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Dan McDade

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President, PointClear, LLC

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Dan McDade founded PointClear in 1997 with the mission to be the first and best company providing prospect development services to business-to-business companies with complex sales processes. He has been instrumental in developing the innovative strategies that drive revenue for ...

Dan McDade founded PointClear in 1997 with the mission to be the first and best company providing prospect development services to business-to-business companies with complex sales processes. He has been instrumental in developing the innovative strategies that drive revenue for PointClear clients nationwide.

Prior to starting PointClear, Dan served as president of UST, The Business Marketing Group, a high-tech B2B marketing services firm. The company grew over 500% during his tenure. Dan and his team provided consulting services to leading technology companies including Sun Microsystems, Texas Instruments, Oracle and SAP.

From 1989 to 1991, Dan was an independent consultant providing direct marketing, telemarketing and new business development consulting services. Clients included Sears, Exxon, Rodale Press, R.J. Reynolds, and The Ritz-Carlton. One of Dan’s early assignments was to write the business plan that helped The Ritz-Carlton win the Malcolm Baldridge Award. Dan’s background also includes 10 years of experience in the direct mail catalog business. As vice president of marketing with Jackson & Perkins in Medford, Ore., he ran what was at the time the 17th largest direct mail company in the U.S.

Dan’s educational background includes four years as a European history major at the University of Maryland followed by a more practical study of accounting at NC State. Dan is a member of the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), and serves on the boards of the Atlanta chapter of the American Electronics Association (AeA); the Business and Technology Alliance, a TAG society; and TAG Marketing.

He is the author of ViewPoint | The Truth About Lead Generation, a blog exploring issues related to B2B sales, marketing and lead generation.

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WEB: http://blog.pointclear.com/

Dan McDade and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Jan. 24, 2012

The Future of Selling [1/23 @ 11 am]

What is your vision of the future of selling?

We would all, I hope, agree that this question is a complex one that books have been and will be written about. The shift from outside to inside continues as executives recognize the relative inefficiency of having expensive field resources executing tactics that can and ... more

Lead Management

Dan McDade and 8 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Jan. 6, 2012

Top Technology Marketers to Watch in 2012 [1/10 @ 1 pm]

What is the state of sales and marketing alignment in the technology industry?

I hate to sound negative (and I know I sometimes do), but the problem is getting worse; and I don't think marketing automation is to blame - except to the extent that it is being used as a black box solution with the expectation of ... more

Dan McDade and 4 other people answered this question

Jan. 3, 2012

Who are the top agencies for technology marketers?

Regardless of criteria, the top five would have to include MLT Creative. Those guys are awesome! more

Information Technology

Marketing Agency

Dan McDade and 9 other people answered this question

Jan. 3, 2012

What are the technologies that best-in-class marketers absolutely have to have at their disposal?

Let's not overlook that the best new technology might actually be using one you have. It is painful to watch the wasted spend above the funnel; and the wasted opportunities that simply get lost in the funnel of many if not most companies. Comparing your ... more

Content Marketing

Email Marketing

Dan McDade and 2 other people answered this question

Jan. 3, 2012

What are some "wildcard" trends we might see in technology marketing over the coming year?

Rather than paying lip service to lead quality, there will actually be a focus on lead quality over quantity in a growing number of best in class companies (as 2012 progresses). Some of this will be precipitated by the "Occupy Marketing" movement. Senior executives will ... more

Content Marketing

Email Marketing

Dan McDade and 10 other people answered this question

Jan. 3, 2012

What are your predictions for technology marketing in 2012?

2011 saw a shift in inside sales support from centralized in marketing to centralized in sales. In 2012, sales will decentralize inside sales support out into the regions. This will prove unsuccessful. By mid-2012, frantic managers will be looking for the right solution to managing ... more

Information Technology

Technology Marketing

Dan McDade and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Dec. 7, 2011

DemandCon Series: Year in Review- Demand Generation [12/12 @ 1 pm]

What is your one major prediction for demand generation in 2012?

