12 tips for SiriusDecisions Summit attendees (#SDSummit)

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SD-Summit-2013Several hundred B2B marketers will descend upon San Diego today for the annual SiriusDecisions Summit. There are a number of great learning & networking events for B2B professionals throughout the year, but in my opinion this one tops the list.

It’s a busy three days, but here are a few tips to help get the most out of it (most of these tips work for most conferences and events you’ll attend throughout the year as well).

Cancel as many calls and meetings from back at the office as possible. You’ve made the investment to come here, make sure you take advantage of everything – the sessions, the speakers, the networking, the hallway conversations that could be your most important takeaway or new opportunity, etc. Use your auto out-of-office response to make it clear you won’t be able to respond quickly to email. This’ll make it easier to ignore inbound emails and focus on the event.

Power up all of your devices now, and as often as you can. Access to power cords during sessions can be spotty, and you’ll be taking tons of notes. Make sure your laptop, tablet and/or smartphone are full powered each morning, and sneak whatever chance you can (during lunch and breaks) to power up some more. The last thing you want is to lose power on a device in the middle of a great session.

Hang out in the lobby tonight. The “official” event may not begin until tomorrow, but head down to the lobby, restaurant or bar tonight, and introduce yourself to whomever is around. Chances are they’ll be here for the conference too, and your networking will have already begun.

Get up early Wednesday and have coffee with fellow attendees before the keynotes start. This isn’t a day for sleeping in, or checking email until the last minute. Take advantage of every moment to learn from your peers who also made the investment to come (some of whom came to meet you!).

Have a plan, but surrender to serendipity when needed. Take a few minutes today to review the schedule and clarity where you want to be when. Know in advance your plan, but be aware of and open to serendipitous moments – chance meetings you should take advantage of, a few extra minutes with a peer before heading into a session late, etc. The more you mix your value between great content, connections and networking, the better off you’ll be.

Try not to work (much). The set-up in the general session may include wifi, perfect for ignoring the keynote and responding to email. Of course, you could have done that in your room or back at your office. Go ahead and check during speaker transitions if necessary, otherwise take advantage of the speakers and get to know those around the table with you.

Take great notes. Here’s a rundown of how I take, organize and process notes, at conferences and elsewhere, and here’s a piece specifically on how to take better notes at a conference.

Don’t sit next to people you know. Of course you want to reconnect with those you don’t see very often, but don’t spend all of your time with them. Expand your network by switching up where you sit for every new general session, at lunch, breakfast, etc..

If you must work, do so in a public place (instead of your room). If you really need to concentrate, go find your quiet place. But if you’re just catching up on email, do it somewhere others might run into you (or where you might see someone you really wanted to meet walk by).

Follow the hashtag stream and retweet stuff you like to your back-home followers, colleagues and peers. Great way to give yourself a public reminder of points and topics you thought were particularly good, and to share insights in real-time with others not able to attend.

Meet and thank the sponsors. They paid a lot of money to be here with you, and most of them have really interesting products or services that might help you significantly. At minimum, I bet they have knowledge and/or best practices to share if you just stop by and ask.

No eating alone, and no room service. San Diego has an unending assortment of amazing restaurants, and there are plenty of other attendees here by themselves this week. Find them and invite them to dinner with you.

Cure for the common white paper: 3 alternative approaches

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white_papersThe traditional white paper concept may be dead (or at least dying) as a viable marketing tool for most B2B marketers, but the idea of a written, value-added lead generation tool is very much alive and kicking.

When we hear B2B marketers say “white paper” these days, they usually mean something other than a 15-20 page, footnoted, academic or technical paper.

Today, we’re really talking about something very different. Shorter, more accessible, more direct and relevant to each intended audience.

Here are three ways to think about “white papers” a little differently. I’ve seen all of this work.

1. Call it something else
It might still be easy to call the overall category “white papers”, but what you actually name them (in your strategy as well as in execution) should likely be something very different. It’s usually best to call it what it actually is. Some examples I’ve seen used successfully lately include: Best Practices Guide, Opinion Paper, Industry Insights, Expert Analysis, Success Series, Field Guide, Mastery Series, Secrets to…., 10 Minutes to…., Ultimate/Definitive Guide to….

2. Be creative about the format
It doesn’t have to be an essay, nor does it have to include an “executive summary” or other elements traditionally included in white papers.

