Economy Brings Tough Times for Marketing: 3 Tips to Defending Your Programs

Published
by
Tim Adams
on October 22, 2008
in lead generation and marketing
. 0 Comments

The trouble in the financial markets is finally making its way to the “rest of us”. A recent article from Business Week highlights what we in sales and marketing have been bracing for; the inevitable cutbacks. Since marketing is often considered “non essential” for operations by many executives, these budgets are almost always trimmed first. We have heard from clients and prospects alike that have had to scale back their budgeting plans for next year as a result. There are some effective defensive measures for diligent marketers.

 

Quantify the Data

Knowing that your budget will be analyzed with the efficiency of Israeli airport security, being able to quickly produce data supporting your most productive marketing programs will be critical as decisions to cut can often be made quickly.

 

Be Noticed

The natural instinct in tough times might be to not “rock the boat”. This will certainly lead to disaster. Being sure that the executive team is aware of recent success is extremely critical as cutting decisions often occur behind closed doors. Having data to plead your case may not help if the decision has been made and a consensus already reached by the executive team.

 

Have Alternatives Ready

Be ready to counter cuts with alternatives. When asked to cut a position, see if you can outsource for a portion of the cost to get similar benefits. The important thing is to show reasonable chances for success and increased revenue at reduced costs to get buy in. If you are not ready with alternatives, again it may be too late to counter after the fact.

 

Hopefully, with a little preparedness you can defend your budget and salvage as much as possible.    

Finding Influential Advisors - what traits, skills, attributes?

Published
by
Steve Krause
on January 19, 2008
in Uncategorized
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Many times sales leaders ask me what do I look for when I am hiring salespeople… those that can become Influential Advisors?  Here’s a start of a list of traits, skills and attributes to look for:  

  • Passion for Excellence
  • Accessible
  • Self-starter
  • Commitment to excellence
  • Creativity
  • Quick thinking
  • Confidence
  • Excitement
  • Energy
  • Focus
  • Vision
  • Likeability
  • Persuasiveness
  • Persistence
  • Professionalism
  • Resilience
  • Resourceful
  • Willingness to learn
  • Belief in the product/service
  • Loving what you do and delivering more than you promise
  • Communication skills
  • Listening skills
  • Reader
  • Good writer
  • Good speaker
  • Organizational skills
  • Negotiation skills

More skills:

  • Ask for the Order (also referrals)
  • Be an Advisor and Resource – help others succeed
  • Consistency – using process to execute strategy
  • Entrepreneurial spirit – take responsibility for yourself; invest back in your business to help you improve
  • Fanatical attention to detail
  • Knowledge – your product, services, company, industry and competition
  • Phone skills – connect not just communicate by phone
  • Rejection – not take personally – healthy self esteem
  • Relationship builder – like people and be able to build a rapport with them
  • Right mind-set – get out of comfort zone
  • Simplicity – don’t overcomplicate things
  • Sincerity – have vested interest in clients
  • Team player – can’t do it all; must develop and encourage teamwork
  • Time management – organized and able to prioritize . (do detail work outside of work hours)
  • Volunteer – be active in community and be a super networker

Best to you as you build and develop your sales team with Influential Advisors.

Happy Selling!

 

Becoming Influential Advisors

Published
by
Steve Krause
on January 5, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

I refer often to the term Influential Advisor.  In the selling game there’s a hierarchy:

  • Salespeople - seller of products and services
  • Trusted Salespeople - a relationship in which you’ve established yourself with a client as a trustworthy supplier of needed products and services
  • Trusted Advisors - a sales relationship with a client in which you are a trustworthy supplier of needed products and services, plus knowledge and information about the aspects of the clients business that are directly affected by the products and services.
  • Influential Advisors - a sales relationship in which you are a trusted source of products and services and knowledge about those things, plus an influential source of advice and information about the impact of your products or services on the client’s entire organization.

Most have heard of the term “Trusted Advisor”, where your clients and prospects turn to you because they trust you for advice.

The influential advisor doesn’t just sell products and services or advise on solutions to problems and needs. The influential advisor is a valued resource for the client - a source of knowledge about products and services, and an influential source of input about the current and future effects of those products and services on every aspect of the client’s own business. 