Measuring cost per sales qualified lead will replace cost per marketing qualified lead in best-in-class companies. more

Demand Generation

Dan McDade and 9 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Dec. 6, 2011

B2B Marketing: The Year in Review and Predictions for 2012 [12/13 @ 1 pm]

What do you think was the most important B2B marketing trend from 2011?

I can't agree more with Michael. Which companies would you guess are among the most active "outbound" marketers? The answer is: marketing automation firms. An intelligent balance is absolutely called for. However, I am afraid that CEO's will continue to leave fixing the massive alignment ... more

Content Marketing

Dan McDade and 6 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Nov. 17, 2011

Successful Strategies for Prospecting [11/10 @ 12:30 pm]

What is an example of an effective voice mail?

The answer to this question depends on what you are trying to accomplish. An appointment, as an example, is not a fully qualified, sales-ready opportunity. So, if the objective is to get an appointment the approach Michael suggests probably works. I always come back to ... more

Dan McDade and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Oct. 28, 2011

Customer 2.0 Is Mad as Hell [11/3 @ 11 am]

Did buyers ever like cold calls?

I don't think any buyer wants to be "cold called". The problem is that just as there is no definition of a lead (as an example), there is no definition of a cold call.
My definition of a cold call is calling into a contact ... more

Dan McDade and 6 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Oct. 28, 2011

Customer 2.0 Is Mad as Hell [11/3 @ 11 am]

What is the most annoying sales tactic still be using today?

The one used by financial planners (not all of them, just most of them): "Dan, this is Joe Smith with Big Financial Planning Company. Please call me right away..."
Or, "This is Joe Smith. Please call my boss, John Jones as soon as possible."
Or, "Dan, ... more

Dan McDade and 3 other people answered this question

Oct. 19, 2011

In today's tech driven world, is it still necessary to have face to face meetings with clients?

I think this is a great question and one that is at the heart of a great debate going on right now in the B2B space. The question is similar to asking: should we use inbound or outbound marketing? If you are selling a commodity ... more

Information Technology

Face to Face Selling

Dan McDade asked a question

Oct. 13, 2011

Should leads generated for big, enterprise deals be handled differently than smaller deals?

Lead Management

Market Segmentation

Dan McDade and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Oct. 6, 2011

Above the Funnel: Making the Connection between Social Sales & Marketing and Measurable ROI [10/6 @ 11 am]

What exactly does the term 'Social Selling' mean?

First social selling is about using social media to listen to your market - and by market I mean listening to prospective customers AND the competition so that your message stays relevant.
Second, social selling is about using the tools available (LinkedIn, as an example) ... more

Marketing Funnel

Dan McDade answered this question at this roundtable

Oct. 6, 2011

Above the Funnel: Making the Connection between Social Sales & Marketing and Measurable ROI [10/6 @ 11 am]

Should Marketing 'own' Social, or should that responsibility be shared with other parts of the org?

This is a great question and the answer, I believe, is at the heart of the disappointment around social media results. Individuals, not companies drive value from social media. As we will talk about later today, it is individuals and not companies that gather followers ... more

Marketing Funnel

Dan McDade and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Oct. 3, 2011

Ten Actions Marketing Should Take RIGHT NOW! [10/4 @ 11 am]

What steps should we take to prepare CEO's for marketing changes that should happen now?

Challenge them to see what is actually there, not what they want to see. Holding the team represented by marketing and sales accountable for results along the demand waterfall (Marketing Qualified Leads, Sales Accepted Leads, Sales Qualified Leads and Closed business) AND demanding that stalled ... more

Content Marketing

Dan McDade and 9 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Sept. 30, 2011

Modern Sales Management: How the Best Sales Managers Thrive in Today’s New Environment [10/6 @ 11 am]

Why are only 50% of sales people making quota?

