Author: Jay Mitchell

sales books

3 Sales books worth adding to your end-of-summer reading list

August 17, 2017
Jay Mitchell

Whether you are taking your family on one last summer vacation or catching some quiet time outdoors, be sure to work these three sales books into your reading list.

  1. Consultative Selling by Mack Hanan

    Mack Hanan wrote Consultative Selling back in 1970, but this book still holds its ground as relevant and important in today’s selling environment. On its eighth edition with a few new sections, Consultative Selling speaks to the “seek to serve” philosophy. It encourages you to forget what it means to be a salesperson and inspires you to become your buyer’s consultant. It does not matter what you are selling as long as you are selling your customer profit.

    The Book Flap Copy:
    Do you sell products or services? It doesn’t matter: What you’re really selling is customer profit. You help your customers and clients make profitable business decisions, and you are both rewarded with the fruits of a long-term business relationship. For 40 years, Mack Hanan’s Consultative Selling has empowered countless sales professionals to reap maximum success, and the Eighth Edition is here to take them—and you—to the next level, with brand new sections on:

    Creating a two-tiered sales model to separate consultative sales from commodity sales • Building and using consultative databases for value propositions and proof of performance • Studying your customers’ cash flows to win proposals • Using consultative selling strategies on the Web • Coping with—and reversing—the inevitable “no”

    Consultative Selling is packed with new partnering strategies, cost/benefit analysis templates, detailed monetized value proposition models, outcome-based branding approaches, and powerful consulting tactics that will make your customers’ competition—and your own rivals—irrelevant.

     

  2. Blue Ocean Strategy by Renee Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim 

    Blue Ocean Strategy is a solid read on the power of leaving behind cutthroat selling for developing and nurturing more-effective differentiation and value propositions that help businesses tap into new market spaces that are “ripe for growth.”

    From the website:
    Based on over a decade-long study of 150 key strategic moves spanning more than a hundred years and thirty industries, the authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne argue that cutthroat competition results in nothing but a bloody red ocean of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool and that lasting success comes not from battling competitors but from creating “blue oceans” – untapped new market spaces ripe for growth. Kim and Mauborgne present a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant, outlining principles and tools any organization can use to create and capture their own blue oceans.

  3. Crazy Love by Francis Chan

    At Mereo, we tell others to “seek to serve, not to sell™” often, and we acknowledge this sort of servitude and put-others-first mentality proves difficult sometimes. You can argue that a Christian book cannot be a sales book, but I think this book can benefit anyone in any aspect of life. Crazy Love helps teach us why unconditional love is so powerful. It reminds us that we are each loved unconditionally and, if we are willing to be overwhelmed by that, we can love others similarly. We can learn how to adopt seek to serve, not to sell in our sales philosophies. We can build meaningful relationships with our buyers. We can find fulfillment in more than dollar signs.
    “Francis’s life reflects authentic leadership tempered by a deep compassion for the last, the last, the littlest, and the least. It’s all because this man, my friend, is an ardent and devoted disciple of his Savior. In his fresh new book, Crazy Love, Francis peels back what we think the Christian life is, and guides us down the path toward an uncommon intimacy with Jesus — an intimacy which can’t help but change the world around us!” — Joni Eareckson Tada, best-selling author and speaker

What sales books have you read this summer? Share on Twitter by tagging @MereoLLC to let us know.

buyer objections

How to reframe buyer objections to positives

July 20, 2017
Jay Mitchell

When a buyer objects, you may think your sale is heading south. But in fact, often the final stage for buyers in the buying cycle involves justification. Your buyer wants to address any outstanding questions they have — or they suspect their boss to have — before shaking hands on a deal.

Is now really the right time for us to buy? Do we really need this solution? Is your solution all that different from the others? Do the potential gains justify the cost?

Remember, as a salesperson and, more importantly, a trusted advisor, you are seeking to serve your buyer, not to sell. Maintain this mindset even when the buyer pushes back — even if you feel like you have provided your buyer enough information to make a decision. How you handle objections can determine whether or not you continue to foster the trust and value you have previously earned.

Objections are signs your buyer is ready to engage you as a solution provider.

Salespeople must stop viewing objections as a sign something somewhere went wrong. The word “objection” carries negative weight with it. But in order to even form objections, buyers have invested time and energy in seriously thinking through your solution to their issue. They have (or at least have started) to embrace their problem. They are starting to think through the potential gains and have envisioned your solution in their life.

Once you address objections, your buyer is just steps away from engaging you as a solution provider.

As such, embrace objections with confidence and with care. Do not answer objections timidly, but likewise, never be abrasive. Instead, use the objection they voice to get to the heart of their concern. Seek clarification where necessary, and focus your conversation on helping them achieve peace of mind.

