An Interview with Carlos Hidalgo, Annuitas Group, one of the "50 Most Influential Sales Lead Management Professionals"
Company URL http://www.annuitasgroup.com
Who are your mentors and why?
I have had the good fortune of having many good people in my career that I was able to learn from and who gave me the opportunities to grow in my career. Two people in particular that come to mind
are Randy Aronis and Jeff Honeycomb. Randy is the President of Ingenuity Sales Consulting and he and I met at the beginning of my career. Randy was the one who truly taught me what it was to manage a
buyer relationship and how to sell effectively with the buyer at the center of the process. Jeff Honeycomb was the President of the Service Management Business Unit of McAfee and gave me ample
opportunity to develop a lead management practice within the business. In addition he continued to, provide me with great advice and inputs as we proceeded in its development.
What is the most helpful advice you've received to improve your business?
We have a phrase internally which ...
Are Marketing Managers Victims of Learned Helplessness?
How do Marketing Managers breakout from being LMH Victims?
The condition called Learned Helplessness, was discovered and popularized by psychologist Martin Seligman. He found that when he placed dogs into an inescapable environment and administered electric shocks the dog will eventually stop trying to escape. If the dog was placed into an environment where it could escape and given shocks it would not try to escape. It learned to give-up. This discovery has had a major impact on human psychology.
This same issue stalks the lives of marketing and marketing communications managers the world over. In most instances they have been placed into an environment where they have been taught it is futile to prove the return on investment for lead generating activities. After time passes they quit trying to prove an ROI for their programs and suffer the consequences of Learned Marketing Helplessness.
Even, unfortunately, when they change jobs and have full access to prove the ROI for lead generation, because of their "Learned Marketing Helplessness", they don’t try to escape the confines ...
<< MORE >>Sales & Marketing Management and the SLMA Partner on a New Business Social Networking Site for the Industry
New York (January 19, 2010)—In partnership with the Sales Lead Management Association (SLMA), Sales & Marketing Management (SMM) launched SMMConnect.com, a new social media and networking community exclusively geared toward sales and marketing professionals.
Registration is open to everyone—sales and marketing executives and association members, students, and suppliers—and is completely free. Members are encouraged to create their own profiles; network and find mentors; form discussion or chat groups; share content and best practices; take part in and/or present educational Webcasts, including those from SMM and the SLMA; and download exclusive research, case studies, white papers, event handouts, and articles from SMM, the SLMA, and other industry experts.
The site also features exclusive complimentary online training tools and other widgets that can be customized for member organizations, as well as SMM Rewards Exchange, powered by CorporateRewardsXchange.com, which offers prices below major retailers’ from leading brands for sales performance rewards, engagement and motivation solutions, and business gifts.
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<< MORE >>SLMA Announces Winners in the "50 Most Influential Sales Lead Management List for 2009"
James W. Obermayer, executive director of the Sales Lead Management Association has announced the results of the voting for the Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management in 2009. A total of 1604 people cast votes.
Obermayer said, "These men and women are creators of wealth and we recognize their contribution to this important field of managing sales leads." The list of the Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management in 2009 follows in the order of most votes received.
Jay Hidalgo, The Annuitas Group
Carlos Hidalgo, The Annuitas Group
Steven Woods, Eloqua
Joe Lethert, Performark, Inc.
Lisa Cramer, LeadLife Solutions
Joel Book, ExactTarget
Scott Dorsey, ExactTarget
Jill Konrath, Selling to Big Companies
Marc Benioff, salesforce.com
Patrick Cahill, Rally Point Webinars
Mary Dedrick, Performark, Inc.
Trish Bertuzzi, The Bridge Group, Inc.
Brian Carroll, InTouch
Margery Murphy, Acadia Lead Management Services
Russell Kern, The Kern Organization
M.H. "Mac" McIntosh, Mac McIntosh, Inc.