For example, what about a Q&A with an industry expert? What if the entire “paper” is a transcript of that Q&A? If it’s useful and valuable information to the reader, doesn’t it still work?

Similarly, consider an edited transcript of a recent event, white paper, speech, etc.

3. Packaging can help drive higher response rates
I really like how Eloqua, for example, packages their best practice guides under the name “Grande Guides“. It implies the speed at which you can get through the content, plus “grande” itself implies big and valuable.

For a client that sold church management software, we called them Ministry Guides. The title itself was specific to the category and audience, and it let us nicely package the assets together.

If nothing else, I hope these approaches help you think differently and a little more widely about an asset format that not only isn’t going anywhere, but is actually getting better.

Matt’s App of the Week: TaskTask

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Tasks11This is the latest in a series of weekend posts highlighting a wide variety of applications we think are pretty cool. Most have to do with sales, marketing and productivity. Check out past featured apps here.

I’m still a devotee to Microsoft Outlook for my email, calendar and tasks. And ever since I converted to a modified Getting Things Done (GTD) system a few years ago, my system using Outlook Tasks has been hugely important to me.

Unfortunately, although the iPhone and iPad can communicate seamlessly with my Exchange server, tasks is still not native. There are several task management tools available in the App Store, and many of them synchronize with Exchange. But only one I’ve found will match exactly the set-up, filters, categories, etc. that I use in Outlook on my desktop and laptop.

That’s TaskTask. There are separate apps for the iPad and iPhone, but it’s still one of my most-used apps, and makes using Outlook Tasks the way I want to across all devices completely seamless. Highly recommended.

How to find new business opportunities in a fishbowl

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money-fishbowlDo you still have stacks of business cards from past events, conferences and business trips sitting around?

You came back with good intentions of follow-up, but then you got busy. So now, like most people, you have tons of business cards that haven’t been touched in months or years.

It’s not too late to follow up, and you never know what might come out of it.

I really liked an idea Peter Shankman shared recently in his new book Nice Companies Finish First. He basically threw all of his old business cards into a fishbowl, then takes 4-5 out every day for random “been a long time, wanted to catch up” emails.

Numerous business and revenue opportunities have resulted, literally out of nothing.

Not a bad idea…

Five keys to the perfect Cinco de Mayo nachos

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make-nachos-are-mathematically-perfect-and-whole-lot-less-messyBy Maria Geokezas, account director and nacho evangelist for Heinz Marketing

Certain members of the Heinz Marketing team (who will remain nameless) really have an affinity for Nachos. They’ve enjoyed A LOT of nachos – either home-made or out at a restaurant.

Over the years they have created somewhat of a best practices guide (some might call it a formula) for the perfect plate of at-home nachos. We hope our “best practices” give you inspiration to enjoy your own homemade nachos as you celebrate Cinco de Mayo this Sunday.

It all starts with the chip
Think of the chip as the foundation for your plate of nachos. They need to be thick enough to hold the cheese and other goodies. They should be arranged with a broad base so you can layer easily. If you want a more authentic chip, try Juanita’s – they are crunchy with just the right amount of grease and salt. If you want to try something a bit more “nouvelle cuisine”, try mixing white, yellow and blue corn chips. You’ll get slightly different textures and levels of crunchiness with each bite.

How much is too much cheese?
We think you can never have too much cheese. From organic Tillamook Sharp Cheddar that you grate yourself to the Kraft Mexican blend of four shredded cheeses (Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Asadero and Queso Blanco), we all agree the more cheese the better. Try adding Havarti to your Cheddar, it’s a great melting cheese.

No matter the type of cheese you choose, be sure to spread it evenly throughout each chip layer. Take your time and be patient with this step. There is nothing more annoying than getting through to the center of the nacho pile and finding it dry and cheese-less.

