Channel Sales Targeting

**Maximizing B2B Marketing Success: The Power of Including Channel Partners in Your Strategy** In today’s competitive B2B landscape, a robust marketing strategy is essential. However, one critical element often overlooked is the inclusion of channel partners. Integrating these partners into your marketing plan can significantly amplify your reach, enhance brand credibility, and drive sales growth. Here’s why and how you should include channel partners in your B2B marketing strategy: **1. Amplified Reach and Visibility** Channel partners have established networks and customer bases that you can leverage. By collaborating with them, you can extend your brand’s reach far beyond your direct efforts. Co-branded marketing initiatives, joint webinars, and shared content can introduce your products or services to new, highly relevant audiences. **2. Enhanced Credibility and Trust** Trust is a cornerstone of B2B relationships. Channel partners often have long-standing relationships with their clients, who trust their recommendations. **3. Optimized Resource Utilization** Channel partners can provide additional resources for your marketing efforts. They can contribute to content creation, share insights on customer preferences, and participate in events or campaigns. This not only saves time and costs but also enriches your marketing initiatives with diverse perspectives and expertise. **4. Improved Customer Engagement** Channel partners often have deep insights into their customers’ needs and pain points. Collaborating with them allows you to tailor your marketing messages more effectively, ensuring they resonate with the target audience. **5. Increased Sales and Revenue** Ultimately, the goal of any marketing strategy is to drive sales and revenue. Channel partners can play a pivotal role in this by actively promoting your products or services. Their involvement can accelerate the sales cycle and open up new opportunities, leading to increased revenue growth. **How to Effectively Include Channel Partners in Your Marketing Strategy:** - **Develop a Collaborative Plan:** Work closely with your channel partners to create a joint marketing plan. Align your goals, define roles, and set clear expectations to ensure everyone is on the same page. - **Leverage Joint Marketing Initiatives:** Engage in co-marketing activities such as webinars, whitepapers, and case studies. These initiatives can showcase the combined expertise of both parties and provide valuable content to your audience. - **Provide Marketing Support:** Equip your channel partners with the necessary tools and resources. Offer training, marketing collateral, and access to your marketing platforms to enable them to effectively promote your products. - **Measure and Optimize:** Track the performance of your joint marketing efforts. Analyze the results, gather feedback, and make data-driven adjustments to continuously improve the effectiveness of your strategy.

Which marketing channels are most incremental? Which channels drive the strongest business impact? We get asked this question a lot. Usually followed by: where should we invest next? The challenge is that most marketing reporting is built around 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, not 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. Platforms report the conversions they can observe and claim credit for. That’s useful for campaign optimisation, but it doesn’t tell you whether the activity actually changed the outcome. To understand that, we compare 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺-𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 with 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 across e-commerce businesses. In simple terms: For every conversion a platform reports, how many would have happened anyway? When we run this analysis across brands, some patterns appear consistently:   • 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵: looks excellent in-platform, but incrementality is typically 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬%.   • 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 & 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 (𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱): total impact is usually 𝟴𝟬-𝟭𝟱𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁   • 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: typically 𝟴𝟬-𝟭𝟱𝟬% 𝘁𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, with meaningful indirect impact.   • 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: often 300%+ total impact, these campaigns are heavily undervalued by platform reporting.   • 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲: most of the value appears indirectly, in some cases 𝟭𝟬𝘅 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺-𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲.   • 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: weak incrementality no matter which platform you run it on.   • 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: often 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝟮𝟬% 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹, sometimes close to zero. The consistent pattern is that 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 (brand search, retargeting, voucher affiliates) look very efficient in dashboards but tend to be weakly incremental. Meanwhile 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘀 (prospecting, video, discovery formats) often look inefficient in platform reporting but generate much more incremental growth. I wrote a longer breakdown of the data and what it means for budget allocation here: https://lnkd.in/ehTpZH7E It includes the full benchmarks we see across Google, Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat and affiliates, along with some notes on how to interpret them. These numbers are directional rather than prescriptive, but the pattern appears consistently once you look at 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

