This document outlines a plan for aligning sales and marketing teams to improve performance. It begins by establishing that alignment has been a challenge for decades but is critical for revenue and relationships. Common misalignments are identified such as having different goals and metrics. A plan is then proposed to improve alignment through regular meetings focused on pipeline, jointly defining processes, data sharing, and account-based coordination. Regular cadence and accountability are emphasized. Success is defined as improved revenue, trust between teams, and coordinated handoffs within a revised sales funnel.
12. Source: InsideView Market Report 2016
• Marketing spends most of
their time on branding and events
(65%)
• Marketing isn’t accountable
for pipeline
(55%)
• I respect my marketing department
(86%)
• Sales people are single-celled
organisms that chase revenue
(27%)
• Sales people are a bunch
of mavericks
(26%)
• Sales is a difficult job
(94%)
Positive and Negative Attitudes Continue
13. How often do you meet with the
marketing team to discuss pipeline?
How often do you meet with the
sales team to discuss pipeline?
We’re Terrible Communicators
Source: InsideView Market Report 2016
19. unrealistic expectations
out of touch
no follow-up
no sense of urgency
only complains
don’t listen
don’t understand our pressures
pipeline measurement unfair
leads are worthlesswon’t use systems
aren’t accountable
only want “net” new
What Are We Afraid Of?
20. Meet with you and give feedback?
Take you on sales calls?
Share their account plans?
Follow-up on leads, even if only to reject them?
Use the tools you provide?
How Can You Measure Trust?
21. Be proactive and communicate well in advance
Be overly transparent
Make recommendations, don’t just ask questions
Get feedback from everyone
Listen first
Brainstorm together
Leverage opinion leaders
Back at the Office…
23. We Focus on Different Things Conflict
Long-term
Segments
Leads
Top of lead funnel
Campaign metrics
This quarter
Accounts, titles, people
Closing deals
Start of sales cycle
Quota attainment
29. of marketers say that pipeline
is the primary way they
are measured – more than
lead quality or quantity!
Source: InsideView Market Report, 995 respondents, Oct 2015
Yay!
30. Back at the Office…
Focus on handoff points
Create SLAs
Smarketing meetings
Focus on pipeline
Jointly define everything
37. Back at the Office…
Agree with your CEO that you have an alignment imperative.
Measure trust with your sales team and take action.
Review your funnel definitions.
Report on the same metrics. Focus on pipeline.
Bite the bullet and give marketing variable compensation.
The ultimate, some might say only, goal of sales and marketing leaders is to grow revenue.
Whether you are talking about generating bigger and better pipeline, crushing your quota, or driving better lead- to-close rates...the end goal is always MORE REVENUE.
THINGS TO REMEMBER:
Multiple attendees per account – “how many of you are here with marketing or sales teammates”
It’s an imperative now – Umberto’s presentation talked about how the buyer is more in control than ever. What are we supposed to do? We are better together. We need each other to succeed and it’s the way we’ll fuel growth.
Alignment has become an imperative.
.
38% of CMOs say it’s a a top priority
Source: CMO Council
Yet only 1/3 have a clear program to make it happen
Source: CMO Council
Replace with final graphic that includes source
Talking point – we did this survey, 1000 people, found the reasons why we’re still not aligned. It was pretty basic and pretty bad!
AM – want to change this to “no wonder we still don’t get along”. Maybe picture of two squabbling kids? Cute but crying/yelling?
Talking points:
There is impact everywhere where we’re not aligned. First – revenue.
What would YOU do for 10% better performance! Imagine the impact…
Revenue isn’t the only thing. There is an enormous, and we’d argue larger impact, on people.
Our survey examined attitudes we have about each other. The results were pretty funny – classic stereotypes.
Happily though, while we have misunderstandings, our affinity measures are higher than we expected.
AUDIENCE QUESTION;
Tell the truth – how many of you marketers in the audience think sales are a bunch of mavericks?
And how many of you sales people think that one of the biggest thing marketing does is plan events?
Replace with final one w/ source – also column 2 figures are being verified
When you look at how we’re still not aligned, there is a huge communication and process breakdown – look at this question about frequency of discussion around something as straightforward as pipeline! We’re terrible. Or lying.
