Warning: BANT Stinks for Qualifying Your Leads 

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Budget, authority, need, and timeline – that used to be the old way to qualify leads. IBM developed it, and it worked well because in their heyday, no one had answers to prospect questions except the salespeople.

Now, your prospects get many of the answers and research they need through social media, blogs, white papers, and all sorts of free information on the web.

Specifically, here’s where BANT falls short these days:

1. BANT Isn’t the way People Buy All the Time

“I have completed my research and have both the budget necessary, as well as the decision-making power to buy from you.”

Have you ever heard a prospect say anything remotely along those lines?

Here’s the thing: the buying process at any business is far from a linear, logical set of steps.

So how can you try to force clients into a box when they don’t even follow the same process you’re thinking of?

2. Rarely Does a Single Person Make the Entire Decision

So says this post at Forbes. While the person you talk to makes the final decision, the reality of how decisions get made in today’s business environment is through building consensus with the entire team.

That means that as this decision-maker talks with their team, a powerful person in the group may be able to talk everyone else out of buying from you.

3. Your Prospects Have Needs, But What Are They Really?

Of all the parts of BANT, this one stays the most relevant. Prospects typically don’t come to you with a knowledge that you have what they need.

However, they do have problems. It’s up to you to see how their needs align with their company’s objections, and whether the solutions you have available are a good fit.

4. Timeframe: It’s Just an Excuse Not to Buy!

Seriously…this is the truth. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to get around it.

If you do get this as the reason not to buy, remind your client of the value they’re missing out on, and then ask to schedule a follow up call in a couple months.

So If BANT Doesn’t Work, Then What Does?

One website says to just use, “ACNE.” Another says “CHAMP” now works best. Hubspot says to use GBCTBA/C&I. They’re all sort of long and drawn out.

But here’s the point they get to: most prospects have completed 50-60% of the sales process by the time they talk to you. So, add value to their decision-making process as best you can.

To sell to today’s prospect, you need to know:

  • The challenges your client faces
  • Their authority, as well as some of the dynamics of the team behind the scenes
  • What budget/money they have available
  • Finally, the priority this problem has for them

If you do that in today’s sales world, you’ll be just fine.

5 Lies Lead Gen Companies Tell You (And the REAL Truth)

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Every industry has its misnomers – lead generation’s no exception. “The more, the better” – sounds good, right?

Maybe, maybe not.

Let’s take a look at some of the common lies you might hear, and the truth you’re looking for behind them.

Lie #1. “The more, the better.” 

Let’s start with this one right away. In every aspect of society, we think of having more as being a better thing.

With leads, you have to be careful when you hear this. Your lead quality matters moreso than anything else.

Would you want a big bucket of 200 irrelevant, low-paying, and dead-end leads? Or would you rather have 50, knowing you can close 5 of those and make $50,000 this year on them?

Lie #2. “Stop following up after 1-2 phone calls.”

Generally,  you get the most response from you leads in those first couple of phone calls. But in many cases, persistence pays off.

This post at Business Insider, for example, says it takes anywhere between 1 (for the impulse buyer) to 12 touches to close a sale.

How many should you use?

That’s up to you, but it should probably be more than 1-2.

Lie #3. “This is going to work…” 

The truth is, you never know if anything is going to work until you try it.

Isn’t that one of the top rules of business?

Lead generation through e-mail works perfectly for many businesses at different times. And then when you try it, in some cases it doesn’t work.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it, though. After all, it may work very well for your business.

You should consider it a risk.

And the sales person you’re talking to should make that very clear. If they do that, that means their honest – and you always want an honest person providing you with a service.

Lie #4. “Don’t leave voicemails – you’ll waste your time.” 

Correction: leaving the wrong kinds of voicemails is a waste of your time. Leave good ones, and you won’t be wasting your time at all.

We wrote a more detailed blog post on this that gives you specific examples of voicemails that work.

Lie #5. “Your website contact forms should have the fewest fields possible.” 