Toppings make it special
When nachos were first created in 1943, sliced jalapeno peppers were the only topping. For better or worse, we have gone way beyond single-topping nachos to include meat, beans, vegetables, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Some of our favorite toppings include:

  • Roasted red pepper and corn, layered and baked in with the cheese
  • Freshly chopped tomatoes and sliced green onions tossed on top as the nachos come out of the oven (so they stick to the cheese and don’t roll off as you take your first bite)
  • Fresh, ripe avocado, smashed with a squirt of fresh lime
  • Smashed black beans with lime, layered in with the chips and cheese (be sure to warm then before so they spread easily), top with crumbled Feta cheese
  • Feta cheese (sheep milk), black beans, salsa, olives, jalapenos, cilantro and avocado
  • Any kind of left-over meat: shredded BBQ pork, thinly sliced New York strip steak, smoked chicken, bay shrimp

Served on the side
The right salsa is the final touch for your nacho creation. Make it yourself by chopping ripe tomatoes with onion and garlic in the Cuisinart. Or purchase a prepared salsa from the grocery store. Some of our favorites include:

  • The local San Juan Salsa Company makes a great basic tomato salsa – try it in mild, medium, hot or Afterburner
  • Frontera Grill’s Chipotle Salsa is smoky and has just the right amount of heat
  • Green salsas like Frontera Grill’s Tomatillo Salsa includes roasted tomatillos with Serrano peppers, garlic and cilantro
  • Newman’s Own black bean and corn salsa is an alternative to the traditional tomato-based salsas
  • Fruity salsa like Newman’s Own Mango Salsa brings the sweet along with the heat

Get it done
Bake your perfect plate of nachos in a 350-degree oven for 10-15 minutes. The time really depends on how many layers you’ve created, so keep an eye on it. Don’t broil your nachos, this typically results in burnt cheese on top and unmelted cheese in the middle. Line your baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean up.

We hope you enjoy Cinco de Mayo with a good plate of nachos and maybe a little tequila! Tell us about your best practices for home-made nachos. What’s your favorite ingredient, or your tried and true strategy for a perfect plate of nachos?

Marketing automation: What the experts are reading & watching

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Earlier this year we took a crack at building a virtual, mostly free MBA program for sales professionals. And we recently wondered what the same type of program might look like for modern marketers, especially those focused on middle-of-pipeline lead management and marketing automation strategies and activities.

So we asked around, looking for advice from those we considered marketing automation experts already. What are they reading? How and where did they get smart? What still educates them today?

Here’s a collection of what we heard. And several of these resources were brought up numerous times.

Blogs
B2B Sales & Marketing Blog by Marketo
It’s All About Revenue by Eloqua
ChiefMarTec by Scott Brinker
Digital Marketing Blog by Optify

Analysts
SiriusDecisions (including several of their analysts)
David Raab
Trip Kucera at Aberdeen
Laura Ramos and Lori Wizdo from Forrester
Kathleen Schaub from IDC

White Papers & Reports
Marketo’s 100-Page Definitive Guide to Marketing Automation
Eloqua’s Grande Guides
David Raab’s VEST Report

Books
Revenue Disruption by Phil Fernandez
Digital Body Language by Steve Woods
eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale by Ardath Albee
Revenue Engine by Steve Woods & Alex Shootman
Manufacturing Demand by David Lewis
Get Content Get Customers by Joe Pulizzi

Influencers/Writers
Carlos Hidalgo
Craig Rosenberg
Jon Miller
Steve Woods
Ardath Albee
Howard Sewell
Brian Hansford
Lauren Goldstein
Dave Lewis
Dave Wittlake
Loren McDonald
Adam Needles
Justin Gray

Power Users
Greg Forrest at Concur
Ryan Schwartz at DocuSign
Marilyn Cox at Cincom Systems
Michael Korch at Tableau
Jessica Davis at Avalara
Kristin Connell at Deltek
Melissa Davies at Winshuttle

Consider what’s above a good start. What would you add? What books, newsletters, bloggers, and other information sources do you consider essential for successful marketing automation professionals to consume?

Special thanks to Katie, Lauren, Carlos, Brian, Ardath, Robert and Craig for their input on this collection as well.

How to be a successful (but nice) leader in less than 10 minutes

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I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a core value to “be nice”, but intrinsically it’s always felt like the right thing to do, especially in business. This doesn’t mean you’re not critical, at times pessimistic, and even direct with people when necessary, but there’s a way these all can be done without making the person (or people) feel two inches tall.

To that affect, I really appreciated Peter Shankman’s new book Nice Companies Finish First: Why Cutthroat Management Is Over, And Collaboration Is In. It outlines nine habits of successful and nice leaders, with tons of examples from across the global business marketplace.

I encourage you to read it (it goes fast) to go deeper into Peter’s nine habits, but here are several additional, worthwhile passages in the meantime.

 

There’s no way to institutionalize or “corporatize” niceness—it comes from the top person and permeates a place.

