Posted by Frank Candio on Tue, Feb 09, 2010 @ 08:50 PM
Filmmaker John Hughes wrote and produced some of the most successful films of the 1980's including Ferris Buhler's Day Off, several of the National Lampoon franchise and Home Alone. The story behind one of his most popular movies, Pretty in Pink, contains a valuable lesson for all B2B marketers.
Here's the story.
In the original ending of the movie, Molly Ringwald's character ends up with her eccentric best friend - a character named Duckie played by John Cryer - rather than the rich guy she was pursuing the entire movie. This ending made sense, sent the right message and ended the movie on a high note.
Unfortunately there was one problem. The test audiences for Pretty in Pink hated this ending. The film's producer was horrified. They thought the movie was perfect for their demographic. So they showed it to another test audience. Same results - the audience hated it.
The producer pulled her team together and after careful reflection decided to rewrite and reshoot the ending. When asked why the film's producer said:
"We decided we were making the movie for them - the audience."
What does this have to do with B2B marketing? Everything.
The starting point for all your marketing activities must be your audience. Who are you trying to engage, what is important to them, and how can you reach them. Too often we get caught up in the latest marketing technology or trend that we lose focus on the basics.
- It starts with your ideal prospect profile. What are the characteristics of the buyers who have the highest probability to buy from you?
- Then you need to truly understand and internalize their business challenges. What keeps them up at night?
- Finally, you need to create messaging and content relevant and aligned to their challenges - and then deliver it to them.
If you do this successfully, you will have an ending your audience and your sales team will like.
Sales Engine International is a Sales 2.0 Prospect Engagement and Marketing Campaign Execution Company. Clients come to us for inbound and outbound marketing strategies, tools and services that engage and move your prospect through the funnel, result in more qualified leads, and offer complete marketing spend transparency.
Posted by Frank Candio on Wed, Feb 03, 2010 @ 11:04 AM
Fans of the TV show Mad Men know that Don Draper is the quintessential ad man. He is cool, creative and smart.
The show takes place in the 1960's and there are many vestiges of an era long passed:
- The characters all smoke - in their offices
- Drinking is encouraged and condoned during office hours
- The women in the office are objectified
So office life has changed dramatically since the 60's. But what about Don Draper's job? Back then he was focused on big ad placements and media buys.
Today, the spend in the traditional media outlets has plummeted as companies look to market digitally.
Unless Don adjusts, he's a dinosaur.
Posted by Frank Candio on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 @ 08:04 PM
Most Sales Executives I speak with believe once the economy turns around, their revenue numbers will be once again achievable. Budgets will be funded…people will start buying and happy days will be here again.
The economy is not a like a light switch that is either on or off. Economic downturns like the one we recently experienced have broader consequences. And as conditions improve over the next 12 – 18 months, it is critical for Sales Executives to recognize what has changed and adjust their strategies and approaches accordingly.
We are now in a necessity based economy and this will not change anytime soon. What is a necessity-based economy? For your prospect this means the pain of not having your products and services must override the pain of paying you for them.
Most companies have cut staff, slashed their budgets to bone and improved the productivity of their remaining employees. Surviving the trauma of the recession, they will not be quick to staff up, spend and return to their old ways.
Here are some things to consider as you plan your go forward strategy:
1. To be better salespeople your Reps must become better businesspeople. In this new environment, your prospect will expect no less.
2. Differentiation is critical to success. Your prospects will always opt for the low cost solution if they see no difference.
3. Know when to walk away. Sales Reps must fully appreciate the opportunity cost of pursuing business they are not likely to win.
Posted by Frank Candio on Wed, Dec 09, 2009 @ 09:36 AM
Your company has the latest eMarketing technology and a formal nurture-marketing program in place. You notice a spike in activity with a prospect you've been digitally nurturing for several months. They spend 15 minutes on your website and download an ROI calculator you've made available.
Clearly it is time for a Sales Rep to call.
Your marketing department passes the lead to your Sales Rep and the next day he makes the call. He's able to get through to the prospect and asks the normal qualifying questions about needs, budget and timeframe. He quickly learns the prospect does not have a budget or timeframe established. The Rep tosses the lead aside and moves on to the next prospect.
A year later your primary competitor issues a press release announcing a new customer - this prospect.
What happened?
The hard truth is this situation is occurring more frequently than ever before. Studies show more than half of the leads discarded by Sales Reps convert for someone within 24 months. So ---- what can you do to ensure you are not missing out on these real revenue opportunities?
Most sales reps are proficient at prospect qualification. They can establish budget, timeframe and need and articulate their value proposition to qualified buyers. However, in our increasingly competitive environment, prospects are looking for more from the Sales Rep. They already educated themselves - in some cases extensively - prior to talking to the Rep. Therefore, when this first conversation takes place, the buyer wants the Rep to understand their situation and offer insight into helping them solve their business challenges. If the prospect receives no value from the dialogue with the Rep, they will quickly disengage and disappear.
