Uber has disrupted and transformed the transportation business because they focused on being easy to do business with. They’ve eliminated as much friction in the sales process as possible. No more standing in line to hail a cab. No more stumbling for a credit card or scrounging for cash. No more stuffing hard-to-read receipts in your wallet. And because Uber is easy to engage and easy to work with, they have experienced dramatic growth.

Topics: inbound marketing, sales process, inbound sales

As we've shared in previous posts, our team recently attended Hubspot's annual conference in Boston, INBOUND. Each year, INBOUND marks a monumental time for Hubspot's product updates and announcements, and this year didn't disappoint. This year's over-arching theme at the conference was, 'Grow Better,' and these product updates will assist Hubspot users with just that: growing better and growing bigger. 

Topics: customer focus, sales strategy, sales performance, inbound marketing, HubSpot, inbound sales, customer service

Marketing is notorious for its jargon. And while the terminology itself isn’t necessarily what's important, what you do need to know is how these strategies and tactics can help you. In this post, we’ll explore inbound marketing and lead generation, and what each can do for you.

Topics: lead nurturing, lead generation, inbound marketing, media, lauramacpherson, professional services

It’s easy to put inbound marketing and outbound tactics into two completely separate buckets. We’ve got online lead generation, content marketing, blogging, thought leadership, lead nurturing, SEO, and organic social media that fall under the umbrella of inbound marketing. While TV and radio ads, database marketing, cold-calling, digital ads, paid search, and sponsorships fall under outbound. However, what I’ve come to believe is that neither is as strong on its own as it would be if integrated with the other.

You see, “Together we stand, divided we fall,” is a great patriotic motto but it is also very applicable to marketing and sales tactics.

Topics: digital marketing, inbound marketing, danibuckley

I spoke with a business owner recently about their revenue growth objectives. They were frustrated because the first half of the year didn’t go as planned, and their new business revenue numbers were lagging behind the goals they set at the beginning of the year. They were very optimistic, however, that the second half of the year would be different. They were confident they would eventually exceed all their growth goals.

When I asked what they were basing this optimism on, they went on to tell me that they had just hired a new salesperson. And this was not just any salesperson. This was someone with deep connections in their industry and a network of relationships that could get them in front of the decision-makers at some of their most attractive target accounts. In fact, this salesperson was even bringing a few deals with them that they expected to close very shortly. They had hired a rainmaker.       

I hope it works out for them.

Topics: lead generation, inbound marketing, deanmoothart, sales and marketing alignment, marketing strategy

I often get asked by executives who are seeking to grow their business, “Should I be deploying inbound or outbound marketing tactics?’ My answer almost every time is, “Yes.”

Topics: inbound marketing, Sales, media, professional services

Did you know that there are bloggers out there who get most of their traffic from social media? You could achieve the same feat for your business, also, but to do that, you will have to be strategic, deliberate, and creative. Not everyone who has a following on social media is able to translate this into substantial traffic to their blog.

Topics: Social Media, blog, inbound marketing, blogging best practices, blog strategy, marketing strategy, marketing strategies and tactics, blogging

Your company brand is more than your logo and website. Your brand is your company’s identity. It’s how others perceive you. You can’t buy one, borrow one or steal one. You have to build it. You earn your brand over time. Your brand can be built by maintaining consistent one-to-one message communication and value delivery to your prospects and clients over an extended period of time. But if you rely on this alone, the progress of building and establishing your brand will be slow.

Topics: content strategy, inbound marketing, sales and marketing alignment, marketing strategy, branding

The most common mistake marketers make when designing and executing an inbound marketing strategy is attempting to do it all by themselves. Doing anything solo usually adds additional risk. Team efforts almost always prevail over one-man shows – just ask Lebron. Batman had Robin. Ben had Jerry. Lewis had Clark. And Lennon had McCartney. Heck, even when I was 12 years old, I was told to never go swimming in the lake without a “buddy.” So marketing needs to team up with sales to mitigate risk and increase the likelihood of success.

Topics: sales strategy, inbound marketing, sales and marketing alignment, marketing strategy, inbound sales

There are some key components of marketing that fit together to create a solid B2B marketing campaign plan that drives results and delivers desired business results. Ensure you are utilizing each of these when planning your B2B marketing campaign plans. 

Topics: content marketing, digital marketing, inbound marketing, sales and marketing alignment, marketing strategy, marketing, shayesmith