Cain and Abel. Hatfield and McCoy. Sales and Marketing.
Across the globe, salespeople think Marketing is mostly a waste. And Marketing harbors suspicion that salespeople are mostly dolts.
Yet some companies produce superior results from great harmony between Sales and Marketing. Salespeople in these companies routinely make more money. So we thought it was worthwhile to try to understand the difference.
SBI’s Annual Research studied the Marketing practices of a wide array of organizations.
Key Finding: 71% of companies have the wrong Marketing Strategy.
Find out below some of what the “Fine 29”(%) do differently.
It won’t take much imagination to envision yourself stuffing more money into your pockets.
Account Segmentation: Imagine having a crystal ball. What if you knew which accounts in your market would generate the most revenue the soonest? You would focus your sales efforts like a laser.
Buyer Segmentation: Say you understood in detail how buyers in your accounts make purchase decisions. Imagine confidently targeting selling efforts and reducing wasted cycles. How much of an edge would that give you?
Content Planning: Imagine not having to wade through a blizzard of buzzword bingo collateral. Instead, you get tools designed to help you surmount specific sales process hurdles.
Lead Management: Imagine no more garbage leads that you’re expected to chase but seldom pan out. Imagine someone else nurturing and qualifying early stage prospects. Imagine being handed sales-ready leads based on lead-grading approved by Sales.
Great marketing execution often drives upwards of 25% of the leads that turn into opportunities. These companies’ (lucky) sales reps don’t burn selling time “dialing for dollars.” Jealous? Yeah, me too.
Plays: You may have heard my rant about “collateral, discount and hope.” Great marketing strategies yield detailed, step-by-step sales execution approaches. Salespeople love great CMOs. Why? Because they share our zero tolerance for reliance on “then a miracle happens.”
So, are you salivating as you imagine a world-class Marketing organization that FEEDS you?
Then send this link to your Chief Marketing Officer. They can register here to receive the research report and arrange for a free 90-minute strategy session. Or contact me, and I’ll send the report personally with your compliments.
Probably a lot like you, when I carried a bag I earned well despite mediocre Marketing. Imagine how huge your stretch bonus could be if you had Grade-A Marketing support. Rally your leadership! Hey, who knows, maybe sometime soon Marketing will be your best friend.
