B2B Reads: Keep It Real, Corporate Retreats, and Leaders As Athletes

In addition to our Sunday App of the Week feature, we also summarize some of our favorite B2B sales & marketing posts from around the web each week. We’ll miss a ton of great stuff, so if you found something you think is worth sharing please add it to the comments below.

Keep It Real: How to Not Over-Automate Email Sequences
In email marketing, there’s a fine line between annoying and intriguing. This article will help you stay on the right side of that line. Thank you, George Rowlands, for the great insight.

More Stuff B2B Marketing Needs to Break
Break the personalization assumption, the “If I don’t like it, they won’t like it” evaluation process, the illusion of control, and more. To evolve, we must learn to let go of the tried and true as it becomes less relevant and be willing to break B2B marketing assumptions and processes. Thank you for the recommendations, Ardath Albee.

How Effective Are Sales Reps in a Virtual Environment?
Check out the results from this study done to see how effective sellers are in connecting with buyers during virtual presentations, how effective reps are at facilitating virtual meetings, selling in virtual environments and more. Thanks for insight and feedback, Barry Trailer.

4 Ways to Protect Your Time and Avoid Burnout in an Always-On World
For those new to working from home, working remotely has further blurred the lines between our personal and professional lives, leading to increased levels of burnout, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness. But despite all of the challenges people have experienced over the past year, one bright spot has emerged: the value of time. Thank you, Ally Summers for helpful tips to a better work-life balance.

Corporate Retreats Are Now A Must
Corporate Retreats go from “nice to have” to “must have” in this remote work era. The pandemic showed that most white-collar employees can get their work done outside of an office, but a company’s culture will wither without occasional face-to-face time. Thank you for the great read, Bryan Walsh.

When Should You Use a Hybrid Event?
5 scenarios to consider when organizing a hybrid event. When done well, a hybrid format can extend the reach of an event, enhance a brand’s messaging and collect a wealth of audience insights that can help accelerate a buying journey. Thanks for the helpful tips, Michael Mayday.

When Your Nerves Get the Best of You, Change the Narrative
Here are three strategies used to turn nerve-wracking situations into meaningful experiences. Thank you, Francesca Gino, for the helpful tips.

AI-Generated Content: Friend or Foe for Content Creators?
You no longer need a strict set of rules and parameters for AI-creators to do quality content, but it’s not as intelligent as you think. Thank you, Inbar Yagur, for the great insight.

Five Useful Questions
They might be difficult to answer, but your project will benefit from it. Thank you, Seth Godin for the great read.

Leaders as Athletes
For both athletes and leaders, sustaining performance throughout an intense season requires careful planning and consistent execution. Here are 8 strategies to help create the foundation for optimal leadership performance. Thanks for the great read, LeadingWell.