This one depends. You hear this advice, but it’s taken out of context. If you want a lot of contacts, then you should have as few form fields as possible.

But here’s the thing: everyone does what’s easy. So you get lots of leads, but they’re not qualified.

Fewer fields works well if you want to sign up more people for something like an e-mail newsletter so they can access a download.

More form fields work well when you want to sell a costly product or service. 3 fields is a small form, while 7-10 is long.

Watch out for those lies! If you work with a lead gen company that tells you the truth, they’ll always do the right thing that works for you if the process doesn’t go as planned.

The Right Way to Link – By Liz Donehue

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When I first heard about LinkedIn, I was fairly skeptical. A professional social media experience? Who would want such a thing? Turns out thousands of people. Millions, even. 300 million, to be exact.

What separates LinkedIn from the rest of the social media platform pack is its professional-centric design and features. Available in 20 different languages, many people use the site in order to gain professional awareness, connect with fellow alumni, and build relationships with those in similar industries.

LinkedIn is the quintessential place to be a professional while still embracing social media. You don’t have to worry about getting hundreds of invites from your cat-lady cousin while peacefully missing out on the latest celebrity gossip.

There is a reason people use different social media platforms. Each platform specializes in showcasing a specific expression of the same idea. Here’s a list of social media sites each sharing the same idea:

Facebook: Today I woke up and it was snowing!

Twitter: Snow! #minnesota

Instagram: Here’s a picture of the snow this morning!

YouTube: I took a video of the snow this morning!

LinkedIn: Is bad weather causing you to work from home? Here are the best tips for snowed-in employees.

Google+: Image of a tumbleweed.

Where Facebook lacks in its professional features, LinkedIn makes up for in specific sections related to work, volunteer, and collegiate experience. Facebook offers similar features, but it doesn’t allow you to elaborate. Here’s a side by side:

John Smith on Facebook: Internet Marketing Specialist at XYZ Advertising

John Smith on LinkedIn: Since 2011, I have headed the Internet Marketing team at XYZ Advertising. What started as an internship grew into a meaningful partnership with my clients and colleagues. My specialties include social media management and marketing, technical and product writing, client support management, and overseas coordination. On average, our clients have increased their ROI by 30% after just one quarter of partnering with us.

You’ve learned more about John Smith on LinkedIn than John Smith on Facebook. Their open templates allow users to delve into their past (but not in a weird way) by describing what they do in depth instead of only uploading an employer and position.

Another area that LinkedIn showcases users’ experience is by having a section titled “Skills.” Simple phrases can be added for your expertise, and other connections can endorse you. Facebook tried to do this with a section called “Interests,” most of which are centered around sports, movies, and music. In short, no one on LinkedIn is listing “Watching The Big Lebowski” as a skill.

While LinkedIn maintains a professional design, the social media giant is beginning to implement features that are outside the realm of social business networking. For instance, you can now upload a background photo to your LinkedIn profile, something that was previously unavailable. Facebook, as you might know, implemented the idea of a cover photo in 2011 in their massive redesign. It seems as though LinkedIn is wanting to appeal to both sides of the coin, those that want to continue a statement of professionalism while wanting to add some personal flare to their profile. Keep in mind, when I say “personal flare,” I don’t mean your favorite spread of Burt Reynolds on a bearskin rug. A field of French lavender or a sunset will do just fine.

Having a professional social media site in the public sphere is insanely helpful for those really wanting to make a push forward in their industry. In the six years I’ve had a LinkedIn account, I’ve applied for jobs, connected with alumni, and connected with those in a similar profession as myself. LinkedIn is fantastic at sustaining a work-friendly platform while not taking away from the all-encompassing social media experience.

Liz Donehue
Prospectr Marketing
https://www.prospectrmarketing.com/blog

Coordinating Marketing and Sales Efforts

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Developing a large list of qualified leads is essential and it goes without saying that the more leads you have the better chance you have of gaining sales. However, it is also important to note that more leads do not always guarantee a company is optimizing their efforts and doing so may be wasting valuable resources.

