Author: Jay Mitchell



A 2023 Selling Forecast: A Sluggish Start with a Chance of Digital Dollar Signs

December 8, 2022
Jay Mitchell

These past 11 months of 2022 have brought us changing workplaces, new digital norms, inflation pressures, continued supply chain strains and more. What has all this built up to for 2023? Read on for the Mereo B2B selling forecast for the year ahead.

A STUBBORN CONTINUATION OF SELLING VIA SCREENS

The COVID pandemic had selling professionals donning button-ups atop their pajamas and scrambling into Zoom and Teams meetings to stay connected with buyers. There were few other options. Yet in the two years since, as restrictions have eased, there has not been a sweeping return to in-person selling. Some of this comes from selling organizations looking to cut costs and work with the digital tools they have implemented. But mostly, as my team and I have too experienced, this is coming from buyers themselves.

This is a shame. Face-to-face buyer meetings may cost more in terms of travel and time — but they offer greater returns in relationship-building and selling opportunity. One study even found that in-person sales requests are 34 times more successful than email requests. Something feels off, maybe even a little wrong, about hundreds of thousand-dollar deals taking place across a screen, without either party ever having been in the same physical space together. Is it an amazing feat of technology? Sure. Is there something deeper and more meaningful missing, though? I would argue yes, 100%.

Be that as it may, virtual selling is not going away. So continue to enable your selling teams to do their best in digital formats. Do not ease up on the digital sales training and reinforcement. Nor should you let go of professionalism, even if your salespeople are jumping on their computers from a home office — or a kitchen counter. And remember that all the key selling components matter, from value proposition to expert listening, regardless if they are being exchanged in-person or virtually — maybe even more so.

BRACE FOR AN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN

The signs exist all around us: supply chains are still tripped up, wallets are tighter as inflation continues to drag (though with signs of turning around) and, worst of all, the housing market is on the decline. In the first half of 2023, business leaders should expect an economic slowdown. This does not mean sellers should despair, though. Most economic experts do not see signs of a severe recession. This situation rather means that you and your teams must brace for a slow, moderate recession.

Be ready to adapt to this sluggish environment — to be a painkiller for buyers rather than a vitamin. Gartner found friction-filled B2B buying journeys are all too common — a staggering 77% of B2B buyers state that their latest purchase was very complex or difficult. So do the deep pre-work for your buyers. Engage them with messaging that is relevant to the moment. Go on the offense against your competitors and be sure that with your buyers’ tighter budgets, they pick your solution and not theirs.

SAY IT WITH ME: ‘REVENUE’

“Sales kickoffs,” “sales enablement,” and even the “chief sales officer” are going the way of a more holistic revenue focus as the whole customer lifecycle is starting to replace the outdated linear sales process.

At Mereo, we are hearing more about revenue kickoffs, about revenue enablement programs, about chief revenue officers. In its 2022 Future of Revenue Enablement study, Mediafly found that innovative companies are transitioning to full-scale revenue enablement strategies and investing in customer success teams (23%), presales teams (18%) and marketers (15%) more, not just the front-line sellers.

Consider how your organization can embrace this holistic approach to better serve your buyer — and to realize sustainable revenue performance.

HERE IS TO A SUCCESSFUL AND FULFILLING 2023

We at Mereo have a lot of exciting plans ahead for 2023. As we continue to innovate and adjust with the times, we stay grounded in Seek to Serve, Not to Sell®. It has guided us for the past 15 years and it will continue to do so no matter the marketplace conditions. Because people will always matter. And supporting them through the thick and thin of business challenges should always come from a place of honesty and authenticity. I encourage you to embrace this approach within your organization as well. Your buyers and your organization will only benefit.

 

ENABLE YOUR TEAMS TO SEEK TO SERVE™

 

As you and your fellow business leaders look ahead to 2023, reach out to our expert revenue consultants to address any uncertainties or issues. Could any part of your revenue engine benefit from a boost? Could your messaging or solution management strategy better excel with some finetunes? Let’s talk.



Is ‘Trust’ a Real Sales Approach? Buyers Hope So

December 1, 2022
Jay Mitchell

LinkedIn recently surveyed more than 7,500 B2B buyers and sellers to uncover the state of sales. The data revealed that B2B buyers highly value not solution benefits or fancy branding — but trust. In fact, 58% ranked “trustworthy” as one of the most important traits a salesperson can possess. Ultimately, 89% of B2B buyers describe the sellers they choose to move forward with as a “trusted advisor.”

