http://sellingpursuit.com/blog Enterprise Selling and Marketing for Lead Generation Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:56:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Pardon our mess…we are undergoing maintenance. http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2008/10/23/hello-world/ The trouble in the financial markets is finally making its way to the “rest of us”. A recent article from Business Week highlights what we in sales and marketing have been bracing for; the inevitable cutbacks. Since marketing is often considered “non essential” for operations by many executives, these budgets ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2008/10/22/economy-brings-tough-times-for-marketing-3-tips-to-defending-your-programs/ Many times sales leaders ask me what do I look for when I am hiring salespeople... those that can become Influential Advisors?  Here's a start of a list of traits, skills and attributes to look for:   Passion for Excellence Accessible Self-starter Commitment to excellence Creativity Quick thinking Confidence Excitement Energy Focus Vision Likeability Persuasiveness Persistence Professionalism Resilience Resourceful Willingness to learn Belief in the product/service Loving what you do and ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2008/01/19/finding-influential-advisors-what-traits-skills-attributes/ I refer often to the term Influential Advisor.  In the selling game there's a hierarchy: Salespeople - seller of products and services Trusted Salespeople - a relationship in which you've established yourself with a client as a trustworthy supplier of needed products and services Trusted Advisors - a sales relationship with a client ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2008/01/05/becoming-influential-advisors/ Originally I was not going to mention my open heart surgery on this blog. I have changed my mind due to the shear amount of people there are to update. I have had so much support from employees, clients, and friends, and have decided to use the blog as the ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2008/01/04/open-heart-surgery-and-happy-new-year/ 1) Build A Wonderful Workshop         - Make the main thing the main thing         - Focus on your people as well as your purpose         - Let values be your guide   2) Choose Your Reindeer Wisely         - Hire tough so you can manage easy         - Promote the right ones...for the right reasons         - ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2007/12/26/santas-leadership-secrets/ Every now and then I will actually read one of the junk facsimiles I receive on a weekly basis. First off, it is important to note that I am inherently skeptical of their offers due to the way in which they bombard my machine. Second, most of the offers are ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2007/11/15/attorneys-or-marketers-who-lies-more/ First it was the Do Not Call List, and although it had a major influence on b2c telemarketing, their was little to no affect on b2b telesales or telemarketing as this rule did not apply there. Now, consumer groups are pushing for more disclosure on web tracking used by marketers ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2007/11/01/ftc-%e2%80%9cdo-not-track-list%e2%80%9d-and-what-it-means-for-b2b-marketing/ I feel the biggest business benefits of social networks are the following; 1. Finding vendors/services provided by people you trust and 2. Making yourself visible so that others can find out what you provide. Since #1 is better suited for a different blog, I am going to focus on ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2007/10/10/online-networking-linkedin-vs-facebook/ I got a call this past week from a marketing manager that worked for a previous client of ours. It was odd to hear from her, as I had been thinking about their program the week before. I was wondering “what every happened to all those leads?” You see, we ... http://sellingpursuit.com/blog/2007/10/09/on-enterprise-lead-generation-patience-is-revenue/