Yes, you have a lot of leads from your marketing team and a great sales force, but neither can be utilized to their full potential if the hand-off and interaction between the two is not up to par. This is where a strong connection between the marketing and sales teams must be made. Clarity and consistency is needed and implementing a standardized hand-off process can make all the difference. The hand-off to sales relies heavily on the quality of the prospect which makes it imperative that sales and marketing coordinate to define exactly what the ideal prospect is and the prime time for that prospect to be sold to. This entails continuous supervision of the nurturing process to identify when prospects are in the buyers stage as well as communication of seller expertise. Recognizing customer tendencies and requirements allows prospects to be handed off not only as highly qualified as possible but at the right time. As a result, the best leads can be filtered out to help shorten sales cycle, and improve customer relation.  Companies should always be alert of the changes that can be made in attempts to creating a perfect balance between the number of leads generated and the sales that come out of those leads.

Integrating a marketing automation system (Act-On, Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot) with a CRM system (Salesforce.com, InfusionSoft, Bullhorn, Base) allows companies to measure any sort of inefficiencies prevalent in the generation of leads and/or the sales process.  A great way to be aware of any issues within the hand-off is by measuring the leads to close ratio. This ratio can tell much about how well the hand-off process is and whether or not your sales and marketing teams are working efficiently on getting the best prospects to sales at the right time. A great salesperson still holds a maximum capacity of leads that they can handle. Flooding your sales team with too many leads can be wasting both marketing and sales resources. It’s important that a sales team is given enough leads that they are continuously working to close deals but selling requires time and energy. It’s important for companies to know the optimal amount of leads that their salespeople are able to attend to before their focus eventually is drowned into inefficiency. Calculating this number of leads can depend on many variables. It is a manager’s responsibility to obtain the information that makes it possible to evaluate the scenarios. For instance, the leads to close ratio as mentioned before can show whether or not a salesperson needs more or less leads to sell to.  Measuring the cost of sales to the leads given to a salesperson can reflect whether a salesperson is getting good leads or not enough.  These numbers should be analyzed to make the decisions of whether greater leads must be generated or a sales force should be expanded, downsized, etc. Often times the blame goes to lead quality whenever sales numbers are poor but a full analysis of sales and marketing as one can paint a much clearer picture to these problems.

Too many leads at once can be wasteful not just from the sales team standpoint, but also a marketing standpoint. So much goes into a good marketing campaign. When leads are being handed off to sales that cannot be properly followed up on, there is the risk of potential clients being lost as well as the time put into the campaign. So what can be done to make the connection better between marketing and sales? If the problem of too many leads available is concurrent, one solution to the problem can be to “throttle” your marketing campaigns if possible. This would mean that instead of launching an enormous e-mail campaign, splitting the campaign into smaller ones would allow leads to be produced in a more manageable quantity. Many times companies are way too eager to get sales as quickly as possible creating the issue of the transferring of leads to sales too early. Prospects are only good if they are properly qualified. This is an issue that can cause a low close rate and the improper use of resources that could have been used for more qualified leads. Fixing this problem requires much of the collaboration between sales and marketing that was previously mentioned and just as important, patience. Many assume that time and money are wasted by not selling as much as possible, but selling to bad prospects is even costlier.

There are many ways to better the hand-off process and to make the interaction between marketing and sales more efficient but it all starts in how you value, measure and track both departments. Optimum marketing and sales coordination is vital to successful revenue generation.

Private: Designing Your Web – By Liz Donehue

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I’m currently on Hour 8 of being on the internet. I’ve responded to emails, made some proofreading revisions, and scanned CNN. Unfortunately for me, a frequent visitor of the Atlanta-based news source, CNN has chosen to remodel their website without reviewing it fully before releasing it to the masses. The site is slow, text is showing up where it shouldn’t, and videos begin to play without my consent. The site is just kind of happening to me.

