The marketing and sales process - Jan 10 2016 version
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The document outlines the various stages of the buyer's journey, detailing the sales processes and tasks associated with each stage, from prospecting to post-sale support. It emphasizes the importance of aligning marketing and sales efforts to effectively engage and convert leads into customers, while also addressing competitive considerations. Additionally, it highlights the skills and tools necessary for employees to successfully navigate and manage this process.
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The marketing and sales process - Jan 10 2016 version
- 1. by Brian Groth Last updated on January 9, 2016 Buying Stages Mindset of the Buyer Who typically owns the tasks per stage? Sales Stage Prospecting Qualification Needs Analysis Value Prop Proposal Negotiation Closed Deploy Service Relationship You don't even know they exist Stranger Contact Lead In Qualification Qualified Lead Customer Promoter or Evangelist Teams The employee's task Get your brand known and raise awareness to your target personas and accounts (outbound marketing) Bring visitors to you via targeted content so they can know you (inbound marketing) Move the visitor from stranger to named contact Validate interest and identify your target persona Qualify or Dis- qualify the opportunity (link to or list your qualification criteria) Develop customer requirements and establish relationships with stakeholders Pitch a solution (demo, whiteboard, PPT, PoC) aligned to the buyer's needs Write and send a proposal aligned with the buyer's needs Discuss final objectives and negotiate the contract Sign the contract Deploy and execute the solution Provide support for the solution Exit criteria to move to the next step (important for automation and internal SLAs) A new stranger hits the website or landing page User can be identified upon next visit Contact information has been gained Customer sponsor has been identified and next step is scheduled. Or, mark as Unresponsive or keep nurturing Budget and needs have been validated with the customer and next step is scheduled. Or, mark as Unqualified Goals have been identified and defined and next step is scheduled Customer is ready for a proposal and quote. Next step is scheduled Proposal, with clear terms, services and fees has been received. Next step is scheduled Verbal confirmation as both sides work through details. Next step is scheduled Contract is signed and deployment planned. Or, lost deal to competitor or status quote (indefinitely stalled or dead opt) Solution is deployed and supported Cross-sell/up-sell opportunities to grow the business within the account Internal hand-off of the contact after exit criteria has been satisfied From advertising to inbound marketing Sales Development Rep (SDR) / Pre- Sales can now manage the named contact Handed to sales as a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) Sales Accepted Lead (SAL) or hand back to marketing/SDR Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) or hand back to marketing Hand off to a Customer Service Representative (CSR) Hand off to sales if upsell/cross sell opportunity is seen and the services team doesn't manage it Confidence that this will result in a win 5% 10% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% = Won Competitive consideration How is the competition driving awareness? Differentiate your content Be aware visitor is comparing options Is a competitor talking to the same sponsor? Are competitors going after the same budget? Highlight your strengths versus known competitors Highlight differentiation and your strengths versus the known competitor Who else has received an RFP? Address competitive sales objections Share competitive insights with peers Let your account team know if integration w/ competition is needed Let your account team know if the customer asks about integrating w/ a competitor Advertisements Pricing Information Consultation Guide (thought leader) Case Studies (again) Proposal Contract Win/Loss Interviews High-touch training Knowledge articles Sponsorships Guides & tip sheets Product introduction Product Buyer's Guide Demonstration Needs Checklist Estimates Response to RFP Order Form Press Release Best Practices Support Site eBooks & thought- leadership items Webinars Product videos Free trial/sample Sales pitch Statement of Work Invoice Online Training Videos Case Studies Product spec sheets Phone call scripts Demo, with script Statement of Work Community Portal Events Whitepaper FAQs Objection Handling Blog with interesting info Check-lists Phone call scripts Mrkt. Automation & CRM Ad tools Editorial Calendar E-mail marketing Social Selling tools Sales Engineer for generic demo Sales Engineer for a custom demo Legal E-signature tools Guidance docs Support forums Cross-channel campaigns Retargeting ads Retargeting ads Call-downs Lead Alerts Product Roadmaps Engagement Managers Community tools and events Trade Shows SEO Lead in CRM Contact in CRM Phone scripts SEM Display Ads Social Ads Phone scripts Website aligned to ads / messaging Website w/ clear call- to-actions Website w/ clear call- to-actions E-mail tracking ROI tool & points Traffic / UU Downloads Downloads Time in this stage Time in this stage Time in this stage Time in this stage # won & lost Time to deploy # Cases