There is a universe of customers interested in your product. They want you to call on them. They want to buy. And some of them want to buy right now.

Do you know who they are?

To be honest, I don’t, either. At least not yet. But I do know how to find them, because basically, this relationship is like any other. Communication is key. Human touch is essential. You need to talk a little. You need to listen a lot. And then, you need to apply what you learn.

By working to define your best customers, we can find best candidates who look just like them. For most of our B2B clients, the initial interaction begins with a simple phone conversation, working through the database, developing a relationship, always bearing in mind that communication and human touch are vital.

During these conversations, we might learn that a particular prospect, unhappy with their current provider, is willing to consider a new product, but their buying window is three months out. Or, we might learn that they are currently working with a competitor and unaware of your solution and value proposition.  We can gather even more information with targeted emails, direct mails and microsites.

Their responses, naturally, determine our reactions, interactions and ultimately their prospect score. As we discover who is interested and likely to buy, we nurture them, making sure that every single lead is well-qualified – something that only a real person with real communication can do. Then, as we provide those well-qualified leads to your sales channel, your team can spend less time knocking on doors and cold calling, and more time face-to-face selling and closing deals, resulting in a shorter sales cycle and more profitable efforts.

And it all starts with a simple conversation. Ready to talk? I’m ready to listen.

I’d welcome the chance to tell you more about the solutions IgniteB2B can provide to qualify and nurture your customer database. Just give me a call at 704.927.8090, or drop me a line at Pickett.Yon@IgniteB2B.com.

I like my GPS.

I never had the knack for folding and re-folding those unwieldy, over-sized paper maps.  And MapQuest?  Well, it’s somewhat better, but reading directions while driving can be tricky.

For me, the GPS is the way to go.  Clear, concise and direct.  There’s only one “glitch.”  Make the slightest error entering the address, and you arrive on the wrong side of town.  Or Timbuktu.  Or back in your own driveway.

The same is true with your database.  We’ve come a long way from paper print-outs, labels and notecards, but a problem remains:  If your data is inaccurate, incomplete or unfocused, you’ll never get where you’re going.  Put another way, an opportunity remains:  If your data is accurate, updated, relevant and scored, you can be confident your sales efforts are on the right path.

Your targeted database is the very foundation of your marketing program. It is the cornerstone, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega.  Get it right, and you’re well on your way to your destination.  Get it wrong, and who knows where you’ll end up?

The right target, the right list, the right database can mean the difference between abject failure and roaring success.  Or, to put it in terms of cold, hard cash — the difference between your sales program being an “expense” or “ROI.”

A valid, targeted database can’t be bought off a shelf. For it to be effective – for it to have the impact you want — it has to be based upon a thorough understanding of your best customer. The steps are straightforward, but essential. First is analysis of your existing customer base. Second is building a database of prospects based on that understanding of your best customer. Third is working to ensure that the list is accurate and relevant. You can then segment that updated data, determining how you’ll customize your strategy and your message for various constituencies.  And finally, the database should be scored to identify those decision-makers offering the best value and opportunity for your efforts.

Analyze, confirm, segment and score. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but given the potential impact and fundamental importance, I’d say that, even if you don’t do anything else with a partner, this is the area necessitating unique expertise. If you don’t have the internal time or resources to manage it – and manage it well – it’s the one piece of the program that should be handed over to the experts – so your sales programs can successfully navigate and reach the desired destination.

I’d welcome the chance to tell you more about the database solutions IgniteB2B can provide for your marketing and sales programs. Just give me a call at 704.927.8090, or drop me a line at Pickett.Yon@IgniteB2B.com.

Chances are, your marching orders for 2011 are the same as every other manufacturer’s:

“Here’s your number. Here’s your budget. You’ve got 12 months to deliver. Tell me how you’re going to do it.”

In other words, if you had a good 2010:  Congratulations, we expect more from you in 2011.  On the other hand, if you had a rough 2010:  Chin up, and get it done in 2011.

Either way, you’ve been handed a goal.  Some sales and marketing folks might take those numbers and handle them the way they always have, hoping against hope that they’ll somehow end up with better results than they ever have.