A website redesign is not an easy job. When you’re creating new padding, content, drop down menus, comment sections, headers, and icons, it must be extensively reviewed before going live. Websites must be sleek, clear, and concise. Businesses can make a lot of mistakes when it comes to marketing themselves within their web presence, leading to a gain of poor business, or possibly no business at all.

First of all, the homepage should be the “You Are Here” of your business, not a collection of weird phone numbers, outdated photographs, or graphs that don’t pertain to your business because you simply Googled “graph” due to needing one. Your homepage is the “Go!” square, and you want to make others take the trip all the way around to Broadway and Park Place. Here are some less than popular features and ideas that are often implemented on various homepages across the web:

  • Color scheme: Most companies pull their color scheme from their logo (if you don’t have one, get one), but there are others that sought advice from Janet in Accounting and used ALL of the possible colors. If your color scheme matches the entire palette of Crayola, it’s time to narrow your options and avoid giving your potential clients a brain aneurysm.
  • Text: Websites often put an entire Hemingway novel on their homepage, and I’m not talking about “The Old Man and the Sea.” The average website visitor has an attention span of 15 seconds when it comes to reading content online (so props to you for making it this far in the post!) You aren’t The New York Times, or the epic poem Homer scratched into what I’m assuming must have been thousands of slabs of stone. Keeping your text as minimal as possible maintains a visitor’s attention.
  • Navigation: The webpage loads. What do you click on first? Each section of the website should be easily defined and located. Avoid using graphics and text that look like links that actually are not. Headers and drop downs should do exactly that: head, and drop down.
  • Anything that may have been popular in 1996: Does your website have pop-ups? Poorly animated clip art? Does your website play music unsuitable for most occasions? Stop it. Stop it right now. Your website should be a solid representation of who you are as a company, and not the beta version of MySpace.

I’m sorry if I’m inadvertently shoving your website into the garbage chute. If any of the bullets above describe the uneasy state of your web presence, there are some steps you can take in order to better a visitor’s experience:

  • Video: too much content can often be replaced by a video. Often times creating a video will take longer than having Debbie from HR write a quick blurb over her lunch break, but it will be worth saving space, and you can have more freedom in what goes into this platform for content. You can showcase live testimonials, locations, your decision-makers, and products and services. Please note that it may want to be up to your visitor’s discretion to start the video themselves, and not have it automatically start upon viewing certain pages.
  • Show Your Face: A lot of companies use a “Man Behind the Curtain” tactic, where they use representations of people at your business, but not the actual people themselves. Having a headshot of a person in charge along with their social media links can boost your presence even further by giving your team a face and not just a name.
  • Social Media Links: To add to the above, if you have social media pages connected to your business, make sure they are present on your website. I spend roughly 10 hours a day on various social media channels, but I don’t spend the same time on your website. Creating an avenue between both is important for your visitor to see that you want to connect on all available networks.
  • Mobile Device Accessibility: Did you know that 60 to 70% of potential or existing clients are viewing your website on a mobile device? Like your website on a computer, you want your website on a mobile device to be just as fluid. One thing businesses don’t often look into is how their website will appear on a much smaller UI. Zooming in, scrolling endlessly, and using 4-point font will make your mobile visitor strain harder, thus making it more difficult for them to be hooked on your content.
  • Outside Help: If the above seems like the impossible, consider hiring a team whose specialty it is to implement these features for you. Side by side, you’ll be able to work with the current features you have as well as creating and combining content for a sleek, updated look.

Liz Donehue
Prospectr Marketing

Private: From Phonebooks to Googlebooks Part 2 – By Liz Donehue

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It’s officially 2015. The past year was a great year for me. The Seahawks won their first Super Bowl, I got to try steak tartare for the first time without my body launching a Moonlight Sonata-esque attack against my internal organs, and I landed a job that I really like.

