Marketing, Sales, or Buyer Alignment

1. MAKING THE CHOICE:
MARKETING AND SALES ALIGNMENT
OR BUYER ALIGNMENT

2. https://youtu.be/OsQrBptivHQ

3. AGENDA
Introduction
 Where are you in the Alignment Spectrum?
 Potential Options for Alignment
 Marketing & Sales or Buyer Focus?
Marketing & Sales Alignment
 State of the Union
 Best Practices
Buyer Journey Integration
 Integrating the Buyer into Alignment
Building the Alignment Model
 Charting the Buyer Alignment Course Forward

4. SETTING THE STAGE
 Struggle to align processes, tools, approach
 Who owns what?
 Buyers are hijacking the sales process
 Channels are multiplying faster and faster
 Alignment is getting more elusive

5. ALIGNMENT CHOICE
 Aligning marketing and sales?
 Aligning with the buyer?
 Keep the focus on
ENGAGEMENT
 Buyer Alignment Framework
 Drive alignment within your marketing and sales teams from
a buyer perspective
M S +
B

6. Lean Growth
More with Less
Hidden Sales Cycle
Inconsistent Lead
Definition
Growth of Channels
Pressure on ROMI
Tight Budgets

7. WHERE ARE YOU IN THE ALIGNMENT SPECTRUM?
What is the current relationship?

8. WHERE ARE YOU IN THE ALIGNMENT SPECTRUM?
What is the current relationship?

9. Set Sales &
Marketing
Alignment
Goals
Integrate
Buyer Focus
for Optimal
Alignment

11. 87% of the terms sales &
marketing use to
describe each other are
negative.
Corporate Executive Board
Only 45% of companies
have established a
company-wide definition
of a sales-ready lead.
MarketingSherpa
Companies with strong
sales & marketing
alignment get 20%
annual revenue growth.
Aberdeen Group
Organizations that
integrate sales and
marketing outperform
those who do not by 25%
Sirius Decisions

13. ALIGNMENT BEST PRACTICE OPTIONS
SHARED
DATABASE
& SYSTEMS
ON DEMAND
ACCESS TO
ALL ASSETS
JOINT
DEFINITION OF
LEAD TYPES
REGULAR
GROUP
MEETINGS
COMMON
METRICS
DUAL
BUDGET &
TARGET
INPUT
JOINT
DEFINITIOIN
OF LEAD
TYPES
CMO &
CSO
MEETINGS
INTEGRATE PROCESS
& SYSTEMS
Resource
Define
Communicate

14. WHERE IS YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Option Unaddressed Implementing In Place
On Demand Access to all Assets
Shared Database & Systems
Joint Definition of Lead Types
Common Metrics
Dual Budget & Target Input
Regular Group Meetings
Regular CMO & CSO Meetings
Process/System Integration:
Quick Assessment
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15. ALIGNMENT BEST PRACTICE OPTIONS
PRODUCT
PLANNING
PlanASSCESSING
CUSTOMER
NEEDS
VALUE
PROPOSITION
DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM &
CAMPAIGN
INPUT FROM
SALES
DEVELOP
JOINT
METRICS Target
ANALYZE &
SELECT TOP
TARGETS
INTERNAL
LAUNCH -
PROGRAMS
&
CAMPAIGNS
INTEGRATE ACTIVITIES
Message

16. WHERE IS YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Option Unaddressed Implementing In Place
Assessing Customer Needs
Product Planning – Dual Input
Value Proposition Development
Together
Program & Campaign Input from Sales
Internal Launch – Programs &
Campaigns
Analyze & Select Top Targets
Develop Joint Metrics
Integrate Activities:
Quick Assessment
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17. ALIGNMENT BEST PRACTICE OPTIONS
PUBLISH &
EMPHASIZE
JOINT
METRICS
SHARE
RESULTS:
INDIVIDUAL &
JOINT
INCLUDE
MARKETING
IN KEY
ACCOUNT
STRATEGY
FOCUS
MARKETING:
FIELD,
CORPORATE,
CHANNEL
CHIEF
CUSTOMER
OR
REVENUE
OFFICER
TIE
REWARDS
TO RESULTS
CHIEF
CUSTOMER
OR
REVENUE
OFFICER
ENFORCE
USE OF
SYSTEMS
INFLUENCE CULTURE
Review
Focus
Lead

18. WHERE IS YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Option Unaddressed Implementing In Place
Share results – individual & joint
Publish & emphasize metrics
Marketing Role in Key Account Strategy
Enforce use of systems
Split/Focus Marketing: – Field,
Corporate, Channel
Chief Customer or Revenue Officer
Tie rewards to results – both teams
Influence Culture:
Quick Assessment
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19. KEY AREA: SLA FOR MARKETING & SALES
M A R K E T I N G T O S A L E S
Amount and quality of leads
delivered
# of Marketing Qualified Leads a
sales rep need to make quota
What % of sales opportunities will
marketing originate?
What % of sales opportunities will
marketing influence?
S A L E S T O M A R K E T I N G
Speed and depth of lead
follow-up
How many call/email attempts
should sales make for every
lead
With X leads and Y hours /
month, how many follow-up
attempts should sales be able
to complete per lead?
How much prospecting will sales
do on their own?

