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    Sharon Gillenwater

    Sharon Gillenwater

    Sharon Gillenwater is the founder and editor-in-chief of Boardroom Insiders, which maintains an extensive database of the most in-depth executive profiles on the market, from Fortune 500 companies to independent non-profits, to help sales and marketing professionals build deeper relationships and close more deals with clients. Gillenwater is a long-time marketing consultant with expertise in marketing strategy, account-based marketing, and CXO engagement programs.

    February 24, 2022

    Executives on the Move: Southwest’s CEO Comes in for Landing, Home Depot Exec Takes Top Spot

    2022 is in full swing— and some big industry names are wasting no time making some big moves. Catch up on some of the most interesting...

    February 01, 2022

    Boardroom Insiders’ newest product feature takes relationship mapping to the next level

    Every company is trying to find an edge, to get a foot in the door and to influence big deals.

    January 27, 2022

    Euromoney People Intelligence Acquires Boardroom Insiders

    We are pleased to announce that Boardroom Insiders has been acquired by Euromoney People Intelligence, part of Euromoney Institutional...

    January 20, 2022

    Executives on the Move: Rocket Companies' execs clear for launch,  Darden Restaurants serve up new CEO

    A New Year means new goals, strategies and initiatives, and for a lot of companies— new leadership. Let’s dive into which companies are...

    December 22, 2021

    Going Beyond the Office- BI in the Community

    Following a year like 2020, there was a lot to be optimistic about heading into 2021. A huge highlight for our Boardroom Insiders team was...

    October 21, 2021

    BI Executive Profile Count hits 30,000!

    2021 has been a year of milestones for Boardroom Insiders, and we’re closing out Q4 with another BIG one: The Boardroom Insiders platform...

    October 11, 2021

    Audience analysis — The 30,000-foot-view you need to sell and market to the C-suite

    Is your executive engagement strategy built on personas?

    September 29, 2021

    Common threads — Know your audience, better than ever

    “What do the executives I’m targeting have in common?”

    September 24, 2021

    BI wins the Silver Stevie!

    As a company, Boardroom Insiders has had some big wins this year. Our BI PRO Platform was named winner of the SIIA Business Technology...

    September 24, 2021

    ExxonMobil hires veteran CFO, gaming exec steps down

    As the third quarter comes to a close, companies are making moves to steady stocks and alleviate social pressure, and many new faces are...

    September 21, 2021

    Business priority analysis — Your edge in executive engagement

    What’s top of mind among your target executives?

    September 16, 2021

    The keys to executive events that make an impact

    As most ABM-ers know, events can be a powerful way to engage the C-level executives you’re targeting. But it’s not a simple matter of “if...

    September 16, 2021

    Sales rep or consultant: How do you add more value to your prospects?

    Sales is an interesting line of work. Sales professionals are often measured by how they meet company goals and quotas, but ultimately,...

    September 16, 2021

    The Problem with Personas

    Let’s get right to it: Personas aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

    September 16, 2021

    How to Build an Effective Executive Engagement Strategy

    In account-based marketing, you know who you’re trying to reach.

    September 15, 2021

    Relationship mapping — Your key to stronger connections

    In business, relationships are everything.

    September 13, 2021

    Go Beyond Google: How to do C-Level Executive Sales Homework Correctly

    Googling someone before a meeting has become an unwritten rule of business, but to gain an edge in C-level sales and account-based...

    August 30, 2021

    Using research in your C-level outreach is not just a good idea- it's critical

    Sales professionals are accustomed to prepping for a meeting or presentation, but executive research adds value to the rest of your client...

    August 17, 2021

    Boardroom Insiders Makes the Inc. 5000 List!

    2021 has been quite the year, to say the least. At Boardroom Insiders, it has been one of resilience, growth, and validation.

    July 28, 2021

    We're growing...again!

    FORT MILL, S.C. — Boardroom Insiders — the only business intelligence platform built exclusively to support C-suite sales, marketing and...

    July 26, 2021

    Executives on the Move: Qualcomm CEO pushes chips forward, Instacart lands new face

    It may be summertime, but not everyone is out on vacation. This midpoint in the year is when C-suite executives review their company’s...

    June 24, 2021

    Boardroom Insiders' BIG CODiE win!

    It’s been weeks of nail-biting anticipation here at Boardroom Insiders, following our nomination as a finalist for a massive tech award.

    June 21, 2021

    Executives on the Move: VMware prepares for spinoff, Tyson Foods chaos continues

    With summer finally here, executives around the world are asking themselves an important question: Is it time for a vacation or another...

    May 19, 2021

    It’s tech awards season, and we’ve got BIG news…

    Are you ready for this?

    May 03, 2021

    Executives on the Move – Former Hertz CEO moves on, Waymo taps dual CEOs

    When will the economic boom begin? That’s the question on executives’ minds right now. The stimulus has been activated and vaccination...

    April 01, 2021

    The Inside Track —Analyzing the new CXO changes at Fortune 500 companies in Q1

    Where there’s change, there’s opportunity. Whenever a Fortune 500 company decides to shake up its C-suite or make a splashy new hire,...

    March 12, 2021

    Executives on the Move – Stellantis starts its engines, Virgin Galactic stalls

    A lot can change in a year — particularly in a year like we just had — and in the C-suite, change is the only constant.

    February 11, 2021

    Executives on the Move: Bezos moves on, Walgreens makes historic hire

    It’s official: The groundhog has spoken. And although we may be in for a few more weeks of winter, brighter days are ahead for C-suite...

    February 04, 2021

    The Inside Track: The crisis no one is talking about

    With a global pandemic, a contentious election and economic shocks, 2020 was a year of endless crises.

