Learning is always more fun with friends. With that in mind, I put together a list of conferences that marketing and sales leaders should attend this year together. As alignment becomes more important for B2B companies it’s key to make sure that leaders understand how...

I‘ve had the pleasure of learning so much about how to strategically align B2B Sales and Marketing this year through too many different interactions to count. Whether it be through conversations with guests on TheAlignmentPodcast.com, talking to attendees after a...

I had the pleasure of attending Showpad’s first ever US conference - TRANSFORM18. The theme was “Reimagining Sales Enablement”. As a keynote speaker and business coach focused on strategically aligning Sales and Marketing, I attended because I wanted to see what the...

You’ve got plenty of leads—maybe too many, in fact. You’ve got plenty of potential sales calls and appointments. But when it comes to looking at the numbers—to comparing your conversions against the number of conversions you think you should have—then it becomes a...

There's an old saying in geometry circles: every square is a rectangle, but not every rectangle is a square. It's true; all squares have the basic elements of a rectangle: four sides, four right angles. To be a square, though, all four sides must be of equal length; a...

Every time I attend a new conference or get the privilege of speaking to a new group of people, I like to take some time to reflect on what I learned during that interaction. Embarking on this journey to better understand how to strategically align Sales and Marketing...

I had the pleasure of being in the room with sales leaders from Chicago's top tech companies this week at the first-ever Sales Assembly Summit. It was an opportunity not only to learn what it takes to drive growth in an organization, but I wanted to hear the...

Let’s face it, there often can be a disconnect between a business’s marketing and sales departments. According to at least one LeanData survey, more than 50 percent of sales and marketing professionals aren’t happy with communication and support from the other...

I had the great pleasure of recently attending the AA-ISP AI Sales Summit. It was the first of it's kind and it definitely delivered a really insightful experience. I was interested in attending to better understand how we can leverage AI to align sales and marketing...

It was such a pleasure being invited to attend Oracle's Modern CX conference this past week as a marketing influencer. I was really interested in understanding how the principles of customer service (CX) could be applied to helping B2B organizations align Sales and...

There has been a lot of talk lately about the news that CEB released some time ago that shows us that the typical B2B buyer is already 57% through the purchase process before reaching out to sales. Additionally, the average number of decision makers on a typical...

I've talked to many leaders about the need to align B2B Sales and Marketing. Through those exchange of ideas, I've learned a lot about where a majority of companies are in their journey toward alignment. Now that a significant amount of attention has been directed at...

With all the new B2B tech coming at companies today, it's hard not to fall victim to the "shiny new objective" syndrome. It's also sometimes even harder to push back on demands to "Fix it Now!" by not just throwing tech at it. The problem you run into is that...

I had the opportunity to speak with top B2B companies in Paris and Europe about the challenges facing B2B companies that don't embrace the need to align Sales and Marketing.

I am a recently retired Marine Corps Intelligence Officer who is leveraging military best practices to add value through Sales Enablement. As I’ve worked to develop and run data-driven sales campaigns, I’ve experienced difficulties stemming from a lack of alignment...

One of the things that I thought a lot about last year was when did I take a stand to say that “Sales and Marketing not only should work together better but they must for the survival of the business.” After much thought, the catalyst event came to mind. This event...

Many larger organizations by now know or should know they need to be more agile/entrepreneurial in order to survive. However, this can be extremely challenging in a larger organization for several reasons. One that seems more challenging than it has to be is...

During my time in college, I had the honor of working at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. As a mechanical engineering student, it was my dream job. I would get the chance to work in the space industry, something my 7th-grade science teacher had...

For many sales leaders Sales and Marketing Alignment might look like a tall order that may have marginal impact on the business. We, however, have an overwhelming amount of data that suggest that alignment is one of the effective strategies in impacting revenue...

There has been talk lately of the traditional sales funnel being outdated as it does not truly capture the way in which B2B customers interact with sellers today. It has been estimated that buyers are 57% through the buying process before they reach out to vendors and...

In today’s business environment it is becoming more and more important to have strong alignment between Sales and Marketing. The Aberdeen Group’s research shows that companies that optimize the marketing/sales relationship grow revenue 32% faster. This is clear...

I had the pleasure of speaking at and attending a Sales Enablement Society (SES) meeting recently. SES is an international organization that is dedicated to increasing the visibility of the Sales Enablement function in the organization as well as more acutely defining...

One of the first things that have to happen before achieving Sales and Marketing Alignment is creating a better connection between salespeople and marketers. I've said many times that alignment is a people issue, not a technology issue. In order to understand how to...

Leaders of most B2B companies know the reality of fierce competition in this space. Customers are being blasted by vendors on a never-ending basis. Research shows that they are getting quite annoyed by it. No one probably feels the pressure of trying to make things...

Getting CEO support for a Sales and Marketing Alignment effort can be difficult. Although embarking on this journey to better alignment can be a large undertaking, it is worth it. The effect that better alignment has on long-term revenue growth is invaluable. Because...

I had the pleasure of launching the first-ever Sales and Marketing Alignment Summit right here in Chicago. Its goal was simply to help professionals learn how to make Sales and Marketing work together.  Creating this type of business community has been a passion of...