News Alert: CLOSE launches first global benchmark to assess the state of sales and marketing alignment
There are plenty of theories about how sales and marketing functions link and align. But we want to learn about this directly from the people it most affects: you! The Coalition to Leverage and Optimize Sales Effectiveness (CLOSE) presents the first Sales and Marketing Integration Audit. By aligning sales and marketing, the sales process can become more efficient, can qualify better leads, close bigger deals and sustain longer, more positive relationships with customers. But the reality is that sales and marketing functions in many companies don't align, departments don't interact, and often executives are braced for battle in the blame game rather than working together to move the bottom line.
This is your chance to find your own voice in this discussion and let us know what you really think of the other side…and what you really need from them.
Leads! Leads! Leads! At the end of the day, that's what we really want…qualified, targeted, hungry, ready to buy leads. So how can you get them, and once you get them, what should you really be doing with them? And then there is the question of how much time you should spend cultivating leads versus servicing your existing customers. Let's not even start talking about HOW you get the leads.
Actually let's start there…the how. I once worked for a company that collected leads on photocopied forms that customers filled out at trade shows. I happened to be the Marketing Director and when I asked the Sales Director if I could take a look at the types of leads we were getting, and maybe, do some work on my end to see how we could segment and code the leads, maybe even figure out a way to target our collateral at the booth better so we would get better leads. She was so offended and threatened by this request that she actually complained to the CEO and I got what can only be called "The Stink Eye".
I can remember walking through the Inside Sales department and listening to these really great reps making calls based on these sheets that often had the word HOT splashed at the top of the sheet. The sheet also had marketing lingo on it promising customers that if they provided their information they would get a chance to "learn more and truly experience what we have to offer." So after all that time on the phone, the rep would eventually learn that what was HOT about this lead is that they really liked samples and the lead thought that by signing up, they would get to "experience" the company through a sample…too bad the company didn’t sample. In the end, these sales reps were spending HOURS combing through PILES of PAPER to get minimal traction.
Wasted time, wasted opportunity and a totally wasted resource. Collaboration could have streamlined the process and helped make the sales reps more efficient and productive…instead of shuffling papers across their desk and wasting time on the phone with people who would never turn into customers. Collaboration could have provided those sales reps with a way to feed marketing any customer intelligence or information to help develop products and messaging to better reach the customer. Instead, both groups sat in the dark, separated by a "stink eye" and a pile of paper.
So, this memory is one of many reasons why we have chosen to highlight some lead generation and retention strategies in this issue of the CLOSE eJournal. MarketingSherpa, a great source of information about marketing, featured an article called "How to Get Back Opt-Outs: 7 Steps to Retain More Customers." While the intended audience is certainly marketing, sales has such a vested interest in retention programs, we thought it was important to get this information out into the sales ecosystem. We are also featuring a white paper from Oracle and the Peppers & Rogers Company that focuses on how empowering customer facing employees can drive growth and sales. This white paper is available exclusively to members of CLOSE, so be sure to register today for your free membership.
If you haven't already, please take some time out to share your own experiences in this sales and marketing relationship. The CLOSE Sales and Marketing Integration Audit is the first benchmark, pulled from the perspective of sales and marketing executives who are in the trenches looking for ways to optimize performance, of the global state of this relationship. This audit gives you a chance to tell the other side of the relationship what you really want from them. Log on and share your thoughts with us.
Finally, we want to point out that the CLOSE workshop series is a great way to get involved and directly contribute to developing best practices in sales and marketing integration. Two workshops have already taken place, and if you weren’t able to attend, you can download the recap of the events.
For CLOSE Members Only
Empowerment as a Growth Strategy: How Empowering Customer-facing Employees Leads to Extraordinary Results
By Oracle and Peppers & Rogers Group
Read this if…you manage employees, design, or influence employee training programs, or manage customer data.
You will learn:
• Some of the research and thought leadership around the benefits to developing employee empowerment programs.
• The importance of developing a technology solution to empower employees to increase customer value and manage critical “moments of truth.”