20. KEY AREA – MUTUALLY DEFINE LEAD TYPES
Almost 75% of all leads are
never sales ready.
- Marketing Sherpa
Visitor Marketing Qualified
Lead (MQL)
Sales Accepted
Lead (SAL)
Sales Qualified
Lead (SQL) CLOSED DEAL
Nurture Lead

21. MARKETING METRICS TO CONSIDER
# of net new companies (key identified targets)
# of net new contacts (right role, not just anyone)
# of contacts being touched with a marketing message
by week - net new contacts vs. those in nurture
programs
# of inbound requests
# of people hitting a landing page, then jumping to
corporate site for product/service info.

22. # of people originating at blog and jumping to site (product
pages, solution pages)
# of new sales meetings set from marketing lead generation
# of marketing leads moved to QUALIFED in sales pipeline
# of marketing leads moving to a proposal
# of marketing leads moved to close
MARKETING METRICS THAT DRIVE SALES

24. WHY BUYER ALIGNMENT?
BUYER
FOCUS
STRATEGY
MARKETING
ALIGN
TACTICS
SALES
25% HIGHER
QUOTA ATTAINMENT
20% HIGHER
WIN RATES
5X
LESS DISCOUNTING
3X
COMPETITIVE WIN RATE

25. THE INFLUENCE OF THE
HIDDEN SALES CYCLE
Source: The 2012 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey , Demand Gen Report

26. BUYER CONTACT TRENDS

27. POSES CHALLENGES FOR:
TARGETING
 MESSAGING
 CONTENT
Source: The 2012 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey , Demand Gen Report
BUYER TYPES CRITICAL TO
ALIGNMENT

28. TIMELINESS
RELEVANCE
CONTENT AMOUNT
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
RECOMMENDATIONS
Source: The 2012 B2B Buyer Behavior Survey , Demand Gen Report

29. IMPLICATIONS FOR MARKETERS & SELLERS
 Define buyer stages (not the same as sales stages)
 Content at every stage, usable for building business case
 Awareness & Education content is NOT enough
 Later stage content for both
Buyer and Sales Team
 Problem/Solution Focused,
not Feature/Benefit Focused
 Train for Consultative Conversations,
not Presentations

31. Source: Opus #1 © 20089- 2010
Key Shared / Overlapping Areas
Role for Marketing throughout
the Sale & Beyond
How can Sales help here?

32. GETTING THE LAY OF THE LAND
Stage 1 – Marketing & Sales Alignment
Stage 2 – Integrating the Buyer
Stage 3 – Align Messaging & Content
with Buyer Focus

33. Market
Assessment
Lead
Definition &
Qualification
(MQL)
Lead Gen &
Nurture
Customer
Retention
Programs
Customer
Relationship
Development
Lead Gen &
Opportunity
Development
Lead
Definition &
Qualification
(SQL)
Territory &
Account
Assessment
Marketing SalesBuyer Aligned
Buyer Personas
Joint Systems
(CRM, SFA)
Joint SLAs
Market &
Channel
Planning
Territory &
Account
Planning
Go-To Market Strategy
Key Accounts Strategy
Buyer Centric
Messaging
Buyer Centric
Enablement
Value
Proposition
Development
Value
Proposition
Development
Renewals
Account Penetration
Upsell / Cross Sell
ASSESS
SEGMENT
PLAN
MESSAGE
ENABLE
OPPORTUNITY
MANAGMENT
Prod/Serv
Training,
Playbooks
Sales
Process,
Methodology
& Skills

34. MESSAGING - 3 TYPES OF VALUE PROPOSITIONS
Benefits Driven
Alternative Driven
Customer Driven
FUNCTION
Does this
And this
And this
BENEFIT
# 1
# 2
# 3
FEATURE
# 1
# 2
# 3
Make the Choice!
Get Input from Marketing, Sales,
Product/Service Lines

35. 3 TYPES OF VALUE PROPOSITIONS
Benefits
Driven
Alternatives
Driven
Customer
Driven
Includes All benefits of your
product
Differentiators
versus next best
alternatives
Points that deliver the
most customer-defined
value
Answers Why should I buy
your product?
Why should I buy
your product
instead of
competitor’s?
What is most important
for me to consider in
making a decision?
Requires Product
Knowledge
Product and
competitor
knowledge
Product, competitor, and
customer knowledge
Issue Benefit
assumptions
Value assumptions Depends on customer
research
Shift the Question and Have the
Conversation the BUYER Needs
to Have

36. MAKING VALUE DRIVER CHOICES
AnalysisRegulationsChallengesObjectives
NegotiationValidationEducationJustification
Tune Messaging to the Buyers’ Drivers

37. CONTENT TYPES BY BUYER STAGE
General
Education
Product
Service Info
Industry White
Paper
Seminar /
Webinar
Interactive
Topical
Games
Analyst Magic
Quadrants
Business
Case
Solution
Whitepaper
Case Studies
Seminar /
Webinar
Social Media
Case Studies
Evaluation
Product
Service
Review
Technical
White Papers
Demo / Trial
Analyst
Reports &
Reviews
Assessment
Tools
Shortlist
Buying Guide
Competitive
Comparisons
Video
Testimonials
Action
Oriented
Check Lists
Decision
Customer
References
ROI
Calculators
Pricing
Models
Proposal
Presentation
CONTENT SELECTION DRIVES
BUYER & SELLER CONVERSATION

38. FINAL THOUGHTS
 Get your Marketing & Sales house in order
- Solidify and communicate Lead Definitions
- Ensure systems are available and usable by both teams
- Develop SLA for Marketing & Sales people to commit to
 Then Integrate Buyer Focus into Alignment
Foundation
- Account Planning
- Messaging – by Buyer Type, Industry, Title
- Turn Sales Training into Buyer Enablement Training

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40. Thank
you
very
much
Companies I've worked with: