I wish I had written that…

I just read an ebook on the New Rules of Sales Enablement by Jeff Ernst. It is written from the perspective of a classically trained marketer who had the “ah ha” moment of what it really takes to sell. Well, this little book should be required reading for all product marketing management. I used to say, don’t confuse selling with installing. An adjunct to that is don’t confuse sales enablement with collateral or sales process.

Mr. Ernst outlines six critical elements a successful sales person manages and advocates marketing to understand them and get them incorporated into a repeatable sales playbook (not to be confused with a sales process).

1. Understand the customer’s marketplace and business issues
2. Help the buyer envision solving their problems using his or her products and services
3. Frame the buyer’s evaluation criteria so that the competitors are at a disadvantage
4. Help the “buyer champion” sell within his or her organization
5. Overcome objections raised by the buyer
6. Respond to the tough questions immediately and with credibility

What is the difference between a playbook and a sales process? A sales process is how you progress through the sale. The playbook is what is done within the context of the customer’s environment.

I liken this to how head coach Josh McDaniels is running the Denver Bronco’s team. He has all the positions covered (sales process), but each week the Broncos adjust their playbook and approach to exploit the weaknesses and protect against the strengths of the opposing team. How this is done is through heavy analysis and the coaches strategizing how to play this week’s game.

Translation to marketing: First identify a specific sales environment, the customer. Think industry, think decision maker and influencer, think company size and environment.

Know the customers has a lot of options to solve their problem, including doing nothing. Define the playbook with questions that probe for problems, pain and view to solve their world. You will have to talk to your top sales people to determine the questions and what they are looking for with those questions.

Teach the sales to set decision criteria and plan for landmines. This isn’t just listing unique requirements and capabilities. It is using questions, with the sales person’s knowledge of what is important to the buyer, to get your unique value as the baseline requirement(s). Nice to have doesn’t cut it. As far as landmines, if I know what the competition is up to I can discredit them before I get hit.

If you still don’t understand, call your local sales person and ask them what it means.
Happy selling.

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…meetings that is..

Yep, that is what a Forbes survey of over 760 business executives said in June 2009. “While web-, video-, and teleconferencing have their role, they cannot substitute for human interaction when it comes to accomplishing certain business objectives.

They pointed out that “… traveling to meet clients, convening teams and the motivation born of live exchange-as a crucial element to their success.”

We probably all knew this, but face-to-face is all about the ability to read another person (77%), and being the best for persuasion (91%), leadership (87%), accountability (79%) and decision making (82%).

And yep, it is necessary for effective teamwork (80%) and the down-time at in-person conferences builds stronger client bonds (81%).

Ok - so yes, there are times we all just want the facts and just the facts. So give it to me in a webinar so I can double and triple task. Then I can just tune in to hopefully get the major bullets out of the meeting.

All the more reason to make sure we use a mixture of web, social media tools and the real in person relationships to make it all happen.

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Actually, the title of this should be “marketing funnel, sales process and collateral… why you should care”. But that was too long.  Besides, the concept of a marketing funnel is foreign to most, and that is another blog. So here is why you care..

Collateral is a supporting structure for the process of identifying, developing and closing a deal. To do this right, (efficient, complete, etc.), a business needs to document how they sell as well as how the customer buys. When these processes are mapped out, then at each stage the collateral requirements can be identified based on the need of the customer to obtain knowledge and be convinced this is the right solution for their business.  The smarter a company becomes in understanding the process, the better they provide the right information at the right time.  This will also lead to using creative tools as you begin to think about how a customer will absorb the information.   Here are some examples:

DEALING WITH FUD: In the last 9 months there has been a good deal of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) used by the big vendors when competing with startups.  I have heard numerous cases where the technical team has recommended a particular purchase only to have it undone by THE BIG GUY swooping in and convincing the executives this is the wrong choice.  If you KNOW the sale / buying cycle will require a high level executive sign off, the process needs the supporting materials to win. So what is needed?  Most likely, sales needs to prep the customer tech team early in the cycle.  Relationships need to be created higher up, again early in the cycle.  To support the sales process, they need convincing materials.  This could be executive to executive customer references, i.e a 3 minute video clip that addresses the issues of business value and why the company (see References-Online and click on the demo).  Or it may mean info on the company’s financial viability. Best bet, is to talk to the sales team and model how they will manage this phase of selling.

THE NEVER-NEVER LAND OF POCs: Proof of Concepts can take a sales cycle into the ditch or close the business.  It may be part of your sales cycle, or a requirement of the prospect.  Either way, 99% of POC’s need supporting marketing material that steps the prospect through the proof process, even if you are selling a simple SAAS solution.  It maybe an online ‘how to start,’ or a step my step document on how to demonstrate a test of disaster recovery replication. If the prospect has their own process, the supporting material can be used as a basis for that project. Without this, the POC can be an undefined project that has no beginning or end.

So how I do align the marketing and sales funnel with the collateral:

1. Identify the marketing and sales processes.  Clearly understand how the customer buying cycle. This means talking to sales, current customers and understanding lost deals.
2. Decide what questions are to be answered and resolved at each stage
3. Define how the information will be best presented (brochure, online, video, webinar).  (There will most likely be different vehicles of delivery, as people are different in how they absorb information).
4. Deliver and review again, as the market changes and processes change

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