Sales Content That Sells: A Proven Approach To Sales Enablement Success

Sales Content that Sells:
A Proven Approach To Sales Enablement Success
Matt Heinz
President, Heinz Marketing Inc
@heinzmarketing
@heinzmarketing• #CMWorld

HOUSEKEEPING
① Copy of this deck
② Freebies!
① Full Funnel Marketing (the book),
② Sales Velocity Calculator
③ KPI Metrics Architecture
④ Matt’s bacon recipe
③ Send me an email (matt@heinzmarketing.com) or bring me a
business card with what you want!
@heinzmarketing • #CMWorld

Why is selling so hard today?

Is it how we sell? …. how they buy?

Impact on the entire lifecycle

What has changed?

Five customer changes impacting your success

Your customers are:
1. Busier than ever

Your customers are:
1. Busier than ever
2. Self-educated

When do they call you?

Your customers are:
1. Busier than ever
2. Self-educated
3. Skeptical

1. Busier than ever
2. Self-educated
3. Skeptical
4. Distrustful
Your customers are:

Your customers are:
1. Busier than ever
2. Self-educated
3. Skeptical
4. Distrustful
5. Jaded

Your customers are:
1. Busier than ever
2. Self-educated
3. Skeptical
4. Distrustful
5. Jaded
6. A lot like you!

So what IS working today?

4 Lessons from The Challenger Sale

Let’s not pretend this is new…

1. How you sell is more important
than what you sell

2. Challengers teach, tailor & take control

3. The value of your insights trumps
the quality of your product

4. Be memorable, not agreeable

How do you break through?

The Five Foundations of
Customer Commitment

Customer Commitment
1. Attention

Customer Commitment
1. Attention
2. Interest

Customer Commitment
1. Attention
2. Interest
3. Trust

Customer Commitment
1. Attention
2. Interest
3. Trust
4. Interaction

Customer Commitment
1. Attention
2. Interest
3. Trust
4. Interaction
5. Engagement

The buyer’s journey

The Sales Development
Framework
Target Market
Sales Cycle
Team
Message
Reach
Enabling
Technology
Metrics of Success

The Sales
Development
Framework
Target Market
Sales Cycle
Team
Message
Reach
Enabling
Technology
Metrics of Success
Plan & Understand
Execute
Measure

The Sales Development Framework:
Plan & Understand
Target Market
Sales Cycle
Team
Message
Segments, Ideal Customer Profile(s), target & prioritized
accounts, personas, qualification criteria, list building
Length of time, number of meetings, decision process, buyer
journey, deal size (how people buy)
Roles and responsibilities, skills structure, hand-offs,
prospecting->engagement->closing->onboarding
“Point of view”, value proposition, subject matter expertise
(need/outcome), trust validation

The Sales Development Framework: Execute
Reach
Enabling
Technology
Phone, email, social, IRL, events. The playbooks and
outreach flows to contact prospects.
Contact details, automated outreach/nurture, deal tracking

The Sales Development Framework: Measure
Metrics of Success Contacts created, leads generated, opportunities created,
connect rates, conversion rates, revenue contribution

The Sales
Development
Framework
Target Market
Sales Cycle
Team
Message
Reach
Enabling
Technology
Metrics of Success
Segments, Ideal Customer Profile(s), target & prioritized
accounts, personas, qualification criteria, list building
Length of time, number of meetings, decision process,
buyer journey, deal size (how people buy)
Roles and responsibilities, skills structure, hand-offs,
prospecting->engagement->closing->onboarding
“Point of view”, value proposition, subject matter
expertise (need/outcome), trust validation
Phone, email, social, IRL, events. The playbooks and
outreach flows to contact prospects.
Contact details, automated outreach/nurture, deal
tracking
Contacts created, leads generated, opportunities created,
connect rates, conversion rates, revenue contribution

