In the B2B world, we’re constantly looking for leads with B.A.N.T. — budget, authority, need and time. ‘Qualified leads’ are defined as at least warm leads, but B.A.N.T.- qualified leads typically are warmer than that; let’s call them hot leads.

Everyone has their own definition of B.A.N.T.-qualified leads, but here at Canyon we typically define these kind of leads as having a need for a product/service within one-six months, with 12 months being the outside edge of the longest sales cycle. Warm leads generally have some degree of interest in your product/services sometime in the near future, typically up to a year out.

When it comes to classifying leads, it’s important to clearly define your leads based upon their responses to your marketing and digital marketing efforts. It’s also important to have a mechanism in place to classify each kind of lead at the very beginning of the scoring process, so there is no confusion across the sales or marketing departments within your company.

But how do your drive more B.A.N.T.-qualified leads into your pipeline?

Canyon Communications sister company Loop Demand Gen, has that down to a science. Loop can help you to define, score and nurture your sales leads, delivering you B.A.N.T. qualified leads as an end result. And more B.A.N.T.-qualified leads equals more completed sales.

Contact us to learn how Canyon and Loop together can help you strategize your marketing/sales efforts, and to help you close more business.

Everyone has heard the old adage, ‘you are only as good as your employees’ and at Canyon we truly believe that. Canyon’s success is not only directly a result of the ‘smarketers’ (a word we created to define our smart marketers) we hire, but by the investment we continually make to further develop marketing skills and knowledge.

At Canyon, we have started a professional development track whereby each Canyon employee will be going through a course of some sort where he/she will grow a specific new skill set or gain insight into a new marketing technology, or further develop management skills.

I was chosen to pilot this new initiative, so I joined Toastmasters.

Toastmasters is an organization that teaches public speaking and leadership skills. If you’d like to join me, we meet every Thursday at 7:00pm here, or at plenty of other locations around the Valley.

I joined Toastmasters at the beginning of August and so far this month I have been selected to give an impromptu speech, be the ‘Joke Master’ of the day where I am responsible for telling a joke that makes everyone laugh, and I have given an introductory five minute ‘Ice Breaker’ speech.

Image copyright Toastmasters International.

I have learned how to more effectively communicate, learn how body language affects your leadership abilities, how to develop an idea on command and clearly present your ideas to a group of people, and of course how to capture the audiences’ attention.

It might sound easy, but let me tell you, it has been a good challenge for me! I see great value in joining this organization and what I will learn at Toastmasters will have a direct influence on my ability to communicate internally and externally to clients.

Is professional development important to you? What things would you like to work on?

If you have ever read some of my blog posts in the past, you will quickly pick up on the fact that I really focus much of my work on enablement programs within the B2B technology sector. I eat, sleep and breathe enablement programs and with my team, I am constantly thinking about how to better enable technology partners to market and sell products/solutions.

Our success in this field over the past two years with these programs have been based on adapting our programs to the latest web strategy/technologies, our clients’ business needs and, of course, market trends. But the lowest hanging fruit for adapting and improving our programs has been customer feedback!

It simply goes back to basics.

Canyon Communications swears by program surveys to adapt, improve and continue enablement program success. But surveys aren’t just for enablement programs, they can also provide eye-popping insight into your current product/solution offerings.

Want to know what your customers like, don’t like, what they would like more of, how you are perceived, how you compare to other competitors, etc.? Just ask!

Before you begin to implement surveys for your business/programs, here are some things to keep in mind:

• Know your audience and develop a survey that you know they will have time/interest
• Provide an incentive to your customers if their time is extremely limited
• Try to keep it to 10 questions or less for higher conversion rates
• Opt for a mix of open-ended, multiple choice and yes/no questions for a maximum insight
• Let them know you are conducting a survey to simply improve upon their experience with your solutions/products
• For every question you ask, be sure there is every available option for someone to answer the question accurately

Need help with your customer surveys or have questions on what survey software to use? Contact Canyon and we can help you gain the insight you need.

Exporting products from one country to another is often a difficult and time-consuming process. There are mountains of paperwork and Customs forms, not to mention duty and taxes and all of the other fees associated with going global. But what if you’re not exporting a product, but instead you’re exporting a program?

Then the real challenges begin.

A consistent marketing strategy and coordinated service offering are critical when planning a launch in a new country. Your new (potential) clients need to know what they’re getting in to, and as globalization forces the world smaller and smaller, there are a number of strategies and pitfalls to be aware when you cross those borders.

It’s time to take over the world

Of course, the key is research. And then there’s the questions.

Are you confident in the strength of the brand? How about the product offering? Does your research show a specific need in the marketplace you’re going to fill?

Is everyone in the office hard at work customizing and tailoring everything to fit with current overseas marketing and partner enablement strategies? Does your product offering reflects the strength of the global brand and demonstrates the unity of the product to the brand?

When going global, there’s no shortage of detail-work.

Let’s take a closer look at a specific example – here at Canyon Communications we’re working with a client in the tech sector as they prepare to launch one of their most successful programs internationally. Bearing in mind the overall brand already has a worldwide presence (and has already been wildly successful stateside), we’re working to prepare for markets they haven’t entered yet – Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It’s been a great experience tailoring a marketing initiative to other countries, and as we get close to our launch here’s some of the great things (and tips) we’ve learned along the way:

1. Translation is key – be sure to translate anything you are communicating in the appropriate language by using a local translator (this includes date format – don’t ask why, just make sure you’re there August 1, 2011, not January 11, 2008).
2. Keep time zones in mind when launching e-mail marketing campaigns, programs, etc.
3. Keep in mind the appropriate website domain name for that country (i.e. France uses the “.fr” extension rather than .com traditional here in the U.S.).
4. Make sure your policies, disclaimers and incentives are legal in other countries. I can’t stress this enough.
5. Know the culture of a specific country to know what is business appropriate when meeting with clients and executing upon marketing initiatives.

Canyon Communications has the capabilities to help businesses build or grow their business from U.S. focus to an International focus via strategic marketing plans and programs. Give us a shout to see how we’ve have helped other clients grow their brands internationally.