Making the Connection - Sales 2.0 London 2013 presentation
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This document discusses challenges that sales organizations face in aligning sales and marketing efforts. It outlines 7 prescriptions for overcoming these challenges: 1) Developing ideal prospect profiles, 2) Creating key stakeholder personas, 3) Identifying actionable issues prospects face, 4) Establishing a unified sales pipeline, 5) Providing stage-relevant content, 6) Creating conversation planners, and 7) Developing FAQs and tough-to-answer questions. The document emphasizes the importance of having one aligned plan, pipeline, and playbook to coordinate sales and marketing activities.
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Making the Connection - Sales 2.0 London 2013 presentation
- 1. Bob Apollo CEO INFLEXION-POINT MAKING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BUYER’S JOURNEY, YOUR PIPELINE, + YOUR REVENUE GOALS @Sales20Conf • www.sales20conf.com/London2013 • #s20c bob.apollo@inflexion-point.com • @bobapollo
- 2. CHALLENGE #1: ELIMINATING THE DEPENDENCY ON HAND-TO- HAND SALES HEROICS BY IMPLEMENTING A REPEATABLE, SCALABLE SALES PROCESS… CHALLENGE #4: BRIDGING THE PERFORMANCE GAP BETWEEN YOUR “A” PLAYERS AND THE REST OF THE SALES ORGANISATION… CHALLENGE #3: ENSURING THAT EVERY SALES AND MARKETING ACTIVITY IS TIGHTLY ALIGNED WITH YOUR PROSPECT'S BUYING BEHAVIOURS… CHALLENGE #2: SHIFTING THE FOCUS FROM ONE-OFF TRANSACTIONAL SALES TO HIGH-VALUE LONG-TERM STRATEGIC CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS…
- 4. THE FUNNEL [Inspiration: Velocity Partners]
- 7. A TALE OF TWO FUNNELS EXHIBIT A EXHIBIT B
- 9. WINNING DEALS FLOW THROUGH THE FUNNEL 2.5 TIMES FASTER
- 10. 1: THE SHAPE OF THE FUNNEL MATTERS 2: VELOCITY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS VALUE OR VOLUME 3: YOU MUST KNOW WHAT A “WINNING DEAL” LOOKS LIKE 4: IF YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE ANYWAY, YOU’D BETTER LOSE EARLY
- 13. BUT… …THEIR BUYING JOURNEY IS ALMOST NEVER LINEAR …THEY OFTEN DON’T UNDERSTAND WHERE THEY’RE GOING OR HOW TO GET THERE …FROM ANY POINT, THEY COULD CHOOSE TO MOVE FORWARDS, TO GO BACKWARDS, TO HOLD FAST OR ABANDON THE JOURNEY COMPLETELY
- 14. [Inspiration: Professor Eddie Obeng | Pentacle Virtual Business School] 4 STATES
- 15. [Inspiration: Professor Eddie Obeng | Pentacle Virtual Business School] PAINT BY NUMBERS LOST IN THE FOG QUEST FOR THE GRAIL HEADLESS CHICKEN 4 STATES
- 16. PAINT BY NUMBERS IF YOU CAN’T WIN PLAYING BY THEIR RULES, CHANGE THE GAME OR WALK AWAY
- 17. HEADLESS CHICKEN RESHAPE THEIR VISION, INFLUE NCE THEIR PROCESS, OR QUALIFY OUT
- 18. LOST IN THE FOG GET IN EARLY, GIVE THEM A VISION, SUPPORT THEM IN THEIR JOURNEY
- 19. QUEST FOR THE GRAIL SUPPORT AND REFINE THEIR VISION, SHOW THEM HOW IT CAN BE ACHIEVED
- 20. IF YOUR SALES PEOPLE HAVEN’T RECOGNISED WHAT STATE THEIR PROSPECT’S BUYING PROCESS IS IN, HOW CAN THEY HOPE TO INFLUENCE IT?
