Insights and Research for Marketing, Sales Development and Sales

We surveyed our sponsors for TOPO Summit 2018 and asked them to identify three trends their companies are following in 2018.  Based on those responses, we will be publishing a series of blog posts over the next several weeks, categorizing their thoughts into six themes: AI and Data, Everything Account-Based, Content and Experience, Sales and Marketing Alignment, Marketing and Sales Development Orchestration, and Sales Focused.

Want to hear more from these companies? Be sure to meet with them at TOPO Summit, where these topics, and more, will be covered by our speakers and our sponsors.

We surveyed our sponsors for TOPO Summit 2018 and asked them to identify three trends their companies are following in 2018.  Based on those responses, we will be publishing a series of blog posts over the next several weeks, categorizing their thoughts into six themes: AI and Data, Everything Account-Based, Content and Experience, Sales and Marketing Alignment, Marketing and Sales Development Orchestration, and Sales Focused.

Want to hear more from these companies? Be sure to meet with them at TOPO Summit, where these topics, and more, will be covered by our speakers and our sponsors.

We surveyed our sponsors for TOPO Summit 2018 and asked them to identify three trends their companies are following in 2018. Based on those responses, we will be publishing a series of blog posts over the next several weeks, categorizing their thoughts into six themes: AI and Data, Everything Account-Based, Content and Experience, Sales and Marketing Alignment, Marketing and Sales Development Orchestration, and Sales Focused.

Want to hear more from these companies? Be sure to meet with them at TOPO Summit, where these topics, and more, will be covered by our speakers and our sponsors.

The sales demo, or product demonstration, is a critical piece of the sales process—and it’s easier than ever to deliver via a variety of channels, such as video or a web conference. A demo can mean the difference between closing a deal and losing a prospect.

Every day on LinkedIn there is a post with a long comment string discussing how some prospecting methodology is “dead” –  cold-calling, social-selling, etc. These provocative arguments dominate our LinkedIn feed. It’s understandable because cracking the code of prospecting in today’s world is the holy grail. The real message here is that prospecting is hard and many techniques in isolation are frustratingly inefficient and ineffective.

We surveyed our sponsors for TOPO Summit 2017 and asked them to identify three trends their companies are following in 2017.  Based on those responses, we will be publishing a series of blog posts over the next several weeks, categorizing their thoughts into five themes: Account-Based, Sales Development, Data, Tech Stack, and Sales Enablement.

Last week marked my one year anniversary at TOPO. For most of that time, my work has involved helping companies transition to account-based go-to-market strategies. I’ve observed that people within these companies bring diverse perspectives on what account-based is, what it does, and what it means. That diversity is actually important to preserve, and even embrace. Based on functional roles, the way account-based programs are designed and executed will vary. The diversity of perspectives makes marketing and sales outreach more compelling and engaging.

Sales leaders from the Bay Area’s fastest growing companies once again gathered last Friday for TOPO’s fourth Sales Council. These Councils offer a unique forum for sales leaders from high growth companies to learn from each other and share best practices. Each Council features three speakers who share the processes, plays, organizational elements, and technologies they use to drive key revenue metrics.

The proliferation of sales development teams in B2B companies over the past decade has been unprecedented. While the sales development (SD) function has existed for at least 30 years, many great companies safeguarded their sales development process as a “secret sauce.” Today, sales development is considered a requirement for any normally functioning B2B sales and marketing organization, and SD practices have become virtually standardized across companies. In fact, TOPO’s research has shown that 100% of high-growth organizations have sales development organizations.

Over 25 demand generation leaders from the Bay Area’s fastest growing companies gathered last Friday for TOPO’s eleventh Marketing Council. These Councils offer a unique forum for marketing leaders from high growth companies to learn from each other and share best practices. Each Council features three speakers who share the processes, plays, organizational elements, and technologies they use to drive key revenue metrics.