Blocking and tackling
This book has made me look like a genious to our EVP of Sales and Marketing. After reading it, I can talk about the core elements of our B2B lead gen program from a framework perspective. It also has some very tactical information including some great document templates that helped me put together our campaigning program.

It is a little dated and lacks some of the more recent information about new lead gen tools for the web. However, it will give you a solid basis (i.e. "fundamentals") for establishing your program that you can build on.

I feel a little guilty for not sharing the book with our entire marketing team, but for now it's helping me be the star - my little secret weapon!

Behind-The-Scenes Look at B2B Selling
Many books skim over the fundamental reasons why the salesperson role is changing in the b2b space, but John tackles this shift head-on. He not only points to the changes in the marketplace (i.e., an abundance of clutter), but also that one of the key roles of the sales person (information provider) has been taken over by the Web. Further, he delves deep into why work habits (turnover, telecommuting,purchasing by committee) also contribute to the problem of meeting face to face with decision-makers.

Another key strength of the book is it questions common assumptions about how to organize your sales accounts. He challenges the typical large account/small account model to share how real-world sales increases are feasible with modern sales models.

If you're been out of the market for a few year or shifting to the b2b arena after working in the consumer sector, this should be the first book on your reading list.
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Perspective of a Project Manager
I'd like to offer a different perspective on this book. I am a Project Manager for a consulting company, and many of my projects are for Sales and Marketing organizations. Reading this book helped me better understand the business processes my clients are responsible for, and while it didn't make me an expert in B2B marketing, I can ask the right questions now. I actually took this book to a few meetings with the client and the team and read quotes from it in the context of "guys, we are definitely doing the right thing - listen to what this book says".

The book is full of specific details and examples, has a lot of hands-on information that could be applied right away, and its light, almost ocnversational style makes it an easy and enjoyable read.

A very worthwhile read
This book is written by an author who obviously understands the modern sales and marketing environment. This book is a beautiful weaving of perspectives and insights from both the sales AND marketing points of view. If you are like me trying to bridge the gap between the two every day then you will chuckle at the way John Coe describes some of the conversations that take place between sales folks and marketing folks because you've heard almost the exact conversations before. "Get us better leads." "Increase your closing rates." I guess all organizations have these internal discussions.

Where this book stands apart, however, is the way Coe develops his thesis that the modern selling and marketing environment has changed. The customer is in control more than ever and they don't want to hear from you or talk to you during the sales process until they are ready--and when they're ready you must also be ready and bring your A Game because at that point everything counts and you must have your sales and marketing functions wholly unified.

Practical tips and insights from database structure to lead handling to aligning the two functions to achieve the same goals to finding and defining common performance metrics to measure it all.

A very good and balanced perspective.

A much-needed book on a rarely covered subject: B2B marketing
Business-to-business marketing has three components: product management, marketing communication and sales. Author John M. Coe focuses primarily on marketing communication, particularly on working with your sales team to create a more effective sales model. Few previous books have addressed the need to update the business-to-business sales process, so getAbstract welcomes this useful addition. In this concise but detailed manual, Coe addresses everything a company must know to revive its sales and marketing process, and boost its B2B sales.