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Michael A Brown

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President, BtoBEngage

2445 points

Helping business marketers approach, influence, advance, and sell!

Michael’s consulting and training clients include a "who's who" of successful business marketers, from startups to the Fortune 100. He has been a featured speaker at many public business conferences ...

Helping business marketers approach, influence, advance, and sell!

Michael’s consulting and training clients include a "who's who" of successful business marketers, from startups to the Fortune 100. He has been a featured speaker at many public business conferences, plus corporate marketing and sales meetings. In 2010, Michael was voted one of the 50 Most Influential People by members of the Sales Lead Management Association.

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WEB: BtoB By Phone

May 24, 2012

Michael A Brown and 2 other people answered this question

What is the most effective way to engage with new potential customers?

Hi Jo! At some point(s), genuine engagement has to include real-time human-to-human interaction. All the “e-“ and social media linking and friending may be very valuable in advancing toward engagement. However, such communication does not yet mean genuine engagement … that takes one person experiencing ... more

Small Business Advice

May 20, 2012

Bill Wood selected a best answer for

What will it take to make social media a serious business tool?

When I refer to "social media" I am NOT referring to blogs or websites. Those are well-established modern marketing channels which may, or may not, include "social components." When I refer to "social media" I am referring to the typical sites and sources most people ... more

Social Business

Social Media Marketing

May 17, 2012

Michael A Brown answered this question at this roundtable

The Status Quo: Defeat Your Biggest Competitor in Marketing and Sales [5/17 @ 1 pm]

What's the difference between an advantage and a benefit in marketing messages for demand gen?

A benefit answers the prospect’s question, “what’s in it for me?” in a powerful, compelling, and actionable way. Your competitor is the bystander.
An advantage is about your product or service v. your competitor. The prospect is the bystander.
Which do you suppose is more ... more

Status Quo Strategy

May 16, 2012

Michael A Brown recommends this answer by Casey Devlin

Is a $1,000 "inbound" lead more valuable than a $1,000 "outbound" lead?

dan, this is a great question.
our organization (Corporate Executive Board) has done some extensive research over the last two years trying to understand how high performing sales reps qualify opps and nurture those opps through their pipelines to higher success. one fascinating trend we ... more

Inbound Marketing

May 15, 2012

Michael A Brown and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Beyond Recruiting: Social Media and Talent Management [5/15 @ 4 pm]

What are the dangers of relying on best practices to guide your business strategy?

Three dangers: "Dif'rent strokes" ... best practice for one could be disaster for another. Second, by the time something becomes a "best practice," it often is outdated. And third, the person or entity who proclaims "best practice" may bring a biased or "bought" viewpoint.
Me? ... more

Human Resources

May 15, 2012

Michael A Brown recommends this answer by Bill Wood

What small/medium business social media success stories do you know?

Axel,
I've asked this question in various ways and have yet to get a clear reference. I did have one social media evangelist provide me a link to supposed "proof" of success but after reading it all that was mentioned is the company's commitment to ... more

May 14, 2012

Michael A Brown and 5 other people answered this question

What are your thoughts on change management, particularly in a sales organization?

Hi Alex! Change management as a stand-alone discipline cannot stand. A colleague and I experienced such during a short-lived foray into the realm of change management consulting and training 15 years ago. To succeed, change management requires context, continuity, endorsement, enforcement, and reinforcement. Specifically re ... more

Human Resources

Change Management

Corporate Culture

May 11, 2012

Michael A Brown and 2 other people answered this question

What has been your most successful sales approach?

Ask before telling and learn before selling.

May 8, 2012

Michael A Brown and 8 other people answered this question

Linkedin Open Groups: Is your group getting spammed like mine?

Hi everyone! Please notice that this string started with Craig’s question more than a year ago! And we’re still wondering whether LI became a spam-house? Well, of course it did!
That’s why all of us have quit more LI groups than we presently belong to. ... more

Linkedin Groups

May 7, 2012

Michael A Brown recommends this answer by Ellen Bristol

How do you calculate the close ratio for your organization?

This is one of those questions about sales that really reveals the weakness of the sales process. It's simply not being managed like a process in the first place. Thus we have all kinds of questions about whether there are standard conversion ratios and other ... more

Sales Management

May 3, 2012

Michael A Brown recommends this answer by Al Shultz

What is the worst advice b2b marketers are getting today and why? (Particularly from the blogosphere)

The absolute worst, and most damaging, B2B marketing advice today is that you don't need to do "push" marketing anymore -- that today, your audience will somehow magically learn about you on the Internet, will find you on Google, and will automatically buy from you! ... more

May 3, 2012

Michael A Brown and 7 other people answered this question

We're nearly halfway through 2012. What are the biggest marketing challenges you are seeing?

