Author: hbr.org

Most sales models include a conversion funnel in which reps try to convert a marketing-generated lead into a prospect and then a customer through sequential steps. In this model, sales people are expected to make the process as friction-less as possible for the potential buyer and to close the deal at the end by using certain phrases and techniques to “overcome objections.” This perspective is promoted in books and seminars, but research indicates it is not how people buy.

As one of us noted in a previous article, buyers work their way through parallel streams (rather than a funnel) as they explore, evaluate, and engage in purchase decisions via web sites, white papers, social media, and contact with other buyers through sites like Marketo, and so on.

This why the end of a sales process is the worst time to handle objections — prospects typically contemplate their objections long before “close,” and, to avoid conflict, often cite a socially-acceptable rationale such as price, which may not be the real barrier to buying. To better address this reality, sellers should ask prospects to make incremental commitments throughout the process.

 

Read More at hbr.org

Author: scribblelive.com

The leading content marketing platform: ScribbleLive gives marketers, publishers, and agencies everything they need to create effective content. Our software platform makes it possible to predict when content campaigns are going to be successful, simplifies collaboration, and helps unleash creativity. In an era when interruptive advertising is becoming less successful, content is providing a more authentic, more powerful way to connect with your audience. From knowing what your audience cares about to delivering it to them in the right channel and optimizing results, our content marketing platform empowers organizations to make effective content a predictable part of their business.

 

Read More at scribblelive.com

Author: Ana Gotter

Do you want to improve communication with your marketing team?

Looking for tools to help?

Collaboration tools make it easier for everyone on your team to stay on track with content creation, task assignment, and deadlines.

In this article you’ll discover six tools to help your social media team collaborate.

Evernote is an app that allows you to organize content into notebooks, within which you have individual notes. You can add text, images, and files to notes and share them with other users.

The app lets you turn your notes into PDFs or (for premium users) instant presentations. You can also add reminders to individual notes, which will sync with your Google Calendar. Add tags to make your notes easier to find.

Evernote also has a chat function that allows you to exchange instant messages in real time with other members of your team.

For business account users, you can access Evernote online through a program downloaded onto your computer or via their mobile app. This allows you to take your content with you on your mobile devices without any extra effort. Of course, your data is also accessible on your computer.

 

Read More at socialmediaexaminer.com

Author: Sumo Group

How To Get Featured on Large Publications (Without Guest Posting)

How to republish content on larger publications for traffic, subscribers and backlinks – without having to guest post.

You’ve heard it over and over again…

“Guest posting is a great strategy for getting traffic to your website and increasing your email subscribers”.

And maybe you’ve tried it before. Maybe you’ve even seen some traffic and conversions from guest posting. But there’s one hitch holding you – and most people – back from guest posting more often:

So what if I told you there was a way to increase your traffic and conversions through being a guest on another publication…

But without having to create, write, and pitch a whole new article?

James Clear used this tactic to build his blog up from 0 to 250,000 unique visitors per month in two years. He did it without having to write anything new.

Specifically, taking those articles you’ve worked so hard to write and republishing them on platforms far larger than yours.

If it sounds out of your league, don’t worry. I’ll take you through a step-by-step process to pitch and republish your content, including:

 

Read More at sumome.com

Author: Freddy

Social media platforms offer a great channel for brands to distribute their content to prospective consumers.

With the rise of these platforms employing algorithms to make the content displayed more relevant and digestible, the barriers to getting content noticed have also risen.

Instagram’s photo cache alone is growing by a staggering 80m each day – rendering their historical approach of displaying content in chronological order untenable.

Although, it is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to ignore content marketing, the question remains how to differentiate and get your content noticed?

To help answer this, I find ‘The Periodic Table of Content Marketing’ shared by Chris Lake from Econsultancy remarkably helpful, providing a 7 step overview of the key elements of content marketing:

Format – there are different forms of content you can utilise from articles to videos Content Type – question what type of content will provide value to your audience Platform – how do you plan to distribute? Goals – what does success look like to you? i.e. sales, web traffic, etc. Metrics – how are you going to measure success? Sharing Triggers – are you going to include calls to action, emotional responses?

 

Read More at blog.passle.net