- 22. 57% [Source: CEB] POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ALREADY IDENTIFIED REQUIREMENTS ALREADY DEFINED PRIORITIES ALREADY ESTABLISHED NEEDS ALREADY SCOPED FIRST DEEP ENGAGEMENT WITH SUPPLIERS
- 23. 57% [Source: CEB] ARRIVE LATE REFRAME THE PROSPECT’S PERCEIVED NEEDS, PRIORITIES AND BUYING DECISION CRITERIA POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS ALREADY IDENTIFIED REQUIREMENTS ALREADY DEFINED PRIORITIES ALREADY ESTABLISHED NEEDS ALREADY SCOPED
- 24. 57% [Source: CEB] ARRIVE EARLY OPPORTUNITY TO INFLUENCE THE BUYING DECISION PROCESS AND CRITERIA ARRIVE LATE REFRAME THE PROSPECT’S PERCEIVED NEEDS, PRIORITIES AND BUYING DECISION CRITERIA
- 25. CONSEQUENCES FOR B2B SALES AND MARKETING
- 26. 80-90% OF MARKETING-GENERATED SALES SUPPORT MATERIALS REMAIN UNUSED SALES PEOPLE WASTE DOZENS OF HOURS PER MONTH (RE)CREATING MATERIALS ONLY 1 in 8 MEETINGS WITH SALES PEOPLE RATED “VALUABLE” BY PROSPECTS GROWING TREND FOR COMPLEX B2B SALES CYCLES TO END IN “NO DECISION” [Sources: Forrester, CMM Group, CSO Insights]
- 28. WASTED EFFORT
- 30. MARKETING MESSAGE + SALES CONVERSATION + BUYER’S PRIORITIES ALIGN ALIGN GROWING THE SWEET SPOT
- 31. PRESCRIPTIONS
- 32. 1: IDEAL PROSPECT PROFILES DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOURAL SITUATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS
- 33. YOU CAN’T DEFINE A MARKET THROUGH DEMOGRAPHICS… …YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE PSYCHOGRAPHICS
- 34. 2: KEY STAKEHOLDER PROFILES TITLES, ROLES + RESPONSIBILITIES ROLE IN DECISION MAKING PROCESS ISSUES, CONCERNS + MOTIVATIONS LIKELY PERSONAL PRIORITIES INTERNAL + EXTERNAL INFLUENCES THEIR “BUYERSPHERE” COMMERCIAL TECHNICAL FUNCTIONAL LEGAL + PROCUREMENT
- 35. YOU’VE GOT TO SATISFY EVERY STAKEHOLDER’S “WIIFM” TEST WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? FOR MY DEPARTMENT? FOR MY COMPANY?
- 36. 3:ACTIONABLE ISSUES A PROBLEM YOUR PROSPECT HAS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT… …FOR WHICH YOU HAVE A PROVABLY SUPERIOR SOLUTION
- 37. IF THEY DON’T HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, THEY PROBABLY WON’T WHY CHANGE? WHY NOW? WHY YOU?
- 38. EXAMPLE: HR SOFTWARE BEFORE EXCLUSIVELY DEMOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO SEGMENTATION FOCUS ON MID-LEVEL FUNCTIONAL MANAGERS CAMPAIGNED AROUND PRODUCT FUNCTIONALITY AFTER STRUCTURAL, BEHAVIOURAL AND SITUATIONAL SEGMENTATION FOCUS ON C-LEVEL EXECUTIVES CAMPAIGNED AROUND CRITICAL BUSINESS ISSUES 10x RESPONSE RATE 4x PIPELINE VALUE 2x ANNUAL REVENUE
- 39. 4: ONE UNIFIED PIPELINE BASED ON BUYING DECISION PROCESS CLEAR STAGES + MILESTONES AGREED MQL, SQL, SQO LEAD SCORING + OPPT’Y QUALIFICATION CLEAR RESPONSIBILITIES + HANDOFFS UNTROUBLED IMPLEMENTINGAWARE CONCERNED EVALUATING DECIDING APPROVING MKTG SALES
- 40. THE MORE VERSIONS OF THE TRUTH YOU ALLOW… …THE MORE LIKELY IT IS THAT ALL OF THEM ARE FALSE
- 41. 5: STAGE-AND-STATE RELEVANT CONTENT UNTROUBLED IMPLEMENTINGAWARE CONCERNED EVALUATING DECIDING APPROVING MAKE IT EASIER FOR THE PROSPECT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH YOU TO NEXT STAGE
- 42. IF YOU HAVEN’T AGREED WHAT YOUR CONTENT IS INTENDED TO ACHIEVE… …THEN IT ALMOST CERTAINLY WON’T ACHIEVE ANYTHING
- 43. THEIR CHALLENGES YOUR CAPABILITIES 6: CONVERSATION PLANNERS TALKING POINTS BASED ON ISSUES RAISED BY MARKETING MESSAGES KEY INSIGHTS TO SHARE KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK LEAD TOWARDS, NOT WITH, YOUR SOLUTION!
