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Account based marketing looks poised to take 2016 by storm. A huge resurgence across 2015 shows no signs of stopping, and many are racing to adopt the right tactics across their ABM endeavors.

Knowing when and how to use account based marketing effectively across the sales process means understanding why it works, and how it differs from other digital sales content strategies.

Today’s article explores the need-to-know reasons why account based marketing is worth using across the sales process.

Nancy Nardin gave a presentation last week at the Apttus Accelerate Sales Event where she discussed the ‘Sales Technology Stack Maturity Model’ – a combination of 2 hierarchies used for assessing a sales stack and making decisions about new sales technology investments.

The maturity model is an innovative concept for framing the challenge of picking the right digital sales aids for your sales process.

Today’s article explores the sales stack maturity model created by the team at Smart Selling Tools.

Building the best sales stack for your sales process entails serious research into the sales support technology vendor landscape. As the industry grows each year (almost doubling every 5 years), understanding this landscape can be a challenge.

Forrester recently released their Vendor Landscape for Sales Enablement Automation software in an effort to map the market and address the above noted challenges.

Today’s article explores the challenge of identifying the right sales enablement software with insights from the Forrester Vendor Landscape: Sales Enablement Automation report..

It’s no secret that sales teams avoid much of the digital content that marketing teams are putting out. There are many reasons for this, but the bigger challenge is that sales reps are spending time creating content instead of focusing on selling, and time spent selling has been declining since 1998.

However, the content that sales teams do create is used more, liked more, and better meets the needs of sales reps in the field.

Today’s article will make a positive case for when sales reps should in fact be creating content, and how to make sure that content creation is done right for maximum impact across the sales process.

The marketing department is often the primary creator of digital content used for customer facing interactions such as lead generation and sales presentations. Unfortunately a lot of content created by the marketing team doesn’t actually get used.

Instead what we’re seeing are sales reps going out and creating their own content for their specific selling needs and challenges.

Today’s article explores digital content creation by sales reps, and why they perhaps shouldn’t be creating their own content.

Digital content marketing often includes the creation of digital content sales material such as case studies, ROI outlines, product spec sheets, financial charts, compliance paperwork. 3D schematics, and etc. which may support a variety of sales interactions throughout a buyer’s decision journey.

Unfortunately these investments tend to miss the mark on usefulness for sales reps and managers, and often add friction to the sales process.

Today we answer the quesion of what sales reps need for strong adoption of digital content sales material.

Data analytics in sales and marketing are as elusive as they are desired with many businesses struggling to make effective use of all the data they’re collecting. As we all know, not everything that can be measured matters, but making that distinction can be a challenge - especially once you consider the increasing volume, velocity, and variety of data that can be extracted from digital content marketing.

Today we explore the key strategies to make the most out of your data.

Data analytics are essential for effective digital content marketing, yet while most acknowledge that predictive analytics and closed loop marketing are essential for future success and optimization over time, most are failing to make effective use of the data inherently available with digital content sales and marketing operations.

Today we explore the top strategies you can employ for effective data analytics along your entire marketing and sales process.

Sales enablement is a cross-functional discipline that integrates and coordinates the customer-focused value chain (sales, marketing, service, etc.) for an adaptive & tailored buyer decision journey experience.

Although several challenges are mitigated by a sales enablement tool, many businesses tackle each challenge with point solutions on a case-by-case basis, and executive decision makers are often unaware of the broader front-line challenges being faced by the sales and marketing team on a daily basis.

Let’s examine why business managers and executives need sales enablement for long term business outcomes.

When you’re working the front lines of sales or marketing, integrated marketing communications challenges can be a daily hurdle.

Trying to plan the right content, map buyer personas, distribute material and coordinate IMC, analyze consumption, etc. tends to reveal obvious gaps in technological capability that aren’t mitigated by current marketing and sales stacks.

The challenge for many isn’t finding the right solution, but rather, convincing the key decision maker to invest in a tool or solution that you need. Today we look at 3 steps to earn executive buy-in for sales enablement software (and other purchases).

A quick google search reveals several tips and lists to earn management buy-in for a change of strategy or investment in new technology, but as I’m sure many have found, they can be self-serving, lack focused value to your specific situation, and don’t make it easier to have that important 'final' discussion.