Revolutionize Your B2B Sales Strategy: Data-Driven Marketing Techniques to Accelerate Your Sales Cycle

In the ever-evolving business world, a robust B2B sales strategy is not just an added advantage; it’s an indispensable component for success. The importance of Data-Driven Marketing Techniques to Accelerate Your Sales Cycle cannot be overstated, as it serves as the foundation for your organization’s growth and long-term viability.

Adeptly navigating the complex landscape of B2B sales necessitates a keen understanding of your target market, a relentless focus on fostering relationships, and the ability to adapt to shifting industry trends. It’s no small feat, but businesses can thrive in this competitive arena with the right approach.

The intricacies of B2B sales are multifaceted; thus, a solid strategy must account for various elements that can impact your bottom line. For instance, understanding the nuances of your customer’s decision-making process is crucial, enabling you to tailor your messaging and offerings accordingly.

Furthermore, a deep comprehension of your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses allows you to pinpoint and capitalize on opportunities. In this article, we will explore top B2B digital marketing techniques that will help you accelerate the overall sales cycle. Whether you have an in-house team or you’re planning to hire the B2B SEO Company, this article is for you. On this note, let’s dive into the B2B sales strategies.

Top data-driven marketing techniques to boost B2B sales:

In today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, data-driven marketing techniques have emerged as indispensable tools for organizations seeking to maximize their sales potential.

By leveraging data, companies can create targeted campaigns, develop personalized content, and monitor their progress with precision. This section explores the top 10 data-driven marketing techniques that will propel your B2B sales to new heights.

1. Predictive Analytics: The Crystal Ball of B2B Marketing:

Predictive analytics enables marketers to analyze historical data patterns to forecast future outcomes, empowering them to make informed decisions and seize lucrative opportunities. By harnessing machine learning algorithms, businesses can identify high-potential leads, optimize pricing strategies, and streamline their sales funnel, all while enhancing customer satisfaction and fostering trust.

2. Account-Based Marketing (ABM): A Laser-Focused Approach to B2B Engagement:

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach that targets specific high-value accounts with tailored content and messaging. This method allows businesses to concentrate their resources on prospects most likely to convert, boosting ROI and nurturing long-lasting relationships. By integrating ABM with detailed buyer personas, companies can craft customized experiences that resonate deeply with their target audience, fostering loyalty and driving sales growth.

3. Marketing Automation: The Key to Streamlining Processes and Amplifying B2B Sales Efficiency:

Marketing automation software empowers businesses to automate repetitive tasks like email marketing, social media posting, and lead nurturing. By reducing manual labor and enhancing efficiency, marketing teams can dedicate more time to devising creative campaigns and forging meaningful connections with prospective clients. Additionally, automation tools offer invaluable insights that help refine marketing strategies, optimize resource allocation, and drive sales growth.

Content Marketing: Establishing Thought Leadership and Building Trust with Prospective Clients:

Content marketing is a powerful means of demonstrating industry expertise, establishing thought leadership, and building trust with potential clients. By regularly producing valuable, informative, and engaging content, businesses can be trusted advisors in their respective fields. This approach generates leads and fosters brand loyalty, ultimately culminating in increased sales.

Social media analytics involves analyzing data from various social platforms to gain insights into audience sentiment, preferences, and behavior. By monitoring these metrics, marketers can identify opportunities for engagement, tailor their messaging, and optimize content for maximum impact. Consequently, businesses can cultivate meaningful relationships with prospects, encouraging brand loyalty and driving B2B sales.

6. Customer Segmentation: A Data-Driven Approach to Personalized Marketing:

Customer segmentation divides a company’s target audience into smaller, more homogeneous groups based on shared characteristics, such as demographics, firmographics, or behavioral patterns. This approach enables businesses to create highly targeted campaigns that resonate with specific segments, resulting in greater engagement, conversion rates, and sales.

7. Multi-Touch Attribution Modeling: Unraveling the Complexities of the B2B Buyer’s Journey:

Multi-touch attribution modeling allows marketers to assign credit to various touch points within the buyer’s journey. This enables them to determine which marketing channels and tactics are most effective in driving sales. By understanding the nuances of the B2B buyer’s journey, companies can optimize their marketing strategies, allocate resources more effectively, and boost sales performance.

8. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Fine-Tuning the B2B Sales Funnel for Maximum Results:

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) involves systematically testing and refining various website or marketing campaign elements to improve conversion rates. By employing data-driven techniques such as A/B testing, heatmap analysis, and user feedback, businesses can identify areas for improvement, enhance user experience, and ultimately increase sales.

9. Data-Driven Email Marketing: Harnessing the Power of Personalization to Boost B2B Sales:

Data-driven email marketing uses customer data to create personalized, relevant, timely messages that resonate with recipients. By leveraging insights from behavioral patterns, preferences, and past interactions, businesses can tailor their emails to individual prospects, resulting in higher open and click-through rates, enhanced engagement, and increased sales.

10. Web Analytics: Monitoring Performance and Uncovering Opportunities for Growth:

Web analytics tools enable businesses to track, measure, and analyze website performance, providing invaluable insights into user behavior, acquisition channels, and conversion rates. By monitoring these metrics, companies can identify areas for improvement, optimize their online presence, and uncover growth opportunities, ultimately driving B2B sales to new heights.

In conclusion, by embracing these data-driven marketing techniques, businesses can elevate their B2B sales performance, foster lasting relationships with clients, and secure a competitive edge in today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving marketplace. If you don’t have an in-house marketing or SEO team, it’s better to consult an SEO services in India. The professionals will help you improve the B2B sales leveraging custom strategies.