I officially joined the Prospectr team in October of 2014. I was hired based on my ability to construct (and deconstruct) a sentence without any additional help, my effective communication skills, and my professional experience with all things social media (I joked in my interview that Facebook was my full-time, unpaid internship, something companies sometimes frown upon, but I couldn’t think of a better way to put it: I am literally on Facebook all the time. None of my friends or acquaintances can have a doctor appointment or go through an excruciating breakup without me knowing about it. Your move, NSA).

When I first interviewed with Prospectr, I was impressed with their minimal design and open layout. The color scheme of the office actually matches the hues featured on their website, and it didn’t look like an operation that could be shut down and moved to Cleveland overnight (sorry, Ohio). I was welcomed with a smile, a handshake, and a dog.

A dog! A dog.

Romulus, a Weimaraner puppy still gleefully unaware of his growing size, bounded towards me with a huge tongue and playful gate. “I get to work with a dog!” I thought. Obviously he wouldn’t be reporting to me unless he had to relieve himself, but I was happy with the thought that there would be a four-legged friend around the office. Romulus made my possible place of employment seem like home, which was one of the aspects that excited me about joining Prospectr. Plus, the walls weren’t asylum white and there was free use of this thing called a “Keurig.”

Google mentions that when people take a new job, they’re primarily concerned with four different things: their role and responsibilities, the company’s track record, the industry, and compensation. I remember during my first week of work, I was also entertaining this professional process:

Oh my god, am I doing this right? Is this within my realm of responsibilities?

Prospectr has a proven record of growth over the last few years. Did I finally find a position at a secure business?

The marketing/lead generation industry always needs “people people,” and I’m a good fit for that.

I wonder if they spelled my name right on my paycheck.

Of course, there are many other facets and inevitable habits when taking on a new position, things that normally one wouldn’t think of or be obvious right away. Google highlights some aspects of jobs that aren’t as stark as asylum white walls:

  • Messiness can be considered a badge of courage. Your desk isn’t supposed to look like a surgical suite. With papers, Post-Its, and legal pads occupying most surfaces, your clutter can become a symbol of an efficient workforce. As of now, my desk consists of two legal pads, a few marketing books, coffee cups, a half empty Nerf gun, and more than one Jimmy John’s menu. I literally don’t need to leave my desk to make any progress or have some fun when 2:30pm rolls around.
  • HiPPos aren’t just the oversized, scary wet horses you see on the African savannah. HiPPos, or the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion, are often the primary decisions implemented within larger companies. Some companies are trying to implement a “meritocracy,” the idea of that the quality of an idea should matter, and not the person who merely suggests it. A meritocracy supports equal participation instead of a hippo trampling whoever it wants.
  • Nesting people in their appropriate teams or departments is good for an efficient work environment. At one of my previous positions, if I wanted to meet with another member of IT, I had to leave my office, walk down a hall, take an elevator, walk down a longer hallway, talk to a guy named Gary who would then drive me across town to an abandoned Dairy Queen just so I could talk shop. Not really, but you get the point: people work better in teams, and they work more efficiently if they’re situated in a similar location.
  • The size of those nests are equally important. Imagine you bring back a box of a dozen donuts for your team. Now imagine that the run for those donuts is like Walmart opening on Black Friday (or Thursday, if you’re Target). As opposed to the Running of the Frantically Overworked Employees, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, uses something called “The Two Pizza Rule:” teams should essentially be small enough to enjoy two pizzas. Individuals are welcome to equal slices of the workload, ideas, and brainstorming. If not, someone might lose an eye, which is way more expensive than a third pizza.

As I write this, Romulus the Smiling Office Wonder Dog is romping around. Someone is using the Keurig and even filled it up when its water tank was empty. One person is laughing, and another is having a poignant conversation regarding all the details about our small little professional family, complete with one television and one dog. Now that I am completely aware of my role and the responsibilities it entails, (and that my name on my paycheck is spelled right,) I can enjoy the less traditional aspects of our office while keeping productivity at a maximum.