B2B sellers more often than not believe they are trustworthy too. In that same LinkedIn survey, 65% of sellers say they always put their buyer first. In a TrustRadius buyer disconnect survey, 85% of B2B sellers too say they are open and honest about their solution during the sales process.

Yet, there remains a disconnect. Buyers just are not seeing sellers as trustworthy as they believe they appear. B2B sellers say “we are putting you first”—and only 23% of buyers believe it. B2B sellers swear they are telling their solution as it is, yet only 36% of buyers trust they are.

Sellers must overcome the initial distrust buyers harbor in order to get deals done. The question, of course, is how to get from Point A (distrust) to Point B (trust). We have some time-tested approaches for doing just that.

UNDERSTAND YOUR BUYER TO WIN THEIR TRUST

Trust is an intangible — but important — notion. It exists in minds as impressions or opinions. It is built by repeated actions taken in honesty and service. And in order to serve your buyer well and foster meaningful trust, you first must understand the new B2B decision-maker.

The previously mentioned TrustRadius survey revealed that millennials now make up the largest segment of B2B technology buyers. With this generational shift comes a shift in values, preferences and needs. Today’s buyer is more empowered and skilled at seeking out solutions on their own. They also are under greater pressures and constraints in making decisions.

In our recent “Deal Breakers and Deal Makers” article, we detail further what buyers care about and how sellers can make their decision-making easier. Making the sale as seamless as possible is important too: In a recent Gartner report, 77% of B2B buyer respondents rated their latest purchase as very complex or difficult. That “friction” seeds distrust in the buyer-seller relationship.

BUILD TRUST TO EASE THE BURDEN OF DECISION-MAKING

How can sellers approach trust strategically and bridge the gap with distrustful buyers? It takes sincerity and long-term commitment.

Leave behind the marketing speak. Authenticity, clarity and value resonate with buyers much more than clever, over-branded turns of phrase. Enable your salespeople with the right tools and skills to have meaningful conversations about your solution. A good place to start is by crafting a powerful value proposition worksheet.

Put your solution in your buyer’s hands. Buyers do not want to just hear about all the value your solution will bring — they want to experience it directly to see how it will fit their specific needs and their specific setup. Explore how demonstrations and trial runs can fit into your sales process as a way to prove you understand their situation (their challenges and pain) and have a solution (a “pain killer”) as a remedy.

Connect your buyers with your current customers. Buyers want authentic insights. But no matter how hard your salespeople try to share these, sellers will always maintain a bit of skepticism. It is your solution, your organization after all. So do not just have your sellers talk to the prospective buyer. Build a network of current customers who are succeeding with your solution and advocating for embracing the need for change as well as the need for changing with your solution — and then connect them to your buyer for honest, insightful conversations, buyer-to-buyer.

Tell the whole story of your solution, not just the good stuff. Sellers tend to spout only the good of a solution. Here are all the benefits and outcomes you can expect. Here are all the super awesome mega amazing things we can sell you! Yet pothing is nerfict. (See what I did there?) And your buyer knows that. Do not have your sellers disparage your solution. Rather, provide an honest assessment of your solution’s limitations and constraints. Likely, if you do connect the buyer with any of your current customers, they will hear it anyway. And it will be all the more powerful if it came first from your sellers.

COMMIT TO SEEK TO SERVE™

As a seller, your purpose is to serve your buyers’ and customers’ needs. This is regardless whether or not their needs can be solved by your solution alone. When your sellers genuinely help a buyer, in whatever way possible, trust is born. And with trust comes a long-term relationship where value is openly and repeatedly exchanged — if not now, then certainly later.

To embrace the game-changing Seek to Serve, Not to Sell® approach, download our organizational guide here.

CHOOSE TRUST



Old Sales Habits Die Hard. How Can You Change Them During Your Sales Kickoff?

November 17, 2022
Jay Mitchell

Most people have a morning routine they follow, no matter what. But what if they decided to change it up? Black tea instead of coffee. A mile run instead of an extra hour of sleep. How many mornings would they do it before reverting to the old routine? The science of human nature suggests not many.

Your salespeople’s behaviors are no different. When introducing new training and sales techniques, a common pushback you likely face is your teams wondering: Why should we adopt this new technique when what we are doing now is working? Even if your current techniques are good, the difference between “good” and “great” can be huge. If you find that, despite your best efforts, aspects of your sales kickoff just do not stick with your teams, there is no simple fix for this, but practice and repetition help form new habits. Below you will uncover why we as humans are prone to stick with old habits and five steps to ensure your sales kickoff efforts make an impact by instilling new patterns grounded in leading practices.

