Sales Archives -

The Secret to Building A World-Class Sales and Marketing Team

When asked to recommend candidates by executives that are looking to build or expand their sales and marketing team, the first step I take is to determine the organization’s priorities. A question that often comes up is whether experience, in either a vertical industry or horizontal technology, should trump cultural fit, current skills and potential? In this post, I'll first take a look at whether this approach works, before providing you with 4 easy steps to build a world-class sales and marketing team by hiring based not on what candidates already know, but how quickly they can learn and adapt. Are Skills or Experience a Better Indicator of Future Success? An old [...]

2016-11-18T11:23:36-05:00 By Steve Offsey|Marketing, Sales|0 Comments

5 Steps to Tune Up Your Revenue Engine and Increase B2B Sales

Whether you're in a start-up that's recently confirmed your product/market fit or in an established company that's ready to act on a new growth opportunity, to increase B2B sales you should periodically assess and tune your revenue engine. To make sure your sales and marketing processes are ready to help you accelerate your business, here are 5 steps you should take (or re-take) before you push the pedal to the floor. 1. Simplify and Document Your Existing B2B Sales Process If you're running a startup, you likely kept your sales process flexible while you were determining product/market fit. And if you recently [...]

2016-11-18T11:23:36-05:00 By Steve Offsey|Analytics, Marketing, Sales|1 Comment

Start-up CEOs: When Should You Hire Your First CMO / VP Marketing?

I’m surprised by how many B2B start-up CEOs are still building their companies the old fashioned way: First, they assemble a product team and build the product in stealth mode. Then, they hire a hot-shot direct salesperson to go out and sell it. They plan to build their marketing team after their revenue starts ramping and eventually hire a CMO / VP Marketing when they are more established. If you're thinking “What’s wrong with this approach? Many successful companies have used it” then keep on reading... Just Hiring a Rolodex® is Not the Answer By hiring a sales leader first, [...]

2016-11-18T11:23:36-05:00 By Steve Offsey|Marketing, Sales|2 Comments

Employ Predictive Analytics To Improve Sales and Marketing Alignment

Measurement is a key discipline for any modern marketer. Metrics that measure inbound, outbound, brand and other performance are all critical for understanding marketing effectiveness and its impact on sales. Yet, a Fournaise Marketing Group survey reported that 73% of CEOs think marketers lack business credibility, since they can't prove they generate business growth. So, how can CMOs leverage new tools, such as predictive analytics, to measure marketing’s impact on revenue and improve sales and marketing alignment? A New Generation of Marketing Analytics Tools Thanks to a new generation of marketing analytics tools, today's CMO has the ability to measure the impact [...]

2016-11-18T11:23:36-05:00 By Steve Offsey|Analytics, Marketing, Sales|1 Comment