AM – is there an image that would be better here? We can say the bullets in voiceover.
Poor performance
Lack of trust
Fear and inhibitions lead to inferior work
Poor morale and ultimately, turnover
So what do we do? If you’ve been around as long as we have, this problem has been an issue since the start of our careers. It’s time to fix it, once and for all.
We organize our recommendations into a simple construct – people process technology.
In our book we pull culture and leadership out separately, but for this prez we’ve blended them into all things people.
AM – putting this phrase on one of the dark background slides…whichever phrase you think would be better
AM – it’s too many words, but I’d love some kind of construct where we can talk through the things that we typically mistrust in each other. Maybe there is a way to have the phrases fly in and out or something. Back and worth, where Andrea and I could be trading off?
Marketing says:
Sales has unrealistic expectations
They won’t follow-up
They don’t listen, only complain
They won’t use the systems
It’s not fair to measure us on pipeline
Sales just wants “net new” – they don’t care about how we influence opportunities
Sales says:
Marketing is out of touch
They might derail my sales process
The leads are worthless; give me my golf tournament
They aren’t accountable for anything that really matters
They don’t understand the pressure we’re under
They don’t listen
AM – would love this to look like a checklist somehow.
Talking points:
Non-scientific, but relatable
Marketing should ask this – and sales could have similar measures such as “I believe marketing listens to me”
Marketing needs to take the lead; exists to make sales easier. We’re inherently more collaborative. We’re in a position to drive it.
AM – I’d like this to look like a “key takeaways” list – a format we’ll repeat other times in the prez
Other phrases for headline:
What do I do now
Tips
Actions you can take right now
Back at the office…
(Pro Tips)
AM – make two columns, and prettier?
Unifying construct is the classic funnel – new edition
Traditional funnel on the left, new on the right –
Perhaps show the traditional one first, then swipe to the new one.
3 animations:
First/old funnel, then leaves
New interactive process comes in – animate with color to show the flow
Add the call out points
Replace with final one showing source.
Talking points:
When we drill into that new funnel, we can see every step of the process
Each step requires definitions to agree on, and potential points of conflict around handoff
Jointly define everything – audience question:
How many of you feel like you’ve done a good job with joint definitions
Visual idea: Make a collage of words that represent things that require joint definition and handoff processes
Lead
Scores
Routing rules
Acceptance criteria
Opportunity value
Pipeline contribution
Not sure we keep this – need to decide if we want to show the underneath chart – our #smarketing meeting.
These organizing tools to not need to be beautiful or automated. Simple excel. Anyone can do it.
Most marketers measure very top of funnel. We recommend focusing on pipeline as the primary measure. It forces all the right behavior plus shows sales that marketing has more skin in the game.
Just 56% of B2B organizations verify valid business leads before they are passed to Sales
Talking points:
Technology is in our way. We think it’s making us more efficient but the crazy amount of systems in our tech stacks is out of control. Our metrics don’t match up. And we’re NOT working off the same core data.
Highlight last row on the graphic on the left – lack of accurate data on target accounts
Remember that survey? Nearly 40% of those surveyed said that lack of accurate data on target accounts was one of the biggest challenges to alignment.
So what are we supposed to do?
We must have a data strategy.
We have to work off of data that is current, complete, and actionable.
We
Talking points
If you have a strong data strategy, you can do more. Take focused motions such as ABM.
Account-based everything is a forcing function for alignment.
This hot topic is everywhere.
And it all starts with knowing what accounts are the best targets.
Insert picture from the product presentation, showing the TAM – the picture inserted here is just a draft; need a better one from my team.
Replace with final 1 w/ source/Sirius Decisions.
Final checklist
If you want a personal, signed copy when it comes out this fall, please give us your business card and we’ll make sure you get one in the fall.
Examine sales velocity – this is not just the responsibility of sales. Remember “marketing exists to make sales easier?
This is a slide we could take out and only use when we have 45-60 minutes.
Cut from roadshow prez
Pitch this as advanced alignment