My career path has been a series of convergences. At more than one company, I was hired to be the Marketing Manager, and at some point along the way, recognizing some skill (or temperament possibly) my job function was blended into the Marketing AND Sales Manager. While I confess that you can't be great at both job functions; it has always been invaluable to me to have that kind of access to the sales team and find out what is really going on in the field. The marketing message can be better directed when you have industry feedback on a daily basis - not just when the reps come to town for a big meeting. Plus, I must admit that my heart has always been in the marketing side.The big challenge of today's B2B marketing programs is doing more with less. That's nothing new! Taking the low cost opportunities and making the most of them with email and social media, without ignoring the traditional avenues. The markets are constantly evolving, technology gets better and costs less, and communication is instantaneous. But making sure your message is consistent and accurate in the emerging & dynamic mediums requires more diligence. You can't run the same thing every day!!! Keeping up with these changes and learning new approaches to take advantage of these mediums that are steadily putting pressure on the traditional methods has been exciting and challenging.Who knows what tomorrow brings? So let's get out of our chairs and find out together!