It’s all about the virus but there are other things going on in sales and marketing news this week. We went 50/50 on our favorite articles. One opinion piece on sales channels and direct-to-consumer we can apply to B2B sales, two articles on the coronavirus: one on planning and one on newsjacking, and one article on sales and marketing living in harmony. It’s a great time to be generating leads because plans are being scrutinized and forecasts changed. Enjoy!

It’s a new year and you have big plans for your business. Unfortunately, it’s only the beginning of the year and sales numbers are already looking a bit shaky. So what’s a business owner or sales manager to do?

n this week’s lead generation news, we take a look at markets. Virtual markets that may or may not exist, arbitrage markets in food and the data behind a trending meme. I try not to get stuck on some of these stories, but the virtual designer clothes thing. . .if that takes off I may just give up this work thing because it may mean I don’t understand markets at all.

This week we talk about fitting into gaps big companies leave behind, we hear a story about the most dangerously competitive market in North America, and we end with a couple of tools/tutorials. One is a treatise on how to do ads on Facebook, the other is a tool to navigate the rapidly expanding world of marketing tools. Yes, we’re to the point we need tools for our tools. Enjoy!

automation

Automation tools are gaining popularity among small businesses that want to improve the efficiency of their marketing efforts. Creative templates are one such tool that help with everything from website redesign to email newsletters.