Objections are opportunities to eliminate risks in your buyer’s mind.

As much as objections are signs that a pursuit is progressing, they do highlight risks that may keep your buyer from taking that leap.

Try to uncover the source of your buyer’s objections early to understand their perceived risks.

Often, risks are rooted in:

  • Misunderstandings
  • Past bad experiences
  • Your solution’s weaknesses
  • Your competitors’ strengths

Objections are handled best with practice.

Remember, prospects are likely to raise objections during the buying process. There is often nothing you, the salesperson, can do to avoid them. The larger the rewards, likely the larger the investment — and the bigger the risk.

These objections provide critical opportunities for you to discover the real reasons the prospect may not buy from you. Anticipate your buyer’s objections and rehearse positive reframes that are relevant to their concerns and perceived risks. At Mereo, we follow a proven formula for reframing objections:

  • Listen attentively — Express genuine empathy. Do not contradict or argue with your buyer.
  • Acknowledge the objection — Restate your buyer’s objection to validate your understanding and neutral acceptance.
  • Respond to the heart of the concern — Reframe the objection to your solution’s strengths, value proposition and differentiators where possible while engaging their wrestle-point.
  • Support your objection reframe with proof — Maintain a confident posture in your response. Use storytelling with client value stories or numbers to provide your buyer with complete confidence in choosing to move forward with your solution.

As a salesperson, you will meet objections time and again. Use these moments to serve your customer and uphold your solution’s value — and master the art of reframing your buyer’s concerns to shed light on your positives.

LEARN HOW MEREO CAN HELP YOU MOVE YOUR BUYER THROUGH THE BUYING CYCLE

discount

Pricing power: How to command it in competitive markets

July 6, 2017
Jay Mitchell

Your salespeople face numerous pressures, from sales quotas to revenue goals. Believe it or not, they care about your organization hitting its profit margins, and they especially have investment in their take-home.

Why, then, do salespeople so often jump to discounts at the first hint of objection? Why are they so tempted to “give away the farm” to reach their numbers?

While sales discounts offer an easy way to land a deal, they hurt your organization, your salesperson and even your buyer. It’s a lose-lose-lose. Why?

  • The deal is not positioned as the big priority it needs to be for all parties.
  • The deal is not getting as much executive attention it needs to be a successful program.
  • The discount sets a precedent for all future sales between that salesperson and that buyer.
  • The buyer has a lower overall perceived value of your solution.

Even if discounts help your team land sales — and give the impression that sales are meeting their numbers — they may cause your organization to lose profit, especially if discounts are relied on time and time again. Arguably, and more importantly, they hurt your solution’s perceived value.

Your salespeople can maintain the power of your solution’s price. Read more for how.

More pain, means more gain — and more pricing power.

If your salespeople are quick to discount, they are losing control of the conversation. Salespeople have the strength of pains on their side. Whose pains? The buyer’s.

If your salespeople are quick to discount, they are losing control of the conversation.

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The more a salesperson can expound the buyer’s pains and break the buyer’s status quo with a positive outcome for that pain, the greater benefit the solution will offer your buyer. And the greater the solution’s value to the buyer — the more they will be willing to pay for it.

Your salesperson will need to engage in the role of the trusted advisor. And just as they need to convey the pains and related gains in a clear, relevant conversation, they must present your value proposition in the same compelling manner.

More differentiation with more distinction — for more pricing power.

If you do not convey to your buyer why your solution is different and aligned to solve their specific needs, they will turn to price comparisons. And when the buyer sees a knock-off of your solution at a fraction of the price, they will choose the knock-off — or seek a hefty discount from you for what they perceive a relatively similar alternative.

Your salespeople must communicate your differentiators and what this means for the buyer.

Prepare to answer the hesitations in your buyer’s mind. They will be asking:

  • How is it better?
  • How does it meet my specific needs in a way alternatives do not?
  • Am I willing to pay a premium?

Think about it like this: If I have a mouse in my garage, I have three options. I can live with the mouse and accept it as my new status quo. I can get a mouse trap for $1.50. Or, I can hire an exterminator for $150.

The mouse causes my household too many pains to just ignore, so I may turn to the mousetrap — the cheap solution.

If the exterminator can help me see how much easier he can make my life, I would turn to him. Maybe he explains to me about the dangers of handling mice without expert knowledge. Maybe he heightens my pain by telling me that if I don’t get this mouse gone fast, it will turn into a dozen mice, then 30, then 50, then hundreds, until my whole garage is infested.

I see the value of the exterminator’s expert, specialized services, so I opt for him. The mice are gone at 100X the price point because the value was 100X for the exterminator over the mousetrap.