There’s a big difference between being nice and being taken advantage of. Good leaders know this and work accordingly.

Strong leadership is the most important competitive advantage companies have.

The one trait that underpins all other nice traits is enlightened self-interest—the act of doing something that benefits you and your constituents, whoever they may be.

It’s only when we see tending to the needs of others as helping ourselves that society becomes more civil and utter chaos doesn’t ensue.

The most basic responsibility that CEOs and other leaders have is the promotion of the welfare of their clients, workers, shareholders, and stakeholders.

Take care of yourself first, and you can care for others so much more effectively.

Insulating yourself from the people who make the business run is, without question, one of the best ways to start making bad decisions.

CEOs and leaders who are accessible have happier workforces and make better decisions about their companies.

CEOs can’t be accessible to everyone every minute, but they have to engender a spirit of accessibility among their most important constituents—employees being number one.

You have to put yourself in a position of being lucky. If you are getting along with others, it seems your odds are greater for getting lucky.

When you give people the tools to make the right decisions—and everyone understands the core values—they always do the right thing.

The millennial generation is loyal to companies that are loyal to them.

If all you’re telling people is to work hard and trust us, the quality of work you’re after is not going to get to the level you want to achieve.

Business people need to listen at least as much as they need to talk. Too many people fail to realize that real communication goes in both directions.

Good listeners spend more energy than nonlisteners; they burn more calories and feel tired after listening well to another person or people.

Poor listening skills not only eat away at relationships, they also have a negative effect on decision making, implementation, and innovation.

As you become a senior leader, it’s a lot less about convincing people and more about benefiting from complex information and getting the best out of the people you work with.

The key is making yourself open to the possibility that information can and will come from almost anywhere.

Observation is another form of listening.

The quality of listening is governed by the intention behind it.

Good stewardship is about responsible management and ethical standards that are in sync with the concerns of all the constituents who are important to your business.

Great leaders are loyal to what works for the whole company and for all good employees.

True loyalty is investing in the people and ideas that are going to help everyone prosper and grow.

Execution-related skills — skills like persistence, efficiency, and being proactive — were the most important indicator of the most successful CEOs.

A good manager should spend 90 percent of his time listening and only 10 percent speaking.

Loyalty has a lot more to do with how well companies deliver on their basic, even plain-vanilla promises than on how dazzling the service experience might be.

Loyalty is built on the little things that you don’t really notice when they’re present, but that you do notice when they’re missing.

The most resonant and effective acts of customer service are the basics that make the customer’s life easier.

Understanding what makes your customers happy and what they care about is one of the easiest, yet most forgotten pillars of customer service.

What little things can you do to make a customer feel treasured?

Customer service is no longer about telling people how great you are. It’s about producing amazing moments in time and letting those moments become the focal point of how amazing you are, told not by you, but by the customer you thrilled.

“The competitor to be feared is one who never bothers about you at all, but goes on making his own business better all the time.” (Henry Ford)

Giving a damn goes beyond stewardship — it’s bringing personal integrity to your professional obligations.

Turning down the easy buck to instead do the right thing is one of the hardest choices we have to make.

The role of a leader is to define reality and give hope.

You can’t get the best out of people if your corporate values do not match the way they would live at home.

A person who is nice to you but rude to the waiter is not a nice person.

Eight tips for managing Gen Y and Millennial sales reps

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Managing a multi-generational sales floor isn’t easy to begin with, but many of the sales leaders we work with tell us that the younger reps – those classified as Millennial or Generation Y – might be the most distinct of those they work with on a regular basis.

Of course, it’s difficult to generalize characteristics to everybody in a common age group, but the sales leaders who have most successfully driven productivity and results from their younger sales floor have followed these best practices and guidelines.

1. Plan on giving them more of your time than the older reps
Most older sales reps like to be given their marching orders and left alone. They’ll come find you when they need you. Younger reps need more attention. They want to be checked in on more regularly, and will likely ask for more of your 1:1 time to talk through frustrations, ideas, challenges, etc. This may mean over time that your traditional manager-to-rep ratios need to shrink a bit.

2. Reward more with experiences than things
Research across age groups has shown that younger adults value experiences (trips, lunches and other non-tangible benefits) vs. physical prizes. This is especially important to keep in mind when planning sales floor contests and incentive programs.

