Monthly Archives: December 2019

What would make your missed opportunities list in 2019?

Writing Blogs this time of the year has the added responsibility of saying something clever providing a useful slant on the year which is nearly finished. One of my favourite authors for key moments is Paulo Coelho as he really knows how to capture them. Here is one which is very apt for this Blog:

‘Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering…’

Being long in the tooth as I am, I have learnt not to beat myself up over missed opportunities. However, I think that learning from every situation is key. So, every December I make some time to consider and write down a list of my 12 biggest missed opportunities of the year, one for every month, along with the learning and changes I have implementing as a result. I find it very useful because there is always a few I forgot about or not done anything with. 

If you find time to do your list this December, I am sure that at least one of those opportunities will be about missing a sale because you did not follow up or kept in touch.  We all do it, it’s easy to do as we are all so busy most of the time. Another problem with following up relates to the above quote; With many leads it’s hard to know whether you should wait, chase or forget so we end up not knowing what to do. 

Another problem many of us are facing at the moment is the serious lack of decision-making taking place. The combination of election, Christmas and Brexit seem to have stopped many companies from going ahead with proposed plans which can be very frustrating if you are the supplier.  If you find yourself with an extensive pipeline but no decisions, here are a few things you could do other than tear your hair out:

  • Analyse your opportunities based on buying personas: I have written before about the importance of taking into accounts buying personas. According to DISC research only 35% of people make decisions fast which means that the rest don’t. This is key statistics to remember when considering how to best follow up with an opportunity. I find that colour coding your top opportunities is useful to managing your expectations and planning your next best step. Try it it’s worth the effort!
  • Start even more new conversations: This might sound like the definition of madness, but it actually stops you from obsessing too much with sluggish opportunities. Consider which target markets you might like to develop in 2020 and make a start as it can take a while. Here are some tips you might want to consider from a previous Blog. 
  • Follow up and nurture your leads: Many buyers I speak to often complain about the fact that salespeople move on and stop talking to them too quickly. Don’t be one of them, people are always happy to feel that they are wanted. Just make sure that you use the appropriate behaviour based on their buying persona as above. Watch this video for more information.

I hope this is useful and that you might find some time to write a list of your 12 key missed opportunities and learning in 2019. I will be very interested in any learning you have gained from this. 

In the meantime, If you are considering your business development plans for 2020, give me a call to discuss further. Have a lovely festive break and a prosperous 2020!

Our favourite 2019 B2B Marketing Campaigns

Well here we are nearly at the end of another year. As is traditional at this time of year I thought I’d take a look back on the year just gone and give you examples of some great B2B marketing campaigns. Here are my top three:

  1. My First choice is HubSpot. Providers of resources for social media and digital marketing on the Internet, plus a range of products for inbound sales. Considering what they do it shouldn’t be a great surprise they are one of the best success stories for the power of B2B social media marketing.

One of the reasons HubSpot stands out to me is they are one of the few companies whose e-mails I actually want to read, because I feel they will benefit me! So much so, HubSpot have a folder in my inbox so I can refer back to the e-mails when I have time. Most other promotional e-mails go straight to the deleted folder! For more details and facts and figures on HubSpot and other B2B social media marketing click here  

  1. Next up is a B2B video marketing campaign from ADOBE. With millennials increasingly in charge of business decisions, a video marketing campaign done right can change the way your brand accesses market space. My choice of a great example is the Adobe – click baby click campaign, see it here. It’s humorous, engages you straight away and I love the unexpected ending!

For more on this video and other great examples of video campaigns done over the years and what makes them work well visit this website

  1. Having just mentioned that millennials are now many of the decision makers in the business world, my final choice for a campaign turns the negative image portrayed of millennials on its head. Although not strictly B2B, I loved the way this campaign took the stereotypes associated with millennials and Gen Z and turned them round. This campaign crossed different media and included TV ads and posters. This was a highly effective and successful campaign with  applications to join the army doubling in the first month.    Click here to see a video of one of their TV campaigns 

I hope you liked my choices above. It will be great to hear about your top marketing campaign choices for 2019. Even better, get in touch and let us know what marketing campaigns were successful for your company this year.

In the meantime, If you are considering your business development plans for 2020, give me a call to discuss further.