--- title: 12 Inspiring Insights on B2B Sales and Marketing from 2010 description: 12 compelling insights on B2B Sales and Marketing from McKinsey, CSO Insights, Sirius Decisions, Donal Daly and more... --- This is a search field with an autosuggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # 12 Inspiring Insights on B2B Sales and Marketing from 2010 ![Bob Apollo](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/78fa41976d534cacbb0e22e151bc6816) Post by [Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo) December 29, 2010 ![12 Insights](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Portals/41408/images/12%20Christmas1.jpg?width=110&height=82&name=12%20Christmas1.jpg)During the past year I've benefited from the insights of people and organisations that have made telling contributions to raising the standard of B2B sales and marketing. As we approach the New Year, I'd like to share a dozen of the best with you - in the hope that some might stimulate your own ideas about how you can realise the potential of 2011. I'll start with three video clips, in which Simon Sinek explains why [people don't buy what you do - they buy why you do it](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/33502/People-don-t-buy-WHAT-you-do-they-buy-WHY-you-do-it), Dan Pink reveals the [surprising truth about what really motivates people](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/33435/What-really-motivates-people), and Steven Johnson suggests that [chance favours the connected mind](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/45762/Chance-Favours-the-Connected-Mind). I'd then like to highlight three articles inspired by the ground-breaking research of Sirius Decisions - suggesting that [bigger pipelines aren't always better](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/53095/Why-Bigger-Pipelines-Aren-t-Always-Better), explaining why [investments in social media  must be accompanied by thought leadership](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/48862/Social-Media-without-Thought-Leadership-is-like-broadcasting-into-space), and reminding us why we need to understand where our offering fits on the demand spectrum - is it a [new concept, a new paradigm or an established category?](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/30681/Is-your-Solution-a-New-Concept-a-New-Paradigm-or-an-Established-Category) Donal Daly of the TAS Group offered some fresh perspectives on B2B sales success by sharing [5 facts about how B2B sales cycles are changing](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/32775/5-Facts-about-how-b2b-sales-cycles-are-changing) and suggesting that there are [only two reasons why you lose a sale](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/33001/There-are-only-2-reasons-why-you-lose-a-sale). McKinsey published a stream of fascinating findings through the year - my attention was drawn in particular to [measuring the value of word-of-mouth marketing](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/32476/McKinsey-Measures-the-Value-of-Word-of-Mouth-Marketing) and their explanation as to why [too much sales contact can cost you business](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/32887/According-to-McKinsey-too-much-sales-contact-can-cost-you-business). Finally, the excellent research done by CSO Insights suggested how organisations might [boost sales performance in 2010](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/30337/Reversing-the-Decline-How-to-boost-sales-performance-in-2010) (*and beyond*) and inspired my own article on the [7 reasons why CRM systems so often get forecasting wrong](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/49997/7-reasons-why-most-B2B-CRM-systems-get-forecasting-badly-wrong). I'd like to conclude by wishing you, your family, colleagues and friends a peaceful and prosperous New Year - and hoping that some of the ideas I've shared might contribute in some small way to your success in 2011. Regards, and Best Wishes! Bob ###### Tags: [CSO Insights, ](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/cso-insights) [Sirius Decisions, ](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/sirius-decisions) [McKinsey, ](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/mckinsey) [Thought Leaders](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/thought-leaders) ![Bob Apollo](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/78fa41976d534cacbb0e22e151bc6816) Post by [Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo) December 29, 2010 Bob Apollo is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales Professionals, a regular contributor to the International Journal of Sales Transformation and Top Sales World Magazine, and the driving force behind Inflexion-Point Strategy Partners, the leading proponents of outcome-centric selling. Following a successful corporate career spanning start-ups, scale-ups and market leaders, Bob now works as a strategic advisor, mentor, trainer and coach to ambitious B2B sales organisations - teaching them how to differentiate themselves through their provably superior approach to achieving their customer's desired outcomes. [Follow me on my website](https://www.inflexion-point.com) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://uk.linkedin.com/in/bobapollo) [Follow me on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/bobapollo) ### Comments ###### Related Articles ### [B2B Sales: Forecasting must be a blend of fact and judgement](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/99813/B2B-Sales-Forecasting-must-be-a-blend-of-fact-and-judgement) Posted by **[Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo),** **Aug 08, 2013** Virtually every company I speak to wishes they could do a more accurate job of forecasting sales revenues. The issue is ... ### [Why You Need to Sell the Problem Before You Can Sell Your Solution](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/58547/Why-You-Need-to-Sell-the-Problem-Before-You-Can-Sell-Your-Solution) Posted by **[Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo),** **Mar 16, 2011** Recent research by CSO Insights, SiriusDecisions and others confirms what a growing number of sales managers have observed: ... ### [Why CRM Data is So Important: The Elephant in Your Pipeline](https://www.inflexion-point.com/Blog/bid/62912/Why-CRM-Data-is-So-Important-The-Elephant-in-Your-Pipeline) Posted by **[Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo),** **Jun 02, 2011** How accurate is your sales forecast? According to the latest survey data from CSO Insights, less than 50% of pipeline ... [![Outcome-Centric Selling Academy offer](https://www.inflexion-point.com/hubfs/OCSA%20CTA%20300x300.png) ](https://inflexion-point.thinkific.com/) Subscribe Categories - [Complex Sales (375)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/complex-sales) - [B2B Marketing (200)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/b2b-marketing) - [B2B Buying Process (122)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/b2b-buying-process) - [Value Selling System (114)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/value-selling-system) - [Outcome-Centric Selling (100)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/outcome-centric-selling) - [Scalable Systems (89)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/scalable-systems) - [Thought Leaders (75)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/thought-leaders) - [Revenue Management (59)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/revenue-management) - [Opportunity Qualification (36)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/opportunity-qualification) - [Intelligent Targeting (35)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/intelligent-targeting) - [CSO Insights (32)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/cso-insights) - [Sales Enablement (31)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/sales-enablement) - [Selling in the Breakthrough Zone (31)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/selling-in-the-breakthrough-zone) - [Sales + Marketing Alignment (30)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/sales-marketing-alignment) - [CRM (24)](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/crm)