Furthermore, in 2023 as the majority of the customers have already shifted towards digital commerce, the agency will help you gain an edge. Whether you’re into E-Commerce or a local business, having personalized B2B sales strategies will always help you scale your operations and gain more traction among customers.

Creative Visual Design Content: The Best Ever Solution of Visual Design

We are always on the lookout for creative ideas for doing visual design content things … like annual reports of companies. Enter Warby Parker and its application of creative visual design content to its most recent annual report.

A creative mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.

creative visual design content — Creative visual design content.

Never heard of Parker Warby? As they write on their website, Warby Parker was founded with a rebellious spirit and a lofty objective. The objective was to create boutique-quality, classically crafted eyewear at a revolutionary price point.

Eyewear with a purpose

Almost one billion people worldwide lack access to glasses. This means that 15% of the global population cannot effectively learn or work – a problem that Warby Parker is determined to address. They’ve partnered with non-profits like VisionSpring to ensure that for every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need.

Eyewear startup Warby Parker just released its 2013 Annual Report, a perfect example of how important tone is in creating great visual content. This very different approach to a year-end report uses a calendar format, highlighting company events on each day. Some events are significant company milestones; others are little anecdotes showcasing office life and culture.

Wow … what a change from the typical financial results and strategic initiatives that typically fill the pages of annual reports.

The report is an excellent example of a brand showcasing its ideas, creativity, and culture in a visually engaging way. At its core, the strategy of content marketing is not just about distribution and visibility. It is about telling the world who you are and what you stand for. This design goes a long way in turning customers into brand advocates.

The design shows how to empower your content. So many companies just don’t take advantage of their great content, or they don’t know how to present their content in a creative way. Often, in the end, they are fighting for survival as we all are. However, brands that can express their personality, their creativity, and passion, and manage their content in a way that speaks to people will create loyal customers.

types of visual content — Types of visual content.

Here are nine important takeaways all brands can learn from Warby Parker’s design approach to creating great content.

Push the edge to be different

What does the Warby Parker (http://www.warbyparker.com/annual-report-2013/#march-11 class trip have to do with eyeglasses? What does it matter? It is an interesting story, and Warby Parker uses the story to illustrate its personality and culture. Your content should be relatable, valuable and interesting for your audience. If you capture these qualities, your marketing will create a captive audience with ever-increasing brand loyalty.

Creative visual design content … utilize visual design

First and foremost, prioritize visual design in your efforts. Presenting your content in a visual format has some benefits. First, humans recognize and process images much faster than text; this is why visual content has much greater appeal. A study by 3M showed that 90% of the information sent to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text.

Second, using a diversity of image types makes your content continuously fresh, which encourages readers to explore more. In the Warby Parker design the combination of photography, illustration, videos, and data visualization keeps the eyes interested and moving around the page. More time on site means more engagement with your brand.

Apply data in comparison

If you are going to visualize data, display a comparison—that is what makes the visualization more meaningful. The infographics revolution has brought with it many missed data visualization opportunities in the form of single-data-point pie charts and big numbers with fancy typographic treatment. Distilling data into a statistic removes the context and comparison that makes it insightful. Don’t fear complexity; take advantage of the opportunity to add clarity with many visualization design elements.

Show your personality

Business is becoming increasingly personal—not in the waiter remembers my name sort of way, but more in the way that we crave more personal connection in a web-based world. People want to know that the businesses they support are run in a way they can relate to, that its employees are people they might hang out with and potentially even someone who could become a good friend.

Marketing content is all about making connections. Your level of success has a lot to do with how your readers react to what you write. People connect with your brand because they relate to what you’re saying to them. They want to feel that your content is specifically crafted with their interests and needs in mind. In other words, it should feel personal.

Show off your people

Your customer community wants to know that there are humans behind your brand, and they want to know more about them as people. Don’t make the mistake of hiding your people, relationships, interactions, and office pranks behind a shield of professionalism. These things are most often as interesting as your products and services … and certainly as how much money you made last year. In today’s marketing landscape, whether you are a product or service-oriented business, you are selling your culture, and your culture is your people.

Create emotion

In doing so, it’s important to remember that not all emotion is created equal. In his research, Berger identifies that certain kinds of emotions – those that get people “aroused” like awe, passion, and anger – are much more likely to drive shares than those that make people feel toned down – like sadness, relaxation, or contentment.

Don’t be afraid to shake things up.

Integrate products/services naturally

Your products and services don’t have to be ignored. In the midst of all the other ways to add to your design, you often can overlook them. Feature your product or service naturally within content, but don’t make it an abrupt deviation from the other fun stuff. This means that you will want to tone down your calls-to-action and any other hard-sell tactics. Use them as an opportunity to remind viewers what you do, without killing all those good vibes you have been building.

One important element of marketing is about bringing attention to how awesome you are. However, this doesn’t mean your awesomeness-recognition abilities should be limited to your pursuits. Calling out the big (and little) wins of others—vendors, customers, ex-employees, maybe even competitors—shows that you are not afraid to give credit where it is due. This fresh perspective will add authenticity to your content.

Amplify who you are

So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you.

It’s up to you to keep improving your ability to learning to learn. Lessons are all around you. In many situations, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.

It’s up to you to keep improving your continuous learning from all around your environment.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.

When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.

Need some help in capturing more improvements for your staff’s teamwork, collaboration, and learning? Creative ideas in running or facilitating a teamwork or continuous learning workshop?

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy continually improving your continuous learning?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.

The Nine Most Valuable Secrets of Writing Effective Copy

How Good Is your Learning from Failure?