But from what I’m hearing from most manufacturers, 2011 is pivotal.  Sales and marketing managers are drawing a line:  This year, we’re going to have to do something different.

But what?  You have ideas.  Your team has ideas.  That’s not the issue.  The issue is executing those ideas.  That’s the tough part.

At this point, you’ve got two options: execute from within (providing you have the time, technology and resources) or look for a professional organization that can represent your company as you would yourself. A company that can extend your reach to new prospects for conversion to new customers, and help drive new business from within your current customer base.

That’s where IgniteB2B steps in.  Not only can we generate ideas, but we can put ideas into action; using incentives to make your sales channel more effective, giving your sales force more qualified opportunities to meet their goals, which ultimately helps you meet yours.

You’ve got lofty numbers, but with the right programs, you can bolster your company’s performance; find more prospects, qualify and convert more prospects to clients, sell deeper into your existing clients, and ultimately, deliver profitable, measurable ROI.

Serious numbers call for a serious plan.  If you’re ready to do something different this year, give us a call.  IgniteB2B can help you execute and deliver in 2011.

Because of my position, I’m asked a lot of questions.  Things like, “What does our team need to do?”  And, “How can I get better?”  And, “What do I have to do to score a goal?”

You guessed it.  In addition to my day-to-day responsibilities at IgniteB2B, I also coach my kids’ soccer teams.  The kids’ questions, though, aren’t that dissimilar from the questions B2B marketers need to be asking.  Staying relevant  – in an environment of diminishing budgets and burgeoning social media, emaciated sales forces and escalating sales goals — is a genuine issue.

Clearly, staying the course is not enough.  Marketers have to be vigilant, first looking inward at our own organizations – our people, our process and our technology.  I’d maintain that now is the time to break ground, providing even more employee training, more education, re-igniting innovation and making our work environments richer and more desirable.  Rather than reap profits at the expense of people and product development, it’s time to reinvest, focusing on areas that make us more able, more responsive, and more efficient.

Innovation is at our “virtual” fingertips.  The challenge is to use our abilities and technology wisely — at scale –for benefit of our company and our customers.  Toward that goal, at IgniteB2B we have been encouraging more frequent client brainstorming sessions.  We have also established “innovation” as a key dimension in our performance management system that drives employees compensation.

More than self-introspection, though, marketers need to partner even more closely with our clients.  If we turn a blind eye to the pressure our clients are facing, not only are we ourselves doomed, but also we are doing a disservice to the people who rely upon our expertise, our technology and our guidance.

This isn’t simply a matter of “feeling their pain.”  It’s a matter of stewardship.  We are entrusted with our clients’ campaigns, their budgets, and on occasion, their jobs.  We are obligated to honor this trust with nothing less than our best, smartest and most efficient efforts.

What I tell my soccer players is that they have everything they need.  Even so, winning won’t happen automatically.  If you want to win, you need to think harder.  Consider your options.  Look ahead.  Prepare.  Be bold.  And execute!

So let’s get out there.  Work hard.  Have fun.  And score a goal or two.

Years ago, in an episode of Seinfeld, Jerry gives Elaine a stack of bills — $182 altogether — for her birthday.  Her incredulous response went along these lines, “Cash?  Cash?  You gave me cash?”  Kramer, also disbelieving, chimes in, “Cash?  You gotta be kidding.  What kind of a gift is that?  That’s like something her uncle would get her.”

I think of that episode every time a company asks why they should offer incentives over cold, hard cash.

For starters, incentive items have longevity — or to use an industry term, they are “sticky.”  Cash bonuses are fleeting – usually spent quickly and spent entirely.  An incentive, i.e., “gift” is different.  It has a shelf-life.  Whether an iPod listened to every day or a set of golf clubs used occasionally, a gift stays around.

Because they are tangible, incentive items also lend themselves to emotional memories.  Cash, on the other hand, is seen as more utilitarian.  Bonuses are often spent in mundane ways like paying down bills or are simply absorbed into everyday purchases.  An incentive, i.e., a “gift” is different.  It has staying power.  When a sales associate listens to her new iPod or prepares dinner on his new Weber gas grill, they remember how they chose and received the gift.  And while it stays around, the “gift” reminds the recipient of the “giver” – the company that provided the reward.