Sometimes the most valuable customers are the ones you already have. While so much time is spent getting new business, are you also paying attention to the customers you already have? Is there an organizational mandate to reconnect with cold customers to reactiviate the relationship? MarketingSherpa has published an article that demonstrates the steps needed to retain more customers, starting with those that opt-out of communications.
–Excerpt from MarketingSherpa,"How to Get Back Opt-Outs: 7 Steps to Retain More Customers"
Marketers like to focus on statistics that show how many respondents opted into a campaign or how many consumers clicked through an email. But don't overlook those who opt-out.
Analyzing the behavior of customers who opt out can add much-needed information and, perhaps, re-engage them, too. Included in this article are seven steps to lift customer retention rates and three measurements to determine if you really want them to stay.
Even though the average opt-out rate for email and mobile is below 1%, marketers still need to look at why customers opt out of marketing campaigns and communications just as much as why they opt in.
Any opt-out analysis must begin by understanding customer behavior: Why did they choose to go away? Knowing that answer is critical to crafting a retention strategy that might persuade them to stick around. This means you must initiate a two-way dialogue – customers won’t always tell you what they need unless you ask them.
"Most companies don’t think about whether the channel is the issue or whatever prompted the unsubscribe request in the first place," says Rosemary Smith, a data protection expert who heads the UK’s Direct Marketing Association. "I think it is vital to have [an opt-out strategy], and it is getting more important all of the time."
The mandate was clear: Identify the challenges and solutions to the age old issue of aligning sales and marketing. Two groups of seasoned veterans in this ongoing struggle, from both sales and marketing, gathered in New York and then in London, to identify the challenges, solutions and best practices to optimize this co-dependant yet conflicted relationship. If you were not able to be part of these events, CLOSE invites you to download the summary white paper and graphic output from these workshop sessions.
But just because two events have past, it doesn't mean you won't have an opportunity to get involved in the discussion. Check out the upcoming dates and venues for the next workshop. We encourage you to sign up and be part of this interactive solution setting session.
CLOSE Invention Session – Australia/APAC
April 16, 2008
Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM)
MGSM CBD Campus
Level 6, 51-57 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW AUSTRALIA 2000
Conference begins: 9:00 am
CLOSE Invention Session – Brazil
April 29, 2008
Renaissance Sao Paulo Hotel
Al. Santos, 2233
Sao Paulo, SP 01419-002 Brazil
Conference begins: 9:00 am
Space at these workshops is very limited, so reserve your spot today.
Fueling the Engine of Sales Success by David McNally, business speaker and author, article from destinationCRM.com on Friday, February 15, 2008
As a salesperson, you have probably experienced low points: the loss of a hard-fought sale or a constant stream of customers saying "No." In these challenging circumstances, some salespeople find it difficult to pick themselves up and jump back in the game. They seem to lack motivation – the ability to soar above these temporary obstacles and keep moving forward.
On the other hand, there are salespeople whose motivation, resilience, and desire to succeed allow them to leverage even ordinary skills and abilities to achieve extraordinary results.
For the majority of us who fall somewhere in the middle, there is an opportunity to increase motivational intelligence by keeping in mind these five principles:
1. Motivation is completely and entirely an inside job.
No one, no matter how inspirational, has the power to motivate others. Motivation – the movement to action – is a decision that can only be made by the individual. Many things can cause a lack of motivation, but the most common are fear and lack of confidence. The solution: courageous action! Consistently summoning the courage to move forward in the face of fear is unquestionably the single most important difference between highly motivated achievers and those who give up too easily when confronted by a challenging situation.
2. Motivation requires a meaningful "motive."
Getting truly motivated begins with willingness to get to the truth of what we want for our lives and careers. It's important to ask what has meaning and long-term value for you. Is it growing and developing your skills and knowledge? Is it meaningful to know you can genuinely help your customers solve problems? Whatever it is, the real power of personal motive comes from a deep connection to your values and who you are as a unique individual, not from short-term external incentives.