Sales Development Evolution
Initial Ad-Hoc Defined Managed Optimized
Target Market
Lack of clearly defined target
market and Ideal Customer Profile
(ICP), no personas
Limited/assumption-based
approach to market/customer.
Limited to no qualification criteria
defined
Ideal Customer Profile defined,
personas defined and articulated
Known accounts, defined and
agreed to qualification criteria,
defined and confirmed personas
Iterative approach to target
account identification, dynamic
personas, qualification criteria
drives targeting
Sales Cycle
No known or defined repeatable
approach
Ad hoc approach & understanding
of how customer buys
Understood time and decision
making process, friction remains
Known and articulated buying
journey, enablement focus
Selling process aligned with buying
process, all known friction
removed
Team
Undefined roles and
responsibilities, no skills
mapping/development
Major functional roles defined,
high churn, low performance
Roles, responsibilities, and
competency profiles defined and
operational
Responsibilities and hand-offs
known and operational, team is
performing
Aligned team structure, career
path and skill milestones
Message
No unified message and/or
compelling value proposition
Confusing and disorganized
message, no consistency and
company-centric
Defined messaging and positioning
mapped to audience, speaking to
market and needs vs.
feature/benefit
Content editorial calendar in
place, major trust validation
content in production, defined
industry “point of view”
Versioned strategic messaging
framework approach, content
editorial calendar speaks to
customer need/outcome
Reach
One-off bulk emails, direct ask
outreach
“Every person for themselves”
with no coordination
Sales playbook(s) in place but used
for reference vs. execution
Coordinated efforts among email,
phone, online, offline channels
Integrated and executed outreach
“plays” across channels
Enabling Technology
Limited to no real technology in
place. Basic email, phone,
spreadsheets
Individual purchase decisions drive
technology, low utilization, no
integrated plan
Major categories purchased and in
place, some coordination among
teams
All current tools configured and
utilized to justify expenditures
Technology aligned with process,
approach in place to test new
tools
Metrics of Success
Random and inconsistent
measurement
Individual teams and contributors
track and promote their metrics
Major categories tracked but bias
towards actions vs. outcomes
Alignment around creating
opportunities and revenue
contribution across all activities
Full funnel measurement and
accountability

Sales + Marketing = Sales Development Process
Focus Sales Marketing
Define Target Market Support Lead
Understand Sales Cycle Lead Support
Build and Train Team Lead Lead
Create Compelling Message Support Lead
Reach Prospects Support Lead
Choose Enabling Technology Lead Lead
Apply Metrics of Success Lead Lead

A 3 Phase Approach
REVIEW DESIGN DEPLOY

The Sales Development Review
1. Ideal Customer Profile defined and approved?
2. Target personas for all involved in buying process?
3. Messaging by audience?
4. Compelling positioning?
5. Content mapped to funnel stage?
6. Internal sales process defined?
7. Aligned metrics and incentives?

Conduct a Sales Development Review
Review Step Details
Ideal Customer Profile defined and
approved?
Definition includes attributes of your “best”
customers – lifetime value, revenue growth,
satisfaction, etc
Target personas for all involved in buying
process?
Who can say yes? Who can say no? Who slows things
down?
Messaging by audience? Speak to their need and desired outcome
Compelling positioning? Rats vs. Dents
Content mapped to funnel stage? Not about you, about them
Internal sales process defined? What happens when? Who does what?
Aligned metrics and incentives? Are you closing to the right thing?

Designing Your Sales Development Process
• Take inventory of where you are
• Be methodical and intentional
• Use an iterative approach
• Focus on building pipeline

Design Your Sales Development Process
1. Understand your target customer
2. Know what a qualified lead looks like
3. Emphasize needs and outcomes in messaging
4. Understand your conversion rates
5. Always follow up
6. Engage in context
7. Understand how your customer buys
8. Get on the same side of the table
9. Get a purchase commitment
10. Closed/won is the end of the beginning

Use an Iterative Campaign Framework

Iterative Campaign Framework
Stage Steps Detail
Identify Target
Opportunities
1. Scan market
2. Develop hypotheses
3. Understand need/outcome
• What problem do we solve?
• Who has this problem?
• Do they spend money on it?
• Do we deliver the desired outcome?
Create Standard
Approach
1. Value proposition & messaging
2. Consumable Content
3. Path to target audience
• Articulate understanding of need
• Structure value proposition
• Create “anchor” content
• How and where does target audience
consume content?
Execute & Review
Campaign
1. Deploy Playbook
2. Review results
3. Adjust approach
• Structure test – budget and program
• Compare to assumptions
• Success? Adjust campaign
• Failure? Move to next opportunity

Suggested Weekly Agenda
Agenda Item Detail
Opportunities Created & Deals
Closed
Compared to previous time period, where did they come from,
how do we get more of them?
Process Improvements
What needs attention/is working well?
Restate/Review Qualified Lead
Definition
Are we engaging the right accounts and contacts?
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Do we have the right skills in place? Training needed? Open
headcount?
Major activities until next meeting
What is happening next? Marketing campaigns? PR activity? Sales
contests?

Focus on Continuous Improvement

HOUSEKEEPING
① Copy of this deck
② Freebies!
① Full Funnel Marketing (the book)
② Sales Velocity Calculator
③ KPI Metrics Architecture
④ Matt’s bacon recipe
③ Send me an email (matt@heinzmarketing.com) or bring me a
business card with what you want!

Matt Heinz
President
Heinz Marketing Inc
@heinzmarketing
matt@heinzmarketing.com
Thank you!

Sales Content That Sells: A Proven Approach To Sales Enablement Success

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