After analyzing $200M+ in sales data across 2,500+ campaigns. I'm sharing my proven framework for scaling outbound success. Current Sales Challenges In 2025: - 79% of sales emails never reach primary inbox - 91% struggle with prospect overload - Only 2% of cold calls result in appointments - Average response rates declining 23% yearly - 51% of quota-hitting reps use social selling My Battle-Tested Scaling Framework: 1. Strategic Targeting - ICP development and refinement - Multi-channel prospect identification - Data-driven lead scoring - Behavioral trigger mapping - Custom audience segmentation 2. Personalization at Scale - AI-powered content generation - Industry-specific messaging - Dynamic template creation - Response pattern analysis - Engagement optimization 3. Multi-Channel Orchestration - Cross-platform integration - Sequential touchpoint mapping - Channel performance tracking - Automated follow-up sequences - Social selling integration My Verified Results Of Q4 2024: - Response rates improved 312% - Sales cycle reduced 47% - Lead quality up 189% - Conversion rates increased 156% - Cost per acquisition down 67% My Enterprise Case Study Of a B2B Tech Company. Before Implementation: - 18 calls per connection - 2.1% response rate - 15 hours weekly on research - $245 cost per qualified lead After Implementation: - 6 calls per connection - 8.9% response rate - 5 hours weekly on research - $76 cost per qualified lead Success isn't about more outreach - it's about smarter, data-driven engagement that resonates with your prospects. Start with personalization and a multi-channel approach. This combination alone improved our clients' response rates by 40%. What's your biggest challenge in scaling outbound sales? #SalesStrategy #OutboundSales #B2BSales #SalesOptimization

There are two ways to run a channel program, but only one of them has a future. Most vendors, especially large brands with market leverage, fall into the trap of Approach 1: The Extractor. Their mindset is: "What can this partner do for ME?" You know this program when you see it. It feels like a one-way street. They believe the partner needs them more than they need the partner. They dictate terms, demand complex forecasts, and treat partners like coin-operated sales reps. It’s transactional, it’s arrogant, and it’s counter-productive. Then there is Approach 2: The Enabler. These vendors flip the script. Their starting point is: "What can WE do for our partners?" They understand that the partner has their own business model, their own P&L, and their own goals. Instead of forcing the partner to adapt to them, they align their solution to fit the partner's existing motion. To win in 2026, you must aggressively shift from Extractor to Enabler. Here is how you do it: 👉 Understand their Business Model: Don't just train them on your product features. Learn how they make money. Service revenue? Managed services? Hardware pull-through? If you don't know, you can't help. 👉 Align, Don't Disrupt: If your sales process conflicts with how they sell to their customers, you are just adding friction. Adapt your operational requirements to smooth out their road. 👉 Enablement over Demands: Stop nagging for pipeline updates if you aren't providing the resources—marketing funds, pre-sales engineering, and leads—to help build it. 👉 Define Shared Success: Move beyond "meeting quota." Build a joint business plan where your technology is the lever that helps them achieve their company goals. When you help your partner be more successful, your revenue becomes a byproduct of their growth. Stop extracting value. Start adding it. #ChannelStrategy #Partnerships #B2B #GrowthMindset #PartnerSuccess

A VP of Sales at a large enterprise org told me we produced more pipeline for their sales team in 1 quarter than their team of 10-15 SDRs did in one year. Here's exactly how we did it (and the 3-step framework you can steal): Step 1: Deliverability infrastructure: Even the best copy means nothing if it ends up in spam folders. Here's our exact setup: - 2 email accounts per domain - 15 domains and 30 email accounts in total (30% in reserve) - Mix of Google Workspace + Outlook under separate tenants - Perfect SPF, DKIM, DMARC setup (non-negotiable for enterprise) - Integration with their HubSpot so AEs could respond instantly - Max 30-40 emails per inbox per day Result: 3-5% reply rates (no, you shouldn’t track open rates) vs their previous 0-1% reply rate Step 2: Audience splits: We ignored their product catalog and focused on one thing. Instead of selling a "SaaS platform with 47 features," we identified 3 groups of audiences that worked well: - Companies running TV ads (needed better attribution) - Brands experimenting with TikTok (needed measurement) - Organizations with multiple ad channels (need unified reporting) Our targeting criteria: - Companies spending $ 500 K+ annually on digital ads - Recently hired marketing VPs/Directors (last 90 days) - Targeting ad platforms our clients integrate with (META, TikTok, etc) - Showing signs of channel expansion Tip: When you have multiple products or services, always break down your message into 1 pain point, 1 benefit, and 1 call-to-action (CTA) per campaign. Step 3: List building The main issue with targeting larger orgs is figuring out which person is responsible for channel XYZ or initiative ABC. Here's the exact process: - Started with LinkedIn Sales Navigator using job titles and keywords - Used AI in Clay to scan LinkedIn profiles for their job title and description - Cross-referenced with: tools they're using (BuiltWith integration), recent funding rounds (Crunchbase data), ad spend signals (Clay), new hires (Clay), their top customer lookalikes (Ocean). The numbers: - 35000+ prospects contacted at Enterprises making over $50 mil yearly - 112 positive responses, 0.32%+ lead rate over 9 months - Total pipeline value is worth over 40 mil - Responses from multiple Fortune 500 brands TL;DR for outbound to work: 1. Fix your deliverability - your best copy is worthless in spam folders. Invest in proper infra before scaling. 2. Narrow your focus - stop trying to sell every feature. Break your messaging and audience focused on 1 pain,1 benefit, and 1 CTA 3. Use intent signals -  don't just target based on job titles. Stack multiple intent signals to find prospects ready to buy. Tools we used Clay - AI enrichment and workflow automation Apollo - Email contact data Ocean.io - Lookalike company targeting PlusVibe - Email delivery and sequencing HubSpot - CRM integration and lead management RB2B - Website visitor identification BuiltWith - Technology stack analysis