HABITS ARE HUMAN

Why do your teams fall back into old habits? The cause can be boiled down to human psychology. The forgetting curve, which occurs when your brain forgets information over time if there is no effort of retention, is a model that illustrates average human retention. Your teams naturally struggle to retain new information and techniques from one sales kickoff engagement alone.

Presentation matters too. Adult retention rates have been shown to increase with demonstration, group work and hands-on practice — 30%, 50% and 75%, respectively. Furthermore, mistakes can actually improve memory. This is due to something called the derring effect. This just goes to show, practice truly does make perfect. So, how can you use this surface knowledge of human psychology to ensure your teams will remember what you are trying to teach them?

5 STEPS TO BREAK SALESPEOPLE’S HABITS AND INSPIRE CHANGE AT YOUR SALES KICKOFF

Give an abbreviated example of “bad” behaviors. This step is tied to the derring effect. Giving your teams an example of common mistakes will show them what you would like them to do in a scenario in place of what has been done previously. This could be a procedure that was previously in place that your teams were missing, or it could be an old procedure versus a new one you would like them to adopt.

Introduce the new technique and how to use it. Once you have shown your teams what not to do, show them how you would prefer they handle a scenario. In this step, ensure you have a captivating presentation — something concrete for your teams to refer to later.

Explain why this new technique works. Once you introduce the new technique, detail why you have chosen this technique and how it will benefit your teams and business in the long run. This extra step helps reinforce that this behavior change is important to you — and gives your salespeople grounds for why it should be important to them too. You will likely spend most of your time on this step and the last step.

Model the benefits of the new technique in action. Similar to the first step, demonstrate a scenario where your teams would use this new technique. Seeing it in action will help your teams to better understand what areas they can improve and how they can effectively use the new technique.

Have your teams practice the new technique. Set aside ample time for this step. Separate your teams into small groups or pairs and instruct them to practice the new technique with a given scenario. Once they have done this a few times, ask them to demonstrate in front of you. This is a safe place for your teams. Encourage them to push themselves and to not be afraid to make mistakes or to lean on each other during this exercise. Finally, give them a new scenario and do it again! This extensive role-playing will help your teams retain more.

The bottom line is to reinforce what your teams have learned or they will likely forget in a few months.

Hands-on Activities and Togetherness — Your Key to Success

We at Mereo have been privileged to assist many businesses with building impactful sales kickoff programs that stick. Truly, the best thing you can implement is togetherness among your teams. This will result in a sense of community and raise morale. Pairing this with proper execution of hands-on activities is the recipe for a successful sales kickoff.

If you are looking for more resources for a meaningful and successful sales kickoff, consider reading our new eBook: the Mereo Sales Kickoff Planning Playbook. Hot off the press and ready to help you as you navigate your way through sales kickoff season.

Get Your Copy Today



ARE YOU PLANNING A SALES KICKOFF — OR A REVENUE KICKOFF?

November 3, 2022
Jay Mitchell

The full customer lifecycle has transformed selling organizations in a number of ways. In the last few years alone, we at Mereo have started working with a lot more Chief Revenue Officers who oversee teams involved in this entire lifecycle, for example. We also are beginning to hear of — and actually even help plan — more revenue kickoffs for 2023.

At Mereo, we just launched the Sales Kickoff Planning Playbook — a guide jam-packed with leading practices, hands-on worksheets and expert guidance. We stand by the value and relevancy of this tool and encourage all leaders to grab a copy. Yet, we cannot deny that a greater and necessary shift lies on the horizon for selling organizations.

Will revenue kickoffs become the new sales kickoff in the near future? Let us explore the possibilities, opportunities and departures from the traditional sales kickoff.

A SHIFT IN SELLING PROCESSES

Sales processes have historically been linear, like a flowchart: a prospect is first introduced to a solution, a seller then pitches the value of that solution … so on and so forth. Yet the digital age has revolutionized this process and, more so, clicked “select” and “delete.” Prospects and buyers have more power online. They have more tools and resources at their fingertips.

The customer lifecycle has become the linear sales process’ replacement. And this new process takes the shape of a circle to reflect the cycle, with up-sells, cross-sells, renewals — a possibly endless exchange of value.