    January 21, 2021

    Get to know the CEOs of the Fortune 500

    This is the most critical moment for CEOs in modern times. Coming off a roller coaster year and still deep in the throes of the COVID-19...

    January 14, 2021

    Executives on the Move: SolarWinds enters tailspin, PG&E comes back

    With 2020 finally under wraps, C-suite executives all over the world are setting goals and seizing opportunities. And many are headed for...

    December 23, 2020

    The Inside Track: 5 goals for C-suite executives for 2021

    How do you plan after a year like 2020? That’s the million-dollar question in boardrooms around the world. The time has come for executives...

    December 14, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Starbucks high-profile hire, CVS feels shakeup

    For C-suite executives, 2020 has been a wild ride. Between a pandemic, warp-speed digitization and a presidential election, this has been a...

    December 08, 2020

    The Inside Track: 5 ways 2020 changed C-suite executive priorities

    2020 has been a year unlike any other. Between a sweeping pandemic, stay-at-home orders and rising awareness of social justice, the rate of...

    November 17, 2020

    The Inside Track: Make the most of earnings calls

    Numbers tell a story. In the world of business, quarterly earnings calls are a chance for investors, employees and the general public to...

    November 09, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Bed Bath & Beyond plans comeback

    It’s time to digitize.

    October 28, 2020

    Meet the CIOs of the Fortune 500 — 2021 edition

    After 2020, the role of CIO will never be the same. No one knows that better than the technology executives leading the largest companies...

    October 16, 2020

    The Inside Track – How CXOs are navigating the future of work

    The ways in which we work and collaborate have changed so much over the last year, and now, corporate teams must plan for next year and...

    September 30, 2020

    The Inside Track – 3 approaches C-suite execs are taking to innovate

    It’s been said many times over, and it’s true: 2020 has been the year of the pivot, as executives in nearly every industry have grappled...

    September 16, 2020

    The Inside Track — The uncertainty gap

    The only constant is change.

    September 16, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Citigroup leans in, Workday rises and shines

    Even with the coronavirus pandemic looming large, the summer of 2020 will likely go down as the summer of tech with the stock of Apple,...

    September 08, 2020

    Boardroom Insiders launches new features & expands its leadership team

    FORT MILL, S.C. — Boardroom Insiders — the only business intelligence platform built exclusively to support C-suite sales, marketing and...

    September 03, 2020

    The Inside Track — Immigrant CEOs of the Fortune 500

    When the Trump administration announced it was pushing pause on all new immigration visas through the end of 2020, it sparked an immediate...

    August 19, 2020

    The Inside Track — The state of women executives in 2020

    When it comes to women executives, the big news coming out of the Fortune 500 is this: 2020 marks a record year for the number of female...

    August 04, 2020

    The Inside Track — 4 defining CHRO priorities during COVID-19

    When it comes to their employees, companies, on average, have done a pretty good job of adapting to the new normal.

    July 30, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Netflix promotes, Tapestry unravels

    Good news: We’re now well past the halfway point in 2020. So, if you’ve managed to keep your resolution this year despite a pandemic, a...

    July 22, 2020

    The Inside Track – 3 things CEOs plan to keep after COVID-19

    As the saying goes, never let a crisis go to waste.

    July 08, 2020

    The Inside Track — 5 silver linings for CIOs amid COVID-19

    At first, it was all about battening down the hatches until the COVID-19 pandemic blew over.

    June 26, 2020

    Executives on the Move: TikTok looks to Disney, Patagonia moves ahead

    It’s official: America is in a recession. But that hasn’t stopped everyone from moving onward and upward. Many C-suite executives are...

    June 16, 2020

    The Inside Track — The power, & permanence, of virtual sales

    Virtual selling is working.

    June 02, 2020

    The Inside Track — This week, it's all about retail

    Retail dominated earnings calls over the past two weeks, offering an in-depth look at the latest from an industry that has experienced both...

    May 27, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Wexner bids farewell, AT&T promotes within

    It’s official: America is back in business, and companies are picking up the pieces from a beleaguered Q2.

    May 21, 2020

    The Inside Track — CXO priorities may not be what you might think

    With the havoc that COVID-19 has wrought on companies comes the widespread assumption that the executives who lead them are rethinking...

    April 25, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Raytheon merger flies, no more co-CEOs at SAP

    As much as things change, they stay the same. While America has largely been on lockdown, that hasn’t stopped C-suite executives from...

    April 12, 2020

    Corporate events went virtual, virtually overnight. Here’s our take.

    Who doesn’t love a good event? For B2B marketers, corporate events, industry trade shows and conferences are sacrosanct. For attendees,...

    March 27, 2020

    Executives on the Move: ‘Most powerful woman’ steps aside

    The fallout from the coronavirus outbreak continues to reverberate through the business world, but not everyone is hunkering down yet. Many...

    March 27, 2020

    Executive engagement in times of crisis

    Running an enterprise is challenging under the best of circumstances. Over much of the past decade, corporate leaders have enjoyed an...

    March 22, 2020

    Executive priorities at your key accounts are shifting amid COVID-19

    By design, we are a nimble and entrepreneurial company, so we’re used to a fast pace.

    March 15, 2020

    Our COVID-19 update: Boardroom Insiders is open for business

    COVID-19, the pandemic more commonly known as the coronavirus, is like nothing we’ve ever seen.

    March 13, 2020

    Our founders talk BI PRO℠ and what’s possible when you ask, ‘What if?’

    We’ve been talking a lot the past few months about our new executive engagement platform, BI PRO℠.

    March 10, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Gap faces slumping sales, WeWork charges ahead

    Interest rates may be falling, and coronavirus is upon us, but C-suite executives aren’t hunkering down anytime soon. Many are leveling up...