1. Deplorable deployment - only 20% of sales people are hunters. The rest think they are hunters and that is scary. When you give a lead to a farmer when a hunter is needed, you lose business.
2. Leaky leads - even best in class companies ... more

Dan McDade and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Sept. 29, 2011

Ten Actions Marketing Should Take RIGHT NOW! [10/4 @ 11 am]

What are best practices for converting someone consuming your third party content into a prospect?

The formula for selling is:
1. Find a pain
2. Get agreement that there is pain
3. Agree to do something about the pain
4. Agree to a generic solution to take away the pain
5. Agree to a customized (my) solution to take away the pain
Vendor agnostic white papers ... more

Content Marketing

Dan McDade is speaking at this roundtable

Sept. 29, 2011

Above the Funnel: Making the Connection between Social Sales & Marketing and Measurable ROI

Marketing Funnel

Dan McDade asked a question at this roundtable

Sept. 20, 2011

Ten Actions Marketing Should Take RIGHT NOW! [10/4 @ 11 am]

Should CRM for sales be separate from CRM for marketing?

Content Marketing

Dan McDade asked a question at this roundtable

Sept. 20, 2011

Ten Actions Marketing Should Take RIGHT NOW! [10/4 @ 11 am]

Companies view themselves as multiple departments while customers view companies as a single entity.

Content Marketing

Dan McDade asked a question at this roundtable

Sept. 20, 2011

Ten Actions Marketing Should Take RIGHT NOW! [10/4 @ 11 am]

What are some best practices allowing sales to step into a sales conversation more gracefully?

Content Marketing

Dan McDade asked a question at this roundtable

Sept. 20, 2011

Ten Actions Marketing Should Take RIGHT NOW! [10/4 @ 11 am]

Can you provide some examples of contagious content?

Content Marketing

Dan McDade and 7 other people answered this question

Sept. 19, 2011

What are the key components to an optimal inside sales training/onboarding program?

Lots of good advice already! Part of our on-boarding is a checklist of expectations and an "entry interview" at 45-days. The interview includes a review of the checklist each new associate is given on day one. Basically, we detail what the expectations are for the ... more

Dan McDade and 2 other people answered this question

Sept. 15, 2011

When doing a sales presentation, should you treat it more like an interview?

I agree with Rick. Prospects today have much higher expectations of sales reps - and those expectations don't include interviewing or being interviewed. I think a better question is should sales be selling, or consulting. Companies reach out to vendor/partners for help solving problems that ... more

Sales Management

Sales Presentation

Dan McDade is now following Ginger Conlon

Sept. 12, 2011

Dan McDade and 3 other people answered this question

Sept. 9, 2011

How do you use Twitter for outbound sales prospecting?

Thank you, Trish!!! Outbound prospecting does work! I was talking to an executive at a software firm earlier this week. His amazing statement: I get half my business from Twitter. His process for gaining followers is aggressive, but simple: follow those who have followers that ... more

Dan McDade and 12 other people answered this question

Sept. 9, 2011

Leaving Voice Mail – Yes or No?

Agree with all of the comments but would extend the "touch cycle" out for about ten days. Craig's example is a good one. We use navigation dials (make sure we are talking to the right person, make sure they are not dead, otherwise gone or ... more

Prospecting by Phone

Dan McDade and 8 other people answered this question

Aug. 29, 2011

As a sales rep, what gets you through a day full of rejections?

With the exception of what we call "the 1% jerk factor", I find most people to be very open and polite. The approach to a call (phone or face-to-face) determines the outcome. If before you reach out you have carefully researched the company and contact, ... more

Sales Management

Dan McDade and 9 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Aug. 24, 2011

The State of Location-Based Marketing [8/24 @ 10 am]

When it comes to social media, is engagement more important than ROI? Why/why not?

In the end, people don't buy engagement. They buy ROI. The problem is that ROI is more difficult to measure with social media. I have seen (and experienced) very little ROI from social media activity. Most of what I have seen has been rah-rah vs. ... more

Facebook Places

Following 3 Topics

Sales Management

Following 3 People

Followed by 80 People

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