With this new approach, the customer success team was born. While the nomenclature for this role varies between organizations, these are essentially the people who serve the buyer once the buyer makes an initial purchase — in essence transitioning from a “buyer” to a “customer.” To be successful, though, they must essentially be as enabled and skilled as a traditional salesperson. More-so, they need to know their customers’ different stages and touchpoints on their lifecycle — and how to serve them all along the journey.

In the 2022 Future of Revenue Enablement study released by Mediafly, 58% of organizations responded as having a sales enablement presence, while only 21% included customer success in their strategy and just 10% extended support to their  marketing teams. Innovative companies, though, were found to be transitioning from the traditional sales enablement approach to a full-scale revenue enablement strategy and making efforts to enable the customer success team (23%), presales teams (18%) and marketers (15%). A great place to start enabling these professionals is to invite them to the right tables. More specifically, to your annual kickoff program.

A KICKOFF TO SERVE THEM ALL

The revenue kickoff is not so different from the traditional sales kickoff. Yet, by intentionally including the customer success team at the event while also purposefully incorporating relevant content and exercises into the program, an organization starts building a selling engine that is seamless inside and out to serve the whole customer lifecycle.

With new team members come new considerations for your kickoff to make a true impact:

  • Make it formal. Start with a formalized process document. This is true for your sales process — and it should also apply to your customer success team. Write it down! This formalized, polished document will provide a key piece of content and guide for your teams in the year ahead. And scrutinize your sales process and determine if and where to weave in the customer success team to make the buyer’s experience as seamless as possible.
  • Align where it matters overall. Do not segment your teams like boys and girls at an elementary lunch table. Your buyers see one organization — and they benefit from being served by a unified force. Invite everyone to socials and mixers. Consider what presentations will apply all-around. Instill in everyone that they are in this together for your organization, and more importantly your buyers and customers.
  • Provide breakout sessions and separate tracks to go deeper. Not all your sessions will be relevant for both teams, however. A revenue kickoff will demand separate tracks where sales and customer success professionals will part to go deeper in their specific skillsets and roles.

PLAN FOR SUCCESS

A revenue kickoff demands similar planning to a more-traditional sales kickoff — with just an expanded invitation list and adjusted sessions. The Mereo Sales Kickoff Planning Playbook can be your leadership team’s guide from logistics to content-creation, to bringing it all together and more.

Is your organization sticking with the traditional sales kickoff or going the revenue kickoff route? Let us know by answering this poll.

 

GET YOUR PLAYBOOK



13 QUESTIONS TO FIND YOUR PERFECT SALES KICKOFF THEME

October 20, 2022
Jay Mitchell

A sales kickoff theme embodies the vision of the year ahead. It unifies all the content and offers opportunity for cohesion where chaos or weak messaging could ensue. It directs the energy of the event and your organization for the year ahead, helping to make things memorable.

Finding the perfect theme without picking something gimmicky can be a challenge, though. We want to help. Keep reading for inspiration toward your perfect sales kickoff theme that does not contribute to an event that is just fun — but impactful.

13 QUESTIONS TO UNCOVER YOUR SALES KICKOFF THEME

  1. What is the one emphasis you want to focus your selling teams around (e.g., to celebrate, motivate, information-share, transform)?
  2. Is your company in a period of high or low morale?
  3. How can you reflect on the performance of the past year and build off, or shift, that momentum to the year ahead?
  4. What adjectives would you use to describe the ideal year ahead?
  5. What are your company’s pillars or values — and how can this be reflected in your theme?
  6. What story do you want your theme to tell?
  7. Who are your sellers, and would your theme land with the entire group across geographies, personalities and other nuances?
  8. How can your theme graphically tell that story at a glance?
  9. Is your leadership focused on rolling-out new solutions, expanding into new markets or overcoming competition in the year ahead?
  10. How can the theme you choose either elevate or limit the sessions and presentations you are planning?
  11. How are you holding your sales kickoff — virtually, in-person, a hybrid in-between — and will the theme translate well for your format?
  12. What can differentiate your theme from any other company’s?
  13. Is your theme creative while also still being clear?

In addition to developing a memorable and impactful sales kickoff theme, there are numerous moving parts to a successful program. For more guidance on sales kickoff planning best practices, download the Mereo Sales Kickoff Planning Playbook today.

 

ACCESS YOUR FREE COPY



Getting to Yes: Sales Deal Breakers and Deal Makers

October 6, 2022
Jay Mitchell

Are you enabling your sales force to make deals — or leaving them floundering to break them?

Learn how a greater understanding of what buyers value most, and a commitment to serving those values, can turn your sales deals around to close.