    February 18, 2020

    What if you could find out what your target executives have in common?

    Selling to the C-suite is a one-to-one proposition. Executives who run enterprise companies have very big goals and very little time. Using...

    February 18, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Michaels looks ahead, Sysco CEO hunts success

    The new year is officially in full swing, and companies are unveiling big plans for the rest of 2020. In the process, they’re finding new...

    January 23, 2020

    What if you could find connections among leaders across key accounts?

    “Who do we know at that company?”

    January 21, 2020

    Executives on the Move: Truist builds team, Google ready for change

    The start of the year — and a new decade — has brought big changes in C-Suites across the country, as well as new opportunities for...

    December 17, 2019

    What if you could get a roadmap of the top business priorities at your most important accounts?

    Marketing and sales organizations are forever trying to get in the heads of their most important customers and prospects.

    December 17, 2019

    Executives on the Move – Subway brings in king, & Nissan gets in gear

    As end of year approaches, companies are making their last big C-suite overhauls of the decade.

    November 25, 2019

    Ditch the personas and leverage insights to connect with your accounts

    If you have experience in account-based marketing, you’re probably familiar with the “persona” — the blanket identities your create for the...

    November 25, 2019

    Executives on the Move – McDonald’s grills its CEO and more change in the cockpit for Boeing

    The most wonderful time of the year isn’t without its share of corporate scandal.

    November 12, 2019

    New BI PRO℠ platform brings 'mind-blowing' magic to sales and marketing

    What if…

    October 28, 2019

    Executives on the move — Playing musical chairs, CEO-style

    With end-of-year looming and the unemployment rate at a 50-year low, it’s been a busy few weeks for HR departments. And as Q4 progresses,...

    October 07, 2019

    Executives on the Move — Under Armour on fire & SeaWorld struggles

    As we head into holiday shopping season (yes, it’s already that time of year), the retail sector is experiencing some seismic leadership...

    September 05, 2019

    Executives on the move — CEO shakeups at Overstock and Papa John’s

    As the third quarter nears its end, a handful of companies are shaking things up — big time.

    August 22, 2019

    Executives on the move: New leadership as Kraft Heinz & Uber struggle

    We’re back with the next installment of our new feature, Executives on the Move. This week, we’re highlighting big changes at a series of...

    August 08, 2019

    Executives on the move: Big changes at Yum! Brands, & Lockheed Martin

    It’s our job to know what’s happening in the world of business. If you’ve read one of our Executive Profiles, you understand why. We don’t...

    July 08, 2019

    C-suite intelligence takes company enterprise sales to the next level

    In 2018, a leading national telecommunications company decided to launch an account-based marketing program.

    June 20, 2019

    Inside Adobe's ABM Strategy: Why Melissa Watts puts people first

    Melissa Watts is a senior marketing manager at Adobe, responsible for the territory from Miami to Maine and as far west as Texas.

    June 03, 2019

    The Most Important Thing You Need to Know About the F500 This Year

    It’s official: There are more female CEOs on the Fortune 500 this year than at any point in the history of the list.

    May 16, 2019

    The most important thing we learned at the 2019 SiriusDecisions Summit

    We always have a good time at the SiriusDecisions Summit, and this year was no different. We spent four days in Austin, sat in on...

    May 10, 2019

    ITSMA's annual forum is diving into how marketing can drive growth

    April 29, 2019

    Salesforce has been C-suite selling's biggest fan. They're not alone..

    April 15, 2019

    Who to see and what to do at the 2019 SiriusDecisions Summit, May 5 - 8

    March 13, 2019

    Meet the CMOs of the Fortune 100 in 2019

    2019 has brought some notable changes to the list of Fortune 100 CMOs, a role that continues to evolve beyond the management of a company’s...

    August 06, 2018

    2018's State of Women CIOs in the Fortune 500

    Every year since 2007 we have looked at the state of women CIOs across the Fortune 500. We track the number of women in this elite group as...

    July 11, 2018

    C-Level Sales Call Prep: What Google Isn't Telling You

    How do you prepare for a meeting with a C-Level executive?

    June 25, 2018

    What Color Are Your Customer's Socks? 4 Tips for Effective Exec Briefs

    One of the coolest tools used by tech companies to woo customers and close bigger deals is the executive briefing center (EBC). EBCs are...

    June 12, 2018

    How to Write an Email to a C-Level Executive

    There’s a lot of truth in the most overused clichés. When it comes to getting the attention of busy C-Level executives—which is a...

    May 18, 2018

    Executive Research: The Fine Line Between Smart and Creepy

    In business, when does “doing your homework” on a customer cross the line into creepy, stalker-like territory? This comes up a lot in our...

    April 30, 2018

    CIOs Sound Off on How Vendors Can Measure Up

    Most tech vendors say they want to be seen as trusted partners, not faceless product pushers. And many of their ultimate...

    April 17, 2018

    Building Consensus With Buying Committees, Avoid a “No Decision” Deal

    According to Harvard Business Review, the number of people involved in B2B solutions purchases grew from an average of 5.4 in 2015 to 6.8...

    March 29, 2018

    What Industry Conferences Do You Attend to Keep Your Knowledge and Skills Fresh?

    Attention marketers and sales leaders: what industry conferences do you attend to keep your knowledge and skills fresh? I’ve...

    March 26, 2018

    There Are No Stupid Questions. Actually, There Are Plenty.

    From the time we’re quite young, we’re assured by the adults in our lives that there are no stupid questions. That may be true when we’re...

    March 05, 2018

    Who’s on First: Executive Changes at Your Most Important Accounts

    Here's a fact that should get your attention. Turnover among U.S. CEOs in 2018 reached an all-time high, according to global outplacement...

