Publisher Description

In the B2B world, the company's fate lies in the hands of a few individuals. What ultimately determines if the company thrives, or even survives, is how these key relationships are targeted, structured, and managed. This is the first book exclusively focused on successfully running business-to-business companies and written specifically for CEOs and their senior management team, including CFO, CMO, CSO, CIO, Product Development, and presidents of business units.

Author Biography

Sean Geehan is founder and CEO of Geehan Group--the recognized leader in B2B Executive Programs. With more than 20 years experience in driving B2B success, he is an expert in leadership, executive engagement programs, and designing strategic planning processes that drive long-term and profitable growth. Sean earned his MBA at the University of Dayton and received the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2002. His work has been featured by the Wharton School of Business, American Marketing Association, CFO magazine, and National Public Radio. To learn more about Sean, visit SeanGeehan.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword by David G. Thomson Introduction Setting the Stage A Different Game Six Benefits, Four Steps Engage Plan Collaborate Grow Implementing the Playbook Avoiding the Four Pitfalls Conclusion Marketing and Social Media Case Studies Index Acknowledgments

Long Description

The first book completely focused on successfully running B2B, which is very different from B2C. The fate of a B2B lies in the hands of a few individuals so what ultimately determines if a company thrives, or even survives, is how these key relationships are targeted, structured and managed. Over 30 percent of all B2B product development, marketing, and other discretionary dollars are wasted. When the realities of B2B marketplace are not integrated into a company's SOP, it is more likely that the company is wasting money as well as the employees' time and efforts. If the budget and plans aren't structured for B2B specifically, they won't move the meter. But there is good news -- there is a corresponding equal amount of potential revenue, growth and prosperity. The leading B2B companies dramatically build their top and bottom lines when leaders realize that success, undeniably and unquestionably, resides with how they engage with the their customers and how that will drive their internal alignment and operations. What is it that they are doing differently than their competition and others in their industry that drive revenue growth, deliver predictable earnings, retain and grow customers and develop new offerings that customers will not only buy, but for which they will pay premiums.

Excerpt from Book

Why Just B2B? Two of the best, most influential, and closely studied business books written are Jim Collins''s Good to Great and David Thomson''s Blueprint to a Billion. Both offer extremely valuable insight into how companies become wildly successful. Nonetheless, these and many other good business books don''t distinguish between B2C (business-to-consumer) and B2B companies. In fact, of the 11 companies profiled in Good to Great, only one is a pure B2B company. Granted, some business issues can be similarly addressed in both types of companies. (Every leader should read Good to Great on "getting the right people on the bus" and Blueprint for advice on management-team structure). But in other critical areas, B2C and B2B companies require vastly different approaches, and these areas are major factors in B2B success on which I will focus. In the pages ahead, you won''t read about the strategies of Apple Computer or Coca-Cola or Starbucks or Disney. I know these are the companies everyone points to when they talk about business success, but they operate in the B2C realm of retailers, such as Lowe''s, Kroger, and McDonalds, and consumer-package-goods manufacturers, such as PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, and Kellogg. This world is not the same as the B2B world. Although their examples can be useful in some ways, too often what makes these B2C companies soar will stall or even stop B2B companies. Take marketing, for example. Marketing is very different in the B2B and B2C sectors. Unlike B2C companies, B2B companies don''t win customers with a Super Bowl ad, or a big following on Twitter, or a guest spot on Oprah. Nor will a celebrity spokesperson like Brett Favre, Snoop Dogg, or that cute little green gecko drive B2B success. Unfortunately, however, a significant number of well-meaning B2B executives try to apply B2C marketing strategies such as these in their companies, often with poor, and sometimes even disastrous, results. Are You Using the Wrong Playbook? The symptoms or pains felt by a B2B company following the wrong playbook are not new or necessarily unique. In fact, many are the same age-old business problems felt by many types of organizations. They just might be feeling new or heightened in your company due to lightning-fast changes in technology, shifts in global forces, the emergence of radically transformational business models, or other industry disruptions. These and other realities of the business environment have simply raised the risk of using the wrong playbook and are accelerating the need for adaptive change. B2B leaders know very well there is less room for error than ever before. To know if you and your company might be using the wrong playbook, ask if: Your company has lost or is at risk of losing its top customers Margins are threatened or eroding New products are falling short of their revenue, margin, or market-share targets The relationships with the real decision makers at your most important customers are poorly developed Your strategic planning process is unproductive or frustrating Branding and marketing initiatives have fallen flat Your senior executive team disagrees on how to move the company forward Your organization confuses activities with results These are just some of the problems that frustrate and confound many executives in B2B companies. But I''ve often found they aren''t the real issues; they are merely symptoms of a deeper problem, which is the widespread misconception that all business pains can be successfully resolved with generic business cures. As a result, B2B executives take the lessons they learn from the B2C world, whether from experience or education, and attempt to apply them to their B2B company. As most discover, this approach simply fails. That''s the bad news. The good news is that success in the B2B arena is not an overly complex undertaking. And, in almost every instance, the playbook of proven B2B strategies costs less to develop and execute than you might think--and will generate significant and measurable returns. That''s the promise I''m making in this book: You can yield market-leading results while simplifying your tactics, reducing the number and cost of activities, leveraging your time and resources, and achieving greater clarity and focus.

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