By Amy Bills, Director of Field Marketing, Bulldog Solutions; and Christopher Doran, Vice President of Marketing, Manticore Technology

This briefing from Manticore Technology and Bulldog Solutions offers six pieces of “tough love” about marketing automation, with resources to help you dig deeper into specific areas.

2010 continues to be a tough selling year for many companies.  3forward is seeing strong signals that business activity is increasing but many of the firms still tell us that their sales are flat and in some cases declining from last year’s dismal numbers. If that scenario fits your company perhaps it’s time to reevaluate your selling process.  Firms can no longer rely solely on old school methodologies such as cold calling and Rolodex selling to attract qualified leads.

We suggest you start with the basics, getting your targets, markets, and messages right is a critical first step. This is also a good time to assess whether indirect selling channels are an option to expand your presence. Selling to the wrong targets and value propositions that sound like everyone else will fall on deaf ears.  Here are some good ways to start.

• Carefully choose the segments where you can best compete, be honest with yourself on this one!
• Be creative on how you position your firm versus your competitors, focusing on price and capabilities is merely table stakes.
• Be unique in communicating your value proposition and the benefits your solutions provide.
• Identify  examples of innovation whenever possible.
• Do not ignore your existing customers in your efforts to grow your revenues.  Remember, they are your competitor’s prospect!
• Consider in-direct selling relationships and channels (alliances, partnering, sub-contracting) as an alternative sales model.  Many companies miss this as an opportunity to grow.
• Define your sales process and follow it faithfully.

Tom’s key takeaways follow:

• Keep Twitter posts relevant to your business objective, if you sell spa services don’t Tweet about your morning coffee experience;
• Sound Social Media Strategy includes Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Blogging – there is no single platform silver bullet;
• When to Tweet?  Consider the Dr. Pepper strategy: 10am, 2pm and 4pm (adjust to your customer base’s local time zone if different from yours);
• Leave character space for Re-Tweets, ideally at least 20 characters;
• Consider setting up AutoFollow for new followers (and always DM a ‘thanks for the follow’).

Tom also offered these Twitter and Social Media Traps to avoid:

• Be careful about who creates your company Twitter account.  Consider having it set up in the name of a company officer and that the username and login are in safe hands;
• If you’re a new user and just starting building your friends and connections, think twice about loading up with your clients right out of the gate.  It exposes your customer list to any savvy competitors monitoring your digital activities;
• Do not make all your Tweets links to something else; simple, value added messages are important.

There is a lot more great information in Tom’s deck.  View it here and feel free to share.

Next month’s Social Media Breakfast Dallas meeting is July 29^th at BravoTECH.  Register here, we’d love to have you join us!

Strangely, many CSO’s struggle in this very important responsibility – and if the numbers or their explanations sound fuzzy – other members of the team may decide the sales leader has something to hide.  Even worse, the rest of team may think the sales leader simply does not understand the numbers themselves.

If you are a Sales Leader with this responsibility we have a few suggestions before conducting your next management level pipeline review.  These guidelines will help guide the discussion and position you as the authority on your pipeline.

• First, apply definitions to your most important pipeline elements, write them on a terms sheet then provide that information at the beginning of the review meeting.   Definitions will make it far more likely everyone understands and sees the numbers the same way, and allow you to spend time on the important parts of your pipeline review.

• Second, test your sales logic on how the numbers look and feel.  Look at the implications of close rates both on existing pipeline and target values (do you have enough qualified opportunities at current close rates to achieve the goals)?   Review average opportunity age and duration to make sure you are not portraying deals that are likely dead as still valid.  Have ‘up to date’ status on the largest opportunities as they are the ones most scrutinized when review teams come together.

• Finally, consider applying activity definitions to your stages, along with traditional stage names.   Activity definitions such as those we suggest in 3forward’s pipeline stages and definitions template (found in our Revenue Planning Template) greatly increase the consistency with which opportunities get classified in the CRM and therefore improve the integrity of the pipeline value estimates.

We have seen too many pipeline reviews end badly for the sales leader when confusion or misunderstanding around the numbers casts doubt on the data.   Simple steps like these can greatly reduce the likelihood that will happen at your next review.    Try it and tell us how it goes.

Most sales leaders are obsessed with their sales pipelines. They review them weekly, push their sales teams to keep them accurate, and hope they have enough to make their sales number. The reality is that many sales leaders do not use a consistent methodology to track, measure, and value their pipelines. Often the difference between a lead and a qualified opportunity becomes blurred and pipeline values become overstated.