    February 26, 2018

    The One Thing That All Top Sales Methodologies Have in Common

    SPIN Selling. N.E.A.T. Selling. SNAP Selling. CustomerCentric Selling. MEDDIC. The Challenger Sale. These are some of the most popular...

    February 13, 2018

    The Art of Storytelling in Enterprise Sales

    This article originally appeared on LinkedIn here. The art of storytelling is suddenly everywhere. Within the space of two weeks, I...

    February 06, 2018

    Executive Engagement Strategy: Why Do C-Level Executive Agendas Matter

    A little more than six years ago, my partner Lee Demby wrote that when talking with customers about the value of C-Level executive...

    January 26, 2018

    Why Tech Vendors Should Be Selling to the C-Suite

    If you’re a tech vendor selling “digital transformation,” one of the best articles you can read right now is a piece by Thomas M. Siebel in...

    January 17, 2018

    Why Do ABM? Because It Works Really Well.

    So many of our customers are launching and managing Account Based Marketing programs these days. In fact, hardly a day goes by that we are...

    January 09, 2018

    Changing the Game in 2018: One Big Tip for Upping Your C-Level Strategy

    Seeking: Female financial services CFOs in the Southwest. Wanted: IT executives in Texas who love cricket. No, these aren’t match.com...

    January 04, 2018

    Fun Facts About Today’s Enterprise CIOs

    Recently we did a deep dive into the backgrounds of hundreds of enterprise CIOs. If you are familiar with our service, you know that we...

    December 21, 2017

    Strategic Charitable Giving: Who’s Giving and Why?

    Companies today have huge marketing budgets to show customers how engaged they are in the world and in their communities. Think of...

    December 11, 2017

    Research and Recruit the Right CIO

    Is the CIO you’re checking out for a client evolutionary or revolutionary? Is he or she a top, typical, or trailing performer in...

    December 04, 2017

    C-Suite Selling Perfected: How Salesforce is Winning More Mega-Deals

    Salesforce is a company I follow very closely. Given their phenomenal growth and the fact they are a longtime customer of ours, I read...

    November 13, 2017

    Keeping Up With Emerging C-Level Titles: Which Matter Most?

    At the beginning of 2017, Ford Motor Company decided to take a leap of faith and create a new C-level position: Chief Brand Officer. They...

    November 06, 2017

    The Military: A Great Training Ground For Sales and Marketing Leaders

    Let’s face it, business can be a battlefield, especially when you carry a quota. We've taken a look at the ways military training and...

    October 17, 2017

    Planning Your CIO Conversations for 2018

    Earlier this month, Gartner unveiled its 2018 Gartner CIO Survey, which summarizes what is top of mind with CIOs moving into 2018. The...

    October 09, 2017

    The Results Are In: ABM Strategy Is Paying Off

    So many of our customers are launching and managing Account Based Marketing (ABM) programs these days. In fact, hardly a day goes by that...

    September 18, 2017

    By the Numbers: The State of Women in the C-Suite

    When it comes to trends concerning women in the C-Suite, here are some facts: Just 32 Fortune 500 companies are led by women. While that...

    September 15, 2017

    The Moment of Truth: Can Your Customer Count On You in a Catastrophe?

    As a nation we’ve been fixated over the last few weeks on hurricanes and other natural disasters. For those of us at a distance it seems...

    September 07, 2017

    Executive Search: Leveraging Industry Events to Get Ahead of Talent

    Where do you go to connect with talent for your clients? According to Korn Ferry, 52 percent say they turn to their professional network....

    September 06, 2017

    Chief Information Officer: Fortune 500 Female CIOs in 2017

    To view the latest update on Women CIOs of the Fortune 500 click here. A snail’s pace—that’s the measure of progress we’re seeing when it...

    September 05, 2017

    5 Tips For Sales Development Reps Trying to Break Into the C-Suite

    In a recent conversation with our sales team, I was asked to write about how our executive profiles can support Sales Development...

    August 28, 2017

    Buyer Beware: The “Smoke and Mirrors” of Sales Intelligence

    Warning: This qualifies as a professional rant. When it comes to sales intelligence and business “data” providers, buyer beware. What...

    August 07, 2017

    The 2017 Fortune 500 List: Everything You Need to Know

    While some look forward to annual Oscar nominations, Nobel prize announcements and baseball Hall of Fame decisions, we at Boardroom Insiders

    August 01, 2017

    Customer Success: What It Means to Have a Single View of Your Customer

    High-performing sales teams have one thing in common: a commitment to “customer centric selling.” But what does that really mean?

    July 26, 2017

    Salesforce Ignite: This is What Customer Centricity Looks Like

    Being more “customer-centric” is a goal that a lot of companies purport to have. CEOs are talking about it on quarterly earnings calls....

    July 18, 2017

    Rainmaking: Using Industry Events to Build Your Client Pipeline

    Rainmaking can be a fraught endeavor. As a consultant, how do you build your pipeline, thus ensuring a steady stream of business—and...

    July 12, 2017

    How is Customer Success Different From Customer Service?

    When we hear the term “customer service,” B2C scenarios tend to come to mind. For most of us, this might involve an online chat session...

    June 28, 2017

    CXO Event Preparation: 5 Ways to Increase Your ROI

    Before I started Boardroom Insiders I worked as a consultant to some of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley, helping them improve...

    June 26, 2017

    Leverage Your Own CXOs for Better Event ROI

    If you’re a technology marketer, you’re likely looking at the calendar, anticipating a fall season packed with industry events and...

    June 23, 2017

    Optimize Your Events: How to Secure C-Level Executive Meetings

    “The only vendors I take the time to meet with are those that have shown they have done their homework and understand me and my business.”

