Check Call: The B2B marketing book review edition

There are thousands of books on a myriad of personal and professional development topics, ways to close a deal, ways to be a better negotiator – you name it, there is a book somewhere about it. I’m on the hunt for the ones worth reading and committing your time to. I’ve read virtually nothing in this space, not even the infamous “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” I’m more than happy to fall on my sword and sift through the best and worst of each in our new monthly book review. If you have any recommendations, good or bad, just let me know.

The book we’re starting with takes us to the land of marketing, more specifically how to create and measure actual return on investment on your marketing efforts. We’re headied into “The Revenue Engine: Fueling a B2B High Octane Pipeline” by Kara Smith Brown. Brown is the CEO and founder of Lead Coverage, a go-to-market consulting group that specializes in supply chain companies. Full disclosure: I use Lead Coverage regularly when it comes to guests on Check Call and Running on Ice.

On to the book.

My main gripe for business and professional development books is that they’re notoriously boring. Typically they are dry and say nothing while also saying everything. I’m delighted to say this book was an exception. There were loads of personal anecdotes about wins and losses within the industry as well as lessons to learn from the losses. There was a strong human element to it, but it also tied back to the overarching theme of a literal revenue engine.

It was written in a way that made you feel as though you were having a conversation about the topic rather than being lectured, which was incredibly refreshing.

The biggest part that I wanted to know was how could I take the topics covered in the book and apply them to my own life, my own business, my own marketing plan?

The book covered it and then some. Even down to the math behind the marketing, how to track ROI and how to make an impact to the bottom dollar. There were concrete actions anyone could have success with. The book provides ways to find and source your ideal customers, and to see the ROI at trade shows rather than just show up, network and hope for the best. It really helps you frame where you spend your time and energy in a more realistic way and how to have and track success.

It highlights so much more than having a social media presence and a cute new logo. Another of my favorite parts is the importance the book places on sales and marketing working together.

I’d rate it 5 stars and recommend it to anyone who is getting into or has been in the B2B marketing space. It spans the knowledge gap well, breaking down concepts for those new or unfamiliar with the space, but still brings in some tricks for industry veterans.

The TLDR is that it provides the framework for you to adopt quickly. At 250 pages, it’s a quick and easy read that will have you coming back and double checking yourself. There’s also plenty of room in the margins for notes and math. Oh, and most importantly: the importance of sharing good news.

Market Check. This week’s market is the home of the blues, Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis has fully recovered from the Thanksgiving interruption. Outbound tender volumes have returned to normal levels, rising 40.07% week over week. Any other time it would be a sign of a strengthening market to see the OTVI improve that dramatically in such a short period of time, but the holiday makes it less impressive.

On the flip side, the Outbound Tender Reject Index has fallen 124 basis points week over week to come in at 5.95%. This is more in line with what Memphis was seeing before the holiday, although almost 6% rejections is a little elevated. Spot rates are likely closer to the levels from the week before Thanksgiving instead of early November.

Who’s with whom. Back in October, the East and Gulf Coast port workers went on strike. The strike ended after three days when both sides agreed to a contract extension to Jan. 15. The two parties are the United States Maritime Alliance, a coalition of 267 trade associations led by the National Retail Federation, and the International Longshoremen’s Association.

In a surprise to almost no one, a deal has still not been reached. The one component that brings talks to a screeching halt is the role of automation. The ILA is fighting automation as it takes away from union jobs. The USMX wants to bring in semiautomated container cranes. In October there was a sticking point on pay, but the union has agreed to a 62% pay hike over the six years. It’s just automation standing in the way now.

“We understand that automation and technology continues to be the biggest issue of disagreement between the parties,” the shippers said in a story by FreightWaves’ Noi Mahoney. “We continue to believe there is a path forward for the parties to address this issue. It is critical that our ports and terminals have the ability to modernize their systems and processes in order to remain globally competitive and be able to handle the continuing rise of trade volumes, both imports and exports, through our ports.”

If a deal isn’t reached in the next few weeks, it’s interesting to see what could happen if there is a second strike, as it would occur right around the changing of the president.