Phil Fernandez, Marketo
Andrew Gaffney, Demand Gen Report & G3 Communications
Gerhard Gschwandtner, Selling Power
Ruth Stevens, eMarketing Strategy
Dan McDade, PointClear
Jim Steele salesforce.com
Victor Kippes, Validar, Inc.
Dan Rogers, SmartLead by the AdTrack Corporation
John Coe, B2B Marketing
John Foley, InterlinkONE
Ellis Booker, BtoB Magazine
James Wong, Avidian Technologies
Larry Augustin, SugarCRM
Richard Erschik, Leads to Sales, Inc.
Howard J. Sewell, Connect Direct
Fred Yee, Active Conversion
John Doerr, Wellesly Hills Group
Mack Manning, PST Sales and Marketing
Frank van Veenendaal, salesforce.com
Michael A. Brown, Business to Business by Phone
Eric Edwards, Rubicon Marketing Group
Bob Fernekees, CRM Magazine
Susan Friedmann, The Trade Show Coach
Laura McGuire. SmartTracks, Inc.
Patty Azzarello, Azzarello Group
Gil Cargill, Cargill Consulting Group
Bob Felsenthal, Crain Communications
James Cecil, Nurture Institute
James Lenskold, Lenskold Group
Bill Rice, Kaleidico
Dick Damrow, Contract Marketing Resources
Tom Judge, Direct Marketing Partners
Rick Kean, Business Marketing Institute
Tom Quinn, Mailing and Fulfillment Services Organization
Voting Ends in 48 hours for the 50 Most Influential People In Sales Lead Management
James W. Obermayer, the executive director said that the Top 50 List will be determined by the number of votes received by each nominee. Nearly 1500 people have voted and cast an average of 3 votes each (5 votes each are acceptable). Vote now.
The nominees are:
Larry Augustin, SurgarCRM
Patty Azzarello, Azzarello Group
Marc Benioff, SalesForce.com
Trish Bertuzzi, The Bridge Group, Inc.
Joel Book, Exact Target
Elils Booker, BtoB Magazine
Michel A. Brown, Business to Business by Phone
Patrick Cahill, Rally Point Webinars
Gil Cargil Cargil , Consulting Group
Brian Carroll, InTouch
James Cecil , Nurture Institute
John Coe, B2B Marketing
Joyceann Cooney-Garippa, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
Lisa Cramer, Lead Life Solutions
Dick Damrow, Contract Marketing Resources
Mary Dedrick, Performark, Inc.
John Doerr, Wellesley Hills Group
Scott Dorsey, Exact Target
Eric Edwards, Rubicon Marketing Group
Richard Erschilk, Leads to Sales, Inc.
Bob Felsenthal, Crain Communications
Phil Fernandez, Marketo
...<< MORE >>Determining Where a Lead Is In the Buying Process
One thing we know with certainty is that all leads are not created equal, making lead scoring crucial for marketers so they can determine prospect readiness and take appropriate action at the right time. Increasingly, automation is key since spreadsheets and calculators can no longer do the job given the volume of leads and their varying sources, interactions and demographics. Marketers don’t have time to track leads and crunch complex numbers while also crafting innovative product campaigns.
Similarly, metrics used to track and evaluate marketing programs must change, since today a simple “hit” on a website might mean far less than a combination of hits or other actions by the same prospect over time.
This isn’t to say that metrics regarding hits on websites are unimportant, or that you shouldn’t track email clicks. However, they are no longer the endpoint; instead they are just the beginning of real marketing analytics used to determine where each lead is in the buying process, and how to respond.
As marketers, we must change how we track and score prospect behavior to determine when a lead is truly a lead and ready to be passed to sales. As part of this, we must also identify ways to nurture early leads into “sales ready” buyers. What this means is that marketing must be able to recognize which leads are ripe and which still need time on the vine—then grow those leads accordingly.
Lead scoring helps make an accurate determination of how ripe each lead really is.