    June 19, 2017

    C-Suite Marketing: Achieve Hero Status With Your Sales Team

    As a savvy marketer, you have probably noticed that digital “transformation” has risen to the top of most CEO agendas. And as a result,...

    June 12, 2017

    Meeting the Talent Needs of Tech Leaders: Are You Up to the Job?

    It’s no secret that talent is top-of-mind for today’s business leaders, including Chief Information Officers (CIOs).

    May 25, 2017

    Memorial Day Salute: Honoring CEOs Who Served

    It just makes sense that the rigorous training and leadership skills development that are part of serving in the military can be an...

    May 25, 2017

    C-Suite Selling Success Stories and the 5 Things You Need to Succeed

    Hi, everybody. We're talking today about C-Suite selling success stories. My name is Sharon Gillenwater, and I'm the founder of Boardroom...

    May 25, 2017

    CXO Research: Understanding What We Do

    Engaging the C-suite is key to closing big enterprise deals and driving large-account ABM programs. An essential ingredient of any C-suite...

    May 22, 2017

    Attention Technology Marketers: The C-Suite is Your Target Market, Too

    Ah, the good old days—when a company’s tech spend was confined to a handful of IT managers because, you know, it’s a tech thing.

    May 10, 2017

    CXO Engagement: Why is Contact Info Not Enough?

    Most companies spend too much time worrying about getting customer contact info and not enough time thinking about what they are going to...

    May 08, 2017

    A Personal Story: Meeting Unanticipated Needs

    In 2008, I started Boardroom Insiders because a few of my large clients—mainly Sun Microsystems and Cisco Systems—were starting to talk...

    May 02, 2017

    Enterprise Sales Strategies: Why C-Suite Selling is Critical

    Remember when a company’s tech spend was in the hands mid-level IT managers? These people were relatively easy to reach, spoke the language...

    April 24, 2017

    Spoon-Feeding Sales, What’s On Your Menu?

    Org charts, contact information, and social media links—the trifecta of what some marketers think is adequate background on executive...

    April 17, 2017

    Sales Trends Emphasize Account Growth: Breaking Down 2017

    What was once perceived as the simple task of convincing someone to buy something you’re selling has snowballed into a very complex,...

    April 10, 2017

    Immigrant CEOs 2017: What Global Citizens Bring to American Business

    Stories of successful immigrants abound in American business lore. It’s a phenomenon firmly rooted in our country’s history.

    April 04, 2017

    Sales: Prep For a Meeting With a C-Level Executive in 30-Mins or Less

    There’s no worse feeling than being unprepared for a meeting with a C-Level Executive. Their time is valuable and if you blow it, there are...

    March 27, 2017

    Client Relationships: Don’t Treat Me Like a Vendor

    There is a lot of thought-provoking content on Twitter about client relationships. This simple but profound tweet by Databox CEO Peter...

    March 20, 2017

    Executive Talent Acquisition: Creating a World-Class Team

    According to executive talent search experts, the wrong hire can cost a company up to three times their salary, when you factor in the loss...

    March 12, 2017

    The Realities of CXO Research

    CXO research must be done. Are you up to doing it yourself? Read any sales and marketing publication and you’re bound to be lectured on...

    March 06, 2017

    The Executive Profile: An Essential Tool For Executive Recruiters

    With each profile we publish, Boardroom Insiders is on a quest to gather and curate the most relevant and current information available...

    February 14, 2017

    Getting Back to Basics

    You’re in sales. You’ve got a product to sell. Boom. Done. Then on to the next deal. Your technique? You use the sales enablement tools...

    February 07, 2017

    Digital Technology: If Digital is a “Business Thing,” Vendors Must Be in the C-Suite

    In recent years CEOs have commonly handed off digital to CIOs or have hired Chief Digital Officers to own the digital realm. But as veteran...

    January 21, 2017

    CSC’s “Pursuit Marketing” Journey: An Interview With Dorothea Gosling

    Editor’s Note: In April 2017 CSC merged with HP Enterprise Services and the new company was rebranded as DXC Technology. Gosling now holds...

    January 03, 2017

    Nailing the First 5 Minutes of a Business Conversation

    It's 2017 and IDC sees a future where C-Level executives are going to be more central than ever to critical technology buying decisions. ...

    January 02, 2017

    10 New Year’s Resolutions for Building Better CXO Relationships

    Are you ready for 2017? Let’s talk about resolutions you can keep when it comes to upping your sales mojo.

    December 20, 2016

    Don’t Let Spinoffs Spin Out Your Customer Relationships

    Are any of your customers involved in corporate spinoffs? Sales and marketing people are always advised to keep an eye on potential mergers...

    November 29, 2016

    C-Suite Engagement: Can It Scale?

    Is C-Suite engagement a priority in your sales strategy at your company? If so, you are probably having discussions about how to scale. ...

    November 21, 2016

    How to Save Your Salespeople Time

    Every day we hear from sales leaders about how their sales teams are overwhelmed and under prepared when it comes to selling to C-suite...

    October 27, 2016

    Enterprise Sales Strategies: Salespeople Need to be Know-It-Alls

    If you’re like most people, a networking event or cocktail party filled with unfamiliar faces does not top of your list of favorite...

    October 18, 2016

    Executive Engagement: 5 Goofs Sales Teams Make with C-Level Executives

    Longing for the good old days? You know, the Mad Men school of closing sales over leisurely three martini lunches or a game of golf? Yeah, ...

    September 30, 2016

    Successful C-Suite Selling: Get Down to Business. Their Business

    Don't waste their time. Don't waste your time. Enterprise sales teams are under more pressure than ever. Customer budgets are tighter....

    September 19, 2016

    Do Your C-Level Events Leave You Gasping For Air?