Want to learn more?  Join our webcast: Above the Funnel – How (and Why) to Measure Your Lead Pipeline

By implementing some basic best practices you establish pipeline standards that are understood by the entire organization and gives you the greatest visibility to your real pipeline value. To start with, it is critical to know the difference between a lead and a prospect. This seems very basic but some companies don’t differentiate between the two. In 3forward’s definition a lead is a company that is in your target market and is strong or neutral fit based on your sweet spot analysis. A prospect is a company that is actively looking to solve a problem or an issue, meets the above definition of a lead, will make a near to mid-term busing decision, and you are engaged at a decision maker level.

Another simple best practice you can implement immediately is to clearly define your sales stages. For instance we believe it is critical that everyone agree on when a lead becomes a qualified opportunity. The definition of “qualified” will vary from company to company but we generally find that a lead becomes a qualified opportunity when the prospect agrees to review your solution including pricing and associated timelines. Now that you have a definition of a qualified opportunity you can apply it to all deals in your existing pipeline to assess any gaps you may have.

The chart below illustrates 3forward’s recommendations for a logical path from lead identification through sales close, loss, or delay.  We see this process fitting many services sales models or other lengthy / complex selling processes.

(Click Image to Enlarge to Full Screen).

Hubspot consistently provides some of the best content there is on in-bound marketing, social media, and lead generation.  This report helps Facebook novices – or those who have not yet taken the plunge – understand how and why to make this platform part of the communications mix.

“By utilizing Facebook within your marketing toolbox, you have the opportunity to build relationships with your prospects and clients. It can also act as a business driver for traffic to your website and other online properties. Facebook can provide your organization with the opportunity to get found by prospects that might not otherwise have learned about your organization in other more traditional methods. More importantly, nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. And, Facebook is that crowd.”

Why old methods no longer prove successful and what companies should do now to be successful in demand generation and lead management.

Silverpop, Engagement and Marketing Solutions

Forrester, Technology and Market Research

We believe that due to the severity of the recession and the cautious hiring stance being taken by many companies a “New Normal” has emerged. Enlightened companies are looking at ways to streamline their processes and investing in tools rather than headcount to improve efficiency. In this New Normal era hiring managers will be challenged by executive teams on any requests for additional headcount. ROI requirements will replace the “I think we need more people” plea. Sales organizations will not be immune from the New Normal. The days of measuring cost of sales as a percentage of revenue are over. Sales leaders need to implement new processes for lead identification, lead nurturing, and for providing their sales teams qualified sales opportunities to pursue. Finding ways to make your highest cost and most valuable employees more productive won’t be easy. Old school approaches will need to be abandoned and new investments will need to be made, but the cost of change is much less than the cost of failure.

Disagree? Need help? Talk to us.

During a recent workshop we were helping a client standardize a revenue forecasting methodology.   Before we completed the exercise the client had already realized that based on their sales cycle duration and implementation timelines there was no way they could achieve their 2010 sale plan.  That was a pretty sobering realization since they were barely into the second quarter.

We spent some time discussing how the 2010 plan had been developed and the simple answer was that the board handed down the number and the CEO accepted it without being to factually agree to or challenge it.   The client also experienced some unplanned revenue erosion due to a large customer’s bankruptcy at the beginning of the year.   Combined, these situations put the company in a hole that they cannot recover from this year.

It’s critical that when planning for revenue growth you must be both aggressive and practical in your approach. Making sure you have the right investments from a people, product, and process perspective will ensure you have a fighting chance at making the plan, and always count on revenue erosion to avoid those surprises!

I am including a link to our 3forward proprietary revenue planning tool.  We encourage you to download it and do a sanity check on your pipeline’s ability to achieve your 2010 plan.  It will help you determine if you have enough pipeline to make this year’s number.  And if not, depending on your sales cycle you may still have the time to make a course correction and achieve your plan.    (Looking for more information, view our webcast: The Five Most Important Numbers for Sales Revenue Planning).

Another stellar, to-the-point report by the leaders at CSO Insights.

Excerpt:

“An opportunity for big returns exists when Sales and Marketing are aligned on lead generation tactics. When companies excel in their ability to properly identify which accounts to go after, and prioritize which opportunities need action, their win rates are up to ten percent higher. This translates into more revenue on the same number of deals and/or the need to generate fewer leads because of higher hit rates. Figures monetizing both of these approaches are presented in this white paper.”

The sales model most companies use is broken. It is built on outdated principles and structured for a past era when buyers and sellers played by vastly different rules.   Imagine fielding a championship sports team from twenty years ago against a current league leader – the team from the past would not stand a chance.  Just like sports, today’s sales game requires filling new positions, creating new playbooks and most importantly – players with different skills.

The Sales Game Has Changed! You will not meet your revenue goals following the old rules!

Before creating your new sales model you first need to understand what has changed in today’s buying process and why tried and true sales practices are no longer effective.  Next you must understand the new leading approaches for marketing, lead generation, and sales engagement.  Lastly you need a framework to help you construct and transition to your new sales model.

