The Truth About Leads, Marketing Automation and Strategic Account Management

Posted by Dan McDade

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on Mar 8, 2011 9:45:00 AM

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Strategic account management and marketing automation: a marriage made in heaven or oil and water?

I had the good fortune to discuss how SAM and marketing automation intersect with Bob Thompson, CEO of CustomerThink, during a recent interview about my new book, The Truth About Leads.

While marketing automation, like CRM during its gold rush days, promises huge returns across the board, I shared with Bob my concerns about relying too heavily on marketing automation when engaging target prospects who look like your strategic accounts—the 20% of your customers who deliver 80% of your revenue.

With C-level executives at these firms, correct lead qualification and lead nurturing strategies require proactively engaging and building personal relationships rather than expecting technology to provide sales-ready buyers.

Listen to the podcast for our spirited conversation on this topic and many others—all looking at ways to improve sales and marketing alignment and fix processes that aren’t delivering expected return.

CustomerThink

 

By Dan McDade


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Topics: Lead Generation, Marketing & Sales Alignment, Inbound Marketing, Lead Management


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