Most sellers start a new cybersecurity sales role the wrong way. 😬 They spend the first 90 days learning the product. The best reps spend those 90 days building pipeline. After 20+ years in enterprise tech and cybersecurity, here’s what I would do immediately if I started a new role tomorrow. Cybersecurity spending is now over $275B globally, and more than 90% of that revenue flows through channel partners. Understanding how customers buy matters more than memorizing features. Here’s the playbook. 1. Understand the ICP and outcomes Start with the Ideal Customer Profile. Who actually buys this solution? What problem are they trying to solve? Go one step deeper. Understand the outcomes customers are trying to achieve: • Reduce alert fatigue • Improve detection and response • Consolidate security tools • Meet compliance requirements • Improve operational efficiency Cybersecurity buyers are drowning in complexity. Too many tools Too many alerts Not enough talent If you can clearly articulate the problem and the outcome, you’ll win more deals. 2. Build your target accounts Don’t chase everything. Identify the accounts that fit your ICP and focus there. Great sellers are intentional about where they spend their time. 3. Map the partner ecosystem Cybersecurity deals rarely happen alone. Partners, MSSPs, integrators, and consultants are often already inside your target accounts. Find them. The fastest way into an account is often through a partner who already has trust. 4. Study the territory data Before making assumptions, look at the numbers. Which partners close the most revenue? Which bring the most pipeline? Which move through sales cycles the fastest? Follow the signal. Then go engage those partners immediately. 5. Create daily offensive activity Pipeline solves most problems in sales. Force yourself to create a set number of offensive touchpoints every day: Calls Partner outreach Customer introductions New opportunities Create a weekly rhythm with your core team: BDR CAM Sales Engineer Marketing Align on accounts, partners, and pipeline. Cybersecurity sales are complex. But the fundamentals are simple: Understand the ICP and outcomes Build target accounts Find the partners already inside them Follow the data Create disciplined pipeline activity The best sellers don’t just manage opportunities. They build ecosystems. And ecosystems win deals. #Cybersecurity #SalesLeadership #GoToMarket #Partnerships

73% of B2B companies waste their marketing budget on the wrong channels, according to McKinsey. I've spent 8 years helping tech founders figure this out, and here's the truth: The "best" channel isn't universal. Let me break this down for you: Your ideal channel depends on 3 critical factors: > Your buyer's daily habits > Your strengths with content creation and buyer engagement Here's what we've discovered at PipeBagger: Enterprise deals ($100k+): • Social content + funnels + targeted outreach wins • Decision makers spend 40 minutes daily here • Trust building is paramount Mid-market ($25k-$100k): • Email sequences + funnels + content marketing dominates • 67% of decisions start with online research • Authority matters more than frequency SMB deals ($5k-$25k): • High-conversion funnels + social proof • Quick conversion cycles • Price sensitivity drives decision-making The real magic? It's not about picking ONE channel. It's about building an integrated pipeline that leverages multiple touchpoints. This is exactly why we created our Audience and Sales Pipeline Building program. We combine: > Strategic content that positions you as an authority > Targeted cold outreach that actually gets responses > Converting funnels that turn interest into revenue Want to stop guessing which channel works best for your specific situation? If you're hitting a wall with your current approach, let's talk. Your ideal channel mix is probably simpler than you think. #B2BSales #SaaSGrowth #TechSales #AccountBasedMarketing

