B2B Lead Roundup

Already registered? Sign in to access classes and course materials.

As B2B marketers, filling the pipeline with qualified leads is our number one priority. But how do you know if you're using the right tools to capture the right leads at the right time? Wouldn't it be great if there was a practical and easy-to-implement program providing you with the tools, knowledge, and checklists you need for boosting your lead management processes?

That's exactly what our B2B Lead Roundup is. Through 9 classes, you'll learn how to create a high-powered lead-gen program, you'll know which information is relevant to capture for a lead (and which isn't), how to quickly and effectively qualify a lead, how to corral leads through your sales funnel, how to automate your lead processes to make them even easier and faster, and more!

Taught by experts in topics ranging from sales funnel activity to lead generation to marketing automation, B2B Lead Roundup will provide you not only the knowledge but the inspiration to implement significant (and immediate) changes to your lead management processes. And hey, we have an instructor named Thor, so you'd better register now because you know this is going to be good!

Each class can be viewed on demand, so you may watch (and re-watch) at your convenience. In addition to the recorded class (streaming), the course materials for each class include the class slides (PDF), audio track from the class (MP3) (so you can listen to the lectures on other devices), the class transcript (PDF), and a Cheat Sheet for the class (PDF). Once you view all of the classes, you can download a Certificate of Completion (PDF). As part of the course, you'll also get access to our course-exclusive Facebook group to network and share your own questions and insight with MPU students, staff, and instructors.

B2B Lead Roundup includes these 9 classes (each 60 or 90 minutes long):

1. ROI: How to Effectively Generate and Manage Leads
2. DEFINITION: Lead Definition: Why BANT Is a Dirty Word
3. QUALIFICATION: Quality, Not Quantity: Lead Qualification Across the Buying Cycle
4. PROSPECTING: How to Build, Use, and Care for Your Prospect Universe
5. OPTIMIZATION: Building and Optimizing High Performing Lead Gen Programs
6. LEAD FLOW: Four Steps to Optimizing Your Website for Increased Lead Flow and Conversions
7. NURTURING: Balancing the Art and Science of Successful Lead Nurturing
8. SALES: How to Earn Respect from Your Sales Team and Work Together
9. AUTOMATION: Manufacturing Demand—The Power of Automation

Plus, you'll get these bonus classes from previous courses. You can access the recordings as soon as you register.

1. NURTURING: Does your B2B Email Lead Nurturing Program Really Work?
2. REDESIGN: Planning a Killer B2B Lead Gen Website

How to Effectively Generate and Manage Leads

Speaker:
James W. Obermayer—CEO and Co-Founder, Sales Lead Management Association

Marketing directly contributes to a company's bottom line through effective lead management, and measurement is the key to demonstrating the value of that contribution. In this class, we will look at different ROI models, traditional marketing performance metrics, and how to put a dollar value on the work marketers do building and managing the sales funnel.

You will learn:

• How to measure what you manage
• How to simply and accurately demonstrate the value of marketing
• The consequences of not effectively managing leads (and how to avoid them)

back to top

Lead Definition: Why BANT Is a Dirty Word

Speaker:
Dan McDade—President and CEO, PointClear

This class focuses on clarifying the precise definition of a lead. We'll discuss why BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Time frame)—a dearly held marketing and sales concept—should not be part of that definition. We'll discuss why "must be part of the C-suite" also should not be part and how including this as criteria causes a potential lead to view you as just another vendor instead of as a winning candidate.

You will learn:

• Why "authority and need" and not "budget and time frame" should be used to qualify most leads
• How "calling high" and selling to the C-suite can derail your chances for success
• When to hold 'em and when to fold 'em when evaluating opportunities to pursue

back to top

Quality, Not Quantity: Lead Qualification Across the Buying Cycle

Speaker:
Ruth P. Stevens—Author and CEO, eMarketing Strategy

B2B marketers are on the hook to provide a steady stream of qualified leads to their salespeople. In this class, you will learn the essential steps to ensuring that you are delivering nothing but quality. From calculating lead requirements and setting qualification criteria to lead scoring methods and the handoff to the sales team, this class provides a thorough review of today's best practices.

You will learn:

• How do develop qualification criteria that Marketing can manage and Sales will love
• The best ways to communicate the results of lead qualification
• How tools such as marketing automation can revolutionize your lead qualification efforts

back to top

How to Build, Use, and Care for Your Prospect Universe

Speaker:
Cliff Langston—Principal, Leads To Sales

When it comes to lead generation, your prospect universe is the foundation. Employ the proven principles of database marketing to build, use, and care for this universe, and your lead generation programs will be built on solid ground. We'll walk through the steps of evaluating your current data, look at options for augmenting that data with external information, and share ways to use digital and social media to keep your data robust and clean.