Liz Donehue
Prospectr Marketing

Private: Like, Comment, and Share. – By Liz Donehue

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I was in high school when Facebook was introduced to the public. In the fall of 2005, right when students were registering for classes or dropping classes (or even dropping out), Facebook became available for anyone with a .edu email address. Nine years later, over one billion people have a Facebook account and digital footprint.

Facebook users share pictures from the wee hours of Saturday morning, their thoughts on the gluten-free phenomenon, or secretly stalk an old enemy from elementary school (I’m guilty of all three). Most users engage with the site for social or entertainment based reasons. My mom can’t go to Starbucks without telling everyone she’s there. My ex-boyfriend posts photos of new quinoa recipes that he discovered while camping in a now defunct a hippie commune, and surely my aunt will completely lose it if she can’t invite me to join a seemingly endless supply of freemium games that involve fake farming and gambling.

In the beginning, we were apes grasping at a mysterious monolith. This online entity suddenly appeared overnight that requested information and materials such as hometown, current location, relationship status, and a profile picture. My god, a profile picture! Which one to choose? At first, we cautiously poked at this digital vessel. Today, we’ve become more comfortable with embracing what it would allow us to do – stay connected, and ultimately be discovered.

I was initially hesitant to join the site. But all my friends were listening to The Decemberists, getting their drivers licenses, and freely giving out their information to someone named Zuckersomething, so I did, too. What would start as an intermittent hobby turned into a full time unpaid internship.

As more people joined Facebook, the more time I spent navigating the website in its entirety, and as it grew, my time online quickly became a staple in my routine. The average Facebook user spends 21 minutes on the site each time they log in. Even as I write this on my computer, Facebook is refreshing on my smart phone. With realtime updates, Facebook users see a nexus of social material otherwise unavailable to them. Simply having a social media presence enables millions of people to connect with you. Essentially, an Indianapolis Facebook user who specializes in audio/video products may be connected to a packaging manager in Tampa without even knowing it, allowing for undiscovered avenues to be traversed.

Facebook isn’t just a time sponge when I’m in my dentist’s waiting room, or when I’m on the light rail, or when I’m in traffic because it’s too cold to take the light rail. Each time I’m on Facebook (which if you haven’t gathered, is all the time) enables me to see updates, bug fixes, and the implementation of new features, thus making my Facebook experience an instantaneous learning process. The site is in a constant state of adaptation, and without my immediate login each morning before getting out of bed or even finding my glasses, I would not be able to adapt and grow with it. But I’m not alone: 48% of users between the ages of 18 and 34 check Facebook as soon as they wake up.

While some don’t like the transparent aspect of social media (my ex-boyfriend has sworn off all forms of online communication by continuing to make his own shoes and grow turnips), a simple profile can increase awareness in your target market. Facebook users don’t need to become a robot by planting digital peas or going all in with a bad hand; simply creating a profile with the necessary information that applies to your profession can give you visibility, and in return, peak someone else’s curiosity.

Liz Donehue
Prospectr Marketing

Private: From Phonebooks to Google Books – by Liz Donehue

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Admit it, you’ve probably Googled something today – the current temperature, the latest NFL playoff standings, maybe even yourself.

In the last ten years, Google has successfully replaced the phonebook (not to mention actual books), the farmer’s almanac, grandma’s cookbook, your travel agency: what were once hundreds of tools that were comfortably located within an arm’s reach is now resting peacefully at your fingertips.

The 90s were a time of infinite struggle. Every time you wanted to use the internet, you had to forcibly remove another family member from the telephone. AOL actually gave away their platform on a disk. If you had a Motorola Bag Phone, you have my deepest condolences.

It’s clear that Google is today’s all-encompassing powerhouse. Because of their productivity and functionality, we can increase our productivity and functionality, as well. We can prosper from their successful practices by learning from the front runner of digital culture.

