Strengthen the Relationship Between Sales and Marketing – Part 1: Common Goals

I am always amazed when I am out talking to sales and marketing leaders at the nods and grunts of understanding that I get when the topic of discussion turns to the tension between sales and marketing.This is an unfortunate state of affairs and may be worth some effort in 2010 to improve. The team that is wasting energy on internal fights and squabbles, isn’t the team headed to the winners circle.

Do you have agreement on GOALS?

Starting at the top of the organization is there agreement on the overall organizational goals? on the goals are for both marketing and sales? In the abstract, it may be an interesting intellectual exercise to debate if marketing should be working on brand awareness or lead generation (or both); if sales should be focused making this quarter’s numbers or bringing customer intelligence back to the organization (or both). Within your company, though, you need to make some decisions and make sure that everybody is on the same page with priorities and assumptions.

I learned the importance of agreeing on goals back when I was in grad school.  We had a quarter-long consulting project that culminated our first year of study. When the teams were formed, one of the critical questions our faculty adviser recommended we asked ourselves was, “What grade do you want to achieve?”.  It sounds trivial, but as it turned out, it was extremely helpful to get this basic goal out on the table early. How much time and effort did each of us want to put into the project? Was the project a priority or was job hunting?  Was graduation the goal or receiving academic honors?  If one team member is aiming for “survival” so they can focus on other priorities, there is going to be conflict with the team member who wants to be top of the class.  The only way to resolve this is to get it on the table early and agree on a plan.  This is a simple example but hopefully it illustrates how agreeing on goals and expectations early is the foundation for a strong working relationship.

Going back to the work of marketing and sales it is important, and not just an interesting intellectual exercise, for the head of sale and the head of marketing to come to agreement on their collective and individual goals.  As with the team project in grad school, if there isn’t agreement at this foundational level then any efforts to build a collaborative working relationship are doomed. Get the new year started on the right foot.  Sit down and talk to your counterpart and find out if you agree on the underlying strategic goals.  If you don’t, work on negotiating an understanding that you can both commit to.

Coming next week:  “Strengthen the Relationship Between Sales and Marketing – Part 2: Defining Roles”

Is There Innovation In Sales?

“Is there innovation is sales?” This question came up last week when I was downtown meeting with a group of sales executives and business owners. Actually, the question was “Why isn’t there innovation in sales?”  In this day and age of social media and digital marketing the question shocked me. There are profound changes happening in the way people gather information to make decisions. Of course there is innovation in sales.

For starters, I would argue that any good sales person will innovate and is innovating all the time.  Last week my blog was about process and perhaps these sound like two different arguments.  They are not.  The sales process encourages innovation.  As an artist has a process for creating a work of art (sketches are created, colors are tested, before the final piece is created).  A sales process enables a salesperson to innovate. What innovation will improve the results I get? Does it work better to call, to email, to do it within 24 hours, within 48 hours? A good sales person, a good sales team, and a good sales manager is following a process and is always looking for the innovation which will make a difference in what they do.

Now, to give the person who asked this question credit, I had another conversation with a senior sales executive recently that illustrated why so many people have the perception that the sales team is only interested in quarterly quotas and only capable of executing tactics. Here we are sitting in December, getting ready for a new year, and when asked about his goals, all this executive could share was his sales goals.  He had no plans for improving the level of performance of his team, nor could he identify any road blocks – technology, skills, sales process or methodology – that needed to be addressed. I was amazed that as a leader in his organization he was not thinking deeper or harder about how to move his team, and the company forward.

I may be in the minority on this but I view marketing and sales as partners on a continuum of how companies connect with and communicate with prospects and customers in order to generate revenue.  The marketing function works on branding, building awareness with the purpose of generating leads. Once a lead is generated, the sales function works on nurturing that lead through the sales pipeline to close the opportunity.  With this view, any company who believes that sales doesn’t have to worry about what is going on with social media and digital marketing is putting their revenue at risk.  As more individuals use the internet to gather information and build relationships with companies and organizations, this will impact the role that the sale team has, it will impact the sales process, it will impact how customers relationships are nurtured.