3. Motivation is propelled more powerfully by faith than by fear.
Fear can be a powerful motivator and is a highly appropriate response to threatening circumstances. But waking up fearful every morning is debilitating, highly stressful, and, ultimately, soul-destroying. Faith, on the other hand, is the belief that what you aspire to is attainable. Moving forward in faith, however, takes courage. As always, we are left with a choice: be motivated by fear that stifles imagination and leads to stagnation, or be motivated by faith – in ourselves and our abilities – that frees us from limitations and leads to great expectations.
About the Author David McNally, an internationally acclaimed speaker and best selling author provides individuals with the knowledge, skills, and inspiration to perform at their best. McNally is the author of the best-selling books Even Eagles Need a Push, The Eagle's Secret, and Be Your Own Brand. For more information email info@davidmcnally.com or call 1-952-835-0300.
Maximize and Qualify Your Sales Lead Generation Efforts with Webcasting by Sourabh Kothari, Principal Strategist, Webcasting and Rich Media, for ON24
On a recent webcast hosted by ON24, marketing professionals were surveyed on the quality of information available to them about their prospective clients. Over 20% claimed they knew their target market extremely well, with detailed information about decision-makers’ names and titles. But in today’s B2B sales environment, no matter how effective your sales team is, a name and a title is not enough to sell to well-informed corporate clients. They are not going to tell you what they want. They expect you to know what they’re looking for before you call them.
Traditional marketing initiatives do not collect this level of detail about your prospective clients, and there’s nothing in your marketing mix that is truly interactive. You need better information. You need to know how your company’s solutions meet their specific needs, and how soon they’re willing to implement these solutions. You need an interactive marketing tool that gathers client-specific information without intrusion.
Webcasts bring prospects to your doorstep without any direct contact. By inviting your prospects to a webcast, you can capture information required to create customized sales pitches that meet their specific needs. While addressing a large audience, webcasts allow you to engage each individual prospect one-on-one, providing valuable, detailed information on each webcast participant. Thus, webcasts allow your prospects to sell themselves to you.
Qualifying Leads From The Very First "Click" Start by sending well-crafted marketing e-mails for the webcast to your prospects. Keep the emphasis on the upcoming event (the call to action), but your sole intent (apart from brand awareness, of course) is to entice them just enough to click on the link to register for the webcast.
As soon as your prospects click on that link, they have graduated to "lead" status. Using Lead Scoring technology (such as that provided by ON24), you can begin ranking your prospects immediately. Each point of contact with your prospect provides you with greater clarity on their readiness to purchase your services/products. Let us begin with the very first step: Event Registration.
When a prospect registers for an event, they voluntarily provide crucial information that will help indicate the quality of the lead. There are certain key indicators that can help determine if the person registering is in fact a decision-maker for your service/product. Registration details such as Title, Role, and Industry should help differentiate top prospects even before they attend your live event.
Identifying Your Top Leads At "Showtime"
As you plan your live events, try implementing a few simple steps to significantly increase the quality of your leads. These tips help you to determine which leads your sales team should call first, and provide them with the information they need while the lead is still "hot".
Certain key indicators will immediately let you know if a "lead" is genuinely interested in your services/products or if they are "just browsing". A few common examples include the duration of attendance, which will tell you how long you were able to capture their interest; the downloading of presentation materials, indicating exactly what content your participants are interested in; and responses to polls and surveys, which gives your prospects the opportunity to voice exactly what solution they are looking for, and how soon they need it implemented.
Smaller Bites Are Easier To Swallow
Of course, the most certain way of judging a participant's interest is by asking them directly. But don't wait until the end of your live event to do this in a lengthy survey. Consider placing a brief 3-question survey at the beginning or middle of your event. Take your survey apart and offer it as poll questions that are incorporated into your presentation. Discuss the results of these poll questions real-time with your audience to encourage greater participation.
Remember, some participants may leave the webcast before the end of your presentation. Pushing out a short survey and a few quick polls allows for greater feedback at times when your audience’s interest level is at its peak.
Your Leads Will Tell You When They’re Ready
Following the live event, your lead scoring options increase dramatically. You've already collected all the information that you need. All you need to do is identify which registration details or poll responses (or any other user action) help you determine the quality of a lead. You can assign scores to any number of specific elements, creating a ranking order for all your leads into neatly defined "buckets" (i.e. from "Strong" to "Weak").