- 44. IF YOU CREATE CONTENT WITHOUT DEVELOPING TALKING POINTS… …THEN THE SALES CONVERSATION COULD (AND ALMOST CERTAINLY WILL) HEAD OFF IN ANY RANDOM DIRECTION
- 45. 7: FAQs + TAQs FREQUENTLY ASKED, YET TOUGH-TO- ANSWER QUESTIONS SHARE THE COLLECTIVE LEARNING OF YOUR “BEST BRAINS” !?
- 46. IF WE’D EACH HAD TO INDIVIDUALLY REINVENT THE WHEEL… …THEN MOST OF US WOULD HAVE ARRIVED HERE ON FOOT (AND PROBABLY MISSED ALL THE BEST SESSIONS)
- 50. Ideal Customer Profiles Key Stakeholder Personas Actionable Issues Clear Value Proposition Key Themes Points of View Conversation Planners Qualification Guides Anecdotes and Quotes FAQs and TAQs
- 51. ONE TEAM ONE PLAN ONE PIPELINE ONE PLAYBOOK
- 52. GET ALIGNED… OR GET LEFT BEHIND Bob Apollo Inflexion-Point www.inflexion-point.com Sales+Marketing Alignment Counsellors bob.apollo@inflexion-point.com | +44 7802 313300
Hinweis der Redaktion
- BOB APOLLO OF INFLEXION-POINT. UK-BASED ORGANISATION – MORE PRACTITIONERS THAN CONSULTANTS – WORKING WITH A BUNCH OF INTERESTING B2B-FOCUSED ORGANISATIONS, HELPING THEM TO FIND WAYS OF ACCELERATING REVENUE GROWTHLIKE TO SHARE SOME OF THE LESSONS LEARNED - MY GOAL TODAY IS SIMPLY TO STIMULATE YOU TO THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING TODAY IN YOUR OWN SALES AND MARKETING ACTIVITIES – AND TO MAYBE OFFER SOME IDEAS THAT COULD HELP YOU DO EVEN BETTER
- HERE ARE THE 4 CHALLENGES I HEAR MOST FREQUENTLY FROM THE CEOs OF OUR CLIENTS. SOME OR ALL MAY RESONATE WITH YOU
- BUT IN MOST ORGANISATIONS THERE’S STILL PLENTY OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. SO WHAT’S HOLDING THEM BACK/
- LET’S START WITH ONE OF THE MOST COMMON METAPHORS – THE IDEA OF THE SALES FUNNEL. WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE INSPIRATION OF ONE OF STAN’S FELLOW DIRECTORS, DOUG KESSLER. YOU SEE THE FUNNEL IS A FLAWED METAPHOR
- IN A PERFECT WORLD, AND IN A REAL FUNNEL, EVERYTHING THAT FLOWS IN THE TOP IS DRAWN OUT OF THE BOTTOM THROUGH THE MIRACLE OF GRAVITY
- BUT IN OUR WORLD, WE ALL NOW THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN: THE FUNNEL LEAKS. ITS CONTENTS WHIRL AROUND. SOME FLOW UPHILL. OTHERS EVAPORATE.AND YOU KNOW? YOUR FUNNEL IS LEAKING RIGHT NOW, IN PLACES THAT MAYBE ARE NOT YET VISIBLE TO YOU