10 Extraordinary Ways for Learning to Learn

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How to Live a Happy Life

You have 30 seconds to live, what would you tell your children are the 3 most important things you learnt about how to live a happy life?

I’d love my children to know these three headlines that I could utter in less than 30 seconds before saying goodbye. If fortune would have been kind enough to let me live until that point, I would have had the time to explain to them the details below through one way or another as they grew up. All that would be left then would be gentle reminders, not brand new, bold lessons.

1) Attitude is (almost) everything – remember the top 3 of the list

10% of your life consists of things you willed or brought about. Don’t sweat that small stuff. 90% is all that you cannot control, the stuff that just happens to you. How will you deal with those things? How will you react? What will you learn? The key to these questions is attitude. That’s great news, in a way. No matter your level of formal education, no matter how far you think you got in your life with your career or relationships. None of these things (the 10%, remember?) matter if you have not fostered three most important attitudes. Both can be infinitely scaled. Their power is limitless if you learn how to attend to them.

First is gratitude, the attitude directed towards appreciating anything and anyone. The ability to assign value to something that others overlook. The deep, bottomless wellspring of being thankful for your health, your family, your job, anything. This is the secret to true richness. It never runs out. And best: it is not a scarce resource, unlike any other resource in the world.

Second is levity or humility, the attitude of not taking yourself too seriously. Never forget where you came from. Never forget what you are: just human. No matter how high you fly or how low you fall, it all just seems so much easier if you tread lightly, if you remember not to take yourself and those many projects of yours too importantly to the point of agonizing about them. It is fine to strive and seek. But this too, shall pass. Don’t forget that in your darkest hour and it will set you free.

Third is resilience, the attitude to weather anything from the gentlest breeze to the strongest gale threatening to derail or break you on your journey. Some call it growing a thick skin, a tough hide, robustness or fortitude. No matter what you call it, foster it because you have no idea what people are capable of surviving. The world is not necessarily cruel by definition, but it can be cruel by ignorance, by the apathy of nature, by forces so large they can toss you around like a speck of dust to make you know your place in the scheme of things. Those times can hurt. A lot. I won’t lie as you will likely have your fair share of hurt even if you did nothing to deserve it. For those times, I wish for you to have resilience to suck it up and then get back to work.

2) Know your values – always try to stay true to them

The goal of life, if there is any, is to gain self knowledge. To learn who you are and what makes you tick. What makes you tick is this squishy, intangible but very real set of values that make you the person you are. It is the compass that was implanted in your heart when you were born, then shaped by your upbringing and experiences.

If you ever feel lost in life, if you don’t know what you are supposed to do, if you don’t know what is even worth doing, chances are you have not been in touch with what it is you most value. If there is any task worth doing, any adventure or ordeal worth going through, these things are all only helpful as later seen by their ability to help you articulate or confirm your values.

Keep it simple, since as much as you like to think you could be this incredibly complex person, chances are there are some 2-3 core values that make you who you are, that define your choices and preferences in people, places and occupations. Make it your life’s work to figure them out – I mean really figure them out, to know them without the shadow of a doubt. Then do what is necessary to affirm them, defend them to the death if you should be so inclined. That is what it means to be lead an authentic life. Go lead one. It’s not the only way to live, but the most noble in my opinion.

Oh, and I forgot to mention: some of your values can change throughout your life, just to make things a bit harder. Where would the fun in it all be otherwise?

3) Help others – and always return to kindness

You may wonder if this is not just one of those values I talked about above, and I would tend to agree if it were not for the fact that kindness is not just a value. It is something so enormously important I would place it in a category of its own. Whatever your values, whatever you do with yourself, never forget to be kind.

Let me rephrase this, since we all forget a lot of the time (we are human): try not to forget, and when you eventually do, make it up by returning to kindness. Don’t ask why. If you have to the reason is this: because it’s the right thing to do.

Listen, life can be short. It can also be very painful and unpleasant, mostly because you put yourself at the center of the universe. But the world is too vast for your small heads. So don’t torture yourselves unnecessarily. The trick is to think of others, to live in service of others, not because it will serve you later in return, not because you expect something from them, but because this is what you were put on the planet to do. Let me put this more bluntly: everything you have ever learned, everything you have worked so hard to achieve so far, all that you have accumulated in riches and experiences and glories and war stories – it all amounts to nothing ultimately unless you have found some way – some tiny, modest or outright ingenious way – to put it to use to help others.

Help them find comfort, help them by loving them, by keeping them companionship; help them survive, help them thrive, help them learn something, help them find themselves – anything – but please be of help in some meaningful way to you. And throughout all this: be kind more often than you are not. Remember, kindness is not the goal, it’s the path. When you stray, just get back on, it’s no big deal.

I believe that you can be happy everyday and always , if you:

Start your day believing that you are going to have a great day.
Focus on what you have rather than what you want. At the end of every day, thank god for all that you have.
Let go things that are beyond your control, particularly those that frustrate you or make you sad.
Learn to accept people or things around you as they are rather than how you want them to be. This will make your life easier.
Follow the good old saying “Do good and feel good.”
Don’t have unreasonable expectations from both, you personal life and professional life. Count your blessings.

Happiness is a choice.

1. Stop caring what people think about you. If you like something go for it, don’t think about how people are going to judge you.

2. Help someone in need. Helping someone will always give you feeling of great pleasure.

3. Don’t react, but respond properly. If anyone hurts you, or says something bad to you. Don’t be quick to react. Control your self and give it some time. You will discover that it is worthless even thinking about it.