As you progress through your program, you can adjust scores and weights for any lead scoring element and re-rank your leads accordingly. You can also add new elements that you had not originally anticipated as determinants of lead quality. You can even score leads across multiple events, helping you determine if a particular webcast campaign has improved the quality of your leads.
Immediately after a live event has concluded, you can tell your sales team which leads are ready to be contacted, and which ones will require a little more effort. This can significantly increase your lead conversion rate while dramatically shortening your sales cycle.
Archived Webcasts: The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Typically, you spend all of your marketing effort on promoting a live webcast. Most of your attendees will watch the live broadcast, with a good portion viewing the archive one or two weeks afterward. But then you’re on to the next webcast and the previous webcast is stored on your website somewhere. Hidden from view and no longer providing value to you.
When working with our customers, we recognized that archived webcasts could generate leads for months. In order to extend the shelf life of this content, ON24 launched Insight24, a B2B directory of webcasts, videos and podcasts. Insight24 enables marketers like you to further maximize the ROI of your webcasts by reaching new audiences who are specifically looking for your content.
The thing to remember is that the value of a webcast does not end with its live presentation. It can continue on in cyber space.
Now ask yourself – Have you maximized the value of your webcast leads from beginning to end?
About the author:
Sourabh Kothari is Principal Strategist, Webcasting and Rich Media, for ON24. Sourabh is responsible for overseeing ON24’s client services support group and providing counsel to clients regarding their webcasting programs.
ON24 is the global leader of webcasting and rich media marketing solutions. Over 600 global organizations rely on ON24 for their corporate and marketing initiatives, such as lead generation, conferences and events, product launches, global communications and more. These customers include Business Objects, Cisco, HP, IBM, Environmental Protection Agency, CMP Media, and more.
Mobile World Congress Breaks New Ground: 14th February 2008, Barcelona, Spain
More than 55,000 visitors attended the world's premier mobile event, the GSMA's Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona to do business and debate the future of the mobile phone industry, making this year's event the largest yet. The three-day conference, which featured more than 230 chief executives and other high-level speakers from across the world, attracted more than 8,000 delegates.
Arun Sarin, CEO of Vodafone, actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, Wang Jianzhou, CEO of China Mobile, John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia, Black-Eyed-Peas front man will.i.am and film actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini were among the diverse range of speakers at the Congress.
"The record attendance figures at this year's Congress reflect both the extraordinary and compelling conference program, which covered a broad range of topics from Long-Term Evolution to made-for-mobile short films to the environment, and the high quality of the exhibition," said John Hoffman, CEO of the GSMA’s conference division. "We are also delighted by the seniority of the people that have travelled from all over the world to Barcelona for the Congress – more than 43% of conference attendees hold C-level positions within their organizations."
Observing, analyzing and reporting on the Congress were 2,700 international print, Web and broadcast media and the event made headlines across the globe. The Congress also hosted 1,300 exhibitors across 1,500 stands with approximately 29,000 square meters of exhibition space and 30,000 of square meters of hospitality space, reflecting the fact that people come to the show to network and do business. Mobile entertainment and content formed a major theme throughout the show with an entire hall (Hall 7) dedicated to multimedia content for mobile devices. In addition, the Mobile Backstage event at the National Palace explored the creation of compelling and high-quality content for mobile devices.
"Once again, Barcelona has successfully accommodated a further increase in the size of the Congress," added Mr. Hoffman. "We would like to thank the city, Catalonia, Fira and all our Barcelona partners for being such warm and efficient hosts. We would also like to thank our sponsors, particularly LG and Telefonica, for their support."
The Mobile World Congress's sister event, the Mobile Asia Congress, which takes place in the vibrant city of Macau from November 18th to November 20th, will also stage a world-class conference program and exhibition, attracting mobile industry leaders from across the globe.
CLOSE welcomes your thoughts, suggestions and material submissions for consideration in enhancing the content and programs offered. To submit your content, please contact us.
