I did this thought leadership interview on business to business lead generation with Craig Rosenberg of Focus.com early last year, but it was such a good interview with one of the top experts in lead generation, I wish to share it here.

This sales lead generation white paper is a classic, having been downloaded by thousands since this interview first ran. It really shows the power of remarkable content in the area of lead generation sales. And I wish to offer a special “thank you” to Marketo for sponsoring this white paper.

If you wish to download it, simply click on the image.

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I don’t know how I got connected with Jeff Ogden, but he’s the author of the hot white paper “How to Find New Customers.”  He asked me to read it and I liked it a lot. There is so much being written about demand generation, but most of it doesn’t make demand gen simple to understand. Ogden’s white paper, How to Find New Customers, does just that. That makes it a must-read, and Ogden a “must-interview.”

Ogden’s claim to fame is helping companies acquire customers using ideal demand generation approaches. (MarketingSherpa in 2010 reports that the lack of quality sales leads was the top problem of 8 out of 10 companies.)  You can get his lead generation point of view via his popular blog, Fearless Competitor.  He’s a sales and marketing expert, but also an entrepreneur that founded two companies, including Find New Customers.  If you’re going to CMO Club summit, he’ll be there as a thought leader.

Here’s his interview:

1.    What are the three trends you see emerging next year?

• Innovate or die: New companies will emerge and former leaders will fade.
• Marketing evolves into a leadership role above sales.
• Customer empowerment: Those who accept it prosper.  Those who don’t go bankrupt.

2.    What are the biggest challenges for next year?

• A study of military history reveals that all wars begin by fighting the last war; the United States Civil War, for example, used Revolutionary War tactics. Fast German Panzer tanks enabled Germany to defeat the Allies, who were using World War I tactics, in the early part of World War II. Similarly, marketers today are mainly fighting the battles of the last war. The biggest challenge is to turn around that archaic mindset.
• Economic fears and cuts: Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to take market share, most execs are cutting too deeply and in the wrong places.
• Lack of process: There’s too much focus on tactics. Buying is a process.

3.    What are three metrics that B2B marketers should care about and why?

• Number of qualified sales opportunities being generated
• Marketing spend vs. revenue delivered
• Percentage of leads delivered vs. closed

4.    What are the top oversights marketers are making regarding lead generation?

• Lead nurturing: This is the biggest problem because customers are in control.  Lead nurturing must be personalized and interactive; as behavior changes, nurturing needs to change.
• Customer personas: To sell to me, you must know me. Not just superficially, but very deeply.
• No one cares about your product but you. The focus must be on business results.  But too many marketers focus on what their company offers.
• Failure to understand the buying cycle: A deep understanding of how people buy helps companies sell.

5.    What will you prescribe to marketers to carry out effective lead generation?

That they read my white paper, “How to Find New Customers: The Definitive Guide to Driving Demand for Your Company’s Products and Services,” and apply its lessons.

6. What three Web 2.0 applications,  cutting-edge technologies or lead generation sources do marketers HAVE to consider to be successful?

• Customer persona and techniques with services firms like  Find New Customers or AcquireB2B.
• Marketing automation like Marketo, Eloqua or Silverpop (Find New Customers is a Gold certified Silverpop partner.)
• Trigger event knowledge like OneSource iSell product

7.    What do you hope for in B2B sales and marketing for the new year?

• Marketing and sales become one. From product development through long-term support – it is one continuous process.  Break down the walls.
• The customer is in charge. We begin to listen by using social networks.
• Patience. The era of 90-day startups is over.

Written by Craig Rosenberg - The Funnelholic

What do you think? Do you have other suggestions - we’d love to hear them. And we love to read your comments and invite you to share this on social networks.

Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor, is President of Fun and Find New Customers “Lead Generation Made Simple” Check out the online show every Friday at 11am ET, “Laugh and Learn with the Fearless Competitor.”

Find New Customers helps businesses develop and implement demand generation programs to improve the way they find and acquire sales leadsusing best practices in lead generation.

“Find New Customers, can certainly help your business dramatically improve the flow of sales-ready leads to salespeople.” Paul Dunay, Buzz Marketing for Technology.