By Jeff Pedowitz, President and CEO, The Pedowitz Group

Great coaches win consistently because they develop great strategies, design winning plays, enforce the fundamentals and execute for results.

A lack of information available to channel sales executives accounts is resulting in an extreme loss of revenue and potential opportunities, according to the findings of a survey of senior channel sales and marketing executives. The research, conducted by cloud-based channel management solution provider Channelinsight, revealed that incentive program performance, partner and end-customer identification and segmentation information are vital to channel program success. 

The survey found inaccurate incentive payments and a lack of a simple, automated system for managing incentives were damaging confidence in channel programs, as only 33% of survey respondents are somewhat or very satisfied with their current incentive program performance. On average, respondents believe they overpay on incentive programs by 6%, and only 40% of indicate that company channel incentives are calculated and processed automatically.

Rainmaker Systems, a provider of BtoB e-Commerce sales solutions, today announced the completion of its registered direct offering of units consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.40 shares of common stock. The shares of common stock and warrants were offered and sold after an effective registration statement previously announced with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nearly 3.5 million shares of Rainmaker’s common stock were sold at $1.05 per share and the warrants to purchase approximately 1.4 million additional shares at $1.40 per share to purchasers comprised of new investors and existing stockholders. Approximately 136,000 shares of common stock were sold at a price of $1.29 per share, with warrants to purchase close to 54,000 additional shares at $1.40 per share, to members of the company’s Board of Directors.

BtoB organizations of all sizes across a variety of markets are deploying automation tools to re-engineer internal processes and align sales and marketing teams. This collaboration is driving revenue growth, and improving campaign results and effectiveness for a multitude of companies, churning out effective leads and nurturing longer-term buyers.

DemandGen Report’s third annual Sales and Marketing Alignment Awards profiles 10 companies that have successfully adopted technology to drive an influx of top-funnel lead generation, maximize campaign development and response, and cut internal costs.

By Cari Baldwin, Co-Founder & Partner, Bluebird Strategies

A recent study estimates that more than 70% of leads generated by marketing are never followed up by sales.

By Cari Baldwin, Co-Founder & Partner, Bluebird Strategies

A recent study estimates that more than 70% of leads generated by marketing are never followed up by sales.

SalesFUSION, an integrated sales and marketing demand generation platform, recently announced its partnership with Sage Software, a global supplier of business management software, adding to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and AppExchange among other CRM integrations.

SalesFUSION’s marketing platform is built from a CRM-style database designed to allow more flexibility and integration to the CRM. The partnership is aimed at fusing the marketing automation platform of SalesFUSION, the Sage CRM and Saleslogix CRM solutions. Additionally, the integration offers automation population of detailed campaign response activity, generated and captured within SalesFUSION to the lead, contact and account records in CRM.

At Eloqua Experience Europe June 21, 2011, Eloqua unveiled the “Eloqua AppCloud,” calling it an “online marketplace for BtoB marketing applications.”

Designed as a platform for the marketing application community, Eloqua launched its AppCloud with 20 “connectors,” including Lithium Technologies, Jigsaw and ON24, but anticipates a substantial expansion of the platform, with new applications focused on social, data and conferencing, according to Eloqua CMO Brian Kardon.

At Eloqua Experience Europe June 21, 2011, Eloqua unveiled the “Eloqua AppCloud,” calling it an “online marketplace for BtoB marketing applications.”

Designed as a platform for the marketing application community, Eloqua launched its AppCloud with 20 “connectors,” including Lithium Technologies, Jigsaw and ON24, but anticipates a substantial expansion of the platform, with new applications focused on social, data and conferencing, according to Eloqua CMO Brian Kardon.

Following the finalization of Europe’s new privacy regulations, marketing automation software providers are taking notice and adding features and functions to help clients adhere accordingly. Pardot, a provider of cloud marketing automation software, today announced the addition of security features, including adjustable cookie-based tracking settings and opt-in tracking code for site visitors.

The new opt-in feature gives site visitors the option to have their browsing activity tracked. This new addition complies with the EU regulation that every site visitor has the option to opt-out of behavior tracking, preventing companies from observing customer page views and file downloads. Pardot’s tracking code is designed to display a pop-up window that asks permission to track visitor activities. With the feature’s country-specific settings, companies can control who receives the notice.