HOW SELLERS CAN BREAK A DEAL

A high level of friction exists in the new B2B buying journey. A number of executives are involved in just a single decision. Today’s typical buying committee has at least six voices — with often upwards of as many as 10 people — each armed with four to five pieces of independently gathered pieces of information to deconflict with the others. This is no easy task on the buying organization’s part.

At the same time, their opportunities to discover more solution options for consideration is expanding with the rapid emergence of new technologies, products and services, and suppliers. B2B buying is challenging. So challenging, in fact, that in a recent Gartner report, 77% of B2B buyer respondents rated their latest purchase was very complex or difficult.

Selling professionals who lack the right value selling approach, sales enablement tools and resources, and skills can make decision-making even harder.

HOW THE SELLERS WHO SEEK TO SERVE™ MAKE A DEAL

Effective selling often comes from an approach of, ironically, not selling — but rather Seeking to Serve, Not to Sell™. Sales leadership must understand what drives their buyers’ decisions and moves them forward. You must take the time to understand what is most important to your buyers in order to deliver relevant, compelling conversations and resources throughout their journey. These insights should drive your sales enablement tools and resources.

Selling organizations that lead with value selling find the most success. These are the sellers who become experts on their buyers. They are the ones truly looking-out for their buyers’ best interests and true outcomes. They embody a commitment for best serving needs and overcoming challenges.

REDIRECT YOUR DEALS TO WIN

Adstream, a leading digital asset management (DAM) software and service leader, was struggling to close deals. Salespeople did not follow a consistent sales process. Sellers led with product-focused messaging. As a result, they lagged behind their competitors and lost deals — until they engaged Mereo revenue performance experts.

We helped them formalize and embrace a consistent value selling approach through sales enablement and training engagements. And as they transformed into a buyer-focused company that operated in a Seek to Serve™ fashion, their demand generation results and win rates skyrocketed. Learn more about their success here.

 

ASSESS AND IMPROVE YOUR VALUE PROPOSITION



5 REASONS BUYING COMMITTEES ARE NOT CHOOSING YOUR SOLUTION

September 29, 2022
Jay Mitchell

Buying committees are on the rise in the new B2B buyer journey. No longer are your salespeople addressing just the one decision-maker who can say “yay” or “nay” to your solution.

You are now selling to an average of six scrutinizing professionals!

You want their deciding team to look upon your organization and unanimously agree: “Yes. This is the clear choice.” But how can you rise above the competition as the chosen one? Easy. Demonstrate how you can serve their needs better than all the others.

WHY THE BUYING COMMITTEE IS CHOOSING THEIR SOLUTION

You are an expert on your company — but not theirs. Buyers overwhelmingly value selling organizations that gain a deep understanding of their company and its needs and, furthermore, demonstrate that with relevant content and conversations. In the 2022 DemandGen survey of 340 B2B executive buyers, 68% indicated this was the most important element in their ultimate solution decision.

Your organization is not creating high-quality content. Content remains on its kingly throne today. Your website and the thought leadership and resources you provide to buyers on it — as they spend nearly half their buying journey researching solutions online — matter. Do not just output noise. Make sure your content is tailored to your target buyers’ needs and that you are demonstrating your expertise wherever the prospective buyer clicks.

Your knowledge of the solution area and business landscape is weak. Too often sellers believe the No. 1 way to demonstrate expertise is to know their solution. That is partially true. According to Sales Mastery’s recent study, the top six deal-makers according to buyers are:

  • Seller understood my business, my situation and my needs
  • Seller demonstrated the ROI or value of the solution
  • Seller actively listened to me
  • Seller provided expertise and perspective
  • Seller helped me through how to use the solution
  • Seller configured a creative and compelling solution

The lesson: Listen to the buyer, bring perspective on the buyer’s business (market, trends, use cases) — and then tailor the solution to the buyer’s unique scenario. All that leads to a compelling and demonstrable value proposition (aka ROI). In other words, solution knowledge is relevant, but it wins the day when that context is applied to the buyer’s business, situation and needs.

Your organization is failing to provide a mix of content all along the buyer journey. Despite the advanced technology and many channels for research, buying is not getting easier. In fact, in a recent Gartner report, 77% of buyers deemed their last purchase as difficult. If your organization is not doing everything in its power to make it as easy as possible for buying committees to understand how your solution can serve their needs — and how to buy and implement that — then you will likely fail to land the deal. Be at their service from early digital engagements to sales discussion and content throughout their entire journey.

