Author Archives: Howard Sewell

eBook Review: Marketo's Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing

Do a quick Web search on “lead nurturing” these days, and you’ll find plenty of high-level, strategic content on the “whys” – how nurturing can improve demand generation ROI, increase conversion rates, accelerate sales cycles, recycle long-discarded prospects, etc. What’s far less common and much needed, however, is practical advice… Read More

Why Free Trial Offers Aren’t Always the Best Choice

There’s a great article (and not just because I’m quoted) in this week’s Demand Generation Report describing how marketers are actively seeking alternatives to the free trial offer. As I say in the article, free trials have become popular – too popular, in my opinion – as offers, because they’re… Read More

Novell Webinar Invitation Needs a New Approach

As I have often lectured in this space, much of what makes for an effective email has less to do with deliverability, mobile compatibility, social media functionality, and all the technical bells and whistles that most people fret about, and more about basic direct response principles such as a strong… Read More

Great New Resource for B2B Marketers – B2B Marketing Zone

Here’s a new site to head for when you’re looking for the latest insight, news, or tips on B2B Marketing. B2B Marketing Zone was launched earlier this month by a pair of Web entrepreneurs, Tony Karrer (BrowseMyStuff) and Tom Pick (WebMarketCentral). B2B Marketing Zone is designed to be a one-stop… Read More

Lead Gen: Don’t Go for the Quick Sale

Here’s an interesting post by Mike Damphousse of Green Leads that I found through Funnelholic (thanks Craig) on how lead nurturing impacts the effectiveness of calling campaigns designed to secure qualified sales appointments. The conclusion, not surprisingly: that prospects who have been nurtured over time are much more likely (by… Read More

Demandbase: Converting More Web Visitors into Leads

An average conversion rate for a B2B landing page, if you believe the people who claim to measure such things, is around 4 percent. Conversion rates for organic traffic to a corporate Website may be as high as 10 percent or more. But even at those lofty standards, fully 90… Read More

Top 5 Lead Management Excuses

According to a recent industry survey by Demand Gen Report , fewer than 10% of marketing executives who responded have automated lead nurturing strategies and processes in place. Furthermore, only 15% of those same respondents planned to deploy or expand their lead management initiatives in 2009. As someone who sees… Read More