Are you Ready to Create your New Sales Model? Join 3forward for this rule-breaking live discussion!

What you will learn:

• Today’s buying process – and where sales can add value
• The Three Zone strategy for optimizing your sales pipeline
• Four risks worth taking when recreating your sales model
• Embracing the Science of Selling
• Unlikely Allies – the two (new) partners you will need to succeed
• Deadly sales mistakes not worth repeating

But what about your Lead Pipeline? If it is running low, slow or dry you may not know it until too late!

Download Presentation

Managed well, a company’s Lead Pipeline is the best indicator of the success you will enjoy in future quarters, but it requires a completely different set of measurement criteria, stage definitions and valuation approaches.

Join 3forward for this revealing look at how to begin tracking, measuring and valuing your Lead Pipeline.

What you will learn:

• The best criteria for lead stage definitions
• Highly measurable metrics to assess Lead Pipeline velocity and viability
• When to move leads from lead management to sales management
• Tools to track leads before they enter your pipeline
• How to benchmark your lead development and conversion rates
• Lead Pipeline goals Sales and Marketing should share

Sales teams today cannot afford to spend valuable time and resources pursuing mass markets or poorly selected segments.  Knowing where to focus however is not always immediately obvious.   Sales leaders and marketing both can benefit by learning the fundamentals of prospect segmentation and target profiling.

Join Sales 2.0 leader 3forward for this highly informative webcast and learn how to get started with this powerful approach to improving sales results.  Attendees will receive a complementary set of 3forward’s time saving templates!

What You Will Learn:

• How to Conduct a Market Audit – internal, external, trends and challenges
• Assessing Competition
• Building a SWOT matrix – what it means, how to do it, where to apply it
• Categorizing Target Markets
• Segmentation – Four Requirements
• Creating a Market Map
• Product and Service Offering Characterization Techniques
• Four Benefit Levels of  Offerings
• Putting It All Together

No longer can you hope your prospects find you on-line simply because you have a kickass, search-optimized website.  You must create a path for your best prospects to find you and a strong inbound marketing program is a good first step. The central premise of inbound marketing is to create and distribute content that is so valuable that prospects are drawn to your website to learn more. Providing information or resources that help them solve problems or make better business decisions will increase the likelihood that your prospects will be loyal, repeat visitors to your site. Also consider deploying the right lead management technology so as those prospects visit your site you can track and monitor their online interactions with you and gain keen insight as to when they become sales ready.

The rapidly expanding social media channel also plays a crucial role on inbound marketing activities. Social media and networks allow us to share information more quickly and allows people to find your firm when the knowledge you are providing spreads from connection to connection. It’s critical that the content be relevant and valuable; general broadcasting of a sales message will be painful to the recipient and have a negative effect.

Looking for guidance on developing your inbound strategy?   Leaders in this new marketing model include Chris Brogan, David Meerman Scott and Ardath Albee. Take time to visit their sites for the latest best practices.  3forward also has many resources and information on our New Tools site featuring best practices from leaders throughout the marketing industry.

Summary:   “In this guide, you’ll learn how to create a nurturing program in parallel with the way a prospect moves throughout their buying process. I’ll (Ardath Albee) demonstrate how to get to know your buyers better and develop a content plan to engage them at each stage of a considered purchase decision. You’ll learn how to create a framework for nurturing program execution and how to measure the results of your efforts.”

This Information Week Analytics Alert offers the best health care IT advice, insight, and analysis coming out of that conference.

Consider that the federal government is spending upward of $20 billion to get health care providers to digitize their records and processes, and that 70% of that money must be spent over the next three years.  For an industry still mired in 20th century practices, an electronic overhaul in just a few years would indeed be historic.

There are several key components required for a successful lead generation campaign. Establishing a strong and dynamic web presence however is the fundamental base for your program. You should begin by building a strong website that clearly states your brand message, value proposition and be easy to navigate.  Prospects that come to your site are hungry for relevant information that will help them solve their issues.  Satisfy that hunger by providing white papers, blogs and proprietary tools that will help them address their problems and provide ways for better interaction with your company.  By leveraging your knowledge and expertise and sharing through your website and blog you will establish your company’s products/services as the best in the field and establish a go-to destination for your lead generation efforts.

Want more information on lead generation or website best practices, check out these whitepapers on New Tools:

State of Inbound Marketing by Hubspot

Accelerating the Sale with Web Touch – by Sales Benchmark Index

Top B2B Inbound Marketing Tactics – by Marketing Sherpa

What is on the minds of leading CIOs in 2010.   Trends, technologies, drivers, challenges.

Incredibly insightful data on current use and results of B2B inbound marketing.

by www.hubspot.com

Simply stated and clearly explained.   Lots of detail and really helpful examples.   Read more of John Fox’s work at www.blunders.com