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    How To Be A Great Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketer

    How To Be A Great Business-to-Business (B2B) Marketer

    20 B2B marketers share their knowledge.

    I recently interviewed 20 fantastic Business-to-business (B2B) marketers for my new book, The Radical Sales Shift: 20 Lessons from 20 Leaders on How to Use Marketing to Grow Sales in B2B Companies. The book has a lot of advice from some very savvy business-to-business strategists and chief marketing officers.  And they all shared similar tips on how to be a great B2B marketer. 


     

    1. B2B marketers must take responsibility for revenue generation.

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    These days, marketing is closer to sales than ever before. In some cases, it IS sales. You simply can’t be standoffish about that relationship. Superstar B2B marketers know that revenue generation is their job, and they aren’t afraid to take responsibility for generating pipeline.

     

    2. B2B marketers should expect to roll up their sleeves.

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    If you’re working for a B2B company, you probably don’t have a huge marketing team at your disposal – or an unlimited budget. So you end up wearing a lot of hats and taking on tasks that may not be part of your official job description, like learning how to use WordPress, tweeting, even do basic graphic design. The key is to roll up your sleeves and make sure the job gets done.  If you don't have a healthy attitude to figuring out how to do new things, B2B marketing probably isn't the right career for you. 

     

    3. B2B marketers have to be resourceful.

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    In case the point wasn't clear enough in #2, figuring out how to do things on a shoestring budget is what a B2B marketing job is all about. I’ve heard some great stories about workarounds and compromises that netted some really great results. One marketer I interviewed talked about shooting a video on the cheap: they didn’t have the $5K they needed to hire a pro, so they brought in a student, an offshore vendor, and created a great little video for $800. You just have to be imaginative and think outside of 'commonly accepted budgets'. 

     

    4. B2B marketers must give away their expertise.

    Traditionally, B2B experts and companies have hoarded their knowledge, afraid that competitors would use it to their advantage.

    But that attitude just doesn’t work anymore.

    Talking about what you know and how well you know it positions you as the expert in your field, and attracts the attention of potential customers. In an information-saturated world, the companies that don’t demonstrate their expertise look like they don’t actually have any.  And that's not a good way to attract new customers.  


    CONCLUSION:

    These principles are included in one of the lessons in The Radical Sales Shift. Want to know more? Get the first chapter free!