Adopting Formula One Downforce Principles

to Fill Your Sales Pipeline & Win Business Faster

• Ginger Clay• 20+ years in Marketing• 5 years working inside your

business

• What Qualifies me?

• What does IgniteRM do?• Ignite180: Strategy &

Execution• Integrated Campaigns• Marketing Mavericks• Persona Messaging• Web Audit & Best Practices• Social Media Turn-key

Welcome

In the beginning…

The 60’s & 70’s

The 80’s

The 90’s

The 2000’s

Today

The Buyer’s Mindset

Do I have a problem? How can I do it better?

I heard that product “X” can do “y”.

I think I need to make a change.

Price? Solutions? Vendor?

Which vendor can deliver?Can I trust them?

60%67% is done

digitally(SiriusDecisions)

Shifts in the marketing landscape• Nearly half of all B2B researchers are

millennials• LOB Managers are influencing

purchasing decisions or making them• 71% of B2B research begins with a

generic search• Mobile usage is getting more play in

the research phase of a buying decision• More and more buyers are watching

video• Takes 7-12 engagements before

buyer’s engage with you

The Gap

TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

Do I have a problem? How can I do it better?

I heard that product “X” can do “y.”

I am going to make a change.Price? Solutions? Vendor?

What’s happening?

• 8-9 Billion devices are connected to the internet• Most are computers, phones and tablets• Educated Buyer• Expectations are increasing• “One-size” no longer can fit all• Capx to Opex• Want information to be personal• Want information to be relevant• Want information to be timely• Social Engagements to Learn• Perception is Reality• Social Noise

Rise of the Self-Educated Buyer

Buyer Behavior

The Role of Marketing Today

What does Racing and Marketing have in common?

1. Begins with the knowledge of the road

2. Driver matters

3. Design reduces timing

4. Wing flow varies

5. Downforce is key

1. Target / Pain Points

2. Different skills required

3. Right time/ Right Place/ Top of Mind

4. One size does not fit all

5. Marketing leverages the downforce concept to attract buyers during the decision making process

Common Disconnect

1. Marketing is viewed as and IS a cost center2. Marketing is a compilation of events3. Hired a lower level marketing assistant

type person who can execute, but lacks strategy/vision

4. Lack a comprehensive plan that includes a way to communicate to existing customers, sell deeper and keep them sticky

5. No processes to track performance

Why can I not create downforce?1. Your not found2. You would not know if you were found3. You don’t know what your visitors do

online4. You don’t know who your online visitors

are5. You don’t value marketing enough to

invest in the tools to be in the know6. You are found, but not relevant enough

to engage visitors7. You don’t offer compelling relevant

information that would make someone want to continue to stay on your page

5 Ways to Attract (and be found)

1. Be Attractive2. Know Your Customer3. Be Relevant4. Connect5. Be Found

Be Attractive.

Web Presentation: Do you look innovative? Message: Do you have a compelling story? Value Prop: Does it speak to the customers pain points and buying drivers? Key Differentiators: Can you back it up?

Know Your Customer.

CIO Being pushed closer to customer demands yet required to engage in strategic initiatives designed to provide value to the internal organization and end-user

CHALLENGES Priorities have shifted from

operations to the customer, from efficiency to customer loyalty, from cost control to increasing sales

Compliance: I have PCI data all over the place. How do I secure that data?

• Bottlenecks: My team is too busy fighting fires. How do I determine where my bottlenecks are?

• Staffing: Just when I invest into and train a good IT Director, he/she is lured away by the competition

• Cloud issue: I have a bunch of servers sitting on my network. They all stand alone. How do I consolidate those and possibly move to the cloud?

• What are their top 3 priorities? How do you fill the gap?

• How do you help them mitigate that risk?

• Where do they find information?

• What content do they read?

• Who are the influencers?

• What are the key drivers?

• What are the common objections?

1. Talk about your customers problems

2. Keep it popcorn sized

3. Pay attention to aesthetics

4. Stop talking at and talk with

5. Stop pushing. Start pulling.

Be Relevant.

Are you willing to connect? Why be social?

What is social media designed to do?

• Attract people who are like you & have similar interests

• Have a conversation• Sell

How are you doing?

What does social media NOT do?

•SELL• Be a billboard• Talk about YOU• Be a platform for manufacturer-

centric content• Not have purpose• Be Unprofessional• Be a superficial marketing push

Social Disclaimer

27

How do I generate leads using social media?

Answer: You don’t.You generate interest.

You foster trust.

You establish credibility.

You connect.

You Inform.

You give the visitor what they want: more value.

28

“Marketers use social media to sell stuff.

Buyers, however, do not.

Buyers are on social to find value.”