What is Influence? - the ability to alter or impact thoughts, ideas, behaviors and actions.  The goal of the influential advisor is to exert real influence on those business decisions made by the client which affect the influential advisor’s own business.  What characteristics make you an influential advisor?

Here’s a formula for Influence:

Knowledge + Experience (expertise)= Credibility

Credibilty + Track Record= Trust

Credibility + Trust = Influence

Acquire enough knowledge and experience or expertise to become credible, then build trust. Buyers in the executive suite don’t buy products and services - they buy ideas, thoughts, actions and solutions that impact the entire enterprise. You have to talk about things that matter to them and talk to them in their language (Executive Messaging).  More importantly, you need to make it quick. I know you’ve heard of the elevator speech… well every conversation with a senior level executive needs to be clear, crisp, relevant and compelling.

Transform from trusted salesperson to trusted advisor to influential advisor. Leverage knowledge and experience to establish credibilty, build trust and influence thoughts, ideas, behaviors and actions.

Go make it happen - Identify a prospect… what knowledge and expertise do I have that will help establish my credibilty?  How can I organize my pitch to be interesting to them?

Happy Selling!

Open Heart Surgery and Happy New Year

Published
by
Tim Adams
on January 4, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 4 Comments

Originally I was not going to mention my open heart surgery on this blog. I have changed my mind due to the shear amount of people there are to update. I have had so much support from employees, clients, and friends, and have decided to use the blog as the venue to keep everyone updated. This will also help to limit the amount of time talking about my experience on conference calls, for which I will have more limited time to spend over the next few weeks. (Doctor’s orders are to give up 60+ hour work weeks for a while).

As many know, I was born with a congenital defect in my aortic valve that was surgically repaired when I was 6 years old. Since then I have had no problems. That being said, we always knew at some point a replacement was likely. Last march I ended up with a heart valve infection called endocarditis as a result of the abnormal valve I was born with. This is a very dangerous condition that can result in stroke and death. I was treated for several months but we were unable to stop brain lesions from continuing to reform. The decision was finally made to replace the aortic valve and a piece of the aortic root that had turned into a 5cm aneurysm. This is really an amazing surgery because beyond having to use a bypass machine, aortic root replacement requires complete circulatory arrest (0 Blood Flowing) which can be maintained for up to 30 minutes with your body at hypothermia temp.

On December 26th I went in at 7:30 in the morning for an as expected 7 hour surgery. While in surgery the doctors found a difficult to spot tiny hole between the inner chambers of my heart. This was easily stitched up preventing what would have certainly been a stroke at some point. I was off the ventilator shortly after and was wide awake that night. Suffice it to say, the first 2 days were the worst. The night following surgery, I ended up with excessive air in my abdomen which made breathing even more difficult when you stack on the now broken sternum.

On January 01, 2008 I was released home. Happy New Year by the way! It was great to be at home, although this introduced new challenges. For instance, I have never considered hospital beds to be comfortable, but figuring out the most comfortable way to sleep in my own FLAT bed was certainly a challenge the first night home. I am restricted from carrying anything over 10 pounds (it hurts) so basically I don’t do anything but eat, sleep, breath, and bathroom over the next several days. The pain is manageable, (thanks to magic pills) as long as I don’t need to cough or God Forbid, sneeze.

As of today, January, 4th I feel amazingly well considering what I have been put through. I plan on returning to work at a mostly full time level next week. I wanted to say thank you to everyone who supported and prayed for me and my family through this difficult time. I am looking forward to a great and prosperous 2008 and I am wishing the same for all of you!