    Before I started Boardroom Insiders I worked as a consultant to some of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley, helping them improve...

    September 02, 2016

    Three Things You Need to Know About Social Selling

    There’s no escaping the fact that we live and conduct business in a social world. Harnessing social technology is clearly now a mandate for...

    August 16, 2016

    CXO Selling: Three Things Enterprise Salespeople Can Learn from Management Consultants

    Enterprise sales teams struggling with C-Level executive selling should take a page out of the management consultant’s playbook. Because of...

    August 11, 2016

    When SaaS Companies Grow Up: Selling Bigger Enterprise Deals

    Recently I came across an article called "Back To The Future In Enterprise SaaS Selling.” The authors make the argument that as SaaS...

    August 03, 2016

    Customer Retention: The Case of Your Disappearing Customers

    One of the fundamentals of customer retention is that it generally costs organizations more to acquire a new customer than to keep an...

    July 25, 2016

    Anatomy of an Executive Profile: How We Do It

    We preach a lot about the value of knowing as much as possible about your customer. Having deep insight into their goals and concerns is...

    June 30, 2016

    What Real CXO Insight Looks Like…and How to Connect the Dots

    Day in and day out we conduct deep research on the c-suite so you don’t have to. We look for CXO insight that helps sales and marketing...

    June 21, 2016

    C-Suite Selling: Five Things You Need to Succeed

    In a recent post we outlined how Salesforce is closing bigger deals faster by engaging CXO decision makers—all the way up to the CEO. Many...

    June 02, 2016

    C-Suite Selling: Where Predictive Analytics Fall Short

    As marketers and sales pros, we find irresistible the promise that technology tools will make our jobs easier and help us win more...

    May 19, 2016

    What LinkedIn Isn’t Telling You

    LinkedIn is beyond amazing. Those who remember what it was like before LinkedIn know that it has transformed so many aspects of business,...

    May 03, 2016

    Executive Research: How Social Are CXOs?

    Given how pervasive social media has become, you’d think that going on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook would be a sure-fire way to learn...

    April 26, 2016

    Client Meeting Prep: Five Things to Research BEFORE a Customer Meeting

    So, you’ve landed a meeting with a long sought-after customer. Chances are you’ve already done some research to get your foot in the door,...

    April 25, 2016

    “That Spa-Like Feeling”: 5 Tips for Elevating the Customer Experience

    At Boardroom Insiders we have what I think is a particularly evocative phrase that we’ve embraced when either describing how we want our...

    April 12, 2016

    Why a Key Account List is Just the First Step of Your ABM Journey

    Here’s a sad but true tale of missed ABM opportunity. A Fortune 100 company spends months of man-hours—and invests in various data...

    March 31, 2016

    How Salesforce Is Winning Nine-Figure Deals

    On a February 2016 earnings call, Salesforce execs crowed about having “the absolute best quarter we have ever had,” capping off “a...

    March 23, 2016

    Immigrant CEOs 2016: What Global Citizens Bring to American Business

    Stories of successful immigrants abound in American business lore. It’s a phenomenon firmly rooted in our country’s history.

    March 11, 2016

    The Top Challenges Faced by Healthcare CIOs

    Being a healthcare CIO involves a tricky balancing act. On the one hand, you’re addressing the fundamentals of any business technology...

    March 01, 2016

    Are You an Order Taker or a Business Partner?

    The time has long passed since a sales team could assume that a great presentation about their product or service would get them the orders...

    February 24, 2016

    Customer Relationships: 7 Tips for Long Term Nurturing

    Congratulations! Your team scored its first sale with a valuable customer. Despite all the hard work, the journey has just begun. Now...

    February 18, 2016

    Where Are the Female CIO's?

    Just when you thought that women were making headway in IT, a survey or two, an expert, and simply what women tell one another force you to...

    February 11, 2016

    Why ABM Is Such a Hot Topic

    Account-based marketing(ABM) is getting a lot of buzz, and for good reason. Companies with sustained ABM initiatives are seeing positive...

    February 04, 2016

    Don’t Get Caught with Your Pants Down in a Sales Meeting

    How prepared are your sales people for their hard-won meetings with prospective customers? According to IDC, nearly 57 percent of B2B...

    January 26, 2016

    The Biggest Issues Facing Incoming CMOs in 2016

    Reaching millennial customers, managing big data, and dealing with the flood of marketing technology are some of the top challenges for...

    January 19, 2016

    How Four Companies are Revamping Their C-Suite in 2016

    For most organizations, January represents a fresh start—and a good time to launch new strategies and initiatives. At least four Fortune...

    January 12, 2016

    Do You Get How CIOs Measure Success?

    If your aim is to increase sales of your tech solutions to CIOs and CTOs, your sales force must know how your products and services will...

    January 06, 2016

    Five Things CIOs Want You to Know

    As you’re strategizing for new business, your staff is probably gathering data, pulling together sales materials, and practicing delivering...

    December 21, 2015

    The Class of ’16: The Big Issues for Incoming CEOs

    Come 2016, you’ll find new faces in many CEO offices. Organizations like Starwood Hotels, Owens-Illinois, LL Bean, and others have...

    December 09, 2015

    Your Greatest Threat to Closing a Deal - and How to Avoid It

    The Tyranny of “No Decision” The biggest threat to closing your next big deal may not be the competition. Your biggest threat might be...

    December 04, 2015

    Perspectives on Leadership from the World's Top Business Leaders

    Corporate executives at large, global companies live a rarefied existence. They also have immense responsibility. Their organizations...

    December 02, 2015

    Account-Based Marketing: The Top Five Reasons Why It Fails

    Sales and marketing leaders from companies across a variety of industries tell us that account-based-marketing (ABM) programs are...

