Which is likely to generate the most B2B leads for your business? your company website  – or –  a social networking website like YouTube or Facebook? Until a few years ago, I would have come down in favour of the former. A well-constructed website combined with a solid flow of traffic is a potent selling […]

One of the most reliable and least expensive ways of generating interest in your business is to position yourself as a thought leader.   What is a thought leader? A thought leader is an industry expert who promotes and shares their ideas.  This is nothing new, of course, but in pre-internet times such experts were […]

Cold calling has long been an essential tool of the B2B marketer.  But with so many new ways of generating leads these days, why should we continue to bother with the phone? Because despite the twin evils of universal voicemail and elusive decision makers, the telephone remains one of the most powerful and instantaneous lead […]

A recent study by Marketing Sherpa found that 80% of business to business purchasing decision makers claim to proactively find a supplier when they’re ready to buy, rather than responding to a supplier who contacts them. In our experience, however, most businesses spend around 90% of their efforts on outbound marketing and just 10% on […]

Use dedicated account managers to contact your prospects Many businesses and outsourced lead generation providers use multiple representatives to contact the same prospect. Big mistake! Put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers…  Not only will they feel they’re being passed from pillar to post, they’ll also have little chance of developing an ongoing […]

There can be few marketing professionals who remain unacquainted with LinkedIn.  It’s a professionally credible site which allows freelancers and businesses to draw attention to their services and communicate with others who need their skills and products. To network successfully on LinkedIn, it’s important to create a professional profile which highlights your USP and showcases […]

I often speak about the importance of delivering high quality supporting material when marketing to prospects. But what does this mean in practice? Well, lest we put the cart before the horse, let’s talk about basics first.   Be clear and concise Posting random facts and figures about your company is never likely to attract much […]

Top appointment setting tips for targeting SME decision makers  Despite the inexorable rise in popularity of Web 2.0, Google Adwords and social media marketing, when it comes to appointment setting, in my experience old fashioned cold calling on the telephone remains the fastest and most cost effective means of getting sales people in front of […]

Throughout my many years in the B2B lead generation business, it’s fair to say that I’ve learnt a thing or two about effective appointment setting (it would be a sorry state of affairs if I hadn’t!). Not that I do much appointment setting myself these days; I’m too busy running the business  here at B2b […]

One of the few consolations of England being knocked out of the World Cup was that I was able to enjoy the remainder of the competition without the inconvenience of being emotionally involved. It’s one of life’s simple pleasures to enjoy watching a game of football purely for its own sake, and without caring overly […]