Sales needs to innovate.  Some companies are innovating their customer relationship process.  Companies that do not innovate their sales process are gambling their future.

Great Conversation on Sales Process

The need for a sales process is a topic that I have commented on here and I am sure will continue to comment on in the future.  Today, I would like to link to a couple of other blogs that have touched on the subject in the last week.  Both of which I thin make some good comments.

The first blog was written by David Brock, ‘But We Have A Sales Process”. To quote David, “Without a process, selling is like taking a random walk through the forest—you never know where you’ll end up. A well-defined sales process provides a clear roadmap of the most effective and efficient means to facilitate the customer in their buying process.” I don’t want to steal all his thunder but the blog is worth a read and make some good points.  If you think you have a sales process, assess if your sales team is actually following the process. If you are using the process that came embedded in your CRM system, have you adapted it to the specific needs and lessons learned by your sales team?  If you want it to be a relevant and meaningful process, make sure it fits your needs.

The second blog that I would like to bring to your attention is one by Dave Stein, “More Excuses For Not Doing The Right Thing About Sales Effectiveness”.  Dave starts by giving us a definition for the sales process which is NOT synonymous with your sales methodology.  A sales process does not stifle creativity!  A process will actually enable and support creativity. Think of the most creative members of our community – painters, musicians, actors.  They almost all follow a process when creating great works.

Use your sales process.  Keep it simple and embrace it.  It will help you take the mystery and unpredictability out of your work.

Thanksgiving Proclamation By President Obama

What began as a harvest celebration between European settlers and indigenous communities nearly four centuries ago has become our cherished tradition of Thanksgiving. This day’s roots are intertwined with those of our nation, and its history traces the American narrative.

Today, we recall President George Washington, who proclaimed our first national day of public thanksgiving to be observed “by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God,” and President Abraham Lincoln, who established our annual Thanksgiving Day to help mend a fractured nation in the midst of civil war. We also recognize the contributions of Native Americans, who helped the early colonists survive their first harsh winter and continue to strengthen our nation. From our earliest days of independence, and in times of tragedy and triumph, Americans have come together to celebrate Thanksgiving.

As Americans, we hail from every part of the world. While we observe traditions from every culture, Thanksgiving Day is a unique national tradition we all share. Its spirit binds us together as one people, each of us thankful for our common blessings.

As we gather once again among loved ones, let us also reach out to our neighbors and fellow citizens in need of a helping hand. This is a time for us to renew our bonds with one another, and we can fulfill that commitment by serving our communities and our nation throughout the year. In doing so, we pay tribute to our country’s men and women in uniform who set an example of service that inspires us all. Let us be guided by the legacy of those who have fought for the freedoms for which we give thanks, and be worthy heirs to the noble tradition of goodwill shown on this day.

Now, therefore, I, Barack Obama, president of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the people of the United States to come together, whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place where family, friends and neighbors may gather, with gratitude for all we have received in the past year, to express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own and to share our bounty with others.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of November, in the year of our Lord 2009, and of the independence of the United States of America the 234th (year).

President Barack Obama

CRM: Critical Success Factors

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has always existed. At its heart and as the name declares, CRM is about managing customer relationships. Companies have been doing that in some form for as long as they have been in business. During the 1990’s companies began to leverage technology to enable new approaches to managing their customers. The promise of CRM technology is simple: higher close rates, shorter sell cycles, more efficient sales process, and increased customer satisfaction.

Unfortunately, eager anticipation quickly became disappointment when it became apparent that CRM technology alone could not deliver the value promised. Some CRM research firms report that nearly 70% of CRM implementations fail to deliver measurable benefits. In contrast to these dismal stats however, IBM research has found that companies that focus on and prioritize critical activities actually increase the likelihood of CRM success by more than 70% – flipping the ratios. So there is hope and reason to look at CRM seriously for improving the performance of your organization.

