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August 12, 2015
Hunting New Prospects to Meet Your 2016 Revenue Goal? There Is a Better Way.
By: Aaron Bartels
Many companies face this same question today. Their customers don’t spend much, on average, and they tend to come and go. So the scramble to find new customers never ends.
It’s a costly cycle.
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors knew this. That’s why they adapted. Farming promised a better, more reliable yield that was easier to attain.
Farming existing customers offers similar benefits. Upselling and cross selling bring more revenue, longer term, at lower cost.
Is high customer churn threatening your 2016 sales revenue goal?
Today, we’ll discuss high customer churn and why it’s a red flag you can’t ignore. Then we’ll introduce a proven methodology that can help combat it. Upselling and cross selling bring more revenue, longer term, at lower cost.
High Customer Churn – What It Looks Like:
It’s not a pretty picture. But it’s woefully common. According to our latest research, 51% of B2B companies suffer from high customer churn. And the corporate (strategic?) chaos that fuels it.
Here’s how chaos manifests in most organizations. All of these are problems are revenue killers.
Customer Confusion:
The buying process isn’t mapped, so buyers aren’t engaged appropriately. Touchpoints are sending mixed (or wrong) messages.
Rogue Sales Tactics:
The sales team is promising more than it can deliver.
Frequent Cost Overruns:
Campaigns or initiatives that go nowhere. Rampant discounting to close deals. Costly compensation plan. The list of possibilities is endless.
Bad Sales Forecasts:
The pipeline looks promising. In reality, it’s full of bad leads that get stuck or disappear.
High Turnover Among A-Players:
Dissatisfaction sinks morale. Your top talent won’t tolerate dysfunction for long.
What It Signals:
The above issues are symptoms of serious internal problems.
What You Need – The Revenue Growth Maturity Model:
We’ve developed a tool to help companies assess their health. It’s the Revenue Growth Maturity Model. Think of it as a spectrum of corporate functionality and performance. Every company falls somewhere on the model.
We’ve outlined the model on pages 12-13 of Make Your Number in 2016. It’s our latest B2B research report based on more than 60,000 surveys, interviews, and field observations. Along with 14,000+ document reviews, corporate/industry analyses, and field tests. Download the report here for free.
What Is “Revenue Growth Maturity”?
It’s the degree of strategic alignment a company has achieved. We’re referring here to functional alignment and market alignment. Both are critical to unleashing long-term, top-line revenue growth.
How Does the Model Work?
The model compares customer acquisition cost (CAC) and customer lifetime value (CLTV). Companies at the bottom of the scale (Level 1) have high CAC and low CLTV. The opposite is true for Level 5 companies—the most “mature” of them all.
How Do Other Companies Compare?
We’ve broken it down for you on page 14 of Make Your Number in 2016. The results may surprise you.
Click here to download the report for free.
What Does It Take to Adapt? To reach higher levels of revenue growth maturity, strategic alignment is essential. We’ll talk more about that in tomorrow’s post.
He founded Sales Benchmark Index (SBI) with Greg Alexander and Mike Drapeau to help business to business (B2B) leaders make the number. The world’s most respected companies have put their trust in and hired SBI. SBI uses the benchmarking method to accelerate their rate of revenue growth. As an execution based firm, SBI drives field adoption and business results.
His clients describe him as a consultant who:
“Makes transformational impacts on me, my people and my business”
“Solves my most difficult problems that to date we have been unable to solve ourselves”
“Brings clarity to an environment of chaos”
“Has real world sales operations experience making him qualified to advise us on a variety of sales and marketing challenges”
“Is able to spot proven best practices that once implemented will make a material impact on my business”
“Constantly challenges status quo and compels us to act”
“Focuses on execution and driving change to stick in our environment”
“Makes good on his promises while enabling our business to realize his projected results”
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