    November 18, 2015

    What B2B CEOs Can Learn From Their B2C Peers

    “'It’s great to meet customers. I can get their insights and understand what they’re looking for. What I don’t want to do is sit back and...

    November 12, 2015

    Is Your “Champion” Your Worst Enemy?

    You’ve worked hard to build strong relationships and trust within your most important accounts. The payoff for all this hard work? A stable...

    October 19, 2015

    The Secret to Breaking Through Underpenetrated Accounts

    We all have them: accounts we’d love to penetrate more. Accounts that, no matter how hard we try, just never grow beyond a few sales here...

    October 15, 2015

    Are Your Prospects Dating Your CRM?

    You wouldn’t use a CRM to court a potential romantic partner. So why do you rely on so much to build a sales relationship?

    October 06, 2015

    Avoid Cold Call Failure With This 5-Point Checklist

    I know of no one who doesn’t get at least a little bit of the stomach flutters before a cold calling session. Still, as nerve wracking as...

    September 29, 2015

    To Achieve Sales Success, Use This One Tip

    Have you heard the one about the veteran sales manager – the one with at least 25 years of experience -- who remembers the days before...

    September 01, 2015

    What Your Prospect Is Thinking - And How to Connect

    You and your prospect likely have a lot in common. As someone who sells to Fortune 500 executives, C-suite occupants and other high-level...

    August 18, 2015

    Sales Success Stories - And How They Did It

    Success in sales isn’t easy, so it’s important to celebrate the big wins--and draw inspiration from past success when times get tough. Here...

    August 11, 2015

    Secrets of the Top 10 Percent of Sales Professionals

    A career in sales can be very lucrative. So much so that many people try their hand at it at least once in their careers. Yet if success in...

    August 03, 2015

    Killer Strategies to Multiply Your Sales

    In sales there is constant pressure to land newer, bigger customers. While acquiring net new customers is important, you may be leaving...

    July 29, 2015

    Why Your Great Ideas Are Failing Within Your Sales Team

    Picture this: A top sales rep at a major financial institution consistently ranks in the top 5% of his peers. He is knowledgeable,...

    July 10, 2015

    How to Not Fail When "Cold Calling" C-Suite Executives

    As salespeople, we don’t like to think of ourselves as solicitors. We are providing solutions that we truly believe in (or should anyway),...

    June 29, 2015

    3 Crucial Takeaways from Your Marketing and Sales Systems

    Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems enable you to compile details about leads and customers so you can target them more...

    June 09, 2015

    3 Key Sales Triggers That Signal Your Prospect Is Ready to Buy

    Your database is full of potential customers, some with a higher closing probability than others, but they all have one thing in common:...

    June 05, 2015

    The Power of Saying "No" to a Sale

    The goal of sales is to convert prospects into customers, but not every prospect should make the cut. Just because you can do business...

    May 27, 2015

    Stop Being a Product Jockey and Think Like Your Customer

    There’s a big difference between a strategic sales pro and a product jockey. Product jockeys wear what they are selling like a name tag,...

    May 07, 2015

    Is Your Sales Strategy Recession-Proof?

    2015 seems a long way from the tough economic times of 2008 and 2009, and certainly the economy is much better than it was. But if history...

    April 29, 2015

    The 3 Biggest Mistakes Salespeople Make

    Let’s face it, failure is easy. There are far more ways to fail than there are to succeed. Success takes hard work, commitment,...

    April 14, 2015

    How Technology is Changing Healthcare Sales

    The past decade has seen a technological revolution across all industries, and healthcare is no exception. Technology has quickly become...

    April 07, 2015

    The ROI Trap: The Dangers of Neglecting Untrackable Engagements

    We live in a data-driven world, increasingly enabled by technologies that allow us to measure nearly everything. This is a joy for those...

    March 31, 2015

    How To Achieve Better Marketing and Sales Alignment: Step 2

    In part 1 of How to Achieve Better Marketing and Sales Alignment, we focused on the critical role communication plays in helping sales and...

    March 24, 2015

    Got Rep Turnover? Learn How to Get New Reps to Succeed Faster

    One of the biggest challenges faced by today’s technology companies is the constant changing of sales representatives. Our customers tell...

    March 17, 2015

    How To Achieve Better Marketing and Sales Alignment: Step 1

    Let’s be honest, the line separating most sales and marketing teams is more like the Great Wall of China than a line in the sand. The...

    March 11, 2015

    Information vs. Intelligence: Are You Providing the Right One?

    All it takes is opening your inbox to realize we are living in a world of information overload. This affects all teams, in every...

    March 03, 2015

    3 Reasons the C-Suite Doesn't Want to Meet With You

    The old way of selling is dead. People don’t want to be sold to anymore and they don’t want to waste time with uninformed salespeople....

    January 28, 2015

    Time is Money. Here Are Tips For Finding More of Both.

    In an article entitled Your Scarcest Resource, the Harvard Business Review makes the sensible case that "Time is money, but few...

    January 25, 2015

    Selling Enterprise IT: Why One Size Does Not Fit All

    This week the Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal ran an article by two Bain & Company partners entitled, Why Enterprise Technology...

    January 24, 2015

    Chairman of Oracle says digital transformation is a CXO priority

    Jeff Henley, Chairman of Oracle Corporation, recently told Forbes that many companies have elevated strategic digital transformation...

    January 15, 2015

    More Fascinating Stats on Female CXOs

    The Wall Street Journal's CIO Journal picked up on our Female CIOs blog post but they added a key piece of fascinating insight:

    January 08, 2015

    New Webinar: The Relevance Advantage

    Check out our January 2015 interview with Phil Styrlund, author of Relevance: Matter More. You'll hear:

    January 07, 2015

    Are CEOs replacing COOs with CIOs?