IBM along with The Economist Intelligence Unit completed a survey of 373 organizations to understand what factors had the biggest impact on successful CRM implementations. Their research identified the following five factors as having the biggest impact (70-74%) on success and also presenting the biggest challenges:

• CRM strategy and value proposition development – What do you want to get out of CRM?
• Process change – What do you need to do differently after CRM?
• Change management – How do you deal with the fear and reluctance to use the CRM system?
• Governance – How do you make sure the new processes will stick and quality data is entered into the CRM system?
• Budget process management – How much is too much to spend on CRM?

Isn’t it interesting that these are all related to strategy, the organization, change management, and business operations (process)? Technology doesn’t appear on this hit list. Marketing, Sales and Customer Service executives take note.  We can learn from those who have gone before what the keys to success are if you want your CRM system to add value to the organization.

CRM should certainly not be looked at as the next ‘hobby’ of management.  It is a serious undertaking that takes a sustained commitment from the entire organization.

What are you doing to get ready to implement a CRM system or improve the performance of the CRM system you have already implemented?

Your Sales Process And Buying Process: In Sync?

Let me tell you a story.

A couple of weeks ago, I reconnected with a former co-worker. After being out of touch for several years, we had a great conversation catching up on the paths our respective careers had taken.  At some point during this conversation, the topic of office space came up and she offered to introduce me to her contact where she is leasing space.  I’m only starting my search but thought this sounded like a great opportunity.  If she was happy and could get me in touch with a helpful person that would be great.

During the next week I had a phone conversation with somebody, a meeting was set-up for me to see their space and, getting a little excited and curious, I did some research on their website. It is important to note that instead of inviting me to tour the office where my friend was located, I was instead invited to tour another downtown location.  I was a little disappointed but figured it was a detail that could be worked out.

I arrived as scheduled on the day of the appointment. From this point on, the sales process went completely off the rails. Instead of being greeted by “Kathrine” as scheduled, “Peter” met me and told me that Kathrine was on vacation.  Peter was a nice enough guy, but he wasn’t familiar with the office and had to ask for assistance to give me a tour. The information that I received during this visit was almost exactly the same information that I had found on their web site, and nothing more.

My frustration with this experience has only grown as time has passed.  A dozen little miss-steps because the sales process and my buying process were not in sync add up to a missed opportunity.

1. A warm referral is depersonalized: We all like to hang out with our friends. Why during the process of receiving my referral and recommending properties, didn’t anybody acknowledge or suggest the same location as my contact? What a great opportunity to have a truly unique offer? Did their CRM system not allow for this information to be captured? Are locations with more capacity pushed to the top of the list or are incentives given to push these properties? Whatever the cause, the results were cool lack of personalization.
2. Lack of new information = no value from visit: In other entries on this blog I have written about how much executives are using the web to do research. I was no exception. During a down moment, when I was getting excited about the opportunity I had read their website. Poked around it, familiarized myself with some of the amenities and different programs. Having done this, it was infuriating to take time out of a busy day, a busy week to simply be given the same information.
3. Do you want my business? Where is the follow-up? I took time out of my schedule five days ago to visit your property. To me that is a big buy signal because time is my most precious resource.  There has been no follow-up to get feedback, see if I have questions or even to see if I want to move forward.

This experience reminded me of how important it is to get the sales process in sync with the buying process.  From the first step of understanding where the referral came from to being unable to expand on the knowledge I had found on the website it felt like the buying I wanted to do and the selling of the facility were out of sync. The unfortunate result is that instead of feeling like I was getting a fair price from a place I was predisposed to like. I know feel annoyed and underwhelmed and will go shop for alternatives. I would have been happy to have an excuse not to shop for different options, there are other ways I would like to spend my time.

How do you align your sales process with your customers buying process? Have you been able to incorporated customer needs into the sales process? Or is it driven only by corporate needs?