4. Exercise daily. Relaxing your body muscles will also keep you happy. You will not feel exhausted.

Karma is everything..Be good to others..and don’t try to hurt anyone

Personal Advice I Would Offer to Myself

I’m 75 years old. I wish I could travel back in time. If I could, I would sit down with myself at 18 years old and give myself this personal advice.

I can’t time travel, so I’ll just write this article instead.

Here are the top 10 life lessons I would pass on:

1. Your health is your #1 priority – If you can’t take care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of anyone else. Treat your body as your #1 priority.

How do you do this?

Be conscious of how your body feels – I love cupcakes. I love chicken nuggets. I love burgers. When I was a kid, I used to be eat tons of this stuff and would feel just fine. Seriously, I used to eat 36 chicken nuggets in one sitting! Nowadays, if I eat any of these, my body feels off. If I eat a fruit and vegetable smoothie though, I feel lighter, energetic and healthier. Your body sends you signals all the time when you eat. Pay attention to them. And nourish your body. You probably won’t be perfect. I’m not. I still eat a burger from time to time. But if you try to keep your body healthy more often than not, you’ll be in much better shape long term.

Make time to exercise by establishing a routine – We are creatures of habit. Create good habits when it comes to working out. One way I was able to consistently workout is to have it on my schedule for 5:30 PM every day after work. I also gave up my car in the city (I live in San Francisco) so the only way for me to get home is by running or walking.

2. Take risks – There is a risk to not taking a risk. It’s complacency. It’s stagnancy. When I was young I was really afraid of taking risks. I was afraid to join startups, even after being in the technology field for 7 years.

Finally, I saw a friend of mine join a really hot startup and he convinced me to make the jump. When I joined Box just 3 years ago, it was one of the best decisions of my life. I went into a role with a steep learning curve, learned how to build up a business unit from scratch, traveled to over 50 cities in a year and met some of the most amazing people at work – some of which will be friends for life.

Another quick example: I know nothing about building websites. And yet, two months ago, I built one from scratch with a friend and now my blog has 500 subscribers.

Embrace risk and have a bias towards action. Action drives results.

The reality is that you usually can’t be 100% certain about anything until you actually experience it. So dip your toes into the water.

Speaking of risks…

3. Take smart risks – Maybe you shouldn’t dip that toe in the water. Not all risks are worth taking. Thinking about the expected value you can get by taking that risk and make sure it’s a smart bet. Don’t be foolish and take a risk that doesn’t have the appropriate upside. Do as much due diligence as you can in advance.

4. It’s okay to put your phone down – Today, I was waiting to onboard my flight from Boston to San Francisco. I was looking at my phone and after getting mental fatigue from staring at a screen for an obscene amount of time (1.5 hours with only small breaks in between), I decided to look at everyone around me. Guess what I saw? A ton of people with their heads down…looking at their phones. Sometimes getting a ton of information on demand isn’t always a good thing.

The next time you have dinner with friends, put your phone down. You’ll probably have a great conversation and a lot of laughs.

The next time your father tells you about his day, really listen to what he’s saying.

The next time you’re traveling in a foreign country, take in the amazing culture and immerse yourself. Learn the language. Try the different foods. And put down the phone. Unless you’re taking an Instagram photo. #BecauseSomeFoodsAreInstagramWorthy

5. Less is more – When it comes to stuff, you don’t need a lot of it. Somewhere along the way, we were told that accumulating material goods resulted in happiness. While money will be absolutely important for basic necessities like food and shelter, using it to accumulate a ton of stuff doesn’t typically equate to happiness.

Stuff has administrative debt.

Have a lot of clothes? The debt is a bigger closet.

Have a really fancy luxury car? The debt is a high insurance premium, costly maintenance packages and a huge headache if you ever get into an accident.

Clean out the clutter and donate it. I do this at least once a year. Ask yourself – “Do I really need this?”

Simple is good.

6. More is better – Wait, didn’t I say “less is good?” Well, there’s an exception to that rule. More is better – At least when it comes to experiences. Traveling the world can expand your horizons. You can learn new cultures and redefine the way you see the world. Who knows, you might even meet the love of your life while traveling.

Money used for experiences can be life changing.

Speaking of currency…

7. The most important currency in life is time – I had a family friend who spent much of his life saving up money to eventually live the life he always wanted. After decades of saving, he was involved in a tragic accident. He never had the chance to live the life he always dreamed of.

Money is important, but time is even more important.

Utilize money to help you find more time.

Time with your family.

Time with your friends.

Time with your spouse.

Time with kids.

Time with people you want to help.

There are 525,600 minutes in a year. How do you spend your time?

8. Not every fire is a real fire – Nelson, you need to start working on this (insert perceived work catastrophe here) right now! Fix it!

I call those work fires. I used to hear about work fires early on in my career a lot. And I would pull my hair out in the process. Yes, sometimes these work catastrophes really had to be fixed immediately. But not all of them. Sometimes, people would forget about it after a week. Even if it wasn’t fixed.

So take a deep breath, realize it’s not (usually) the end of the world and size up the situation. And then fix it. But don’t let it get to you. Own it.

9. Go 3 “Why’s” deep – It’s easy to get caught up in the tactical parts of life and work all the time. When I was building an iPhone app with my two co-founders, we had an idea for a dating app. At one point, we ended up rolling out a few different features for the app. One change was to gate the app after three swipes and to ask people to share the app on their social networks before they could swipe more. “Brilliant!” we exclaimed. “We’ll get so many more users on this app.” Or so we thought. The new feature didn’t make an impact at all.

When we huddled during our next meeting, one of the co-founders, Steve, challenged me on the app. Looking back now, asking the 3 Why’s would have helped us tremendously. Here’s an example below:

1. Why are you building this app?

“There’s a huge business opportunity since there’s a gap in this niche dating space.”

