Your Biggest Competition is No One??

That’s exactly right.  Any seasoned salesperson will agree that they’ve lost more sales to people doing nothing than going with any of their competitors – by a fairly large margin.

Why is that?  

Let’s go back to your family dinner growing up.  My guess is that everyone in your family had “their place” at the table.  If you sat in someone else’s place, things would be uncomfortable.  Do you always sit in the same chair in your conference room?  Your school classroom? Chances are the place you sat for the first time is the same place you sit every time.

There is a powerful “mental shortcut” that explains this behavior. It is called the “status quo bias” Simply stated it is the strong tendency to remain in one’s current situation.  

Sure, it’s important to focus on the competition, however if you want to see sales increase quickly you’ll want to focus on a solution to the “status quo bias”.

So, step one in growing sales is to answer the question – WHY CHANGE?

7 Traits of Great B2B Marketers

7 Traits of Great B2B Marketers

There is no “path” when it comes to online marketing.  While some would like to think there is a magic playbook – there isn’t.  Becoming a high-performance B2B marketer is a process, not a destination.  Great B2B marketers are always looking for ways to get better.

After watching and working with some of the best B2B marketers in the business, I’ve come up with a list of 7 traits that seem to be common with all of them.  Here they are:

1. Inquisitive

First things first – every great B2B marketer I know is forever asking questions, seeking insight and sharing ideas.  What worked today might not work tomorrow.  I have several great friends that are also key competitors and we brainstorm all the time.  Our minds are like parachutes – they work best when they are open.  Never be shy about asking questions.  Never think you need to be the smartest person in the room.

Break Through B2B Marketing – Beyond R&R (Relationships and Referrals)

Behind virtually any successful B2B company I know there is a rainmaker. It’s usually the founder. We’ve all seen it before. They take it upon themselves to bring in the majority of the Company’s business.  For the most part, business development is based on relationships and referrals (R&R).

There is just one problem with this strategy – R&R is not scalable…

If we switch gears and think about the super successful B2B companies, the biggest difference is they’ve moved beyond R&R (relationships and referrals) and embraced a sales and marketing strategy capable of scale.