Google asks the important question: who is going to be your savvy team of personnel to increase business, implement the best tasks and tools, and attribute to the team in such a way that heads will happily turn instead of just turn? In order to acquire the best individuals who can achieve such things, Google offers up a list of Dos and Don’ts for the hiring process:

  • Hire people who will add value to the product and culture – don’t waste time hiring someone who cannot contribute to both.
  • Hire someone who is ethical and communicates openly. You don’t want to waste time on someone interested in participating in a political game or is openly manipulative.
  • Hire enthusiastic, passionate people that will get things done. Hiring people who think about problems, or people who simply just want a job could land you or your business in hot water.
  • Hire “smart creatives” people that loath being micromanaged, rather people that manage themselves and deliver innovation.

Most of these tips from Google seem like common sense to me, but many businesses are too quick to fill a position. The speed at which a company hires can hurt their chances of hiring the best possible candidate. Think of it like your morning cup of coffee – you can settle for the gas station stuff just because you need it, or you can wait a bit longer to get something really good at the locally recognized brewhouse.

Another successful practice Google touches on is the idea of decision making. General Patton said, “If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” Companies will offer shy away from the idea of even confronting dissent, that one bad egg could spoil the rest of the bunch. Smart hires have good ideas and are eager to implement them into their surrounding environment. However, this often means that there are many good ideas to be decided upon.

Some hires are often intimidated and shy around the brightest thinkers. Others choose to stay quiet until other input is heard first. In order to get the ball rolling, Google offers a simple exercise to spark ideas and opinions from everyone: ask a few “stupid softball” questions.

“This afternoon, we should tie a hopeless woman to a railroad track in exchange for a lucrative ransom. Any objections?”

“Friday is now going to be Fiesta Fridays! Each Friday we’ll go down to Mexico. It’s one-way though so you’ll have to pay to yourself get back. Comments? Questions?”

Unless you’re already a crooked tycoon with a mustache, or you’re already located in Central America, these ideas are going to seem immediately objectionable, which can prompt the flow of ideas and opinions from all sides. The right decision is the best decision, and it’s important to uncover all possibilities to ensure the wrong decision won’t be made. You may not have your own way, but you’ll have the best way without the help of your Snidely Whiplash boss.

Most of these wild decisions usually manifest throughout the course of the meeting, and these meetings must have a single decision-maker amongst the contributors. This decision-maker should ensure the meeting is going smoothly and not off the rails. If the meeting is not ran well, it can end up being an excruciating waste of time. Diane falls asleep, Ramon is playing 2048, Chad is watching Ramon play 2048, etc.

Google offers concise ways to keep the meeting running while maintaining maximum productivity:

  • Meetings should have an owner: whether it’s a brainstorming session or shareholders meeting, the gathering should have a key person to determine the agenda, flow, and objectives.
  • Manageable size: too many people in a meeting can cause delays in productivity. Remember when you were in Kindergarten and Ms. White had 36 kids she couldn’t keep on track to naptime? The number of attending members should not exceed 10 people; communication is streamlined, and all should be able to give sufficient input.
  • Time is a factor: people need to break for lunch, personal voicemails need to be returned, and your local timezone might not be as favorable for contacting your office located in Beijing. Begin on time, end on time, and schedule accordingly.

In the long run, your employees will thank you for the consolidated time and the efficiency produced. It’s certainly worked for Google, and it’s not like everyone knows who they are.

There is a definitive reason why most of the planet is aware of the Google colossus. It’s largeness isn’t something to be feared, but to be embraced. The practices that Google has implemented to reach this apex of recognition and power can leverage many others. It’s safe to say your company has succeeded when it becomes a commonplace verb and not just a name.

