Mike

Thumbnail image for Professional Confessional: Getting Organized

Professional Confessional: Getting Organized

Lately I’ve been a little disorganized. No – that’s an understatement. I’ve been an utterly chaotic tornado of inefficiency.

Today I almost went to lunch instead of leading a 12:15 web demonstration. My task list in Salesforce.com is 98% red, meaning OVERDUE, some of them months old.

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Thumbnail image for Sales IQ: What Assumptions Can You Make About Your Audience?

Sales IQ: What Assumptions Can You Make About Your Audience?

When I say “Sales IQ,” I’m referring to the presumed intelligence level of your audience that you’re projecting when you deliver your sales pitch. Obviously there are a few ways to go. Here are some thoughts on intelligence (related to your solution) and engagement.

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Thumbnail image for Conference Preview: Web 2.0 Expo

Conference Preview: Web 2.0 Expo

The theme of this year’s Web 2.0 Expo is doing more with less. I just did a mental double-take as I wrote that – I’m great at doing less with less, and maintaining the same with less is a challenge, but the proposition of doing more with less sounds like a lot of work, sets unreasonable expectations, and would in all likelihood end in failure/unemployment. I’ll try to remain optimistic, though!

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: When is a sale lost?

The Professional Confessional: When is a sale lost?

Lately I’ve been hitting some snags in my sales cycle. Without a doubt, my strength lies in the early stages of the sale. As the Marketing Manager for the past two years, I’ve been crafting our messaging, so I know it inside and out and can generate interest very quickly and lock in meetings. However, I’m having trouble closing.

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Thumbnail image for Top 5 On-Demand Applications to Boost Sales and Marketing Productivity

Top 5 On-Demand Applications to Boost Sales and Marketing Productivity

Today I’d like to showcase five applications that individually offer great value and functionality, and when considered holistically, represent a complete solution to enable collaboration and increase productivity of Sales & Marketing departments.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: Etiquette 2.0

The Professional Confessional: Etiquette 2.0

As an avid user of Web 2.0 tools in my social and professional spheres, there’s bound to be some spillover, right? I recently committed a bit of a networking faux pas, and I will, of course, share the embarrassing details with you in the spirit of opening up some discussion around the topic!

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Thumbnail image for Leveraging Personal Connections with InsideView

Leveraging Personal Connections with InsideView

As a follow up to my initial high-level overview and review of Insideview’s SalesView application, I’d like to dig a little deeper into a particular key feature that make this a standout product. Also notable is that since reviewing the app, Insideview has secured $6.5 million in Series B funding, which you can read more about here.

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Thumbnail image for Key Performance Indicators: Paralysis by Analysis

Key Performance Indicators: Paralysis by Analysis

Some thoughts on best practices for Sales & Marketing benchmarking. What’s essential, and can it go too far?

I’ve had mixed results over the past few years working with both Sales & Marketing organizations that have recognized the need for tracking metrics & key performance indicators (KPIs). As staunch believers in CRM, we have…

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die – Follow Up

The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die – Follow Up

Last week’s Pro/Con column had me left in the lurch by several colleagues and struggling to complete a lengthy RFP on my own. The shit continued to hit the fan, proving to be one of my largest f-ups to date, so I offer this follow-up.

My assessment that only self-reliance would equal success needs serious re-evaluation. I attempted to complete the RFP with just about a week remaining leading up to the due date…

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Thumbnail image for A Great Email Marketing Tool

A Great Email Marketing Tool

I took the opportunity to check into a fairly young player in the email marketing space, Act-On Software.
The user interface is clean and easy to use, requiring zero HTML coding to produce email templates. With a “per active profile” pricing structure as opposed to a monthly email limit and attractive pricing, Act-On is worth a look; a feature-rich multi-step marketing tool that aims to demystify intelligent lead generation for the masses.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die

The Professional Confessional: DIY or Die

I’m actually stunned to admit being guilty of this; usually I’m a pretty Do-it-Yourself (DIY) guy. In my current position, 99% of the time I take the position of “If you want something done right, you’ve got to Do It Yourself!” It’s that other 1% that really screwed me this time.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: Anatomy of a Sale

The Professional Confessional: Anatomy of a Sale

I’m happy to say, I closed my first new account of 2009! Since I’m in a good mood, I thought I’d mix it up a bit this week and analyze the pros and cons of the sales cycle for this win.

Some key stats:
-Relative value: 60% of my Monthly Quota
-Turnaround time from lead to close: 23 days (16 business days)
-Number of formal meetings: 1 online, 1 onsite

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Thumbnail image for Marketing Toolshed: Twitter

Marketing Toolshed: Twitter

I went out on a limb (so to speak) and registered for an account with Twitter. I was skeptical at first, but in just a few days of persistent use, have discovered tangible value – including landing a meeting with a key decision-maker who I would never have reached otherwise. After creating my account, I started…

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: Talk to Your Team BEFORE Launching Email Campaigns

The Professional Confessional: Talk to Your Team BEFORE Launching Email Campaigns

It all began, as most things do, with good intentions. I was browsing one of our channel partners’ websites where our applications are listed, and stumbled upon a page announcing “The Best Apps of 2008.” This was perfect! Not only would this engage our base, it would increase our viability and outreach to prospects as well. So I drafted my mass email, polite and humble, thanking our customers for

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Thumbnail image for Product Review: SalesView by InsideView

Product Review: SalesView by InsideView

This week I’m reviewing another tool that aims to help Sales and Marketing professionals get smart about their customers and prospects. By automating micro-level account research, SalesView by InsideView has taken some of the pressure and busywork off of CRM users.

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Thumbnail image for The Professional Confessional: Getting Ahead of Yourself

The Professional Confessional: Getting Ahead of Yourself

Every Tuesday Mike offers up the biggest mistakes, oversights, blunders and bonehead moves he commits in the fast-paced world of software-as-a-service, where he’s a Marketing Manager moonlighting as a Sales Account Executive… “This is extremely embarrassing, and unfortunately completely true. However, in the spirit of this column, I must come clean. Last Friday, I stayed at work beyond 5 PM to help…”

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Product Review: Genius Pro – Intelligent Email Marketing

I’ve ripped through three email marketing tools in 2 years, and I’ve finally found one that doesn’t drive me crazy. In fact, I like it. Genius Pro is a web-based email marketing and lead management solution with some interesting added benefits…

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The Professional Confessional: Confessions of a Marketer Moonlighting as a Sales Rep

Each week Mike offers up the biggest mistakes, oversights, blunders and bonehead moves he commits in the fast-paced world of software-as-a-service, where he’s a Marketing Manager moonlighting as a Sales Account Executive (at the same company.) Perhaps, in the process, we may learn a thing or two…

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