Marketing Articles: Sales

Access thousands of our sales online marketing resources here. Select any of the popular topics below to narrow your search. Get unlimited access to all of our exclusive marketing resources. Go PRO Today

Go PRO Now

Get unlimited access to all of our exclusive marketing resources

Seven Tips for More-Profitable Direct Mail in Today's Economy

by Dean Rieck

Sales
If you create or manage direct mail programs, the current economy probably has you pulling your hair out. Now is the perfect time to get back to basics and remind yourself of the following seven core principles of direct marketing. more
What to Do When a Customer Isn't Ready to Buy Today

Sales
"Every time you try to do web research, it seems like you are immediately bombarded by salespeople looking to close a deal," writes Mark Price at B2Bbloggers. "It does not matter if you are investigating an accounting package, marketing automation, health insurance or just a copier, you get the same ... more
Get 'Em While They're Hot: Six Ways to Maximize Lead Conversion

by Sammy James

Sales
Are you increasing your inbound leads? What happens once you get them? Without successful conversion, leads are essentially useless. Here are six steps that'll immediately increase your lead-conversion rates. more
Opportunity Calls: How to Effectively Capture Mobile Marketing Conversions

by Kathleen Colan

Sales
Smartphone use is exploding, providing new opportunities to connect and engage with target audiences. Learn how to optimize your mobile marketing campaigns, and effectively track and record mobile conversions. more
CMOs Ramping Up Budgets, but Accountability Is Key

Sales
Marketing budgets are on the rise again: 57% of senior-level marketers say they are increasing their overall marketing spend in 2011; among them, most (26%) plan to increase budgets between 1% and 5%, according to the CMO Council's State of Marketing Report. more
What to Do When the Buyer Wants the Status Quo

Sales
There's a good chance your typical B2B customer works in a state of constant overload: too many emails, too many meetings and too much buzzing in her ears. It doesn't matter if your product or service would instantly improve her business and lower her costs—she doesn't have the time or ... more
Lead Nurturing: What Can It Do For You? [Slide Show]

by Elle Woulfe

Sales
Marketing automation facilitates real-time, one-to-one conversations with prospects based on their actions. But before you automate, be sure to tackle these four elements to maximize your lead-nurturing efforts. more
Four Simple Ways to Increase Website Conversion Rates

by Jason Hennessey

Sales
Want to improve your website's conversion rate? First, you'll need a professionally designed website that's been built with SEO in mind. Then, use these four tips to boost conversions and turn your visitors into customers. more
How to Find and Target Your Ideal Prospects on the Web

by John Leavy

Sales
Wouldn't it be good to know who your ideal prospects are before sending out emails, newsletters, tweets, or Facebook fan-page invites? Learn how to identify, find, and market to the right customers. more
How to Sell Ad Space on Your Website

by David Murton

Sales
If you have a website that gets a good deal of traffic but generates no money, placing ads on your site may be the key to success. Learn how ad type, placement, and location can boost your website revenue. more
How to Make the 'Nudge Effect' Work for You

Sales
"You may be frustrated with unopened emails and low clickthroughs, but be reassured that even if your subscribers don't open your email, its presence in their inbox leads to a tangible impact on brand awareness and sales via online and other channels," writes Dela Quist in a classic issue of ... more
Want Sophisticated Real-Time Marketing Campaigns? Take These Five Steps

by Joshua Smith

Sales
How can you engage customers via real-time marketing? Marketers are adopting technology that can help recognize a customer's interests and provide actionable intelligence in real-time to any customer channel. more
More Brands Using Social Networking to Win New Business

Sales
More brands are using social networking to win new business: 43% of US companies say they are successfully using social networks to find new customers, up 8 percentage points from the 35% that reported doing so a year earlier, according to a survey from Regus. more
How Mini-Stories Can Help Buyers Reject the Status Quo... and Embrace You

by Michael Harris

Sales
Stories are how we make sense of the world. Learn how telling mini-stories will allow buyers to take your offering for a virtual mental test drive, to accept change—and to reject the status quo. more
How to Recapture Lost Leads and Turn Them Into Clients

Sales
"We have found that a large number of companies allow unfulfilled leads to fall into a great abyss, never to be contacted again," writes Mike Neumeier at the Arketi Group blog. He suggests that companies take another approach—and apply the principles of nurture marketing to lost leads and "recapture unfulfilled sales ... more
Is Tradeshow Marketing Dead? 12 Tips to Resuscitate a Classic Lead-Gen Tactic

by Bob Hebeisen

Sales
Many have pronounced tradeshow marketing dead. But with the right strategy, hard work, and flawless execution, tradeshows can still be a productive part of your marketing plan. Here are 12 ways to breathe new life into your tradeshows. more
An Easy Way to Generate In-House Copy From Non-Writers

Sales
A successful search strategy relies on strong content marketing—and that means recruiting your company's experts to write articles, blog posts and white papers."For some of us writerly types, content comes easy," writes Ari McKee-Sexton in an article at Marketingprofs. "For other types of folks, extracting copy is like pulling bad ... more
Turn Your Data Into Infographics: Five Cool Tools

Sales
One aspect of being social is relaying information as efficiently as possible. But data is dense, and we have more of it to sift through than ever before. To help you get your data across in an eye-catching way that resonates, Fast Company offers a list of five tools businesses can ... more
Three Email Message Types You Can't Afford to Ignore

by Karen Talavera

Sales
It's easy to bore your customers to death with email when you're sending them the same type of message repeatedly. Keep them interested by weaving these message types into your email marketing stream throughout the year. more
Some Secrets of Successful Presentations

by Catherine M. Wolfe

Sales
Many people detest making presentations. Such angst is unfortunate, because with preparation and practice, delivering presentations can be a great way to advance a career and positively promote a company's message. more
Go Local: Seven Steps to Running Geotargeted Campaigns Like a Pro

by Kfir Moyal

Sales
This is the decade for geotargeted local advertising and bringing the global presence to the local user. Though it may seem daunting, getting local can be a simple and rewarding process if you follow these seven steps. more
What You Need to Know About Lead-Nurturing Messages

Sales
In a post at Marketing Interactions, Ardath Albee recalls a B2B client who thought her proposed lead-nurturing messages might be too brief. Albee begged to differ. "[I]nundating prospects with more links and choices rather than improving the personalization, value and contagiousness of your email message is not the right answer," she ... more
Signup Forms: More, Not Less, Boosts Results for a B2B Service Provider

Sales
This February, copywriting coach Chris Marlow sent out an email promoting a free webinar. At the webinar signup page, recipients encountered a form that required more than the usual amount of information. Soon, Marlow's Facebook page was receiving complaints about the signup form. One irate responder even refused to attend her ... more
Real-Time Marketing: How Today's Marketers Are Deploying New Tactics

by Joshua Smith

Sales
Real-time marketing is constantly evolving, and it's more competitive than ever now. A wave of new technologies can help businesses enrich the customer experience—and boost results—in real time. more
Small Business Owners Working Harder, but Happy

Sales
More than three-quarters of US microbusiness owners say they are very (42%) or extremely (35%) happy to work for themselves, according to Vistaprint's newly launched Small Business Happiness Index, which tracks the pulse of US microbusinesses. Moreover, 35% say they wouldn't even consider working for someone else. more