What Al Shultz wrote, plus these …
• Over-infatuation with all things “social.”
• More emphasis on the technology rather than on the underlying strategy, tactics, and execution.
• And most of all, the mistaken belief that electronic interactions equal engagement.
Conversely, the best and ... more

Demand Generation

Marketing Automation

May 3, 2012

Michael A Brown and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Cutting Edge Content Marketing Strategies [5/1 @ 1 pm]

What does the term "content engineer" mean to you? Do you have a dedicated role in this capacity within your company?

Content engineer = writer/producer

Information Technology

May 2, 2012

Michael A Brown and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Marketing Thought Leaders: A Conversation with Joe Chernov [4/27 @ 10 am]

What are some of the pitfalls and traps you've seen in content marketing strategies?

That everyone in an organization can ... and should ... create content.

Content Marketing

Content Marketing Program

May 1, 2012

Michael A Brown answered this question at this roundtable

Cutting Edge Content Marketing Strategies [5/1 @ 1 pm]

What does "content" mean to you?

Content is written, visual, or spoken copy designed to achieve one or more of these objectives within the selling/consideration/buying process
• attract attention and interest
• educate and differentiate
• promote and inspire
• provoke a positive response and an observable, measurable forward step
Good ... more

May 1, 2012

Michael A Brown and 4 other people answered this question

What are current best practices you have seen in new hire sales training?

Hi Robert! In our experience, there are four types of sales training, and each has dramatic cost, performance, and results implications. Here’s how to choose …
No training. Cheap, but very expensive. Yet some individual managers, and some entire companies, believe that because they “only ... more

Sales Enablement

April 29, 2012

Michael A Brown recommends this answer by Tibor Shanto

What are the most effective sales techniques and what are some alternatives to cold calling?

Interesting view, but I thought we were talking about selling, not order taking. You say: "But of course one can only establish a buyers mild interest online. To convert these leads you really need to speak and meet your client." How do you propose to ... more

April 27, 2012

Michael A Brown and 5 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Marketing Thought Leaders: A Conversation with Joe Chernov [4/27 @ 10 am]

Recent studies show that less companies are blogging. What is the key reason? Do you see a blogging revival in the future?

Hi Shelly! A blog post + $2.50 gets one a ride on the NYC subway. Besides, I have heard that other studies claim the typical number of readers of any given blog is ... one.
For business purposes, active and substantive participation here at Focus.com ... more

Content Marketing

Content Marketing Program

April 27, 2012

Michael A Brown and 7 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Social Media and Content Marketing For Business Q&A [4/24 @ 11 am]

What are some simple tips I can implement today to enhance the "human element" of my social media strategy?

Social media strategies and social networking work best AFTER the participants have actually been social.
So get up from your computer right now! Go out into your real-world community and interact with other people live, in person, in color, in real-time. And then do it ... more

Content Marketing

April 23, 2012

Michael A Brown answered this question

What are some simple tips I can implement today to enhance the "human element" of my social media strategy?

Social media strategies and social networking work best AFTER the participants have actually been social.
So get up from your computer right now! Go out into your grand city of San Francisco and interact with other people live, in person, in color, in real-time. And ... more

Social Media Strategy

April 23, 2012

Michael A Brown and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Social Media and Content Marketing For Business Q&A [4/24 @ 11 am]

What type of marketers should you hire today?

Hi Steve! Hire people who recognize that social media are exactly that … media, not a panacea … and who also recognize that “content marketing” is merely a buzz-phrase, not a magic profit generator. Yeah … hire heretics.
Seriously! Hire people who are not so ... more

Content Marketing

April 23, 2012

Michael A Brown and 3 other people answered this question at this roundtable

How to Network at Events [4/16 @ 11 am]

What are some of the worst things you've seen people do at networking events?

Two examples of misguided "networking" come to mind. In Florida, I watched a man hustle his way into a group of conference attendees to size up job opportunities, and then huff away when none materialized. Then there was the San Francisco marketing executive who boasted ... more

Information Technology

Lead Generation

April 19, 2012

Michael A Brown and 6 other people answered this question

Can you get ROI from sales training acquired through RFP?

Hi Tibor! I am showing your question at this very moment to a group of sales people I am training at St. Petersburg, Russia.
There is absolute amazement and horror that any organization would even consider trying to achieve sales training ROI without involvement and ... more

Sales Enablement

Sales Management

April 9, 2012

Michael A Brown recommends this answer by Art Levy

Are we in a content marketing bubble?

Personally, I think content marketing is a misnomer. Check out this definition (from http://www.junta42.com/resources/what-is-content-marketing.aspx): "Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience - with the objective of ... more

Content Marketing

April 9, 2012

Michael A Brown answered this question

What is your definition of engagement? How has your understanding changed over the years?

Hi Catherine! In direct marketing before the Internet and social media, we used to debate the difference between responses and inquiries and leads … and whether a transaction equaled, or even implied, a relationship.
Now, of course, we have clicks and followers and followees and ... more

Following 3 Topics

Following 1 Person

Followed by 518 People

Knowledgeable in 187 Topics

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