Lisa Cramer is president and co-founder of LeadLife Solutions, a provider of on-demand lead management software that generates, scores, and nurtures leads for B2B marketers. For more information on lead management or best practices call 1-800-680-6292 or email info@leadlife.com.
Voting is Strong for the 50 Most Influential People In Sales Lead Management
Voting for the "50 Most influential People in Sales Lead Management" has reached nearly 1,000 voters who have cast an average of 3 votes (you can vote for up to five people).
In the first week of voting, 964 people voted on the SLMA site. Voting is open until the end of business on November 13th. Membership in the SLMA has exceeded 1805 plus 1034 in the SLMA Linkedin Group.
To vote click here.
Three new articles were posted this week in the Social Media/Networking part of the Resources Section.
Why Social Media is Just Like Sex - by Jamie Turner, The 60 Second Marketer
The Top 13 Social Media Tools for Salespeople - by Jamie Turner, The 60 Second Marketer
Which Social Media Tool Will Be The First To Become Irrelevant? - by Jamie Turner, The 60 Second Marketer
New advertisers and sponsors on the SLMA site include Blitz Lead Manager and SalesForce.com.
...<< MORE >>Sales Lead Management Association Voting is Open for the 50 Most Influential List In Sales Lead Management
Los Angeles, CA - - Oct 26, 2009--James W. Obermayer, executive director of the Sales Lead Management Association (SLMA), announced today that the association has opened the virtual voting booth to determine the 50 most influential people in the field of sales lead management for 2009.
SLMA co-founder Susan Campanale said "Members and non-members may vote for nominees listed on the SLMA site on October 26th. The results will be published on November 16, 2009. Voters may cast votes for up to five nominees; duplicates are not allowed. Mark Friedman, EVP of the SLMA said, "We consider all of those nominated to be builders of wealth and we recognize them for their contributions."
Obermayer said that the Top 50 List will be determined by the number of votes received by each nominee. The nominees are:
Larry Augustin SurgarCRM
Patty Azzarello Azzarello Group
Marc Benioff SalesForce.com
Trish Bertuzzi The Bridge Group, Inc.
Joel Book Exact Target
Eills Booker BtoB Magazine
Michel A. Brown Business to Business by Phone
Patrick Cahill Wellesley Hills Group
Gil Cargil Cargil Consulting Group
Brian Carroll InTouch
James Cecil Nurture Institute
John Coe B2B Marketing
Joyceann Cooney-Garippa Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
...<< MORE >>Sales Lead Management Association Extends Nominations Until October 23rd!
The SLMA announced that it will extend the process for nominating people to the 50 Most Influential List for sales lead management for 2009 to Friday, October 23rd. Voting will begin on Monday, October 26th. Susan Campanale, VP of Marketing said, "It gives members more time to nominate worthy individuals. Members must login to the SLMA site and from the home page go to the nomination form. We are surprised that more individuals on the client site and agency people are not as well represented so far."
Maximizing the Value of Your Lead Generation Dollars
Pressures are mounting on companies to maximize marketing ROI. In other words, the money spent on lead generation should show a strong return related to sales revenue. This money should be evaluated so it is continually applied to the highest yielding program(s). To do this, marketers must gain visibility into individual programs to determine the number and quality of leads they generate, and how many ultimately transform into closed sales.
But the issue doesn’t stop there. Increasing the value of lead generation dollars also means ensuring the leads being handed to costly sales resources are indeed “sales ready.” According to CSO Insights’ Sales Performance Optimization Study (2008), salespeople are generating 50% of their own leads. That’s an expensive proposition and raises the question – what is marketing doing?
It’s clear marketers must find ways to track and manage leads through the lead life cycle. This requires the ability to evaluate leads, determine when leads are “sales ready,” and when they are not. Additionally, marketers must take responsibility to nurture those leads that aren’t “sales ready” to maximize the value of what they’ve spent on lead generation dollars.
Industry benchmarks suggest that leads must be continuously “touched” before they close. About 80% of leads close after 5 contacts and sometimes it’s closer to 9-11 touches. If you’re assuming the value of lead generation dollars comes from one email blast or a month of AdWords, you’re not on the right track to understanding how to increase value. Nurturing leads (through multiple touches) as part of lead generation programs will increase the return of dollars.
Lisa Cramer is president and co-founder of LeadLife Solutions, a provider of on-demand lead management software that generates, scores, and nurtures leads for B2B marketers. For more information on lead management or best practices call 1-800-680-6292 or email info@leadlife.com.
Nominations Closing October 17th for the 50 Most Influential List in Sales Lead Management
As a member of the SLMA, you and only you, can nominate a deserving person for consideration as one of the 50 most influential people in sales lead management in 2009.
Go to the SLMA site, sign in with your membership, and nominate a worthy individual. The list of nominees will be published and voting will begin on October 19th. The Top 50 list will be published in mid-December.
Regards,
James Obermayer
Executive Director
...<< MORE >>
Nominations are being taken for the 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management
Nominations: SLMA members may nominate one or more professional individuals until October 17th, the end of Sales Lead Management Week. Nominations are only accepted from SLMA members, however, nonmembers may nominate someone once they join SLMA (membership is free).
Voting: Any member or non-member may vote for candidates which will be listed on the SLMA site on October 19th. The 50 Most Influential Sales Lead Management Professionals’ List will be published on December 15, 2009.
Mark Friedman, SLMA’s executive vice president, said "We expect nominations for individuals in CRM, marketing automation, sales lead software, sales force automation, telemarketing, direct marketing, and database management firms, as well as lead management firms, consultants and authors. We are also accepting nominations for managers in companies who do an extraordinary job in managing their company's assets called sales leads. The rules for nomination are posted at the SLMA site."
Nominations taken until October 17th.
Voting Begins October 19th.
Winners announced December 19th.
SLMA Seeks Nominations for First Annual ‘50 Most Influential Sales Lead Management Professionals’ List
September 1, 2009--Los Angeles, CA--James W. Obermayer, executive director of the Sales Lead Management Association (SLMA), announced today that the association is calling for world-wide nominations of the 50 most influential people in the field of sales lead management for 2009.
SLMA co-founder Susan Campanale said "This list will be created in a two-stage process: nominations and voting.
• Nominations: SLMA members may nominate one or more professional individuals for consideration until October 17th, 2009, the end of Sales Lead Management Week. Nominations are accepted from SLMA members only. However, nonmembers may nominate someone once they join SLMA, and membership is currently free.
• Voting: Any member or non-member may vote for candidates listed on the SLMA site on October 19th. The ‘50 Most Influential Sales Lead Management Professionals’ List will be published on December 15, 2009.
Mark Friedman, SLMA’s executive vice president, said "We expect nominations for individuals in CRM, marketing automation, sales lead software, sales force automation, telemarketing, direct marketing, and database management firms, as well as lead management firms, consultants and authors. The rules for nomination are posted at the ...<< MORE >>
Why Direct Marketing Causes Executives to Lose Their Marbles
Many marketers, reluctant to miss any avenue of opportunity, define their target as broadly as possible and in so doing miss the chance to convincingly address the most potent prospects. A typical example is a company that perceives its target market to be the Fortune 1,000. That group is actually comprised of several thousand revenue reporting companies – some with centralized and some with de-centralized decision making. While is sounds contradictory, I recommend that companies identify the largest, most targeted markets to make sure that they have a tightly defined universe, but with no gaps and then build contacts and contact information around those targets for multi-touch, multi-media and multi-cycle prospect development programs (covered in detail later in this book).
Companies that more quickly see the value proposition of a vendor’s product, whether due to immediate business pains or because they are looking to enhance their own capabilities, respond at higher levels than others. So it makes sense to identify segments of the market and market to them specifically. ...<< MORE >>
Don't Blame the Economy: Don't Be A Victim!