More clarity, more rewards — and a fight for stronger pricing.

The power of price lies with your salespeople. Ultimately, they need to feel motivated to demand stronger pricing and understand the dangers of offering discounts.

Seeing as salespeople earn their wages primarily from revenue and commission, you may think demanding a higher sales price is a no-brainer. But your salespeople need to understand, clearly, the direct rewards of higher sales deals — for your organization and specifically for their personal benefit.

Sometimes this boils down to the actual engineering of your compensation plan. And while reviewing your sales team’s compensation, consider how incentivizing the setup is.

Mainly, it is about bringing clarity to your salespeople. Sure, a 1% discount does not seem like much of a hit at the time, but educate your sales team to understand that if everyone discounts by 1 percent, your organization will miss the overall profit goals and everyone loses. Keep them fighting for the shared benefit of your company — and for their own wellbeing. When they know what is at stake personally, then they will be personally invested to defend the price.

Enable Your Sales Team for Success



The Power Profile™ Part II: Recipe for Success

June 22, 2017
Jay Mitchell

The Power Profile™ guides you in your marketing and prospecting activities to focus on organizations and buyer roles that have a propensity to buy from your company.

The Power Profile does more than the typical target buyer profile, though. It aligns marketing and sales, which means that the right leads are being generated at the right time and in the right manner, so sales can engage in meaningful, effective ways.

Let’s dive deeper into the components that go into the Power Profile.

The Ideal Buying Organization

In a B2B selling climate, you are not focusing on a type of person or several profiles of people — you are serving up a solution to people in an entire organization. First, you need to identify which organizations those are.

What should you know about your ideal buying organizations? 

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We break down the information into two key areas:

  1.    Characteristics and demographics
  2.    Attributes

Characteristics and demographics involve searchable information available from databases with keywords. Look at industries and size, and go through all possible characteristics and label them as “target,” “opportunity” or “non-targeted.”

The attributes of organizations are less searchable than characteristics and demographics. This information includes catalysts for engaging the ideal buying organization, such as mergers, acquisitions, new regulations, etc. You will not find these on a database but rather by reading press releases, news articles and publicly-available documents about the organization, paying attention to local business journals, and keeping up to date on the industry and their arena.

Once you discover your ideal buying organizations, you need to uncover the right people for whom to connect.

Buyer Roles and Personas

There are a number of people within an organization who would benefit from your solution and, more importantly, make the buying decision or influence the Decision Makers.

Direct Decision Makers suffer from a relevant pain your solution can fix. They have the authority to find a solution to the pain.

Stakeholders exist in the sphere of influence. They suffer the pain, too, and they are motivated to talk to Decision Makers to find a solution, but they hold no direct buying power. Stakeholders are often direct “users” of the potential solution and/or impacted downstream from the solution.

Champions, like Stakeholders, operate in the sphere of influence for the Decision Makers. They play a critical role for both the buyer and the seller as Champions sponsor the solution (and many scenarios in the business case for no longer accepting status quo). That sponsorship can serve as a bridge between buyers and sellers, especially when it comes to navigating schedules, competitive landscape and even pricing.

To uncover these people within an organization, use empathy. Understand the use cases where the pain originates and talk to the people it affects. Ask questions, be sympathetic to their current situation and learn what the true cause of the pain is as well the impact it is having on the organization and them personally.

Without this comprehensive view of your buyer and their organization, developing a differentiated strategy aligned to the prospect’s pain is impossible. With it, you can work to serve your target buyers, become trusted advisors and solve their pains.

Are your sales and marketing teams aligned on a target buyer profile? Does your profile have the power of the Power Profile?

CONTACT MEREO TO HARNESS THE POWER



The Power Profile™ Part I: An Added ‘Umph’ to Your Organization

June 15, 2017
Jay Mitchell

In the B2B atmosphere, only so many companies have the problem your organization’s solution fits. Your pool of opportunity is limited. You need to identify these companies, and you need to know these companies, their greatest pains and their inner workings. As a service-oriented seller, it is your responsibility to approach these companies and let them know about your solution to a problem they may just accept as their status quo — so you can seek to serve their pains, make their lives and jobs easier, and become a trusted adviser.

Most sales and marketing teams understand the value of a target buyer profile. Most even have some form of the target buyer profile written down.

The Power Profile™ includes vital insights and key points instrumental in helping you identify, target and connect with organizations and buyer roles. In creating the Power Profile, we explore and label the following as targeted, opportunity or non-targeted:  

  •       Key organizational characteristics and demographics
  •       Ideal organization attributes
  •       Buyer roles and buyer personas

With this detailed information, we identify quality organizations to target, catalysts for when to target them, and buyer roles who will be invested in the solution we have to offer.