ValueContent

Entertaining Content

Offers

CTA

Events

About You

70% 20% 10%

70:20:10 Ratio

Value Content

Blog: How to Welcome the 21st Century Connected Parent into Your Classroom

Blog: 3 Cost Effective Reasons to Read this Before You Buy Your Next Phone System

eBook: Evaluating Simpler Infrastructure Alternatives Guides: Parents have choices. 6-Steps to increase ADA. Checklist: Security Checklist / BYOD Checklist/ Campus Safety Report: 4 Critical Elements of an IT Roadmap & 1 Bonus Industry

Finding Guide: Increasing enrollment through Digital(Media Rich)

Classrooms

Instead of Being Social, Connect.

• How do visitors consume information? 70%• Align with the customer

decision journey.• Create patterns, not

repeat messages.• Create a brand. What

does your brand stand for? • Be known for something.

LinkedIn Strategy

• Tier 1 Contacts• Sales Networking for

Leads• Social Listening• Brand Visibility• Branding through

Content• Content strategy

through strategic placement of ads

Get Ranked & Get Found

• 5.9 billion searches a day

• People searching on Google are actually looking for

something

• 10 results on a each page

• Google’s 1st page captures 89% of traffic

• Most users will not look beyond the 1st page

• Of the 89% of traffic, the 1st 2-listings capture 42% of

the visits

Where should an organization like mine begin?

1. Be Attractive2. Know Your Customer3. Be Relevant4. Connect during every stage of the decision

making process 5. Be Found

Break?

What will keep my business from leveraging downforce?

1. Sales & Marketing misAlignment1. Misaligned

strategy

2. Misaligned

thinking

3. Misaligned goals

4. Misaligned

compensation

The Value of Teamwork

39

“Talent wins game, but teamwork and intelligence win

championships.”- Michael Jordan

Biggest Sales & Marketing Disagreements• Role of Marketing vs. Sales• What is a lead?• When does it become a “sales

qualified” lead?• How do we track it as it moves

through the sales pipeline?• Which “results” do we measure?

---MARKETING FOUNDATION---

• Downloads/Offers

• Events• Search Engine• Blogs• Social Media• Web Landing

Pages• Case Studies• Events• Networking• Campaigns

• Comparing• Evaluating • Referral Book

• Testimonials• Project

PortfolioCUSTOMER ADVOCACY

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

DECISION

• Message & Branding• Aligning Sales &

Marketing• Web Redesign• Social Media • SEO

• Content Schedule• Collateral• Proposal Redesign• Marketing Intel

• Cold Calls• Tele-

Marketing• Prospecting• Qualifying• B: Budget?• A: Authority?• N: Need?• T: Timeline?

SALES ALIGNMENT

MARKETING ALIGNMENT

How do you tell a cloud prospect from an on premise prospect?

Qualifying a Cloud Prospect

Which Solution is Right For Your Customer?

Cloud Based PBX• Fully managed solution

• Local & nationwide long distance included

• Perfect for connecting multiple locations

• Anytime, anywhere access

• Predictable monthly operating expense

• Rich business app integration

• Full BYOD mobility support

• Incredible, reliable service

• Fantastic call quality & reliability

On Premise IP-PBX• Easy to administer and use

• Low operating costs and maintenance

• Perfect for large locations

• Powerful collaboration applications

• Capital expense

• Rich business app integration

• Full BYOD mobility support

• Incredible, reliable service

• Fantastic call quality & reliability

• Background on the prospect is “the” key• Start up or well established?• How do they deploy technology today?• Are they growing rapidly?• Is mobility important?• Do they desire to stay technology current?• What are their business challenges?• Is OpEx important to them?

Qualifying a Cloud Prospect

“There has got to be a shift from 2005-style marketing to attraction marketing driven by data, knowledge and ultimately content.”

2. Not measuring the transition from a MQL to an SQL.1. Online

Performance2. Social3. Email4. Events5. Win/Loss

Huh?

What should I measure? 1. Online Performance

• How many overall visits to the site?

• How many visits from different devices?

• Bounce rate?• Time on site?• Where do visitors

come from?• Referral? (Social)• Direct? (www….)• Keyword? (SEO,

PPC)• Email?

What should I measure?

1. Social• Followers• Activity• Click-throughs• Trending

content

What should I measure?

1. Email & Events•Opens• Click-throughs• Bounce•Undelivered• Click-Through• Registered vs. Attended

What should I measure?

1. Win/Loss Opportunities • How many leads move

from MQL to SQL?• How many MQL/SQL

close with success? Failure?• Why did they close?• What is the % of win-

to-lose?• What are the sources of

closed opportunities?

How can you leverage downforce to attract and drive demand?

• The landscape is changing• Must align with the buyer’s

decision making process• Must be attractive• Know your target• Relevant & Connect• Be found• Influence change by aligning

and marketing• Measure, rinse, repeat

“There are no shortcuts in evolution.”--Louis Brandeis

Downloads & Contact Details

Email: Ginger@igniteRM.comLinkedIn: Ginger Clay

Twitter: @GingerClayCom OR @IgniteRMwww.igniteRM.com