too often, we see content created for its own sake, not to build or deepen...

How much changes in 12 months? Or in 24 months?  Think about it, 12 months ago, hardly anyone knew:  What ChatGPT was What an LLM or generative AI was Brain-computer interfaces were a real thing We live in a moment where time is a flat circle and things change in the...

Positioning silos will kill revenue growth. Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are uniquely qualified to bridge these silos and deepen buyer personalization.  “CMOs should lead on a company-wide approach to personalizing the buyer journey. Marketing is best positioned to...

Billions of dollars and hours are spent on training sales teams. It’s often wasted. It's not just training, but the shared playbooks of best sales practices seamlessly integrated into daily sales operations that truly boost performance. This is Growth Blocker #8 that...

Your buyers could care less about the number of blogs, eBooks, infographics, or case studies you produce each month. So, why do marketing teams care so much? Your buyers aren’t focused on content production, they want personalized content. They want stories about...

Today’s B2B buyers are better informed than ever. They are typically 70% of the way through a digital and content-driven journey before they even engage your sales team.  Bobby Gaudreau, VP of Sales & Marketing at Activator Dealer Solutions, understood this and...

Standing out is simpler than you think. By creating a website that allows buyers to see themselves in your offerings and empowers them to find solutions independently, you can significantly boost your growth. In the first in our new series on Personalization...

Too many of us suck at discovery. That’s my conclusion from a couple decades of observing and participating in sales conversations. We often see reps asking high-level questions about goals and priorities. Questions like: “What are your main objectives for this year?”...

Channel marketing teams can build partnerships that can significantly boost revenue. But only if given proper backing from the companies. This is Growth Blocker #7 that Eric Rudolf and I identified in our conversation on the 10 most common blockers preventing tech...

Standing out is simpler than you think. Shift from a focus “what we offer” to “what’s in it for your buyers.” And, it starts on your website. B2B buyers are bombarded with information from all corners of the internet, making it challenging for them to find solutions...

BESLER’s sales transformation serves as an example of how businesses can leverage market and customer account insights to drive significant growth. BESLER is a leader in hospital revenue integrity and reimbursement solutions but faced challenges with stagnating new...

If your marketing team grapples with demonstrated impact on sales opportunities and Closed Won deals or your sales team gets ghosted after call one, consider self-solutioning content. “It’s our goal to speak to each individual on our buying committee in terms...

Forget your pitch. The most successful sales teams personalize in every sales conversation.  It's not about what we're selling—it's about how we tailor our conversation to understand our buyer's personal win and connect our products and services to this win through...

The buyer journey has fundamentally changed. And, many buyers feel overwhelmed. Today’s buyers have access to nearly unlimited information about you and your competitors from websites, peer and product review sites, social media, and email outreach. It is information...

You don’t have a clear thought leader in your organization, but no big deal, right? Think again.   It may be holding you back.  The lack of a thought leadership strategy – this is growth blocker #6 that my colleague Eric Rudolf and I identified in our conversation on...

Your brand isn’t just about your company’s identity anymore. It’s about your buyer’s journey. Marketers get excited about building brands – and for good reason. Your brand in many ways is your company’s heart and soul.  But a powerful brand identity alone won’t...

Gym owners, car dealers, retailers, and travel agents are constantly on call responding to their buyers. They want you to be just as agile. Embracing agile learning is now paramount to prospering in B2B2C sales.  For ABC Fitness, like many businesses, the pandemic was...

Buyers and customers expect if not demand a personalized experience – not just in the B2C market, but now in B2B as well.   It is now a cornerstone of successful sales strategies.  Jeff Fallis, Senior Director of Sales and Customer Success at GoFormz, explains: “Buyer...

Intent data has emerged as a crucial tool in this buyer-led era; but, it may seem daunting, complex, and expensive. But in reality, you can start right now by keeping it simple and without having to invest tons of money on tools.  Simplifying Intent data boils down to...

Many marketing teams fail to measure the return on their investments in audience development and sales-ready lead generation. Then, they wonder why marketing often finds itself in a precarious budget position.  This is Growth Blocker #5 that Eric Rudolf and I...

“Know thy customer” has taken on a whole new meaning in a buyer-led era. Cold outreach is increasingly seen as outdated and intrusive. Instead, the focus has shifted towards understanding buyer intent and facilitating a guided buyer experience. Leveraging buyer intent...

Get your whole sales team all on the same messaging. Or, risk falling short of quota. “We needed to quickly get everyone a shared messaging approach to meet our annual sales goal,” explains Karen Hundley, VP of Legal Partnerships and sales leader at CeriFi. Growth...

It’s not about you, it’s about your buyer. And, your BDR & SDR roles are the tip of the spear in figuring out why your buyer is talking to you. Rethinking the Role The future of the SDR and BDR roles is going to change, and change a lot. The traditional paradigms...