Let’s be honest, your target buyer profile may not look entirely like the Power Profile, but you may be capturing a lot of this information already.

So what is the true power behind the Power Profile?

The Power Profile aligns marketing and sales efforts.

A target buyer profile produces real results because it involves more than tracking and noting down these characteristics and attributes. Moreover, it acts as a bridge between sales and marketing, bringing everyone together with the same objectives.

That is the true value of the Power Profile.

It is imperative that marketing and sales are aligned on the target buyer profile. Why?

Marketing invest resources, including time, dollars, the brand, other assets of the business, to try to generate demand and to shape that demand. They engage some existing prospects and clients who already have an opinion about your organization and its value, while they also open dialogue with others who know very little about you.

Sales responds to the demand marketing has generated and reacts to buying cycles.

The resources alone justify involving the marketing team in agreeing on the Power Profile. But when we bring sales into the mix, that alignment becomes even more vital.

If marketing generates leads that sales cannot respond to — be it that the buyer’s pain cannot be solved by the seller’s product, or that marketing has promised responsiveness that sales is not set up for — the organization has wasted resources and it has hurt its reputation with a prospective target buyer or with a prospect that does not make sense at all.

Avoid wasting your resources. Set your marketing and sales teams up for success. Unleash sustainable revenue performance.

Gain the Power of the Power Profile

 

differentiators

Do your differentiators truly set you apart?

May 25, 2017
Jay Mitchell

None of us wishes to be thought of as an imitator or second-best. We want our business to be in the forefront of our target market’s mind — our products or services gaining an unfair share™ of the market.

Yet one of the biggest issues in today’s marketplace is oversaturation of products and services.

Think like a consumer for a moment. When you are offered with an option between two different brands, can you always figure out what makes them different — truly different? Why will one perform better than the other? Why is one more expensive than the other? Why should you invest in one over the other?

You do not want to work too hard to figure out these answers, and you especially do not want to make your buyer work too hard to figure this out for your business’ products or services, either. Your solution differentiators should be spelled out in a clear, compelling way that makes it an easy choice for your buyer.

While many may think their product or service is clearly differentiated, their key selling proposition may not be as obvious to those on the outside. And what some brands say differentiate their solutions may not make them as different as they think.

When you are thinking about what differentiates your business’ products and services, consider these four attributes that can set your brand up to be different — and to stand out — in the mind of your buyer:

Differentiator 1: Uniqueness

There is no surer way to differentiate your product or service than if it is truly unique from others in your industry. Maybe you’ve approached solving a problem in an entirely new way or are a pioneer in a new industry. Own that!

But do not fret if your solution is not completely unique. Dig for that one thing about it that is different. Perhaps your business model increases your unique factor. Or your packaging or distribution. Dig deep and find that one thing that makes your product truly unique from your competition.

For Example

Take the Dollar Shave Club. There are dozens of razors in the marketplace for men to consider. There are ergonomically crafted options, electric options, high-tech options and on and on. The Dollar Shave Club offers a choice from three blade types, which are then shipped on a monthly basis at a low cost from $3 to $9 a month. And while there is not anything spectacular about the actual razors, the company has simplified male grooming again — and it is committed to such simplification for the target audience that it even delivers the razors to its customers right to their doors on a recurring basis. Even with unremarkable products, there is no doubt the Dollar Shave Club stands out from its competition in its unique business model strategy and memorable marketing.

Differentiator 2: Value

What value does your solution offer to your buyer? Remember to focus on your target buyer, because your solution will not be and should not be right for everyone. Why is your solution perfect for this buyer? What pains does it solve? How does it serve them?

Consider if the value you provide is more than the price you are charging. If it is and if that value is obvious to your target, then your buyer will more readily opt for your solution over a competitor’s.  

For Example

Whole Foods is a top-tier national grocery store that offers wholesome foods often with a big price tag. Why do its customers spend so much more for this wholesome food? Why does this grocer stand above its competition? Because of its perceived value. Its customers want to eat healthier, support greener practices and buy into that localized feel (although this chain has stores all over). Whole Foods has done well to embrace how it makes grocery shopping different from traditional options, and it has done even better by showing its value through every facet of its marketing and store experience.

Differentiator 3: Proof

Once you have pinpointed your business’ value proposition and unique selling proposition, you need to provide your buyer with the proof. You can do this in a number of ways. Maybe you have client value stories you can share with your buyer — or testimonials that tout your value and uniqueness. Or maybe you can let your buyer demo your product or service to see the proof for themselves. Regardless, without proving to your buyer that your product or service would truly be better for their needs, you’ll fail to convert leads to sales.