3. Play to their ego (within reason)
Plan on more frequently praising them for their efforts. Don’t go overboard, and don’t create a monster, but find opportunities to regularly encourage them based on their activity, pipeline production and closed business. Celebrate their successes big and small, with them individually and as a group.

4. Create a fun, expressive environment
Encourage your younger reps to customize their cubicles, consider the occasional themed dress-up day, and other sales floor elements that let your reps express themselves. There’s a fine line between allowing this to impact productivity positively and negatively, but it’s something that could mean the difference between high and low rep turnover as well.

5. Be strict about hours
With flexibility in other areas, you can be strict about a handful of things and hours should be one of them. Clearly allow reps to come in early and stay late, but make it clear when you expect them to arrive each day, and when the work day ends. Exceptions can always be made for doctor appointments and the like, but clear work hours help employ a level of discipline and expectations in between the other, more flexible elements.

6. Find trusted, older mentors who can help them (and you)
Although there may be a generation gap, your older reps (especially those who are successful month after month) have a lot to teach the new reps. Find those willing to take others under their wing, formally or informally. This will also take some of the pressure off your managers and distribute coaching opportunities to other qualified people on the floor.

7. Don’t restrict social site access
Your reps will just spend more time finding ways around it, and it’s a sign that you don’t trust them. If you have a rep you don’t trust, you probably shouldn’t have them working for you anyway. And further, the opportunity to engage prospective customers across social sites is enormous and growing.

8. Hire for characteristics, train for sales skills
Younger reps, by definition, aren’t going to have a lot of sales experience. And the sales process and/or methodology you use is likely going to be new to them anyway. Look instead for reps who share your values, and who have the baseline characteristics to be successful salespeople.

Curious to hear what others have learned and done to manage younger sales reps in your organization.

Five keys to choosing a better tagline

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By Meghan Bardwell, marketing coordinator and whiskey aficionado at Heinz Marketing

Choosing a tagline for your company or marketing campaign can be a beast of a project. It’s like taking an angry, fluffy cat and trying to shove it into a small box (I don’t know why you’d try, but I bet it’d be difficult). Or like choosing just one subject line to use for every single email you send out.

In one short line, you need define who your company is, as well as communicate how a customer will benefit from your services or product. Plus, you need to create a line that’s memorable. The last thing you want to do is blend in with your competitors.

So, no pressure, right? Here some simple steps to help you organize your thoughts and get the ideas flowing:

1. Clearly identify customer benefits
What do you want your customers to get out of your product/services? Will their workforce productivity go up? Will your program help them measure sales results more effectively? Find what makes your product/service a must-have.

2. Determine why you’re different than the other guys
Do you have faster delivery? Are your products absolutely dependable? Do you always complete projects on time? Find the characteristics that make you shine.

3. Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm
After you’ve defined customer benefits and how your company stands out from the rest, schedule time to brainstorm taglines. This is the time to find a quiet spot and write down any line that pops into your head. Seriously. Don’t judge your ideas yet—just try to get as many down as you can. Think of the craziest line that you’d never use in a million years; it just might spark another idea. Bouncing ideas off a partner can also be helpful.

4. Narrow down and refine
At this point, you should have a long list of awesome to terrible ideas. NOW it’s time to critique. Cross out the taglines you hate. Circle the ones you like. When you’re done, find the best of the best and refine them. Take two ideas and marry them together. Keep in mind that it should communicate your customer benefits and/or unique characteristics in some way. If you have a couple great lines that you can’t decide between, get your coworkers’ feedback. Have a vote, and may the best line win.

5. Sit back and enjoy a (insert beverage of your choice)
You’ve kept your brain hard at work trying to come up with a tagline, and finally have one that makes your company or campaign stand out from the pack. Now it’s time to reward your effort.

Scotch, anyone?

Matt’s App of the Week: Tweet Old Post

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This is the latest in a series of weekend posts highlighting a wide variety of applications we think are pretty cool. Most have to do with sales, marketing and productivity. Check out past featured apps here.

If you use WordPress for your blog and have a great backlist of content, set it free!

Get the free Tweet Old Post plug-in for WordPress, and it’ll automatically go in and retweet your old content on a frequency of your choosing. You can tell it to only pull content from a particular date range, to avoid content with certain keywords, categories or tags, and also customize some standard copy to go before or after the headline and link (like “From the archives”).

Great way to drive more discovery and traffic to your old but still relevant content.