Sales Force Automation (SFA) – How To Get Your ROI

I just had a chance to read “The 2009 Sales Automation Report: Best-in-Class Strategies for Increasing Returns on SFA Investments” by the Aberdeen Group. It is a good report that provides some good research and hard numbers to help companies understand what they need to do get the ROI they planned for from their sales force automation (SFA) investments. I recommend this report to anybody who has an under performing SFA system or is thinking about implementing some type of SFA system for their sales team. I would like to highlight here a few sections that made an impression on me.

Aberdeen uses a maturity model to distinguish Best-in-Class performers from Industry Average and Laggard organizations. Best-in-Class are the top 20%, Industry Average are the middle 50%, and Laggards are the bottom 30%.  The gap between Best-in-Class and Average organizations is staggering. Consider these numbers:

• Average percent of reps achieving quota:  Best-in-Class =  79%; Average =  59%
• Improved revenue year-over-year: Best-in-Class = 63% and averaged 9% increase, Average = only 35% and averaged a mere 1% increase.
• Convert more than 25% of leads in pipeline: Best-in-Class = 80%; Average = 43%

What a tremendous performance gap.  This economy appears to be separating the men from the boys.

Early in the report the Aberdeen Group identifies the Top Strategic Actions taken by Best-in-Class organizations versus All Others. I found this part of the survey interesting not because the percentages and statistics were so unexpected but because of the story they told when looked at together. Let me explain.

Here are the top strategic actions for Best-in-Class companies in descending order

1. Customize SFA/CRM to match business processes (47%)
2. Unify customer service, sales, marketing information onto a single platform (42%)
3. Unify fragmented customer/prospect data (36%)
4. Reduce the amount of time sales reps spend searching for relevant info (31%)

Now here is the stack ranking of strategic actions for All Others:

1. Unify customer service, sales, marketing information onto a single platform (50%)
2. Customize SFA/CRM to match business processes (40%)
3. Reduce the amount of time sales reps spend searching for relevant info (36%)
4. Unify fragmented customer/prospect data (31%)

The picture I see painted by this data is that Best-in-Class companies are focused on a sales automation implementation as enabling a set of business processes and prioritize that in their implementation. Because they are focused on the business process they comparatively de-emphasize the issue of saving time for the sales rep opting instead to emphasize adding value to what the sales rep is doing. In contrast, All Others are more focused on data and not emphasizing the business processes enough. Instead of engaging and adding value to the sales reps they work to appease sales reps and gain compliance with a relative emphasis on saving time.

One of the lessons learned, and re-learned by those who get involved in SFA implementation is that aligning to a company’s unique business processes is critical to success. This is a message that Best-in-Class companies have heard. Given the tremendous performance gap of Best-in-Class companies, can those who are not Best-in-Class afford to not listen to this wisdom?

Transforming Your Sales Team – It Is Hard Work

A few weeks back I attended a great discussion and presentation sponsored by the Kellogg business school alumni titled “Selling Strategies In A Challenging Environment”. The event included a panel discussion with four sales executives who answered questions about their efforts to evolve and transform their sales organizations. During the course of the conversation, a couple of  question came up about turnover – how much was there? had these sales leaders worked to reduce turnover?

Across the board, these executives had experienced turnover within their organizations, and a lot of it. Turnover in each case had exceeded 50%. I don’t think this is the answer that any of us wants to hear but I think it is realistic and a challenge that sales leaders who want to transform their organizations will need to face sooner or later.  It is not that individuals are or intend to be cut throat or malicious to successfully transform their organization, but change is hard and not everybody is going to make it. Consider:

The willing but incapable: Perhaps your transformation requires a different style of selling, a different market or product, a different level of executive conversation.  There is probably at least a few in your organization that may have the right attitude but just cannot, for whatever reason change their skills to fit in the transformed organization.

The capable but unwilling: These exist in every organization as well.  Skilled individuals who are not willing to make the change that the organization has asked them to make.

Right-sizing the sales team: Many transformation efforts include changing the structure of the sales organization.  Does an inside sales team need to be added? Is the size of the each managers sales team changing? Are two organizations merging and redundancies need to be removed?

A couple of conversations last week with family business owners, again caused me to reflect on how hard transformations can be. A third generation business owner shared his journey from running the family business to selling that business to an investor and to becoming professional management for another business owner. He shared how it had been impossible to layoff the overpaid, under-performing employee as the business owner but could recognize the need and take action when he was hired management. Transformation is hard, necessary perhaps for continued success but very, very hard.

This morning I read a blog posted by Buckley Brinkman about how difficult transformational change is.  He is in the process of making career changes and moving to a new city which has caused him to reflect (again?) on how hard change is. Buckley is a “Change Catalyst” and in the business of making change happen for companies that he works with.  Yet even this master of change, has to dig a little deeper to find the benefits that make the pain of change worth going through.

Read Buckley’s Blog Post on Change.

How have you managed challenging transformations within your sales team?

Assess Your Sales Organization – 8 Questions

I just read a GREAT blog post by Melissa Raffoni on the HBR Now blog. I have long believed that many organizations are leaving money on the table because they do not have a clear sales strategy or an effective sales organization to execute the sales strategy.  Too often as I talk to executives about sales and what they are doing to improve sales the extent of the work being done is to consider training or compensation and there are so many other elements that can to be considered and leveraged to improve the sales team effectiveness. Melissa in her blog considered the question of sales effectiveness and by asking good questions suggests some of the opportunities that are out there for companies to capitalize on.

Here are Melissa’s questions. Can your organization answer these questions?

1. “Okay, tell us again, what’s your value proposition? Why should customers choose you over the competitors?” It’s so basic, isn’t it? Yet, I continue to be amazed at how difficult it is to answer this question well. With the constantly changing competitive landscapes and customer needs, every company should take a second look at what they are pitching and why it still resonates today. I’m sure, for most, the value proposition needs a face lift.
2. “What is your sales process and how does your organizational structure map to it?”
3. “Do you think your overall cost of sales is where it should be? What makes you think that? Are you comparing to an industry standard or mapping to a projected financial model?”
4. “What key measures are you using to track sales effectiveness? Do you have a sales dashboard?” Is it cost of sales as a percentage of revenue, close ratio, sales person productivity? Something else? You can’t really optimize if you don’t know which lever you want to move.
5. “If you believe there are two ways to drive sales–increase the funnel and/or increase the close ratio–what are you doing to achieve those increases?”
6. “Is sales compensation driving the right behaviors?” Is there enough of a variable compensation component to make a difference?
7. “It’s a new world, how are you taking advantage of it?” Partners are willing to talk, new talent is on the street, customers are looking for high ROI offerings, social media is changing how people communicate. Are you experimenting?
8. “Do you have the right people?”

Check out Melissa’s entire blog post here: Eight Questions To Assess Your Sales Organization

Social Media Marketing for Business

I have been having a lot of conversations with my clients recently and with other professional service providers about the merits of social media marketing or digital marketing for business-to-business marketing. I am convinced that many of the new technologies absolutely can be used to reach business buyers.

David Meerman Scott has written a book that I have been reading and recommending: “The New Rules of Marketing and PR”. He was the keynote speaker at the BMA (Business Marketing Association) annual conference this summer. At the beginning of this video, which includes his entire speech he asks a few questions which are great to ask if you are reluctant to take the plunge or don’t see the need to move quickly into digital marketing.

In the last one to two months, have you, either privately or professionally,…

answered a direct mail advertising?

have you gone to mainstream media (newspapers or magazines) to research a product or service?

have you used the yellow pages to research a product or service?

have you used Google to research a product or service?

If online is where people are researching products and services isn’t that where you should be?

Watch the first couple of minutes of David’s talk and he makes his point quite eloquently.  If you have time, the full talk is worth taking 50 minutes to watch.