For Example

Verizon Wireless says it has better coverage than the other top cell phone brands. The phone company uses statistics and data maps to back up their claims that their coverage spans far and wide across the United States, filling the map with red, while its counterparts fail to paint their maps near as well. While that proof is good, in order for it to truly achieve the trust of its target audience, it must deliver with a product that performs as well as it says it does. With Verizon’s widespread use, many are saying, “I can hear you now.”

Differentiator 4: Memorableness

Quickly — name a soft drink. Now name a fast food restaurant. Now a luxury car brand. These brands you just thought of have done something right — they have become memorable to you. Because there are dozens of soft drink choices and numerous fast food restaurants and a handful of luxury cars. But you thought of those three brands first, before the rest. How can you ensure your target market recalls your solution before the rest?

It starts with relevant and consistent messaging and branding that speaks to your buyer, and that your buyer wants to stand behind. Try to employ storytelling elements or let them know that you understand their pains. And depending on your solution, make sure your message and values serve your target audience at every stage of the buying journey — from your website to any printed materials to actually interfacing with your employees and solution. I will reiterate again, too, consistency is important here, so your buyers come to know you and trust you.

For Example

We all know what it is like to miss a car in our blind spot or to fear the worst when the wind is blowing and the tree above your house is swaying. AllState Mayhem connects with its audience by playing up these common pains. And albeit, the marketing is over the top and humorous, through its stories and connections — and the humor helps, too — it remains in the minds of its target long after they have seen the communication. AllState is different because it protects us from Mayhem like him, and it is Mayhem like him that helps us remember that.

 

While we covered four consumer-oriented (B2C) examples of service differentiation, the same concepts apply for sales to corporate accounts (B2B). The buyers in both scenarios exhibit similar behaviors and share the same pain points, wants and needs.

Have you discovered the four differentiating attributes of your solution? Contact us if you want to talk more about how you can gain your unfair share™.



How can a CMO balance the expectations of the CEO and CSO?

May 11, 2017
Jay Mitchell

Are you a CMO caught between rigorous demands and expectations from the CEO to your right and CSO on your left? All too often in companies both large and small, as the CMO, you will encounter tension with the CSO. In too many cases, instead of working together, that tension makes you feel you are in constant competition, and as the mutual frustration mounts, it pushes you and your teams further apart. This leaves the company’s revenue performance to suffer and positions the CEO to pick sides.

As CMO, your job is alignment. Many will say this is the CEO’s responsibility, but top-performing CMOs embrace this charter. If you focus on alignment, you will begin to repair the frustrating dynamics, stemming from years of misunderstanding and miscommunication.

Here are five areas where you can facilitate alignment as the CMO:

1) The Buyer Profile:

Agreeing on an ideal buyer profile is simply the most important thing you can do. If marketing and sales are on different pages as far as who you are targeting, the cycle of frustration and finger-pointing will unendingly continue. Even if you think you are on the same page, there is a good chance there are areas where you disagree or simply misunderstand.

Actionable recommendation: Get together with the CSO (and your solution leadership in many cases) and go through every single detail of your target profile — organization industry, location, business size, as well as buyer personas/roles. Create an ideal buyer profile and agree upon it. Take this to the CEO for final buy-in and then share with everyone on your teams. Each person needs to be able to explain the profile and know it front to back. Creating this will change things. I promise.

2) Definition of a Qualified Lead:

Once the profile has been decided upon, you also need to agree on what makes a lead “qualified” and worth pursuing. The distinctions between “marketing qualified lead” (MQL) and “sales qualified lead” (SQL) compound matters for many revenue teams. A lead can fit a lot of the profile criteria, but if it is missing a few key pieces, it could be a waste of time for everyone.

Actionable recommendation: Create terms of engagement that both teams agree upon. Agree on a framework that you jointly develop and revisit often to refine. Be careful with BANT as a model, as it is outdated for too many scenarios. We often employ the “4 As” as attributes for a qualified lead: alignment, appropriateness, authority, action. You can use a number system to score and prioritize the leads. This will allow sales to strategically pinpoint the most fruitful leads and communicate that in a way that makes sense to both parties: “The lead needs to be a 7/10 on this scale, and if it is we will go after it in 24 hours or less.” This is another safeguard against sending the sales team out on wild goose chases. When both marketing and sales agree on this together, it will help everyone zero-in on who your true target buyer is.

3) An Addressable Market and Coverage Model:

Sales teams often express frustration in being sent into a market this is either too small, over-saturated or already captured largely by another company. Sales teams are also being sent to sell in places where there is a misalignment in territory coverage — not having the right people in the right places.

