Published by Neos Market ingneosmarket ing.com

B2B Market ing Strategy Success

One Massive Behavior Killing Sales Success

Sales and marketing tactics and strategy in 2016 bear little resemblance to those from just ten years ago. The tools that salespeople used in order to be successful in 2006, and the decades prior, involved proven methods of researching and identifying leads, reaching out to those leads for an introduction, asking questions to qualify them as prospects, and then beginning the ‘sales process’. That sales process involved a variety of different activities that are dead now…and are resulting in the death of salesmen as we used to know them.

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A LOOK BACK

2006 sales process

CALL MEETING PRESENTATION PROPOSAL CONTRACT

This is a simple diagram describing the sales process as it existed for nearly a half century. The phone call served as an introduction and an opportunity to qualify the prospect by the salesperson. A personal meeting then typically took place to understand needs and for both parties to size each other up. If the process proceeded, then a presentation might be in order by the salesperson to the prospect, as well as the prospect’s decision-makers. If successful, a proposal was made and was either accepted or rejected. There are several other smaller steps that could provide additional detail to this process, but this gives us the rough outline.

So what has changed?

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No one answers the phone anymore

Think about your own day and how you spend your time. Many professionals do not even have a phone on their desk anymore. Their primary means of contact is their cell phone. If your number is not already stored in that person’s cell phone, they aren’t answering. If you leave a voice mail and ‘introduce’ yourself as a stranger AND a salesperson, they are not calling you back. Automated dialers and robo-calls have trained us all not to answer our phones if we don’t recognize the number. And that isn’t changing.

So where do we go from here?

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1. Online research2. Engage3. Purchase

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The answer:GOOGLE61% of buyers’ research products online before contacting anyone about purchasing – and it doesn’t matter whether it’s shoes, cars, or a new software platform for their business. Buyers want to be educated before they begin the process. They want to know the right questions to ask, and they want to narrow their decision down before they enter the sales cycle. Often cited research by CEB a few year ago stated that in buying decisions, “57% of the purchase decision is already complete before the customer even calls the supplier.” While there are many variables that can affect this percentage, there is no denying that online research now affects decision-making.

So what are we looking for online?

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blogs, reports, case studies, whitepapers, comparisons,

reviews

B2B companies with a blog generate

67% more leads.

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Relevant content

The days of creating pages on websites blatantly over-loaded with important keywords are long gone. Buyers want relevant, real, and authentic content related to what they are interested in – and Google is giving it to them. Google is constantly updating their algorithm to return results that users most want to read, and they are getting really good at it. The good news is that if you provide a solution for a certain constituency, and write and post relevant content online as to how you do it, Google will help connect the two of you. And they are getting better at it every day. Creating good content, however, is just one part of the equation.

Where do you post it?

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87% of the US is on the internet

80% own a smartphone

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The answer: on a responsive platform Responsive means that the address online where your blog, whitepaper, case study, or review resides looks great on any device. All of us are increasingly staring at our devices no matter where we are. We're connected to the internet virtually everywhere in the U.S., and that percentage is getting higher. In addition, we not only search online at our desks, but while we are on the go on our smartphones, tablets, and laptops. To be ‘responsive’ is to be concerned for those interested in what we have to convey, and to deliver it to them wherever and whenever they want in the best possible fashion.

So what are the new tools that are replacing the telephone?

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They are actually straight forward

They’re all the tools that most of us engage and use in our daily life. Social media has become part of everyone’s personal and professional life. LinkedIn is one of the most valuable and important tools to professionals. Posting content on our website via blogs and downloads and helping that content be found via SEO is vital to people searching online for what you do. In addition, reaching out to early stage prospects who aren’t ready for phone conversations via email, as well as tracking them in a robust CRM is a critical part of nurturing them to become true sales prospects.

So how does all of this fit together?

Social Media LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter

SEO Search Engine Optimization

Blogging

DownloadsWhite Papers, Case Studies, Information Documents

EMail Marketing

CRM Customer Relationship Management

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Content marketing overview

As this graphic illustrates, at the center of everything is a great-looking website on a responsive template. It should be the resource library for all the content, blog posts and download offers you are creating. It should also serve as the hub for your email marketing efforts and be linked to your email marketing platform (EMP) and your customer relationship manager (CRM). All of your social media sites should be accessible via your website and linked to the web domain to improve your ‘searchability’. Finally, you should be using an SEO expert to insure that your website is following best practices so prospects can find your company online and the great content you are producing.

So lets review.

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Create AwarenessAdvertising and Public Relations

Support Sales Brochures, Videos, Presentations, Trade Shows

Generate LeadsSocial Media, SEO, Content, Webinars, Continuing Education, Lunch & Learn, Newsletters

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Marketing has really always done three things:

Create awareness, support sales, and generate leads. Marketing and sales have been intertwined since the earliest days of the professions. The big thing that has changed here in 2016, is that the salesperson is getting involved in the process a LOT later than he or she used to be. Technology and tools have allowed the modern marketer to become more efficient and much more focused on ROI. This shift has confused many Sales Managers into thinking they aren’t hiring the right salespeople anymore. What is actually happening is that they are not engaging in the right prospecting, lead generating, and lead-nurturing activities anymore.

Salespeople are being replaced in the lead generation stage by modern marketing.

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Today’s marketing process

What the modern Sales Manager needs is a plan to help his or her sales team be successful again. That plan includes hiring a modern marketing team who can manage the 2016 Marketing Process. This team needs to understand the tools necessary for success, have a defined budget, be focused on ROI, and be at the table discussing both company and go-to-market strategy with the other members of the executive team.

It requires a new approach.

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The good news is it isn’t “rocket science”And it is also that sales people really aren’t dying, but a large chunk of their job responsibility is being replaced. The sales force of the future will continue to be one built around solving problems and answering more detailed questions from a much more educated buyer. If your team is going to survive, however, it will take planning. It also may involve a shift of both financial and human resources on your team to make the transition successful.

So to review...

How do you prevent killing off your salespeople and begin growing your business?

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Five things you can do to grow your business

These 5 items would be a great start and get you wellon your way to implementing a 2016 Marketing andSales strategy that could reverse the frustratingperformance you’ve been experiencing from your salesteam…particularly early in the sales process. Marketingis designed to fill the funnel and give your salespeoplemore opportunities. If you are not utilizing the newtechnology, tools, and techniques available in this dayand age, you are losing ground. And you are punishingyour salespeople for performance that is quite possiblyout of their control.

So what’s it going to be? Remember the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over again and expecting different results.

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Have a responsive website with interesting content

Create compelling content weekly — move prospects through sales process

Promote SEO optimized content with social media & email

Offer expanded, downloadable content in exchange for email address

Monitor & measure activity and do more of what works

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