Inc. Magazine, the granddaddy of publications for entrepreneurs, is a large, well-respected publication with a tremendous amount of print and online content. Yet, according to a conference speaker at a recent media event, the number of full-time editors on staff producing all this work may surprise you: three! In fact, as trade and business publications continue to evolve, more are relying on contributing writers and guest authors than ever – a great opportunity for positioning yourself as an expert! For nearly every industry, your leading publications are welcoming guest bloggers and contributing authors who are willing to commit the time and have something constructive to say. It’s the PR professional’s dream opportunity to generate prime content on leading and authoritative industry sites.
Archive for July, 2012
Where Have All The Editors Gone?
Tuesday, July 31st, 2012Things About Lead Conversion We Learned in School…
Tuesday, July 17th, 2012We all learned a few basics about lead conversion (such as creating true “opportunities,” not just leads) long ago, but we forget them occasionally over time. We came away from a recent B2B Lead Conversion Roundtable with a few updates on what leading organizations are doing today:
Respond quickly to sales inquiries – within 5 minutes.
Be persistent – it often takes eight or more call attempts to get through. Two to three tries probably won’t be effective at uncovering opportunities.
Use LinkedIn to research who you are calling before placing the call.
Use split testing of voicemail messages. Just as with the A/B testing we do with paid search, develop two scripts for your voicemail message and track the call-back rates on both versions.
Capture direct dial numbers in your lead forms. If you dial a direct number when following up a lead, your response rate will be 300% higher than when calling a general number.
Call at the best times of the day – you are 150% more likely to reach someone between 8:00 and 9:00 am and between 4:00 and 5:00 pm than during other times. You are 80% more likely to contact someone on a Wednesday or Thursday.
Call first, then follow up with an email – that’s the best contact sequence scenario.
Make sure you are showing up as a local phone number on the recipient’s caller ID display if you can. Blocked ID numbers are not effective.
Amphibian Analytics: The fine art of jumping to (the wrong) conclusions
Monday, July 2nd, 2012“Note to readers: this is a parable. No frogs were hurt in the writing of this story!”
Years ago, a curious scientist decided he would study a particular group of amphibians to see what it was that allowed them to jump so well. After several days of study, he decided to take his experiments to the next level. He selected one of the more lively specimens and placed it on the end of the table.
“Jump frog! Jump!”
Immediately, the frog leapt clear across the table.
“Very nice!” he said and scribbled a few notes in his experiments log book.
Grabbing the frog, he proceeded to remove the left front leg with a scalpel. After tending to the frog’s open wound, he again placed the critter at the edge of the table.
“Jump frog! Jump!”
Although the frog didn’t make it to the other side of the table, the jump was still rather impressive. The studious scientist jotted down a few more lines in his journal.
Once more, he grabbed the little amphibian and removed the other front leg. Again, he placed the little fellow at the edge of the table.
“Jump frog! Jump!”
Again, the frog managed to jump a reasonable distance across the rectangular table, but not quite as far.
“Hmmm, interesting,” the scientist mumbled, penning more words into his rather copious notes. Clearly, he was getting somewhere.
This time, the scientist removed the left rear leg, bandaged the wound, and placed the frog as he had the previous times.
“Jump frog! Jump!” he bellowed loudly.
Although the effort was clearly visible, the little frog could only manage about a third of the table, flopping sideways, landing dangerously close to the edge of the table.
“Fascinating!” He attacked the notebook with a couple paragraphs on his observations.
Finally, the scientist removed the right rear leg of the frog.
“Jump frog! Jump!”
Nothing.
“Jump frog! Jump!” he commanded.
The frog didn’t move.
After several additional demands that the frog make another jump, the frog remained motionless on the table. After sufficient time had passed, the scientist returned to his notebook and scribbled the following: “After the removal of the last remaining leg, subject frog suddenly goes deaf and no longer responds to verbal commands.”
How does this story apply to the analytics behind your marketing automation efforts?
Ask yourself: When I look at the data, what do I see? Is it possible I’m missing the obvious? What don’t I see that I should because I’m too close to the data? Might there be some valuable information that is missing, information that would change or improve my view of progress?
Like the scientist in this little story, it is all too easy to head down the right path, but jump to the wrong conclusion, even when our approach and methods are reasonably thorough.