2. Why do your users want to use this app?

“Because they want to fall in love.”

3. Why are you goals different from your users?

There was a long silence on the phone.

My mind was blown. I realized this whole time that the right way to build a product is to have an extreme passion and obsession around driving an amazing customer experience. My core why should have been “help people fall in love,” rather than “it’s a great business opportunity.” I had been thinking about it wrong the entire time and the 3 Why’s exercise helped me see that.

So what did we do? We went back to the drawing board.

10. Be yourself – You’re weird. You’re unique. You’re different. And that’s awesome. Be the great person you were meant to be.

When I was young, I used to smile during conversations all the time, even when I wasn’t feeling happy. I thought “Gosh, this will make people more comfortable talking to me because I look happy all the time.” One day, one of my best friends pulled me aside and gave me some sage advice (I’m paraphrasing): “Hey bud, you know, sometimes when I think something isn’t funny, I don’t laugh for the sake of laughing. If I don’t find something interesting or I’m not happy at the moment, I won’t smile either. I want to show people exactly what I feel.”

That was a game changing moment for me. Ever since then, I’ve always tried to do exactly that. I want people’s experiences with me to be 100% genuine and transparent. After all, isn’t that the best way to deeply connect with someone? Be authentic. Be yourself.

Be all the awesomeness you were meant to be.

Lessons from the Cluetrain Manifesto

If you follow people like Hugh Macleod and Robert Scoble, etc., you know that we’re living in to eight the era of “the cluetrain.” I first read the Cluetrain Manifesto seven to eight years ago. One of the central ideas in the book is this: markets are conversations and companies by a large do not get that (even if their employees do). Traditional ways of mass-media marketing need to adapt or get out of the way. What Cluetrain was talking about were changes in current company-to-consumer interactions, though their emphasis was on how technology and the web, among other things, was changing this interaction in a radical way. What the Cluetrain Manifesto is saying, at it’s heart, is that communication matters and that the way we think about organization-to-customer communication needs to change.

It’s all communication
Websites, intranets, message boards, email blasts, blogs, developer conferences, sales presentations, and CEO keynotes — it’s about communicating. It all matters. Whether it’s a blog, an e-news letter, or a presentation, what audiences and customers yearn for from organizations is authenticity and transparency, simplicity, and a real human, emotion-without-the-BS approach to communicating. A real conversation…for a change.

The Cluetrain tenets — the “95 Theses” at the beginning of the book — speak largely to wired communications. But it’s all communication. While the “Theses” may not have been written with presentations in mind, many of the items fit nearly perfectly and can serve as good advice or reminders for how we need to connect and engage with our audiences today. Below are ten items (in bold) I took from the list of “95 Theses” in the Cluetrain (my comments follow). I suggest purchasing the book, but you can get most of it free here.

Top-10 Cluetrain Theses: Imperatives for presenters

(1) “Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.”
Markets are not abstractions, and neither are our audiences. They’re people worthy of our full attention and respect. If we can remember that it’s about them and not about us…we’re on the right path.

(2) “Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.”
I don’t hate politicians and I don’t hate marketers…but I hate the way they talk. “Mission-critical, forward-looking value propositions….” People do not talk that way! Many corporate speakers have a special gift for the “blah-blah-blah.” Is anyone listening? Speeches and presentation do not have to be be stuffy and dull, but neither do they need to be hyped-up and shallow — your audience is praying you’ll be different.

(3) “Already, companies that speak in the language of the pitch, the dog-and-pony show, are no longer speaking to anyone.”
Even if your presentation is directly sales related, you have to believe in your product (not the hype) deep down inside. I’m not talking about drinking the Koolaid kind of belief, I’m talking about believing in your product (your cause, research, etc.) like you believe in yourself. Speak to the audience like you respect them, like you think they are smart, like you think they are interesting. Don’t be a TV commercial. Commercials more often than not insult us. And even when they’re clever, we don’t really care and soon forget because…they’re not real.

(4) “Companies need to lighten up and take themselves less seriously. They need to get a sense of humor.”
The best presenters take their cause and their audience very seriously…but they do not take themselves too seriously. They are relaxed…they have nothing to hide. At that moment, nothing could be better than sharing time with the audience, and the audience feels that.

(5) “Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.”
Your speaking does not have to be perfect. In fact, perfect speech and too much polish may alienate a crowd. It’s not real. Each case is different, but an open, natural, friendly, relax approach — away from the podium — is usually best. People pay more attention to a natural, open voice. And few things are more boring for a crowd than the reading of a long manuscript from a podium.

(6) “By speaking in language that is distant, uninviting, arrogant, they build walls to keep markets at bay.”
If you want your talk to fail, simply build a wall between you and your audience. There are many ways to do that: Speak in abstractions, stand in the dark, insult the competition, speak too long, create dreadful visuals, be evasive, and on and on.

(7)”Learning to speak with a human voice is not a parlor trick. It can’t be ‘picked up’ at some tony conference.”
You can learn a lot from presentation coaches and communication books, but this is not rocket science. We can be much better by simply looking at the presentation as an opportunity to have a conversation with others about something we care about. All the technique, training, and “PowerPoint” tricks are useless if the talk doesn’t come from your gut, from your heart and soul.

(8) “The inflated self-important jargon you sling around — in the press, at your conferences — what’s that got to do with us?”
Never try to impress. It didn’t work in high school (lord knows I tried) and it won’t work with your audiences (or your markets) either. A good presentation is like a good blog: it’s transparent, unique, fresh, honest, authentic, and accurate even if not perfect.