Actionable recommendation: If you have aligned on the ideal buyer profile, then leverage market analysis (e.g., developed in-house or purchased from industry analysts) to analyze the market opportunity in a quantified manner. Segment the market as needed and map it out so you can visually “see it” (both the quantity and location). With that in hand, “pin” your current sales channels on the map, identify excesses and gaps in the coverage, and solidify a plan to address those mis-alignments. Step away for a couple days. This exercise can be both tedious and fraught with angst as it likely involves a “human element.” Do not shy away from that aspect as tenured professionals and “friends” in the coverage model can be a double-edged sword for the business and leadership engaged in this initiative. Once you and your CSO counter-part, have a model in place and review it with other members of the leadership team (the CEO, COO, CFO, head of human resources and others). Seek their counsel and input, then make adjustments and execute on the plan.

4) Messaging & Sales Tools:

As the CMO, you must value the fact that the sales team is out having the conversations with prospects and clients and they understand what is needed in a way your team does not. They are (or, let’s be honest, aren’t) using the materials your team is creating. Are you sure you are providing the messaging and tools that make sense and are relevant to the target profile? Finger-pointing is rampant on this issue. Sales blames marketing for not making good enough tools, and marketing blames sales for not using the tools at all or correctly.

Actionable recommendation: Stop the blame game and get on the same page. Invite sales to the initial meetings where these key pieces are identified and even built, partnering with them in the creation process. Don’t just ask for their input, but ask strategic questions to help your team better understand the buyers and how these tools could be crafted in a more relevant and useful way. You can even send members of your marketing team out with the sales teams to a few client meetings. These ride-alongs can be immensely helpful for them to experience these conversations first hand and learn how to create content to support their sales colleagues on the front lines.

5) Consistent, Ongoing Governance:

As sales and marketing align on elements of the go-to-market strategy, they need to have some “checks and balances” for ensuring that alignment is fine-tuned going forward. How often are you convening with your counterparts to re-check and refine the approach?

Actionable recommendation: Weekly and monthly governance calls between both teams are a must and should focus on:

  • Pipeline: after agreeing on target coverage, where is it versus target and where should money/resources be allocated
  • Demand generation: upcoming activities, including awareness and expectations from both teams to maximize ROI
  • Lead quality: meeting score expectations, change score

This keep teams talking and focused on continuous improvement. Invite your CEO to join the meeting/call between marketing and sales to hear the progress and witness first hand the impact of alignment.

In some way or another the tension between sales and marketing will always exist. Frankly, it can be very healthy as it creates a continuous improvement cycle. By taking the steps above, you can help alleviate the non-productive tension and turn it into a culture of teamwork that challenges both parties in a positive way.

The finger-pointing needs to end, and you, the CMO, can take the first step toward building something internally that will boost your company’s revenue performance like never before.

Take your CSO out to lunch, talk about all the elephants in the room, give them credit for their good work, express your desire to work together and reinforce that by requesting their input into what the marketing team can do to support them better. Then plan a regular dialogue with the two of you and the CEO to keep everyone on the same page and to create accountability among the teams. This will help redirect the cycle of miscommunication and frustration into a framework where both parties work in unison for a common objective — sustainable revenue performance.

Are you interested in taking some of these steps but would like some more insight? Feel free to contact us at information@mereo.co, or check out our recent post: 3 Things to do This Quarter to Bridge the Gap Between Marketing and Sales.

go-to-market strategy

4 Challenges CEOs must overcome to create a successful go-to-market strategy

April 20, 2017
Jay Mitchell

As a CEO, you know many factors must come together to create an effective go-to-market strategy to give your company a competitive advantage. This blueprint must spell out the roles across all functions, with sales, marketing and product management considerations. It must reflect the marketplace and your buyer. And it must bring together the people across your company, across all departments, in a common goal and system — all working in lockstep.

While you may know this, creating an effective go-to-market strategy is no easy feat, and every company encounters unique challenges. But if you and your team can overcome these four common pitfalls, you will hold the power of a go-to-market strategy that can position your company to grow faster and win an unfair competitive position™ over your competition. 

Challenge 1: Ideal Buyer Profile Alignment

Your entire go-to-market strategy hinges on this vital piece: alignment on the ideal buyer profile. You may have some buyers in mind for your product or service, but unless you flesh out who this buyer is across your entire organization and synchronize the rest of your efforts around this profile, you will likely miss the market and fail to see growth.  

Overcome the Challenge

If your go-to-market strategy lacks ideal buyer profile alignment, stop now. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Align your entire organization around your ideal buyer — who you will serve and sell to. Answer these questions to achieve an ideal buyer profile alignment:

  • Who do we want to serve (and sell to)?
  • Are we intimately knowledgeable about their use case(s) across our entire organization (including sales, marketing, product, service and operations)?
  • What pains do our ideal buyers experience currently in context of these use cases for which we can provide a solution?
  • Is the ideal buyer’s pain significant enough that they would consider a change to a new solution at all? Is this problem worth solving now?  
  • Are all your departments in agreement on who the ideal buyer of your solution is (all the roles, not just the decision maker)?