Great closing skills are a quality we look for in Salespeople. Equally important is the ability to engage prospects in intelligent business conversations that help build a relationship and fosters continued engagement.
Teaching your Reps these skills will help you minimize those missed opportunities.
Posted by Frank Candio on Mon, Oct 05, 2009 @ 11:12 AM
From Dilbert. Enjoy.
http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-10-04/
Posted by Frank Candio on Thu, Sep 17, 2009 @ 05:38 PM
Great article from eMarketer about the effectiveness of Web 2.0 tools.
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007276
Posted by Frank Candio on Wed, Sep 16, 2009 @ 05:47 AM
The advent of social media and Sales 2.0 has led many B2B marketers to ask if the traditional marketing funnel is dead. In a Sales 2.0 world, buyers are shopping without the assistance of a sales rep or even the knowledge of the vendor. Armed with the Internet and hiding from view, they are learning about our companies, competition and services on their own. If the buyer controls much of the sales process...does that make our traditional marketing funnel obsolete?
The traditional marketing funnel is not dead. Most companies use some version of the A-I-D-A marketing model - awareness, interest, decision and action. This has not changed in the Sales 2.0 world. What has changed are the marketing tools and techniques we use to engage and guide the prospect through each stage.
Let's take a look at each:
Awareness: At SEI we call this stage the "funnel above the funnel". Here, prospects may be unaware of the need for your services or of your company. In the past we may have used telemarketing, direct mail and other outbound campaigns to create awareness. Today, it's search engines, social media, eNewsletters and other strategies designed to help you "get found" by prospects.
Interest: The client now has some level of interest that needs to be nurtured. Sales Reps used to play this role by delivering brochures or marketing materials. Today, buyers go to your website, view videos or archived webinars and download the content on their own.
Decision: In a Sales 2.0 world the prospect is often narrowing the vendor list at this stage without talking to a sales rep. To ensure you are included - proof point videos, case studies, client testimonials and a positive social media presence is critical.
Action: The client is now ready to speak with your Sales Rep.
As a young sales rep, I was involved in every stage of the AIDA model. Today, the model is the same but the interactions are much different. Aligning your strategy and approach to this new model is key to sustainable success.
Sales Engine International is a Sales 2.0 prospect engagement and marketing campaign execution company. Clients come to us for inbound and outbound marketing strategies, tools and services that engage the prospect above the funnel, result in more qualified leads, and offer complete marketing spend transparency.
Posted by Frank Candio on Mon, Sep 14, 2009 @ 10:44 AM
You Tube is fast becoming an effective social media site for businesses. You set up a channel for your business and now want to post videos. Here's how to get the most out of You Tube.
You Tube will provide a default file name when you upload your video. Change it to something more descriptive to help people find you.
When you are thinking of a title for your video think search engines. What would someone normally type in to find your video? You need to tell the search engines what the video is about.
You Tube allows you to enter a description of your video. Take advantage of this by explaining to people why they should watch.
Be smart when you tag your video. Tags group your video with related content. The tags should be relevant keywords and include the words you used in your file name and description. You are not limited to the number of tags you can use - just make sure they are relevant.
Video is an excellent way of communicating your sales message to your target audience and delivering your sales message. And You Tube is a great platform for delivering that message.
Posted by Frank Candio on Tue, Sep 01, 2009 @ 11:09 AM
During the summer I excerise by riding my bike. There's a several mile stretch of Ocean Avenue on Long Beach Island that's a great place to ride.
Over the weekend some kids set up a lemonade stand on Ocean Ave to catch people going to and from the beach. As I was flying by, one of the kids yelled "cold lemonade - 25 cents".
When I returned from my ride I checked my email. I had a bunch of sales pitches in my in box. Looking at the subject lines I was struck at how similar they were to the kid with the lemonade stand. No attempt to engage or interest - only loud "buy now" messages.
Prospect engagement is the key to Sales 2.0 success. Only a fraction of your prospect base is sales ready and you must recognize and adapt to this.
Posted by Frank Candio on Mon, Aug 17, 2009 @ 07:36 AM
Your marketing department runs a campaign.
The campaign generates a lead.
Marketing turns the lead over to your sales rep.
Your sales rep calls the client, has a good conversation,
but the client is not sales ready.
So - your sales rep tosses the lead in the drawer with the
intention of following up and moves on to the next prospect.
Sound familiar? The situation I just described happens
everyday in B2B sales organizations everywhere. The combination of monthly
quota pressures and lack of bandwidth causes cold leads to get tossed with
little to no follow up.
Except most of those leads aren’t cold at all. According to
SiriusDecisions 80 % of leads tossed by Sales Reps convert to sales for someone
within 24 months.
This means if you are spending most of your time and
marketing spend on finding sales ready leads you are missing a big opportunity.
Effective nurturing of the leads your Reps dismiss because they are not sales
ready can help you build a sustainable sales pipeline.