Unfortunately, individuals and companies feel that with all of the negatives this is not the time to spend money on marketing and sales. Actually, business analysts will tell you that at times like this it is imperative to invest in aggressive marketing, and fine-tune the sales process to find out what programs are working and which ones aren’t. This is when you must have a system in place to make sure you get the best bang for your buck.
LEADTRACK has been in the sales lead management business for 30 years and it is shocking that from 1979 to 2009 several figures remain constants in business annals…
•More than 50% of qualified leads are never worked by sales
•Less than 50% of a sales persons time is spent selling
•80% of trade show leads are ...<< MORE >>
Attributes of a Well-Qualified Lead
Dan McDade, President of PointClear will pubish his thoughts on lead management subjects several times a quarter. He is also on the SLMA Advisory Board.
Attributes of a Well-Qualified Lead
By Dan McDade
There is a lot of talk about "BANT" in the marketplace today. "BANT" stands for budget, authority, need and timeframe; and there are some managers specifying that each element of "BANT" must be satisfied in order for a sales opportunity to be truly qualified. I don't actually believe in this practice, and I'm hopeful that you will agree with me.
For many if not most "enterprise deals" (or "the complex sale") it is not at all unusual for budget to be worked out during the sales process and via the use of a business case. If you prequalify for budget in those cases
—you will find no leads. Similarly, the lack of a specific timeframe should not necessarily disqualify a prospect. If you find a decision-maker (real authority) with addressable pain, timeframe can be accelerated with analysis and a compelling business case.That being said, there are ideal criteria for highly qualified sales opportunities and ...<< MORE >>
Two New Services: Twice Monthly News and Podcasts
- A twice a month news service for items that pertain to inquiry management subjects. If I hear of it and it is interesting I will publish it. These appear as "Top of the News" listings.
- Podcasts: These are short 2-3 minute podcasts (the first entries are from Matt Hill of the Hill Group). More will come as others volunteer their wisdom (Is that you?)
Jim Obermayer
...<< MORE >>BMA Sales Lead Round Table
As a thought leader in the B2B Sales Lead Generation and Lead Management community, I wanted to submit this notice and invitation to the new "Sales Lead Roundtable" being sponsored by the Business Marketing Association of Northern California. It will be running the first Thursday of each month, from 8:30am to approx 9:30 or 10:00am depending on the content. The breakfast meeting site is the Scott's Restaurant in Palo Alto where there is always room. Directions are on the web page.
I want to invite you to attend and get involved with this non-partisan interactive round table with no vendor pitches allowed. We'll be addressing all the hot topics related to end-to-end sales lead generation and their management. We'll be exchanging ideas on issues from some high profile silicon valley firms and their thought leaders. Here is the link.
http://norcalbma.org/programs/SalesLead_html
I know that the participants would enjoy you attending, so please come. And by all means, broadcast this to your friends and colleagues that would benefit.
In summary, I promise the content will always be relevant, on message and definitely linked to revenues.
Tom Judge
BMA Sales Lead Roundtable Moderator ...<< MORE >>
What movie did these actors play in?
Al Pacino - Ricky Roma
Jack Lemmon - Shelley Levene
Ed Harris - Dave Moss
Alan Arkin - George Aaronow
Kevin Spacey - John Williamson
Alec Baldwin - Blake
Hint: the most famous quotes of the movie are:
Blake: A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing.
_________________
Blake: Put. That coffee. Down. [pause]
Blake: Coffee's for closers only.
__________________
Blake: We're adding a little something to this month's sales contest. As you all know, first prize is a Cadillac Eldorado. Anybody want to see second prize?
[Holds up prize]
Blake: Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired.
______________
Blake:.... you got the prospects coming in. You think they came in to get out of the rain? A guy don't walk on the lot lest he wants to buy. They're sitting out there waiting to give you their money. Are you gonna take it? Are you man enough to take it?
This was probably the most profane movie ever made with some of the best known actors in the world and the subject of the movie was _________.
Tell us the name of the movie, what the subject ...<< MORE >>