What if you salespeople had 3 to 5 conversations a day with people who could buy? But they don’t. What are they doing instead? The goal is to get them more conversations with buyers. It's getting tougher and doing what you’ve always done most likely isn’t working. Most companies with a complex sale rely on a combination of outbound tactics along with trade shows but those aren’t producing conversations like they used to. If you had enough inbound to keep the funnel full it would be amazing. But most of you don’t. Cold outreach is not the only answer. There is a combination of lead gen methods you can use that will work and if your marketing team is doing demand gen at the same time, even better. ✔️ Host or show up at the right events. Besides the trade shows, think targeted roundtables, dinners, or LinkedIn Lives. These will generate leads you can follow up with. What you do at these events determines whether prospects will continue the conversation, which is crucial for finding out if there is an opportunity. ✔️ Make referral selling a priority because intros close more deals than any cold DM ever will. Build and nurture your network in a way that people see you as a giver, willing to help. Make introductions for your network, they are sure to reciprocate. ✔️ Build content that attracts your ideal persona and then engage in a conversion with them. When they comment on your content and you comment back you are starting a conversation. ✔️ Partnerships work great for many. These can be a formal channel or informal arrangements. Find others who sell to the same target audience but don’t compete. Start the conversation about how you can help each other. ✔️ Account-based outreach for sales. Instead of a one to many approach that marketing uses, sales should use a one to one approach with each persona in each company using industry insights and information from research. Highly custom, well written messages can get a higher response rate and when coupled with person level intent data, LinkedIn comments, calls and voicemail they can get an even higher response rate. It’s not a volume activity, it is done on a highly targeted list and only about 5 to 10 companies at a time. ✔️Use Contact Marketing when the stakes are high and the deal size warrants it. For more on that follow Stu Heinecke and read his book, How to Get a Meeting with Anyone. On October 2, I’ll walk through these high-impact, real-world strategies you can use right now. Jennifer Pinter✨ is our host and this Pavilion event is sponsored by Rhombus. —  👩💼 Who Should Attend: CEOs, Sales & Marketing Leaders, Account Executives 📅 Date: Thursday, October 2 ⏰ Time: Arrive at 4:30 p.m. we start with networking 🍸 Venue/Sponsor: Rhombus, 1610 R St #350, Sacramento, CA 95811 Let's support salespeople in having more conversations with those who can buy. Can’t make it or aren’t in the area, try one of the above and let me know how it goes!

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬. It's time to focus on the bigger picture. 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐀𝐁𝐌) 𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 is a great strategy for targeting high-value accounts. It isn’t about sending cold messages to random leads. It’s about strategically targeting entire accounts and engaging multiple decision-makers within those accounts at every level. Here's how we implemented it at SmartReach.io and turned it into a powerful, multi-channel strategy: 1. 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 We identified the right accounts by drilling deeper into 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, and 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬.  To shortlist these accounts, we used tools like 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 (𝐋𝐒𝐍), BuiltWith to identify businesses using tech relevant to our solutions, and Clay to enrich company data. These helped create a targeted list fit for our services. 2. 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 Instead of just targeting one person, we target the Founder, CTO, VP of Sales, and Chief Product Officer as all play a role in the decision-making process. We tailored LinkedIn messages based on their specific roles, challenges, and goals, ensuring our communication spoke directly to them. For instance, we highlighted technical benefits in outreach to CTOs and focused on business ROI for VPs of Sales. 3. 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡: 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧 + 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 + 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐀𝐩𝐩 (𝐒𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐬) ABM isn't limited to just LinkedIn. To maximize engagement, we used our own tool (SmartReach.io) 👉 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧: First, we sent personalized connection requests and followed up with tailored InMails (if the connect request werent accepted).  👉 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬: After our initial LinkedIn outreach, we made targeted phone calls, referencing our LinkedIn messages 👉 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐀𝐩𝐩: For high-priority accounts, we connected via WhatsApp to send direct, personalised messages. Do this right and watch your response rate spike The results speak for themselves: 👉 54%+ response rate from target accounts 👉 30% faster sales cycles 👉 28% increase in deal quality Many think ABM is only for enterprise sales. The truth? 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦-𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐨. If you’re serious about growth, your team should be implementing ABM on LinkedIn today. Let’s talk about how we can help you implement this strategy and drive high-quality leads to your sales pipeline. 𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡.𝐢𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲. 𝐈𝐭𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥, 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐝𝐈𝐧, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐀𝐩𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