You will learn:

• Where to start—how to build a strategic framework for your prospect universe
• The steps to successfully combine internal and external data to create a more robust prospect pool
• How to use online and offline tactics to grow and clean your database

back to top

Building and Optimizing High Performing Lead Gen Programs

Speaker:
Frank Days—Vice President, Marketing, Correlsense

The interconnected nature of marketing systems and programs today provides many new opportunities to optimize your marketing mix and improve program performance. It also makes program experimentation easier and increasingly measurable. In this class, we will look at what you can do to ensure that your current programs are performing as strongly as possible, ways to track performance for continuous improvement, and how to quickly try—and measure—new tactics.

You will learn:

• Real-time approaches to optimizing your marketing mix
• The role new media plays in program experimentation
• Ways to restructure your team and systems for greater accountability

back to top

Four Steps to Optimizing Your Website for Increased Lead Flow and Conversions

Speaker:
Greg Ott—Chief Marketing Officer, Demandbase

In the B2B world, sales don't happen without customers interacting with your website. Are they quickly finding relevant information on your site and are they completing your Web forms? In an environment where B2B marketing messages are becoming more cluttered, providing prospects with relevant, targeted, and personalized Web experiences is critical. This class will show you how to do that.

You will learn:

• How to determine your marketing sweet spot, and why that will help you optimize your website for conversions and lead flow
• How to segment Web traffic and provide relevant, personalized customer experiences to each segment
• The role that Web forms, content, and analytics play in optimizing B2B marketing campaigns

back to top

Balancing the Art and Science of Successful Lead Nurturing

Speaker:
Robert Rose—Chief Troublemaker, Big Blue Moose

Despite what vendors might pitch to us, marketing is not a process that can or should be fully automated. Successful lead nurturing balances the creation of compelling and ultimately persuasive content with the insight derived from thoughtful measurement. In short, it's a balance of art and science that creates successful lead nurturing.

You will learn:

• How to segment content for personas and create smarter inbound strategies
• How to create a framework for successful and creative lead nurturing plans
• How to develop a metrics/measurement dashboard

back to top

How to Earn Respect from Your Sales Team and Work Together

Speaker:
Thor Johnson—President, Team Thor Marketing

Marketers must earn respect from our counterparts in Sales. This takes time and is often tougher than we'd like. In this class, we'll discuss the challenges of Sales and Marketing cooperation, particularly around demand generation and marketing automation, and how to address these challenges. We'll also look at strategy, timing, and tactics for convincing successful salespeople to help you make them even more successful.

You will learn:

• How (and when) to begin the demand generation discussion with Sales
• Which conversations marketers need to be part of
• Quick hits to get Sales' attention—and even their love!

back to top

Manufacturing Demand—The Power of Automation

Speaker:
David Lewis—Founder, DemandGen International

The mind of the marketer has always been on demand generation. But revenue isn't earned at the top of the funnel; it results from efficiently moving people through the entire sales process. Learn how today's savvy marketers are taking automation principles from the industrial age and adapting them to the sales process in information age.

You will learn:

• How to create sales efficiency through lead scoring
• Ways to improve conversions through lead nurturing and marketing automation
• Tactics for measuring marketing's impact on revenue

back to top

Best of MPU:
Does your B2B Email Lead Nurturing Program Really Work?

Speaker:
Jeff Pedowitz—President and CEO, The Pedowitz Group

Job number one for most B2B marketers is lead generation but, in most cases, the leads generated need to be nurtured before sales can act on them. Email campaigns focused on lead nurturing play an important role in this process. This class will highlight the factors that influence lead nurturing success.

You will learn:

• How to define stages in the lead development process
• How to identify the types of content that will keep leads engaged
• When you'll know that the lead is "fully qualified"

back to top

Best of MPU:
Planning a Killer B2B Lead Gen Website

Speaker:
Mark O'Brien—President, Newfangled

Far too many B2B website development projects are begun without taking the proper initial planning steps, which ultimately leads to an ineffective website. During this class we'll walk through a nine-step planning process you can use to ensure that the next version of your website will attract the right visitors, capture high-quality leads, and aid in conversions.

You will learn:

• How to plan your next website redesign and launch
• How reinforcing your firm's reputation and expertise can help generate website sales
• How personas, content strategy, SEO, and lead generation affect your site design strategy

back to top