Business Growth Blog

I played around with an org chart integration tool (OrgChartHub) for HubSpot CRM, and it’s pretty cool. I believe it would be super valuable for organizations targeting larger accounts with complex sales, or companies with multiple opportunities in different areas. It gives you a great overview of the org structure and who is being worked by sales and engaged by marketing.

Here are some screenshots to show you how it looks in HubSpot. If you want to try it yourself, go to your HubSpot integrations settings and add it. And if you have questions or need assistance, you know where to find us!

Business developers and marketers talk to the same people, but sellers do it one-to-one, and marketers push to a broader audience. Their roles and goals are tied together because they both approach the same people for a sales conversation. That’s why they must collaborate and cooperate in their outreach efforts.

To accurately work and measure your sales pipeline, you need to know where your prospects are in the sales process. The following infographic outlines three CRM fields that give a clear picture of which contacts and companies have the highest potential of closing and are actively being pursued by sellers.

Every company must invest some time and money into marketing to get customers. You can’t do business without it. The investment is usually about 7-8% of the projected gross revenue for a small business. How a company uses the money is critical to its success. The ONLY way to know if the investment is getting a return is to collect and track specific sales and marketing data.

These days, people have two lives: offline and online. Being visible to your social network physically and virtually opens the door to innumerable opportunities. A single person, even someone you barely know, can change the trajectory of your career or life.

Developing a strong personal and professional network takes commitment and dedication, which is tough because our lives are already busy with daily work, family, and friends (and maybe time for ourselves too!). But - a little goes a long way. The key is consistency and quality.

Many people are still unsure about how this whole online networking thing works. They don't know what to do or how to get value from it. In actuality, networking online isn't much different than the offline networking you engage in throughout your daily activities:

The video craze that’s taken over society isn’t just for trendy dance moves or epic fails. Recorded media can be used as a sales tool on your website, emails, and social media. The best part is, you can do it yourself with the help of your smartphone camera. By investing some time and patience, you’ll be yelling “action” more often than “cut” as you get more comfortable with the process.

Business leaders and sales and marketing teams work hard to find and engage new prospects and keep existing customers happy. Sometimes teams are so busy creating campaigns and pursuing their top accounts that other highly qualified leads slip through the cracks. Engaging and maintaining contact with warm prospects that need more time or education to make a decision is essential for sales pipeline growth and sustainability.

To help explain how to get started developing a warm lead follow-up program to convert more low-hanging fruit into real sales opportunities, I interviewed Shannon Mulligan, Owner of Vast Results, a virtual sales team. Her team helps organizations create and implement professional and consistent follow-up campaigns.

For the majority of salespeople today, blogging is not a prospecting technique that is on their radar. However, when sales and marketing align around the content strategy, the return on investment goes way up. Here are 3 reasons why sellers should be part of the blogging process, either by helping to craft articles or by guiding the content strategy.

Technology and data are changing the sales game. Now you can easily find out which contacts in your database are engaged and what web pages they're reading. This information is a game-changer for helping salespeople frame sales conversations that get results. You can also get a list of prospective companies that are looking at your website.

Coming from an old-school sales background, having access to all of this information still boggles my mind. It's pretty cool! Read more to find out how to identify warm prospects buzzing around your website.

When I talk to salespeople about blogging, I get the same response Bob Wiley gives Anna when asked about going sailing: “I've never blogged before; I don't think I can handle it!” The good news is that even though Bob is terrified, he has a great attitude and is willing to try.

Below are some blog ideas that can get you started. Hopefully, when you write a few of your own posts, you can be as excited about your accomplishment as Bob is about sailing!