Dwell Time Sign-ups # MQL to Sales Demo:win ratio RFP response rate $ won & lost Satisfaction Retention Rate Pageviews E-mail Opens CTA completed # MQL returned # qualified as SQL MQL win ratio Renewal Rate Ad CTR E-mail CTR # SAO Time in pipeline Event attendees Awareness Downloads SAO Closed Community usage Sentiment SQL Closed Page rank Brand awareness generation Content creation Lead development and nurturing Networking skills to validate opportunity and identify an owner Understanding the customer’s industry to qualify an opportunity Understand the customer’s business to identify their needs Presentation skills to pitch a solution that exceeds the customer’s needs Ability to handle sales objections and final details of the proposal Negotiation skills to finalize the contract Closing deals: Getting to YES Finalize the deployment plan and execute the solution Customer support SEO Content Marketing Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring Public Presenting Active Listening Consultative Selling Proposal Writing Negotiating Closing Deals Specific technical Problem Solving Social & Display Ads Remessaging Territory Management Prospecting Questioning Professionalism (with stress & the competition) Being Nimble & Creative (improv) Solution Selling Marketing Analytics Social Selling Active Listening Qualifying Time Management Demo skills Negotiating Last updated on January 9, 2016 Skills needed by the employee in addition to Methodology, Tools and Products Each item should link to online training or written guidance Mutual Action Plan / Sequence of Events Competitive Sales Objection HandlingBusiness Value that leads to ROI Insights aligned to the account's industry Insights aligned to the account, or their sub-segment of the industry Aligning marketing, sales and services with the Buyer's Journey for the Marketing Process and the Sales Process Contact Brian Groth with questions on LinkedIn at http://LinkedIn.com/in/bgroth Using your solution Owned by Customer Service to maintain customer satisfaction Delight customers to retain them and up/cross sell Raise Awareness and Attract your buyer to Consider your product; aligned to your target Buyer Persona Convert your buyer to believe in your solution; aligned to the Buyer's Needs Researching a problem that needs to be solved A solution like yours is needed Looking for a solution to purchase Close the deal with a solution that meets/exceeds the Buyer's Needs Owned by Sales (Account Execs, Sales Engineers) to turn leads into customersOwned by marketing and Sales Development Reps (SDR) to drive awareness and nurture strangers into leads Content needed for this stage (aligned to specific buyer personas) Each item listed here should link to that piece of content, or repository of those types of content Buyer Persona Guides that details 3 to 5 different personas, maybe more when adding geographical and industry differences. Each Persona needs a unique Buying Process Map that identify buyer behavior and trigger events that signals when that persona starts investigating and making purchase decisions. Include what drives them, pain points, unique value prop, messaging and influences. Align all marketing and sales content to the personas (ideally, the product aligns too). Early, Mid and Late stage content aligned to Buyer Persona distributed to specific Channels Field / Sales Enablement prepares SDRs & AEs with the skills & knowledge on topics, personas, products, messaging, process, & tools Operations, Enablement, & Readiness Field / Sales Readiness provides & educates SDR and AE with targeted content, aligning marketing and sales efforts Marketing Sales Development Reps (SDR) Sales Reps (Account Executives), with supporting roles as needed Customer Success/ Service Talking Script (for precision questioning) Marketing Operations manages the marketing automation Field / Sales Operations manages the overall sales processes, tools, data and analysis @BrianGroth Tools and Guides for the employee to accomplish this stage Each item listed here should link to that tool or the writen guide to view/download USP (Unique Selling Points) for Differentiation Competitive Sales Objection Handling Competitive Sales Objection Handling Social mentions, shares, comments Time to contact MQL Social Media tools for Social Listening, Social Selling, Social Media Marketing, and Service. Know which piece of content and which social service makes sense for your buyers and for which stage they are in the buying journey. After the sale, Customer Satisfaction is the primary Leading Indicator: Measure each Customer Experience and to know what efforts/ads/content drive a positive emotional connection. Overall, use CSAT, NSAT, etc. Revenue is the primary Lagging Indicator: Measure Revenue per content, ad, opportunity, account, etc.. Marketing automation + CRM integration is needed to determine individual ROI. Measurements per content or phase Each item listed here should link to the report or dashboard with that data Sales Engineer to align business & tech/solution Sales Engineer for technical parts of the proposal Marketing Automation Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to offer a single view of a customer, from the point of marketing, sales and service. This ties into marketing automation systems, enterprise resource planning systems, customer portals, partner portals, and more.