Your content is not helping the buying committee see the outcomes at the end of your solution. Can your solution help your buyer realize true gains? In a Forrester study, 71% of buyers said client value stories and relevant use cases were the most credible type of content in their decision-making. However, 78% noted that the salespeople they have encountered often do not have these prepared. Share the successes other similar businesses have realized with your solution to help your prospective buyers envision a prosperous future after they have chosen you.

DIFFERENTIATING YOUR ORGANIZATION FROM THE COMPETITION

It is clear B2B buyers want a selling organization that has the understanding and expertise to serve their needs — and takes the time to demonstrate this with highly relevant and insightful content and messaging at every juncture of the buying journey.

A number of foundational sales enablement tools — from personas to discovery to value messaging frameworks — go into getting this right.

If your organization is struggling to win over the buying committee, schedule a call with one of our revenue performance experts.

 

PUT BUYERS FIRST

 



GRATEFUL FOR 15 YEARS OF SEEK TO SERVE™

September 1, 2022
Jay Mitchell

Today at Mereo, LLC, we are celebrating 15 years of Seek to Serve, Not to Sell™. We cheer 15 years of driving sustainable revenue performance and the Mereo team that has brought that value to life. We applaud 15 years of supporting clients in winning an unfair share™ of the market.

Without the Mereo team we would not have created more value for clients or made a lot of great memories along the way.

Without our clients — the relationships we have fostered and the value we share together — we at Mereo would not have been able to achieve this milestone.

As a personal note, let me say: Thank you! While I am grateful for our business partnerships, moreover I have been blessed through the relationships and friendships that have grown from rolling-up our sleeves in boardrooms to do good work and sitting down in restaurants all over the world breaking bread together. It has been an honor and privilege to work alongside every one of you.

As we approached this milestone, we reached out to some clients and partners for their reflection on Mereo and the work we do. Here is what they shared:

JASON KURTZ, SENIOR ADVISOR, ACCEL-KKR

Wow how time flies. I have known Jay since we were first introduced in 2010 when Mereo was supporting Ariba at a vital inflection point in our business. Today, congratulations are in order on another big step in the journey as Mereo marks its 15-year anniversary.

Over the last decade, Mereo has played an instrumental role in helping a number of Accel-KKR’s operating companies. From sales enablement and product marketing to go-to-market strategy and market positioning, Mereo uniquely brings operational savvy, executive presence and a passion for excellence to every engagement. While that recipe has created value for our operating companies, it also demonstrates why Mereo has realized 15 years of sustainable success. Here’s to many more partnerships together.

KURT WILKIN, CO-FOUNDER, HIREBETTER

We employed the “Mereo magic” when Jay was leading sales and marketing at Tatum — which had acquired my company, The Controller Group. It worked then for Tatum and it has undoubtedly worked well for hundreds of other organizations over the last 15 years. Congratulations!

When we needed to uplift our performance at HireBetter, I called Jay and had Mereo work with us on our messaging, our sales process and many of the other fundamental building blocks for sustainable revenue performance. I know Mereo’s approach and counsel has been a big value add to our growth, and that Seek to Serve, Not to Sell™ calling has clearly helped others in their journey as well.

MARK GRIMSHAW, SENIOR PARTNER FOR SALES EFFECTIVENESS CONSULTING, KORN FERRY

Relationships matter, and for Mereo, and Jay Mitchell, our relationship has been forged through a great alignment as both a client-vendor and as an alliance partner.

When I joined Miller Heiman Group as COO, Mereo had just begun working alongside us as a business vendor supporting our recent M&A activities, and, while initially skeptical, I was won over quickly because Mereo lives out “Seek to Serve, Not to Sell” in every interaction. That client-vendor relationship has been strong for nearly a decade now, and quickly pivoted to us partnering with Mereo to support our clients’ value messaging and sales enablement initiatives — where they have continued to create value for our joint clients engagement after engagement. What started out as a client relationship quickly expanded to a rewarding business alliance, all while kindling a personal friendship that I truly treasure. Congratulations to Jay and the Mereo team for success well deserved!

MARK SCHMITZ, EVP & CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, CITRIX

Over the last 13 years, Mereo has been a vital partner to me at Ariba, SAP SuccessFactors and now Citrix. Engaging a solution provider three times means something is working in this partnership — and that is mutual trust, proven best practices, and a willingness from both parties to communicate openly and often.

