Thank you to all my good friends at SAlesforce for sharing this great post. Why don't you visit Find New Customers www.findnewcustomers.com to learn about ut. Jeff Ogden

Thanks for sharing this inspiring story. It really is amazing and I hope everyone shares it. Jeff Ogden www.findnewcustomers.com

Great post on a missed marketing opportunity, David. When I spoke to you on our live interview, you shared the advice of real time PR, like the Gwenneth Paltrow fire. This Ohio Arts example shows what happens when you fail to capitalize - no website update, no Youtube video and no press release. Joe Pulizzi wrote about this and alerted me to your post. Great thoughts here. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.com Host of Mad Marketing TV http://blog.actonsoftware.com/category/mad-marketing-tv/

Amen, Steve. Well said. Put some fun back in the funnel. Content marketing is deadly boring in most companies today. To say companies need to loosen up is an understatement. I urge companies to "Let their freak flag fly." and have fun! Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Host of the weekly B2B marketing show Laugh and Learn http://www.findnewcustomers.com

Sounds to me like those ad agencies are we, we, weing all over themselves. Learn your buyers and craft great stories that engage them. Journalists are story-tellers - ad agencies are not. Great post. Jeff Ogden @fearlesscomp Find New Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.com

Congrats to all these wonderful ladies, but particular congratulations go to our client, Lisa Arthur of Aprimo. We also congratulate friends like Ardath Albee, Trish Bertuzzi, Lisa Cramer, Jeanne Hopkins, Maria Pergolino, Jill Rowley and Ruth Stevens. Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Find New Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.com

Great post on how to work with marketing content writers, Ardath. I was fortunate that the first white paper I wrote was edited by Jill Konrath - a tough taskmaster indeed. It was a life-changing experience. Businesses looking to hire marketing content writers will be served well by your tips. Jeff Ogden Find New Customers www.findnewcustomers.com

He's a lazy bum, imho. Be there to help. Ask questions. Listen. Simply standing and watch is okay in small bits, but you need to use what you learned. Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Find new Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.com

Sales says "These leads suck." Marketing says "They drop the ball." It's time to stick a fork in those. A carefully planned and executed program can end the finger-pointing once and for all. Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" http://www.findnewcustomers.com

Great post and well said. I hear the words "Align Sales and Marketing," but very few companies do it well. Your reasons are spot on, but the fundamental problem is cultural. Marketing looks for Mr. Right Sales looks for Mr. Right Now Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" www.findnewcustomers.com

Love this post, Scott, especially how you used an incident from history (Cuban Missle Crisis) to tell a story. I too loved Adams thoughtful series. Great software married with strong leadership resulting in change (content, processes, etc) are the keys to success. Hopefully more businesses will embrace this in the future. Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" www.findnewcustomers.com

As one who despises repetitive car ads (and is convinced they sell no cars) your comments about Toyota were right on target. Simplify and talk in the buyers terms, not features. Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" http://www.findnewcustomers.com

Good points raised on marketing automation and Craig Rosenberg too. Marketing automation is a "must own" for BtoB sellers today. Nurturing campaigns, landing pages and lead scoring cannot be done without marketing automation. But many businesses see marketing automation as a salvation, but it is not. You need leadership, processes and great content. Without a carefully researched and planned approach, marketing automation underachieves. Jim Burns of Avitage told me that even Marketo and Eloqua have a large percentage of under utilizing clients. I simply could not run Find New Customers without Genoo. It is the engine of the business. Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor President, Find New Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.com

Happy to take that challenge, David, because bad writing is bad writing. A poorly written white paper is a poorly written paper. An ebook is a shorter bad paper. How to Find New Customers has been downloaded over 1,000 times. I asked for name and email - that's all. I believe in giving away a lot of content and asking for a bit for the meat, like this white paper. You can get How to Find New Customers at http://www.findnewcustomers.net/getcustomers Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor President, Find New Customers www.findnewcustomers.net

Good post and so very true, Ardath. People expect to find what they are looking for today. So gating your content is counter-productive. You need your content everywhere they may find it. You need to be very, very easy to find. Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor Find New Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.net http://www.fearlesscompetitor.com

I love this post and I have a similar story to share. We were down to a final two competitors and the top exec decided to meet with each -- thought IT recommended my competitor. First up was my fully clothed competitor who used a frontal approach -- multiple execs, Powerpoint, armed to the teeth. In effect, they said "Aren't we great?" Next up was me and I came in "Naked," armed only with a notebook and pen. We talked. I asked questions. We learned of his concerns. We discussed them. We bonded. The next day my phone rang. The top exec overruled IT to go with us. The top exec of that competitor later say "How the hell did we ever lose that deal?" Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.net

As one who has hosted and attended hundreds of webinars over the years, I've always been on the hunt for ways to improve their results. These 7 tips are exactly what webinar producers need to do to get the maximum results out of their webinars. Terrific article and one to bookmark and save. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers http://www.findnewcustomers.net

This is a great post and so very true. I've worked for so many selfish and self-centered sales leaders, who never lasted long. The best is today the CEO of NASDAQ -- he was honest, hard working and focused on team. The three P's People, Passion and Performance are exactly right. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" http://www.findnewcustomers.net

I love this post, Ardath, because it describes an epidemic in the technology industry. There was a concept from Made to Stick called "The curse of knowledge" The idea of the curse is that once you become an expert in something, you lose the ability to speak to mere mortals. A very popular blog post came from this idea. Your example was spot on. It was a good example of what Jill Konrath talks about -- gobbledy gook. Write from the buyers point of view. That's what works. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" http://www.findnewcustomers.net

Another great article filled with insights, Jim. We live in an era of specialization is something business leaders must embrace and adapt. Love the fishing analogy too -- sales gets the fish in the boat, but marketing is the grizzled old man that knows where and when the fish feed, the ideal spots and the right bait to use. In adddition, I believe marketers need to outsource to experts like Avitage and Find New Customers. Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" http://www.findnewcustomers.net

Love this post, Ardath. Buying a list and blasting it in hopes a handful don't opt out is a loser strategy and results are terrible. In fact, I was trying to open an US office for a UK firm and they insisted on fast results - it was a disaster. Create great content, share it freely and be patience is the only strategy that works. As you say "Cultivating leads takes time and effort. It takes generosity and caring with a mutual exchange of value." Amen! Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" http://www.findnewcustomers.net

Agree 100% with your four points, but one thing I always ask myself is this "Was this written to me?" All it has is the name at the top. This email failed that test. Mike Stelzner was the best at this. Every time I got an email from him it read like a personal note from Mike to me. Only a careful reading revealed it was not. Marketers need to strive to convey a one to one image with their emails. That means careful crafting and testing. Jeff

Could not agree more with you, David. 98% of B2B marketing is deadly dull. Staid, boring and tedious. Inject some fun. Add some humor. Throw in a dash of the unexpected. And the world will stand up and take notice. You're right. It's "Okay to have fun." Jeff Ogden, President Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple" http://www.findnewcustomers.net http://www.fearlesscompetitor.com