(9) “If you want us to talk to you, tell us something. Make it something interesting for a change.”
Most sales presentations are designed by committee and sent to people in the field with scripts in the PowerPoint notes view. No wonder the presenter sounds distant and “corporate.”

(10) “De-cloaking, getting personal: We are those markets. We want to talk to you.”
As the Cluetrain authors say, people “…do not want to talk to flacks and hucksters. They want to participate in the conversations…” The best presentations feel like a conversation.

Walt Disney World Stories and Facts You Shouldn’t Miss

Have you ever visited Walt Disney World? It’s been almost 45 years since Disney World opened and turned Orlando into one of the world’s most visited destinations. Since my parents lived in Melbourne, Florida, my family and I have a history of visiting this resort many times over the years. Sure, the long lines are a punch line. And all Disney magic comes with a price tag. But Walt Disney World is the most amazing resort we have ever visited or even read about. And Walt Disney World stories and interesting facts make for a very fantastic read. Check them out and tell us what you think.

Resort Overview

In 1959, Walt Disney World Productions began looking for land for a second park to supplement their first park Disneyland, which opened in Anaheim, California, in 1955. Market surveys revealed that only 5% of Disneyland’s visitors came from east of the Mississippi River, where 75% of the population of the United States lived.

To avoid a burst of land speculation, Disney used various dummy corporations to acquire 27,443 acres of land.

Today in 2014, Walt Disney World Resort is a contiguous nearly 39-square-mile, world-class entertainment and recreation center featuring four theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom); two water adventure parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon); 34 resort hotels (24 owned and operated by Walt Disney World, includes seven Disney Vacation Club resort properties); 81 holes of golf on five courses; two full-service spas; Disney’s Wedding Pavilion; ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex; and Downtown Disney, an entertainment-shopping-dining complex.

Park summary

MAGIC KINGDOM

Opened Oct. 1, 1971, the first theme park at Walt Disney World Resort sits on 142 acres with the 189-foot-tall Cinderella Castle at its center. Similar to Disneyland in California, Magic Kingdom is divided into seven themed lands — Main Street, U.S.A.; Adventureland; Frontierland; Liberty Square; Fantasyland; Mickey’s Toontown Fair; and Tomorrowland.

EPCOT

An ever-changing international and discovery showplace covering 305 acres. Opened Oct. 1, 1982.

Future World – Theme areas focusing on discovery and scientific achievements.

World Showcase – Eleven nations surrounding World Showcase Lagoon.

DISNEY’S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

A working film, TV, and radio studio, as well as a theme park on 135 acres. Production facilities opened summer of 1988. Entertainment facilities opened in May 1989. The first film made at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was “Ernest Saves Christmas.” No movies or TV shows are filmed there today.

DISNEY’S ANIMAL KINGDOM

High adventures with real exotic animals, close encounters with prehistoric giants, and warm, fuzzy moments with beloved Disney characters. The Oasis entry garden welcomes guests into Disney’s fourth major theme park, which sprawls across 403 acres. Jungles, forests, and a vast savanna are divided into five themed lands: Africa, Camp Minnie-Mickey, DinoLand U.S.A., Discovery Island, and Asia.

Related: The Secrets to What Makes Brevard Zoo So Successful

ESPN WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS COMPLEX

A 220-acre complex designed to accommodate professional-caliber training and competition, festival and tournament events, and vacation-fitness activities in more than 30 individual and team sports. The complex includes a 7,500-seat baseball stadium and a 5,500-seat fieldhouse. Annual events include Atlanta Braves spring training. First event: March 28, 1997.

It’s not a small world

Walt Disney bought the 43 square miles of Central Florida swampland for Disney World for $5 million, or about $185 an acre.

Covering 40 square miles, Walt Disney World Resort is about the size of San Francisco or two Manhattan islands. Of the more than 25,000 acres, less than 35 percent has been developed with a quarter designated as a wilderness preserve.

Interesting landmark facts

Cinderella’s Castle is made out of fiberglass, and it stands 189 feet tall.

Inside the upper levels of Cinderella’s Castle is an apartment that Walt Disney intended to use when he and his family were in Florida. It was left unfinished when he died until Disney announced in 2006 that it would be turned into a deluxe suite, which is awarded randomly to a family every day. It comes complete with 24-karat gold tile floors and a “magic mirror” that turns into a television.

Spaceship Earth, the visual and thematic centerpiece of Epcot, weighs 16 million pounds – more than three times that of a space shuttle fully fueled and ready for launch. The outer “skin” of Spaceship Earth is made up of 11,324 aluminum and plastic-alloy triangles. Also, did you know that rainwater never falls off the sphere? It’s channeled into the ball and funneled away.

In numbers of dollars, it cost as much to build Big Thunder Mountain in 1979 as it did to build all of Disneyland in 1955! (Of course “one dollar” bought more in 1955 than “one dollar” did in 1979.)

The World Showcase lagoon is 185 acres in size and is larger than Disneyland in California!

The walkway around the World Showcase is 1-1/2 Miles.

1,800 tons of steel were used in the mountain structure of Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom. That is about six times the amount of steel used in a traditional office building of this size.

Related: 10 Smashing Reasons the Space Coast Is the Best Florida Vacation

Record holders

Magic Kingdom’s opening day attendance was 10,000. That was the number of people in attendance for Disney World’s soft opening (Magic Kingdom was the first and only park on opening day Oct. 1, 1971). Today, the Magic Kingdom alone averages about 47,000 visitors a day.

The Wishes fireworks display at Magic Kingdom costs about $33,000. to put on. Disney is the largest “consumer” of fireworks in the world.