Santa’s Leadership Secrets

Published
by
Steve Krause
on December 26, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

1) Build A Wonderful Workshop 

       - Make the main thing the main thing 

       - Focus on your people as well as your purpose 

       - Let values be your guide 

 2) Choose Your Reindeer Wisely 

       - Hire tough so you can manage easy 

       - Promote the right ones…for the right reasons 

       - Go for the diversity advantage 

 3)  Make a List and Check It Twice 

       - Plan your work 

       - Work your plan 

       - Make the most of what you have 

 4)  Listen to the Elves 

       - Open your ears to participation 

       - Pay attention to how you’re perceived 

       - Walk awhile in THEIR shoes 

 5)  Get Beyond the Red Wagons 

       - Help everyone accept the reality of change 

       - Remember:  The customer is really in charge 

       - Teach “the business” of the business 

 6)  Share the Milk and Cookies 

       - Help them see the difference they make 

       - Do right by those who do right 

       - Expand the reinforcement possibilities 

 7)  Find Out Who’s Naughty and Nice 

       - Confront performance problems early 

       - Coach “the majority in the middle” 

       - Remember “the super stars” 

 8)  Be Good for Goodness Sake 

       - Set the example 

       - Establish guidelines and accountability 

- Remember that everything counts. 

Have a Happy Holiday and a Wonderful 2008!  Steve  

Attorneys or Marketers, Who Lies More?

Published
by
Tim Adams
on November 15, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Every now and then I will actually read one of the junk facsimiles I receive on a weekly basis. First off, it is important to note that I am inherently skeptical of their offers due to the way in which they bombard my machine. Second, most of the offers are too good to be true, thus are likely to contain a catch of some kind.

This week I received what appeared to be an article with a hand written note. The article was about a “revolutionary” weight loss product. The hand written note went like this:

Sue,

Here is the product I used last month to lose all of the weight and inches. Dr. Palmer down the hall told us about it. Everyone is losing weight on this stuff. Give it a try.

Now come on. Am I supposed to think they actually meant to send this to “Sue”? Do they expect me to be so overwhelmed with the need to lose weight that I will ignore the bogus intro? Seriously, I wanted to track down the author of this “campaign” and ask them what they were thinking. However, it probably works, thus they do it.

I am sure you can think of dozens of similar examples in industries ranging from diet supplements, to car dealers. Now I know, in B2C, marketing lies seem to be common place, and car dealers, well they have been shady for years. But, every year I see more and more gimmick based advertising trickling into B2B. The internet has empowered an entire wave of marketing tricksters, who use legitimate techniques and knowledge to fudge the truth to improve conversions and make a buck. We have all seen this in the “MLM” or what I call Multi Liar Marketing, segment. I wonder, have wee all been so desensitized to bogus marketing to where we now expect it? This is why legitimate marketers must be extra careful in B2E.

Please feel free to share your experiences with gimmick advertising in the comments section. I am particularly interested in ones dealing with B2B.

FTC Do Not Track List and What it Means for b2b Marketing

Published
by
Tim Adams
on November 1, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

First it was the Do Not Call List, and although it had a major influence on b2c telemarketing, their was little to no affect on b2b telesales or telemarketing as this rule did not apply there. Now, consumer groups are pushing for more disclosure on web tracking used by marketers for better targeted online advertisements. While there is no formal rule yet, this is how these things get started. It begs the following question. What if any affect will this have on the sophisticated tracking technologies and analytics used by today’s b2b marketers?

Difference between DNC and DNT

Now, there are several difference between the “do not track” movement from the “do not call list”. While privacy is certainly part of both issues, the DNC initiative relieved a day to day annoyance experienced by many consumers. While no one likes the idea of being “spied” on when web surfing, I don’t believe the “pain” felt by such fears is nearly as high compared to receiving 5-10 solicitation calls a day. With that being said, will there be enough outcries to bring about any new FTC rules? Only time will tell.

Blurred Line Between B2B and B2C Web Analytics

If new rules are created, the clear divide that exists for the DNC between b2b and b2c will not exist in the same way for web tracking. For one, it is easy to differentiate calling at home from calling at work for business purposes. How would you differentiate tracking b2b activities from b2c? Also, the physical difference that exists for b2b and b2c telemarketing does not exist for web analytics. After all, many people read work related emails at home, or on the road. How would these rules apply and be enforced?

I Know What You Clicked Last Summer

When it comes to lead generation, most savvy b2b marketers use some form of tracking from simple email analytics, to more sophisticated page by page tracking technologies such as Genius, Eloqua, and Vtrenz. If a director of IT receives a solicitation email from a web startup hocking the next great thing in technology, will there have to be a disclaimer in the email that clicking any links will be tracked and used to better “pitch” to him/her?

