July 2010

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Sales Lead Management Association^SM July 2010 Newsletter

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What Will Your Company Do for Sales Lead Management Week

Sales Lead Management Week is upon us for the third year.  Traditionally, this has been a week for webinars, seminars, podcasts, speeches and blog entries that discuss the importance of lead follow-up and ROI reporting for lead generation.  The SLMA site has ideas for companies that believe it isn't enough to generate the lead, it must also be managed.   The SLMA challenges marketing and sales officers to create events around the topic of lead management.

IDEAS HERE >>

In this Issue:

ARTICLES:

• SLMA Radio Debuts at 5 PM PST on July 29th
• Should Facebook be part of your B2B marketing plan? by Ruth P. Stevens
• Sales Lead Management Week – Oct 10-16th – An Excuse for you to beat the Drum!
  by Jim Obermayer
• Creating a Cure for the Common Cold Call© (33 page PDF book) - by: Jim Cecil  www.nurtureinstitute.com
• Nominations for 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management in 2010 Open October 1st
• Book Review: Let’s Get Real – On site in Book Review Section
• (PDF) Improving Conversion on Mortgage Leads- by Greg Coleman SVP, Business Development, LeadQual, LLC
• Nurturing Sales Leads in a New Way by Andy Brownell www.LeadMaster.com

New Advertiser: The Vanella Group, Inc.

The Vanella Group, Inc. is the premier provider of High Quality, High Touch Telesales/Lead Generation services for High Tech Companies.  Our opportunity-based Telesales 2.0™ methodology achieves unmatched results while also bringing best-practices in technology and execution to the entire lead generation process. Those two elements combined meet the highest possible levels of performance on lead generation programs.   Now entering our 9th year, we have been providing best-in-class Telesales and Lead Generation solutions exclusively for the High Tech industry with proven results.  

Learn more about this company here >>

Issue Articles:

SLMA Radio Debuts at 5 PM PST on July 29th

Los Angeles, CA - - July 20th,  2010- - James W. Obermayer, executive director of the Sales Lead Management Association, announced today that the SLMA will host a weekly talk radio program centered around the topic of sales lead management.  Obermayer said,"Well-known radio commentator Will Crist will be our host and interviewer.    We'll cover recent industry news and interviews with business leaders.  This is not simply blog radio or a podcast; it's the new live web radio with all of the quality you expect from a professional radio program."

Read the full story >>

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Should Facebook be part of your B2B marketing plan?
For most B2B companies, my advice is: Don't bother with Facebook.

by Ruth P. Stevens

Social media is all the rage in marketing circles these days.  All kinds of companies are experimenting with blogging, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a variety of other new channels.  And those who aren't are feeling sheepish, and worried about missing the boat, or looking like Luddites.

There are plenty of useful social media tools for B2B marketers, but  Facebook is not one of them.

Read the full story >>

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Sales Lead Management Week – Oct 10-16th – An Excuse for you to beat the Drum!

by Jim Obermayer

Los Angeles, CA—April 6,  2010- James W. Obermayer, executive director of the Sales Lead Management Association, announced today that SLMA declares the week of Oct 10-16, 2010 as Sales Lead Management Week. Obermayer stated "The drum beat of sales lead generation and the proper management of inquiries is what fuels business growth and propels companies out of stagnation.  By having a week dedicated to the management of leads we encourage industry leaders to challenge themselves and their employees to move toward increased marketing and sales accountability through proper lead management.   It is time that customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation programs no longer are hamstrung by managers who allow 75-90% of the inquiries generated to be ignored by salespeople." 

Read the full review here >>

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Creating a Cure for the Common Cold Call©
(33 page PDF book)

by: Jim Cecil  www.nurtureinstitute.com

This little book is about the nature of Nurturing customers. It's about the awesome power that is released between people who trust, like, respect, appreciate and stay in touch with each other. It's also clearly about the application of technology to systemize the philosophy of caring, serving and nurturing. Not just watering the plants but give them a little verbal"Miracle Gro" occasionally You can actually see the results in a relatively short time.

Read the full story >>

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Nominations for 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management in 2010 Open October 1st

Obermayer said,"These men and women are creators of wealth and we recognize their contributions to this important field of managing sales leads."   Only members can nominate, anyone can vote.. Last year's list of winners and interviews are still available for viewing. We'll send out announcements as we get closer to the nominating period. Start thinking about the those individuals who have influenced Sales Lead Management during this year.

Read the list of winners from last year and linked interviews >>

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Book Review: Let’s Get Real or Let's Not Play
by Mahan Khalsa and Randy Illig

Khalsa and Illig devote almost half of the book to discussing how to qualify an opportunity because the qualification process sets the stage for remainder of the process.  As sellers, we must make sure that we a pursuing a legitimate business opportunity.  We cannot afford to waste our time and energy pursuing non-business.  Consequently, we have to qualify based on Opportunity (is it worth pursuing); Time (reasonable and adequate); People (who does what and is it the right mix); Money (can the client afford it); and Decision Process (who, what, when, and how decisions are made).

Read the full review here >>

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Nurturing Sales Leads in a New Way

Article summary:
Learn why it is important to nurture your sales leads and how adding that personal touch can strengthen your relationships. Lead nurturing 2.0 takes a look at the 4 "P's" of lead nurturing and some important features required of your lead nurturing software.

Read the full article >>

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