- I WANT TO ASK YOU A QUESTION. HERE ARE TWO QUITE DIFFERENT FUNNEL SHAPES – EXHIBIT A AND EXHIBIT B. THERE ARE FAR MORE DEALS IN FUNNEL A. WHICH IS THE HEALTHIEST FUNNEL? AND WHY?ACTUALLY,
- ACTUALLY, IT’S EXHIBIT “B”. THE FATTER FUNNEL IS WASTING FAR MORE TIME AND EFFORT – EFFORT THAT COULD BE SPENT FINDING AMD CLOSING MORE OF THE RIGHT SORT OF OPPORTUNITIES. NOT JUST WASTING EFFORT – WASTING TIME AND ARTIFICALLY EXTENDING SALES CYCLESUNDERWEAR: BLOOMERS OR THONGS? BLLOMERS CONCEALING JUST A LITTLE TOO MUCH OF THE MYSTERY.
- MOST ORGANISATIONS MEASURE THEIR PIPELINES IN TERMS OF STAGE, VOLUME AND VALUE. BUT THERE’S ANOTHER MEASURE THAT’S EQUALLY IMPORTANT: VELOCITY. WINNING DEALS MOVE THROUGH THE FUNNEL AN AVERAGE OF 2.5 TIMES FASTER THAN DEALS YOU END UP LOSING, OR WHICH DO NOTHING. IF YOU TAKE NO OTHER ACTION FROM TODAY, IF YOU’RE NOT MEASURING DEAL VELOCITY LIKE A HAWK, START DOING SO
- SHARE TWO SIMPLE CONCLUSIONS. IF YOU’RE NOT MEASURING VELOCITY TODAY, YOU’RE WASTING TIME. AND IF YOU’RE GOING TO LOSE, YOU HAD BETTER LOSE EARLY
- ANOTHER INCREASINGLY COMMON METAPHOR: BUYER’S JOURNEY
- IT’S AN APPARENTLY SIMPLE CONCEPT. THE BUYER PROCEEDS THROUGH A SERIES OF DECISION MAKING STAGES
- BUT, JUST LIKE THE FUNNEL, THIS METAPHOR, ALTHOUGH USEFUL, IS A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SIMPLIFICATION
- I’D LIKE TO SHARE A COMPLEMNTARY PERSPECTIVE WITH YOU. NOT JUST THE STAGE, BUT THE STATE OF YOUR PROSPECT’S BUYING JOURNEY. YOU CAN CLASSIFY ALMOST EVERY PROJECT ALONG TWO SIMPLE AXES
- THESE DIFFERENT STATES PROVOKE DIFFERENT BEHAVIOURS – ON BOTH THEIR PART AND YOURS. BUT IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT STATE YOUR BUYERS ARE IN, YOU CAN END UP IMPLEMENTING A LOSING STRATEGY
- LETS START WITH PAINTING BY NUMBERS. BUYING IS AN ALMOST MECHANICAL PROCESS.
- NOW, A FAVOURITE OF MINE - NOT. KNOW HOW, BUT DON’T KNOW WHERE (OR EVEN WHY). TYPICALLY WHERE DEALS HAVE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY PROCUREMENT. THE ORIGINAL REASON FOR CHANGE OFTEN LOST. ASSOCIATED WITH LOW WIN RATES
- I MUCH PREFER LOST IN THE FOG. EARLY STAGE OPPORTUNITIES.
