Archive for November, 2008

The Classic Struggle Between Sales & Marketing

Auto Date Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

tug-of-war1.jpgIf you’ve been in the business world long enough, you’ve probably witnessed first hand the classic struggles between sales and marketing.  Sales people say the leads that marketing aquires aren’t qualified enough.  They complain that the sales support materials don’t fulfill their needs.  They don’t always understand the strategy behind marketing’s branding efforts.  Conversely, marketing professionals say that some sales people don’t adhere to the strategic messaging, or don’t take the time to learn new markets and applications the organization is targeting, or that they need to follow up on leads faster.

These frustrations are common in organizations that neglect to strategically align sales and marketing.  While each department typically develops a strategic plan, they are rarely integrated with one another.  However, when company leaders are on board and committed to facilitating cross-functional collaboration, the results can make the effort worthwhile. Read the rest of this entry »

Calling All Channel-Based Organizations…

Auto Date Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

two-way-street.jpgThere’s no question that channel-based organizations reap many benefits from the broader market reach their resellers enable.  But, even under good economic conditions, they also face numerous challenges related to serving their markets via a decentralized sales structure.  One key to success for such organizations is to maintain a two-way exchange of relevant and timely information with value-added resellers (VARs).

As markets continue to soften, VARs that survive and even prosper will find ways of helping customers re-plan to change with the times.  They’ll offer products and solutions that provide a much faster ROI, especially those that can make processes more efficient ad remove hard costs. 

If yours is a channel-based organization, it’s a smart time you explore how to ramp up channel partner support.  There are many ways you can better help your partners succeed with your products in the market.  Check out this article in our November newsletter for a few suggestions on how to get started.

The Government Marketing Forum Fall Event New Administration Impact

Auto Date Friday, November 21st, 2008

On Monday, the Government Marketing Forum hosted its final event of the year. The subject was the impact of the new administration. The speaker was Stan Soloway, President and CEO of the Professional Services Council, the principal association representing the government professional and technical services industry. Soloway, a long time DOD executive, was most recently the deputy undersecretary of defense (acquisition reform) and concurrently, the director of the Defense Reform Initiative. As such, he was able to offer some rich insights into the environment the new administration is coming into, and what we can expect in the first few years of an Obama presidency.

According to Soloway, three key issues that will have enormous impact on the priorities of the new administration are spending, the demographics of the civil service, and Obama’s political appointees’ and how they will shape policy. Read the rest of this entry »

Government Marketing Forum Event: How Will the New Administration Impact Government Contractors?

Auto Date Friday, November 7th, 2008

Don’t miss this great opportunity to hear Stan Soloway, President of the Professional Services Council, share his views on how the new administration will affect government buying. He will discuss the impact on IT budgets, policies and programs, the future of outsourcing and more.

This is a great event that Marketing, Communications and Business Development professionals in organizations selling products and services to government buyers won’t want to miss.

What: GMF Event – How Will the New Administration Impact Government Contractors?
Where: Tower Club, 8000 Towers Crescent Drive, Vienna, VA, 17th floor
When: Monday, November 17, 2008
Time: 6:00,?? 9:00 pm; Open Bar & Hors D’Oeuvres
Cost: $45 before Nov. 14; $55 at the door

Click here to take advantage of this exciting opportunity!