    The disappearance of the COO role is a trend we have definitely noticed over the past few years.

    December 22, 2014

    Some Context Around the Chief Digital Officer Title

    According to one industry insider, "A lot of CDO (Chief Digital Officer)-type roles are borne out of frustration of CEOs who know they need...

    December 16, 2014

    The Next Hot CXO Title: Chief Marketing Technologist

    According to the Harvard Business Review, "marketing is rapidly becoming one of the most technology-dependent functions in business." A...

    December 10, 2014

    What Real Executive Intelligence Looks Like, And What It's Worth

    We've written in the past about why personas, while useful, are no substitute for CXO intelligence.

    December 05, 2014

    Three Tips for Conquering Fear in the C-Suite

    If you get butterflies heading into a meeting with a CXO, you are not alone.

    November 19, 2014

    The ROI of Executive Insight

    November 13, 2014

    Enterprise Sales Pitfalls: Don't Let This Happen To You

    How confident do you feel going into a sales call with an executive decision maker?

    October 22, 2014

    CXO Selling: Take That First Step

    In our meetings with enterprise sales leaders, we notice a lot of heads nodding around the room when we talk about:

    October 14, 2014

    Are Enterprise Deals Dead?

    We have been reading a lot lately--and hearing from our customers who sell cloud-based solutions--about the demise of the enterprise deal.

    September 14, 2014

    Holding Sales Accountable for CXO Engagement

    In last week's post, we talked about how sales accountability is a critical piece of any CXO engagement initiative.

    September 03, 2014

    The Sales Accountability Gap: No More Excuses

    Why Our Product Should Make You Uncomfortable

    August 27, 2014

    CXO Engagement Takes Time and Patience

    Today sales organizations everywhere are being told to build relationships with CXO level customers.

    August 19, 2014

    It's not about contact info: Insight is key to sales success

    There's one thing I really need to get off my chest:

    August 05, 2014

    Tips for C-Suite Sales Call Prep: How to Have a Business Conversation

    When it comes to meetings with C-level executives, a whole new level of sales readiness is required. Unlike your mid-level customers who...

    July 23, 2014

    C-suite Selling: Why Personas Are No Substitute For CXO Intelligence

    We talk to a lot of companies with "CXO engagement" initiatives. Most of them have invested a lot of time and money creating "personas" on...

    July 16, 2014

    Aligning Your QBRs With CXO Priorities

    Tips For More Insightful QBRs

    June 25, 2014

    New: CXO Priorities Built Into Salesforce.com

    Selling to CXOs? What if you could access CXO priorities and personal interests right from Salesforce.com? Now you can, with no hassle, no...

    June 16, 2014

    CXO Priorities: When the C-suite nixes your deal

    A new colleague recently shared a story that shows why you need insight into the C-suite of your largest accounts, even if you don't sell...

    May 29, 2014

    360 Degree Customer Programs: Don't Forget CXO Priorities, Relationships

    With the availability of increasingly robust CRM systems, we're hearing a lot lately about "360 degree" customer programs, which involve...

    May 15, 2014

    How "Spoon Feeding" Sales Drives Bigger Enterprise Deals

    Despite increasing levels of personalization and targeting in the consumer realm, the enterprise has a long way to go when it comes to...

    April 04, 2014

    Enterprise Sales: Tips for Bridging the Sales and Marketing Divide

    Enterprise Sales and Marketing: Can't We All Just Get Along?

    March 12, 2014

    Secrets of a Top Enterprise Sales Strategist

    How “Last Mile” Research Can Help You Close Deals—and Save Your Skin

    March 05, 2014

    Free ebook--and Email Alerts on Your Most Important Accounts

    Your customers' priorities are ever-changing.

    February 19, 2014

    Top 5 Tips for Engaging CXOs

    The first thing to remember if you are trying to engage a CXO is that they are unimaginably busy. They are also surrounded by people...

    February 05, 2014

    Why Executive Insight is Critical

    When does executive insight become critical to your company's future?

    January 22, 2014

    How to Win Bigger Deals, Faster

    Every day we talk with sales pros and account managers who live and breathe a single Fortune 50 customer such as Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo or...

    December 12, 2013

    New Fortune 500 CEOs: Change Means Opportunity

    CEO Changes = New Sales Opportunities

    November 25, 2013

    Thank You

    This Thanksgiving, we at Boardroom Insiders are grateful to be celebrating nearly five years of helping sales pros close bigger deals,...

    October 22, 2013

    Big Data CXOs: Top Five Tips for Engaging C-Level Decision Makers

    This is the fourth and final article in our special series on selling to CXOs, using CXOs with known Big Data initiatives ("Big Data...

    October 22, 2013

    Big Data CXOs: Connecting the Dots

    This is the third of four articles in our special series on engaging Big Data CXOs.

    October 22, 2013

    Big Data CXOs: How Did We Find This Information?

    October 22, 2013

    Big Data CXOs: Planning Your Surgical Strike

    If you are like many of our customers, you have a big data solution and are looking to connect with those who might have a propensity to...

    September 18, 2013

    "The Funnel:" Close Bigger Deals, Faster With Sales Enablement

    Top sales pros unanimously agree that customer intelligence is a critical element of their sales prep.

    August 27, 2013

    Can you help CIOs and CMOs come together?

    A new study from Accenture about CIO/CMO collaboration is getting loads of attention.

    November 11, 2011

    C-Suite Selling: How to Get a Meeting with a CIO

    Having worked on CXO-facing programs for more than a decade, I think I have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't when it...

    December 10, 2008

    Relevance: The key to C-level engagement

    When it comes to being marketed to, we are all experts. As individuals, we are on the receiving end of thousands of “impressions” every...