- AND QUEST FOR THE GRAIL CAN BE PRETTY PROMISING AS WELL
- LET’S REVERT TO THE BUYER’S JOURNEY FOR A MOMENT. THERE NO DOUBT THAT INFORMATION POWER MEANS THAT BUYERS ARE ENGAGING WITH SALES PEOPLE EVER LATER IN THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS. RESEARCH BY CEB SUGGESTS THAT ONE AVERAGE THE BUYING CYCLE IS MORE THAN HALFWAY THROUGH…
- NOT UNUSUAL
- IF YOU ARRIVE LATE TO THE PARTY, YOU EITHER NEED TO PLAY BY THE RULES THAT HAVE ALREADY BENE ESTABLISHED (TYPICALLY TO YOUR DISADVANTAGE) OR CHALLENGE
- BUT IF – THROUGH COMPELLING CONTENT – YOU CAN GET TO THE PARTY EARLY – MAYBE EVEN GET THE PARTY GOING…
- SOME PRETTY PROFOUND CONSEQUENCES
- PROBLEMS STEM FROM A FAILURE TO ALIGN
- CONSEQUENCES ARE AN ALMIGHTY AMOUNT OF WASTED EFFORT
- SURELY, OUR GOAL IS TO ACHIEVE A MUCH GREATER OVERLAP
- DO THAT BY…
- ONE SALES AND MARKETING NEED TO GET TOGETHER. DEMOGRAPHICS ARE ALMOST NEVER THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS
- TWO, LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR KEY STAKEHOLDERS. IN PARTICULAR, NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE BUYERSPHERE THAT SURROUNDS EACH OF THESE KEY STAKEHOLDER TYPES.
- THREE, FOCUS ON THING THAT ARE INTERESTING, ACTIONABLE AND URGENT TO THEM. BUT BE SELECTIVE - DON’T EDUCATE THE MARKET FOR COMPETITORS WHO MAY BE ABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM EVEN BETTER THAN YOU.
- HERE’S A LITTLE SNAPSHOT OF THESE PRINCIPLES IN ACTION. ORIGINAL TARGETS WERE BUDGET TAKERS, RATHER THAN BUDGET MAKERS
- STEP 4. IDEA THAT MKTG DOES BRANDING AND LEAD GENERATION THEN HANDS OVER TO SALES IS DEFUNCT – OR SHOULD BE
- AS WE’LL HEAR FROM STAN, IF YOU UNDERSTAND THE BUYING PROCESS, YOU CAN WORK OUT WHAT TACTICES ARE GOING TO WORK BEST IN MOVING IT FORWARD. SOME TACTICS ARE CLERALY MORE EFFECTIVE AT THE TOP, MIDDLE AND THE BOTTOM OF THE SALES FUNNEL. AND WHICH CONTENT THEY CHOOSE TO CONSUME CAN GIVE YOU REAL CLUES ABOUT WHERE THEY REALLY ARE IN THEIR DECISION MAKING PROCESS.
- BUT GREAT CONTENT CAN ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR. YOU ALSO NEED TO EQUIP THE SALES PEOPLE TO HAVE SMART CONVERSATIONS THAT POINT TOWARDS THE NEED FOR YOUR SOLUTION. IN FACT, I’M GOING TO SAY SOMETHING THAT SOME OF YOU MAY REGARD AS CONTROVERSIAL. NO PIECE OF MARKETING COLLATERAL, NO CAMPAIGN, WITHOUT TALKING POINTS
- LAST, BUT NO MEANS LEAST. TOP SALES PEOPLE ANSWER TOUGH QUESTIONS IN A WAY THAT SEEM INSTINCTIVE. BUT SHARING EFFECTIVE ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS CAN IMPROVE EVERYONE’S SALES EFFECTIVENESS
- SO LET ME SUMMARISE: SALES AND MARKETING NEED A JOINT PLAN
- SALES AND MARKETING NEED A JOINT PLAYBOOK THAT CAPTURES WINNING HABITS AND BEHAVIOURS. WE CAN HELP ON BOTH COUNTS
- SO – WHAT’S IN A GOOD PLAYBOOK?SUPPORTS INITIATIVE AND CREATIVITY, RATHER THAN CONSTRAINING IT.