More than 75 million Cokes are consumed each year at Walt Disney World Resort along with 13 million bottles of water. Guests also gobble 10 million hamburgers, 6 million hot dogs, 9 million pounds of French fries, and more than 300,000 pounds of popcorn.

Stormalong Bay, Disney’s Beach Club Resort swimming area, holds 750,000 gallons of water, making it the largest sand-bottom pool in the world.

If you wanted to stay in all the guestrooms in all of the hotels and resorts currently open on Walt Disney World property (at a rate of one per night), it would take more than 68 years.

Walt Disney World Lost and Found is one busy place. Every day an average of 210 pairs of sunglasses is turned in and, since 1971, an estimated 1.65 million pairs of glasses have found their way into the “lost” bin. On an annual basis, Lost and Found cast members collect more than 6,000 cell phones, 3,500 digital cameras, 18,000 hats, and 7,500 autograph books. Wondering about the weirdest things ever found? How about a glass eye, a prosthetic leg, and a potty trainer — all of which were claimed?

When Disney World opened, adult admission to the Magic Kingdom cost $3.50. Today it costs $100.

Awesome Short Stories with Twist Endings

Here we go with our first story.

A heart surgeon took his car to his local garage for a regular service, where he usually exchanged a little friendly banter with the owner, a very skilled but not especially wealthy mechanic.

“So tell me,” says the mechanic, “I’ve been wondering about what we both do for a living and how much more you get paid than me…”

“Yes?” says the surgeon.

“Well look at this,” says the mechanic, as he worked on a big complicated BMW engine, “I check how it’s running, open it up, fix the valves, and put it all back together so it works good as new. We basically do the same job, don’t we? And yet you are paid ten times what I am – how do you explain that?”

The surgeon thought for a moment, and smiling gently, replied quietly to the mechanic,

“Try it with the engine running.”

A very subtle but significant difference between perception and reality in this story, no?

This is a true story about which I recently read.

In 2003, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, director of the National Cancer Institute (USA) announced his organization’s goal of “eliminating suffering and death” caused by cancer by 2015.

The United States of America has a standing committee as part of the United States Senate called “United States Senate Committee on Appropriations” that moderates the Senate spending on issues such as defense, energy, and science among many others. In one of the appropriations hearings, Dr. von Eschenbach got into a bargaining session on funding matters with Senator Arlen Specter, who was then a Republican from Penn, about the amount of money his organization would need to advance the cure of cancer.

“I asked you what it would take to move that date to 2010,” Mr. Specter asked.

“We have proposed a budget that would support those initiatives that would amount to approximately $600 million a year,” Dr. von Eschenbach answered.

“Six hundred million a year?” Mr. Specter asked. “And you can move the date from 2015 to 2010?”

“Yes, Sir,” Mr. von Eschenbach said.
—
Mr. Specter died of cancer in 2012.

Source:- ‘Moonshot’ to Cure Cancer, to Be Led by Biden, Relies on Outmoded View of Disease

Our final story was another true one from Associated Press, Reported by Kurt Westervelt.

On March 23, 1994, the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head.
Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency.
As he fell past the ninth floor his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly.
Neither the shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth-floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned.
“Ordinarily,” Dr. Mills continued, “A person, who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide.”
That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but probably would not have been successful because the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands.
The room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun.
The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the bullets went through the window striking Mr. Opus.
When one intends to kill subject “A” but kills subject “B” in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject “B”.
When confronted with the murder charge the old man and his wife were both adamant and both said that they thought the shotgun was unloaded.
The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is if the gun had been accidentally loaded.
The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple’s son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the fatal accident.
It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son’s financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother.
Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn’t actually pull the trigger.
The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.
Now comes the exquisite twist.
Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus.
He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother’s murder. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth-story window.
The son had actually murdered himself, so the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

A 50- something-year-old white woman arrived at her seat on a crowded flight and immediately didn’t want the seat. The seat was next to a black man. Disgusted, the woman immediately summoned the flight attendant and demanded a new seat. The woman said, “I cannot sit here next to this black man.” The flight attendant said, “Let me see if I can find another seat.” After checking, the flight attendant returned and stated “Ma’am, there are no more seats in economy, but I will check with the captain and see if there is something in first class.

” About 10 minutes went by and the flight attendant returned and stated “The captain has confirmed that there are no more seats in economy, but there is one in first class. It is our company policy to never move a person from economy to first class, but being that it would be some sort of scandal to force a person to sit next to an UNPLEASANT person, the captain agreed to make the switch to first class.”

Before the woman could say anything, the attendant gestured to the black man and said, “Therefore sir, if you would so kindly retrieve your personal items, we would like to move you to the comfort of first class as the captain doesn’t want you to sit next to an unpleasant person.”

Interesting Facts I Have Learned about Dreams

Dreams can be fascinating, exciting, terrifying, or just plain weird. While there is no clear consensus on why we dream, they have learned quite a bit about what happens while we are dreaming. Learn more about some of the things that researchers have discovered in these facts we have learned about dreams.

Everybody Dreams

Men do it. Women do it. Even babies do it. We all dream even those of us who claim not to. In fact, researchers have found that people usually have several dreams each night, each one lasting for between 5 to 20 minutes. During a typical lifetime, people spend an average of six years dreaming!

How Quickly Do You Forget Your Dreams

As much as 95 percent of all dreams are quickly forgotten shortly after waking. Why are our dreams so difficult to remember? According to one theory, the changes in the brain that occur during sleep do not support the information processing and storage needed for memory formation to take place. Brain scans of sleeping individuals have shown that the frontal lobes, the area that plays a key role in memory formation, are inactive during REM sleep, the stage in which dreaming occurs.