And finally, cold, hard cash is well, cold and hard.  Studies have found that employees come to regard cash bonuses as “expected,” rather than something special.  The recipients don’t feel any lasting warmth as a result of receiving a cash bonus.   Furthermore, it’s hard to talk about cash, depriving the recipient of “bragging rights.”  Few people want to – or in some cases, are even allowed to – tell friends and extended family about a bonus received.  On the other hand, they’ll speak freely, openly and kindly about the appliances, boats or trips receive.

Bottom line, I think Kramer got it right, “Cash?  What kind of a gift is that?”

– Pickett Yon, Director, Marketing Solutions

When my children were young, one of the things I liked best about this time of year was that I could keep all three in line with one softly spoken word:  Santa.

Talk about powerful.  But it’s a basic truth that all of us – of all ages – want to be recognized, acknowledged and rewarded.  We want to know what’s expected of us, we want to know when we’re doing a job well, and we want to be appreciated for doing exceptional work.

In a nut(cracker) shell, that’s why incentives work.

In corporate America, it’s estimated that some 70% (yes, seventy percent) of sales leads are never acted upon.  That’s right – no one follows up on near three-quarters of the leads generated.  Even more alarming is that about 45% of those leads actually follow through and end up purchasing – although not necessarily from the company generating the leads.

About $46 billion a year is spent on merchandise and tangible incentives for motivational use in the United States.  We also know that incentive programs increase sales performance on an individual level 27% and on a team level, a whopping 45%.

To be exceptional, to drive performance, to generate ROI, a company’s best option is to rely on its human capital, asking employees to go above and beyond what is expected, and then, reward them for their efforts.

Incentives work.  (Ssshh.  Did you hear that?  Sounds like “Santa”!)

Twice The Knowledge. Twice The Capability.

IgniteB2B is a partnership of Technekes and Xceleration, giving your business the absolute best of marketing and sales programs. As IgniteB2B, we offer a comprehensive suite of B2B solutions, combining each of our 10-plus years of experience to serve the marketing and sales needs of Fortune 500 companies.

Together, we deliver results you can measure.

Technekes LLC, Founded March 2000
Plain and simple, Technekes is the marketing side of IgniteB2B. We’ve earned our reputation by creating demand for world-class clients, bringing buyers and sellers together to do business.
The result? Significant return-on-investment.

Xceleration Inc., Founded September 1999
Xceleration is the sales side of the partnership, known for exceptional incentive and recognition programs that drive the performance of employees, dealers and customers. With our proprietary RewardStation® technology, we can deliver dynamic reward programs to engage, motivate and inspire the people who move your business.

The new venture, Ignite B2B (www.IgniteB2B.com), marries Technekes’ extensive demand creation capabilities with Xceleration’s comprehensive incentive and proprietary RewardStation® technology.

“Ignite B2B is a perfect marriage of competencies to provide clients with turnkey marketing and sales programs,” said Steve Amedio, Technekes’ president and chief operating officer. “I’ve worked closely with the senior executives at Xceleration for 10 years. RewardStation is a fantastic rewards platform that has application in virtually every demand creation program that we execute for our clients,” said Amedio.

“By the same token, we run rewards and recognition programs with a number of world-class B2B clients. All of these companies need support in their efforts to generate demand for their products and services,” said Ben Levenbaum, Xceleration’s president and chief operating officer. “Technekes adds exceptional demand creation expertise to our capabilities,” said Levenbaum.

“We have our first client implementation well underway. We’re working with a new client to create demand for its products among distribution channel partners by implementing a fully customized rewards program for sales people to learn more about our client’s products and promote and sell them over the next quarter, said Amedio.”

Ignite B2B has hired Pickett Yon as director, marketing solutions. She is working closely with Technekes’ and Xceleration’s management and account services teams to bring unique and comprehensive demand creation and incentive services to market.

Pictured (Left to Right): Pickett Yon, Ignite B2B; Ralph Burton, Xceleration; Ben Levenbaum, Xceleration; Steve Amedio, Technekes; Scott Miner, Technekes