Liz Donehue
Prospectr Marketing
https://www.prospectrmarketing.com/blog

Understanding the Need For Prospecting

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The idea of prospecting is an overlooked concept for many companies because many decision makers are always looking for a way to bring in revenue faster and easier. Prospecting is neither easy nor timely and can’t be used simply to reap immediate benefits. Good prospecting is a process that must truly be embraced as a foundation for continuous predictable revenue and growth. Utilizing a great outbound marketing program as a means and not a service of your company can bring your company more than just an increase in sales numbers. Prospecting should not be confused with anything other than the process of generating as many qualified leads possible for your sales team to sell to. It sounds simple and companies can be hesitant to the idea because they are usually asking themselves; where is the value in using resources to focus specifically on prospecting? The answer IS focus. Sales teams should not be used to prospect, they are sellers and anything more would require them to exert energy away from closing and customer satisfaction just as selling takes away from prospecting and the details that must be applied in mastering a great outbound campaign towards the right target. Prospecting and selling must be looked at as two different tools for bringing in revenue. Believing that the two can be combined hinders the ability to maximize the efforts of one or both. Customers are any companies most important asset and must be treated so and the first step to ensuring the best customer satisfaction is by separating sales from the prospecting needed beforehand. Many companies have a fear of having a specialized prospecting team but doing so will bring sustainable success that benefits all divisions of the company. Prospecting is about quantity and companies must be willing to bite the bullet knowing that the value of a qualified lead is not just the potential revenue they bring in the first year. The luxury of having the most qualified leads set right in front of a sales team can result in compound growth, opportunity for building relationships and reducing churn. Unfortunately, there is somewhat a common preconceived notion that inbound marketing and prospecting by a sales team is enough and that allocating resources to a specialized prospecting effort would be a waste. It can’t be understated the importance of what a prospecting team can mean for a company. Having the perfect balance of outbound and inbound prospects is considered vital in the most successful businesses. For the companies willing to embrace the process it is only a matter of when, not if it will be successful.

Warning: Don’t Make These 6 Moronic Marketing Mistakes

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Ahhh marketing…

Some view it as a necessary evil, and others realize it’s your way of communicating with your target customer and meeting their legitimate needs.

But what you don’t want to do is make a devastating marketing mistake. A simple blunder unleashes a slew of awful PR that takes months or years to cover from.

So please don’t make these marketing mistakes – they really could hurt your business:

1. An Old Website Design

Beauty and functionality make for the perfect website. If yours is just functional, it looks out of date. And when visitors see an old website, they think you’re no longer in business.

You can still sell.

But you attract low-quality customers, or none at all.

2. Not Taking a Stance

You can’t make your business appeal to every human being alive. No business ever will. Apple’s an awesome example of marketing. But plenty of people still buy the Samsung Galaxy.

It’s much easier to market and sell if you know exactly who you want to market to and what they’re willing to buy.

3. Hiring an Expert and Telling Them What to Do

Some of your suggestions will work and help – that’s for certain. Experts know a lot, but not everything. But at some point, you can cross the line and essentially become their “boss.”

You may have a high need for control, but trust the person you hire. If you have any doubts, keep looking for someone else and hire them.

4. Not Tracking Your Marketing Results

You can’t fully track every last detail. And often times you don’t know which marketing tactic generated business. Was it the blog post that got the sale? Was it your e-mail newsletter?

It’s hard to say.

But you’ve got to measure everything as accurately as possible so you know what’s happening and how to make good marketing decisions.

5. You’re Not Human Enough

The internet gives you more direct access to your customers than ever before. As a result, they now expect personal interactions with you, and not interactions with a nameless, faceless business.

Be honest and dependable.

Tell it like it is.

Don’t “spin” things. Modern consumers easily detect baloney.

6. Inconsistency 

Humans begin to believe things if they just hear them enough times. If you disappear and reappear in their lives, they forget who you are and then have to learn if they like and trust you all over again.

It’s just like losing weight at your gym. Stop working out for a while and it piles right back on. Keep running and weightlifting for months and years at a time, and that weight stays off.

Which of those mistakes do you think you’re guilty of? And what can you do to get your marketing in better shape today?