Are Dreams Usually In Color?

While approximately 80 percent of all dreams are in color, there is a small percentage of people who claim to only dream in black and white. In studies where dreamers have been awakened and asked to select colors from a chart that match those in their dreams, soft pastel colors are those most frequently chosen.

Men and Women Dream Differently

Researchers have found a number of differences between men and women when it comes to dreaming content. In one study, men reported more instances of dreaming about aggression than women did.

Women tend to have slightly longer dreams that feature more characters. When it comes to the characters that typically appear in dreams, men dream about other men twice as often as they do about women, while women tend to dream about both sexes equally.

Do Animals Dream?

Have you ever watched a sleeping dog wag its tail or move its legs while asleep? While it’s hard to say for sure whether the animal is truly dreaming, researchers believe that it is likely that animals do indeed dream.

Just like humans, animals go through sleep stages that include cycles of REM and NREM sleep. In one study, a gorilla was taught sign language as a means of communication. At one point, the gorilla signed “sleep pictures,” possibly indicating dreaming.

Can You Control Your Dreams

A lucid dream is one in which you are aware that you are dreaming even though you are still asleep. During this type of dream, you can often “direct” or control the dream content. Approximately half of all people can remember experiencing at least one instance of lucid dreaming, and some individuals are able to have lucid dreams quite frequently.

Negative Emotions Are More Common in Dreams

Over a period of more than 40 years, researcher Calvin S. Hall collected more than 50,000 dream accounts from college students. These reports were made available to the public during the 1990s by Hall’s student William Domhoff. The dream accounts revealed that many emotions are experienced during dreams including joy, happiness, and fear. The most common emotion experienced in dreams was anxiety, and negative emotions, in general, were much more common than positive ones

Blind People Dream

While people who lost their eyesight prior to age five usually do not have visual dreams in adulthood, they still dream. Despite the lack of visuals, the dreams of the blind are just as complex and vivid as those of the sighted. Instead of visual sensations, blind individuals’ dreams typically include information from the other senses such as sound, touch, taste, hearing, and smell.

You Are Paralyzed During Your Dreams

REM sleep, the stage of sleep during which dreaming occurs, is characterized by paralysis of the voluntary muscles. Why? The phenomenon is known as REM atonia and prevents you from acting out your dreams while you’re asleep. Basically, because motor neurons are not stimulated, your body does not move.

In some cases, this paralysis can even carry over into the waking state for as long as ten minutes, a condition known as sleep paralysis. Have you ever woken up from a terrifying dream only to find yourself unable to move? While the experience can be frightening, experts advise that it is perfectly normal and should last only a few minutes before normal muscle control returns.

Many Dreams Are Universal

While dreams are often heavily influenced by our personal experiences, researchers have found that certain themes are very common across different cultures. For example, people from all over the world frequently dream about being chased, attacked, or falling. Other common dream experiences include school events, feeling frozen and unable to move, arriving late, flying, and being naked in public.

How To Build Collaboration Skills in the Workplace

How many times in your business career have you been in an organization where real energy was expended to building collaboration skills? How successful were these efforts? Building collaboration in the workplace is not an easy job, is it? But we’d all agree that the payoffs certainly outweigh the efforts, wouldn’t we?

The notion of a lone genius has always been a myth. As W. Brian Arthur observed in The Nature of Technology, innovations are combinations, so it is unlikely that anyone ever has all the pieces to the puzzle. Even Steve Jobs depended on a small circle of loyalists. Today, however, the ability to collaborate is becoming a key competitive advantage.

Collaboration in the Workplace — Collaboration in the workplace.

Check out our thoughts on team leverage

In General Stanley McChrystal’s efforts to transform the Special Forces in Iraq, he ran into challenges trying to get diverse teams to work together. Yet he saw that by building connections between units he could build a “team of teams” that was able to effectively coordinate action. In One Mission, his aide-de-camp, Chris Fussell, describes two strategies used to achieve this effect.

The first was to leverage high-performing liaison officers to build personal connections among disparate units. The second, called the “O&I” forum, was a daily video conference that was designed to create informal connections between officers at an “operational cadence.” Since leaving the military, McChrystal and Fussell have had similar success implementing these strategies in civilian organizations at their consulting group.

Creative convergence depends on group collaboration … how well do you work in groups?

I have always found the wisdom of others to be something of a gift: free of charge, no limit to its value. No limits to its value because these pearls of wisdom can be connected to some of your ideas to produce something greater than what you might have created on your own.

For example, consider this example. It takes a great entrepreneur with the vision to start a business, but it requires strong leadership collaboration skills and the collaboration of many people to make it a success.

Collaboration is an attribute that cuts across many businesses and business processes. We need to make it an intentional process and cultivate it into the team’s culture.

Drive both internal and external collaboration

Build and educate employees

Gain customer insights and engage them

Use what you learned to improve business processes

Examples of collaboration in the workplace.

Because this ambition is often a company’s entry point into society, many are still in a relatively immature phase:

43 percent of respondents say they’re in the early stages of adopting these types of capabilities. But that will soon change as 53 percent say they’ll have an enterprise-wide strategy for these capabilities in the next two to three years.

It’s all about encouragement:

52 percent say the best way to drive the adoption of these capabilities internally is regular encouragement.

And two wildcards jumped out to the study team:

54 percent have a published set of guidelines for these capabilities.

Here are a few tips you need to consider:

Successful collaboration in the workplace.

The bottom line

Creative ideas on how to build collaborative teams must include exploring, imagining, experimenting, and learning with others. Most of all, it requires reaching out to others to collaborate. The sum of group collaboration is always greater than the work of each individual.