While each situation has necessitated leveraging different aspects of Mereo’s revenue performance solutions, the common foundation has been the same — Mereo creates more value in every situation. A big congratulations to a trusted partner and friend, and some fun memories along the way!

SAM REESE, CEO, VISTAGE

Congratulations to Jay and the Mereo team on a significant milestone in the journey of a business, as not many firms reach the 15-year mark with the trajectory Mereo has.

We have partnered with Mereo at Vistage — and also when I was leading Miller Heiman — and the relationship has been a great investment from both a business and personal perspective. While the Mereo value proposition is compelling, Jay and team really lean in to their Seek to Serve, Not to Sell™ mantra — putting the interest of their clients, and the people within those clients, first. It is their passion, and their clients are successful for embracing it as well.

PUTTING OTHERS’ SUCCESS FIRST

At Mereo, we focus on others’ success first and foremost. We are grounded in a common philosophy that drives our personal and professional lives: Seek to Serve, Not to Sell™. By leading with value and relationships, we can make a real difference for the people we support — and the rewards naturally follow.

Jesus shared this life principle in Matthew 20:26-28 as a model for personal relationships. I can attest this approach works in business from the 15 years of success we have achieved. And I guarantee this philosophy can help improve sellers’ performance and your company’s revenue performance in the long-run too.

Thank you for being part of the journey as a member of the Mereo team, a client, a partner, a supporter and even a competitor, because each has played an instrumental role in shaping Mereo and maximizing the value Mereo has delivered along the way.

If you haven’t yet joined the Mereo family, put the Seek to Serve™ approach to work in your B2B organization. Download the exclusive Sales Organization Guide to Seek to Serve, Not to Sell and reap the greatest long-term rewards all-around.

 

LEARN MORE

 



SALESPEOPLE HAVE LESS TIME IN THE NEW BUYER JOURNEY. MAKE ALL ENGAGEMENTS COUNT.

August 4, 2022
Jay Mitchell

Have you ever been in the market for a new car and struggled to decide which option is best for your needs? You think about the benefits of each. Which one is safer? Which one is more cost-efficient? You eventually may ask yourself: do I need to make this purchase? Often, consumers are turning to online research to answer these questions and are side-stepping the salesperson altogether.

This reality applies to your B2B selling organization too. Today, salespeople garner just 5% of a buyer’s time on average during the B2B buying journey — while the buyer spends nearly half of their time researching solutions online.

Salespeople are getting little time to help buyers understand and define their pains as well as directly influence buying decisions. This means selling organizations need to put a larger emphasis on creating and regularly sharing quality insights and value for target buyers no matter the channel — digital marketing, phone / virtual meeting, in-person. Serving buyers with aligned — and widely dispersed — value is a priority. We are here to help, starting with exploring how the buyer journey has changed.

HELP EASE THE BURDEN OF YOUR BUYER’S JOURNEY

The buyer journey is not only becoming more complicated for your selling organization — it is also taking its toll on buyers themselves. Most must complete an extensive checklist of steps to finalize a purchase:

  • Identifying the problem: The buyer must first recognize and define the problem that needs to be solved.
  • Exploring different solutions: The buyer must then identify and compare options to solve the problem.
  • Evaluating the purchase: Buyer pinpoints what they need the purchase to accomplish.
  • Seeking out suppliers: Buyer finds suppliers that meet their needs, evaluate those suppliers and decide on who to purchase from.
  • Confirming the decision: After choosing to purchase, buyer does more digging to further validate they have chosen the right option.
  • Seeking partner approval: Buyer justifies to others the purchase and the supplier choice.

These are no small tasks on the buyer’s behalf. In fact, in a recent Gartner report, a whopping 77% of B2B buyers deemed their latest purchase as difficult. That friction is both self-inflicted by choosing to go it alone and also seller-inflicted — in which sellers too often complicate things. Buyers, now more than ever, need a trusted advisor in sales to make their purchase decisions as easy as possible — whether via direct sales engagements or through online information and insights.

Focus on how your selling organization can support buyers through each of these tasks to make it as easy as possible to acquire a solution and to start realizing the outcomes. Also remember that your buyer often consists of a troop of 6 to 10 decision-makers and stakeholders who are gathering information independently. Your organization needs to lead with not only consistent value but also strong differentiation to distinguish itself from the crowd.

When buyers were able to find high-value and relevant information from sellers to advance their buying journey, they were three times more likely to enter a bigger deal with less regret. Seek to serve™ does pay off. Here is where to focus your efforts.