Weary Prospects

While annoying to some, the realities of telesales in the b2b world are obvious and accepted as such. I am not sure b2b prospects feel the same, or are even aware of the level of sophisticated tracking being done on such a common basis today. New rules or not, I wonder if greater awareness about such things would make prospects more cautious about what they click, or will prospects accept such things as “business as usual”?

Online Networking: LinkedIn vs Facebook

Published
by
Tom Blue
on October 10, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

I feel the biggest business benefits of social networks are the following; 1. Finding vendors/services provided by people you trust and 2. Making yourself visible so that others can find out what you provide. Since #1 is better suited for a different blog, I am going to focus on #2.

First of all, social networks aren’t going to be a huge source of leads for most people. I do, however, believe that if you do it right you can get some visibility and get people to gather interest in your product/service. The problem is that I don’t believe LinkedIn is the best place to get this exposure. In the past week I have had more people hit my website via a Facebook link than LinkedIn has referred me in the past year.

Why is that?

Traffic! It mostly has to do with the amount of hits your profile gets. Although I’m well-connected on both sites, more people visit my Facebook profile. People spend a lot of time on Facebook. They are browsing applications, groups, networks, emailing friends, etc. The possibility of someone bumping into your profile on Facebook is more likely. Facebook is just more ‘sticky’ than LinkedIn. In addition, the sheer numbers of people are quite larger on Facebook. I was able to connect with 60 friends within a month.

Anyway, I don’t feel online business networking is what it’s hyped up to be, but I do know you can gain some awareness of your services if you do it right.

On Enterprise Lead Generation: Patience is Revenue

Published
by
Tim Adams
on October 9, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

I got a call this past week from a marketing manager that worked for a previous client of ours. It was odd to hear from her, as I had been thinking about their program the week before. I was wondering “what every happened to all those leads?” You see, we ran a very short, 3-4 months, lead qualification program for them. They had been successful at lead generation and were pulling in over 200-300 leads a week through multiple channels such as webinars, white papers, trial downloads. The problem of lead generation was not quantity, but quality. We proceeded to pre-qualify the highest scoring leads from their system. Leads that met qualification guidelines for sales were then passed along. Although, the quality of leads making it to sales from our program was good, few deals were closing right away. This was not unusual for us, as this was an enterprise focused program with a minimum sales cycle of 3-6 months. In any event, the company pulled the plug on several marketing lead generation efforts including our program. At the time, I knew this was premature.

Fast forward 9 months to now, I get a call and what do you know, it’s the marketing manager from this very company. She had taken a new position and wanted to run a similar program. Turns out, that after the program ended she continued to track the results. At month 5, just a month after the plug was pulled the deals started to fall. At 10 months our program, which cost the company less than $11,000 returned over $250,000 in revenues. For those who are counting (you know who you are), that’s over a 2100% return.

I believe for the most part, that people know lead generation today affects revenues next quarter in the enterprise space. This is why it can be hard for some companies to commit. They want to know immediately what affects if any their investment is having. The good news is there are a few key things that indicate early on that a program will be successful. I will cover these in the near future.

For now just remember that “patience is a virtue”, and one that few companies can afford to overlook.

Lead Generation – Sole Source or Supplement to Outside Sales

Published
by
Tim Adams
on September 25, 2007
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Often I am asked about the ideal ratio of lead generation to outside sales reps. There is no short answer. The most important concept to grasp here is that inside sales/teleprospecting should be a supplement to the pipelines of outside sales. This is no different than any other aspect of marketing. I always say, the best sales reps will never justify their missing quota due to insufficient leads from marketing, and I think this is a given. However, many outside reps, while being efficient closers, are inefficient prospectors. Where top reps will exceed 100% of quota from efforts all their own, middle performing reps may only make quota with help from lead generation.

A common ratio I have observed in enterprise sales focused organizations with a decent investment in dedicated lead generation is 1:3, which is 1 inside to 3 outside reps. In this model the lead generation group generates on average 30-40% of each outside reps pipeline. I have seen ratios varying from 1:1 to as much as 1:10. Obviously the ratio has a huge effect on the benefits to outside sales and consequently, the group’s perceived success of the lead generation efforts. As such, expectations should be clearly defined in order to view lead generation success through the proper lens.