Challenge 2: Territory Coverage

Next, your go-to-market strategy must address your territory coverage. Where will you reach your ideal buyer and how? Many CEOs often fail to decide on a realistic, comprehensive sales coverage plan, which hinders their overall go-to-market capabilities.

Overcome the Challenge

Create a comprehensive coverage plan that answers the following questions:

  • What is the size of your total available market opportunity?
  • What is the size of your sales-addressable market?
  • Where do you need to have “boots on the ground” to serve that market opportunity?
  • How do you serve that market opportunity (direct, channel, hybrid)?
  • How will you balance your growth across your territories?
  • Are you enabling your sales channels with the tools and techniques to effectively and efficiently execute?
  • Are there more innovative routes to market that your ideal buyer would prefer?

Challenge 3: Value Proposition

Oftentimes, CEOs become so immersed in their solution that they fail to step back and consider its value proposition from the perspective of their ideal buyer. You may see the value of your solution, but without asking yourself and other stakeholders tough questions about the product or service and its impact on your ideal buyer, you could meet slow growth and little buyer engagement.

Overcome the Challenge

If you understand the use cases of your ideal buyer, then you can also answer these questions to help develop a compelling value proposition:

  • What business case can we offer our ideal buyer?
  • Is that business case compelling enough to take action at all?
  • Are we uniquely positioned to help the buyers embrace that business case over other alternatives?
  • What gains does our solution generate for the buyer?
  • Are the gains significant enough that our buyer will take action rather than sticking to the status quo?

Challenge 4: Accountability

Imagine the previous three challenges as the legs of a stool. Accountability is the seat that holds the stool together. Without it, your go-to-market strategy will collapse. You could have the most solid go-to-market strategy in place, but without accountability, your ideal buyer profile alignment, your territory coverage and your value proposition will all fall apart.

Overcome the Challenge

Ask yourself these questions to ensure your strategy is realized and the glue is in place to propel your strategy forward while implementing necessary adjustments:

  • Are you instilling bi-directional accountability throughout the organization?
  • How will you hold key members accountable for seeing the execution of the strategy through?
  • Does your company have the discipline and methods to measure progress and identify shortcomings? How?
  • How effective is your team at problem-solving those shortcomings?
  • How can you empower the parties across the organization to enact the necessary changes?

What unique challenges does your organization face with your go-to-market strategy? Drop us a line – we would love to connect and learn how we can help serve you and your team.  

sales-ready assets

How to best use sales-ready assets to communicate your story

April 13, 2017
Jay Mitchell

Sales-ready assets have the power to ramp up your revenue, improve win rates, convey a value message and provide a visual snapshot for your buyer when they need it most. These assets have the power to stick with buyers — literally staying behind with them long after the salesperson leaves. They reinforce messages and drive home the value of a solution or a company with powerful and memorable language and imagery.

Sales-ready assets can be invaluable tools for any salesperson. Yet 90% of sales-ready assets marketing creates for sales go unused in the field, according to an American Marketing Association study . That means marketing is wasting their resources creating content sales never uses, while sales continues to want for supportive content they can implement in the field to land their deals.

How can we get sales to use the sales-ready assets marketing creates? First, marketing needs to create sales-ready assets that sales finds valuable.

Arm Marketing With the Right Tools — to Provide Sales With the Right Tools.

Per a CMO Council study, sales professionals waste two days a week creating their own tools and messaging. Fifty-one percent of sales reps in a different study say they devote time to modifying existing content (Brainshark).

If marketing already is creating sales assets, why do so many salespeople spend their time creating and modifying content for themselves?

The disconnect often occurs when marketing and sales disagree on personas and the buying process. The majority of salespeople (42%) state that their marketing department rarely or never includes them in content development process (Brainshark). Likewise, marketing rarely receives an invite to sales meetings.

The easy fix is to get sales and marketing teams to collaborate. Encourage your marketing department to invite salespeople to project kickoffs and input sessions. Agree on personas, and help marketing understand the buying cycle and where their sales-ready assets become vital within it.

Also, invite key marketing team members to support some sales cycles where tools are being used, for example:

  • Preparing for the conversations
  • Developing the proposal
  • Identifying the differentiators

Even after sales and marketing are on the same page, and marketing creates sales-ready assets better aligned to sales’ needs, validate your tools with actual customers and prospects. Engage third-tier prospects and test the sales-ready assets.

After you do that, you’re ready to enable your sales channels with these tools.

Make Sales-Ready Assets Easily Accessible and Implementable.

Marketing may have created dozens of valuable sales-ready assets, but salespeople won’t be able to use them if they are not stored in an easy to access and easy to navigate system.

Put a system in place that affords handy access to these tools for sales, and ensure sales knows when new and updated sales-ready assets are rolled out.

Beyond that, help sales understand when to use each sales-ready asset in the buying journey and how to present the information before, during or after a customer meeting for example by:

  • Implementing the sales-ready assets in role-play exercises
  • Tagging each sales-ready asset with a persona and buyer stage
  • Standing 100% behind the sales-ready assets to exemplify their value to your sales team

 

Do you want to further discuss how to implement sales-ready assets into your sales teams’ toolbox? Let’s connect.

follow up

Make your customer and prospect meetings count, part 3: Following up after the sales meeting to best serve your buyer

April 6, 2017
Jay Mitchell

Many salespeople leave most of their customer or prospect meetings with the thought, “That went pretty well.”

Yet surveyed prospects deem 89% of meetings as failures and B2B buyers believe just 8% of salespeople focus on driving “valuable” end results for the buyer. (Forrester Research) Fifty-six percent of all buyers rate their buying experience as “less than satisfied.” (DemandGenReport)

This isn’t the customer’s or prospect’s problem — this is a problem sales leaders and their teams must address, as their revenue performance hangs in the balance.

In this three-part series, we will tackle how to prepare for your meetings with buyers, how to serve your buyers during the meeting, and how to follow-up to ensure you will serve your buyers for the long haul.  

How to follow up with buyers to foster a long-lasting relationship:

All it takes is one unsavory interaction for your buyer or prospect to see you as a pesky salesperson rather than the trusted advisor you wish to be. After you have led your buyer or prospect through a successful meeting, maintain your momentum by providing valuable follow-up interactions.

While when and how often you should follow up with your buyer may vary, keep in mind your intentions behind each interaction. Ask yourself, “am I trying to serve myself and my company, or am I trying to serve my buyer and his or her goals?” If your answer is yes to the former, than reconsider contacting your buyer until you find a reason for the latter.

The following post-meeting communication touch-points have helped me serve my prospects and customers well.

The same day after the meeting email.

I have found value in touching base with my prospect or client a couple hours after a meeting through email. This email is a casual, non-intrusive way to:

  • Thank them for their time.
  • Recap what we discussed in the meeting.
  • Reiterate action items for both myself and my client.
  • Share any value pieces — like blog posts, articles, statistics — that we touched on in the meeting and I have promised to provide.  

Pro tip> If you would like to make an even greater impression on your prospect or buyer, consider sending a handwritten thank you note via snail mail to complement your email thank you and recap. The extra effort will help you stand out from your competition and show your investment in your customer.

A week after the meeting or as-scheduled follow-up call.

As you did during your meeting, continue to position your topics of conversation from your buyer’s or prospect’s perspective. Use these follow-up calls to:

  • Reiterate the buyer’s pains and desired gains.
  • Walk them through how your solutions help reach those gains.
  • Share any additional research or insights you have uncovered since your last interaction (remember to always look for more ways to serve your buyer).
  • Provide any information your buyer requested at the meeting that took time to gather.

Pro tip> For a more-effective follow-up call, send your buyer an email to confirm the time, date and estimated duration of the call, and to share the call agenda so expectations are met.

Periodically “touch base” after the meeting, once a month or so.

Proactively make time for your clients and prospects. Go for coffee when you visit their area. Send relevant articles or insights as you run across them. Ask them out to lunch and/or meet them in their office, if it is convenient for them. Take the time to talk about what has been bothering them, personally and professionally, what’s been going well, and what they look forward to for the future.

I genuinely enjoy building relationships with clients. Not because it benefits my business — though it often does, but because it positions me in a way to better serve that client with valuable, relevant discussions and solutions. Plus, I genuinely come to care for these people and their success and happiness.

When looking for reasons to follow up with your prospect throughout the long term, ask yourself:

  • How can I help them reach their personal goals?
  • How can I make their job easier for their professional goals and their overall organization’s goals?
  • Where can I provide any value that could help them exceed goals?
  • What insights have I run across about their industry or business that I can share?
  • What else would they find valuable in their life or in their position?

Pro tip> Show that you truly care by listening. Listening seems to be a lost art in our busy, fast-paced world, so stand out in the crowd by slowing down and taking the time to listen. It can be helpful to write down what the client shared to help you remember. Did they just tell you their birthday is next week? Put a reminder in your calendar to shoot them an email on that day.  

How do you follow up with your customers or prospects after a meeting? Let us know on Twitter or add to the discussion on LinkedIn.