SERVE BUYERS WITH A STRONG VALUE PROPOSITION

Luckily, there are a plethora of opportunities for you to answer buyer needs across digital spaces — you just need to know the “watering holes” where buyers will look. Once you better understand the buyer’s journey, focus on aligning your sales, marketing, and production teams to better serve the buyer. When your teams work together to support a consistent and powerful effort, supporting buyers will come naturally.

You should also consider assessing your online presence and messaging to engage buyers and equip them with relevant and valuable information. Once buyers are engaged, you can encourage the face-to-face aspect of sales that is often missing in present deals.

Take a look at your differentiated value proposition as well: confirm that it is compelling, consistent and aligned. This allows the buyer to see your core message rather than a diluted version. A strong and successful value message is achieved through consistency, confirming the buyer will see the same message across different platforms. Refining your value proposition is the first step to aid buyers searching for a solution.

BOOST YOUR DIFFERENTIATED VALUE PROPOSITION FOR ALL BUYING ENGAGEMENTS

If you need support in amplifying your value proposition across your organization, we are here to help. The Mereo Power Play™ Book helps companies secure differentiated value proposition messaging in one place that can be applied powerfully across your buyer’s journey. Reach out to talk more.

In the meantime, get started crafting a value message that will engage buyers online, in-person — any anywhere in-between — with the Mereo Value Proposition Worksheet.

 

DOWNLOAD NOW

 



WHY IS IT SO HARD TO ACCESS DECISION MAKERS?

July 14, 2022
Jay Mitchell

B2B decision makers have often been akin to the Viking warriors centered behind a shield wall. Inaccessible. Discharge as many shiny solutions at them and they ping off the heavily laden armor to elsewhere.

According to a past Objective Management Group analysis, only 1% of salespeople new to sales — those often with the onus of sales development — can get past the shield of gatekeepers to access decision makers. Only 1%! With the same analysis, though, their more-seasoned sales peers struggled, too, accessing decision makers 46% of the time when procurement was included and just 13% when not.

This has shifted since the COVID-19 disruption. Decision makers were suddenly 2.2 times more likely to join a sales cycle meeting and became more engaged in online channels. In fact, C-suite participation in sales engagements increased 108% in 2021. Just as quickly as your salespeople could progress toward a deal, though, the wall re-emerged. Research has shown that decision maker participation drops by 81% from the first sales engagement to the second.

Why is it so hard to access — and maintain access to — the executives calling the shots at your target B2B organizations? How can you better enable and prepare your salespeople for the “battle” beyond the shield wall? We at Mereo have experience enabling selling teams with the right knowledge, tools and approach. And we are sharing what has worked for our clients here.

TO ACCESS A DECISION-MAKER, FIRST IDENTIFY A DECISION MAKER

Only 31% of sales organizations, according to CSO Insights, effectively identify and access decision makers. Thus many salespeople approach organizations blindly. This is a problem for so many reasons but namely because high-level executives making the calls have much different priorities than others within the company. They also have less time and less patience for ambiguity and irrelevance.

Your marketing and sales leadership needs to first understand who makes the buying decisions at your target buyer organizations and what challenges matter most to them as it pertains to your solution. Then use this information to create marketing campaigns and related sales enablement tools. For example, empower your sales force with a Power Profile™ target buyer sheet. Take the time in a sales meeting or sales training to educate and equip everyone on the different levels of buyer within an organization and how to speak differently to each of them.

Identifying and accessing decision makers is just the first step, though. Once your salespeople have honed in on the right people and manage to get through any barriers, they need to have the right messaging and tools in order to captivate their attention wholly.

AN ELEVATED BUYER DEMANDS AN ELEVATED VALUE MESSAGE

Today’s decision makers are desperate for more value and support from their sales account executives as they journey toward a solution. They want sellers to help them build a business case — to help them overcome their internal objections or any external naysaying they may run into with peers. They want ongoing advice and a unique perspective from an expert trusted advisor.

When your salespeople manage to engage a decision maker, too, they must be prepared with the right talking points and framing. You want your salespeople to be able to expertly:

  • Show the prospect you understand their business challenges and opportunities — this is where the conversation MUST start.
  • Deliver innovative insights and ideas.
  • Address uncomfortable status quos, difficult pains — and the gains that could result if they were conquered.
  • Speak to your solution’s value and differentiation.
  • Offer to support the executive through a more extensive engagement with the executive’s team and a joint readout with the team on observations and recommendations.

The Mereo differentiated value proposition formula worksheet can help your leadership build out effective messaging to engage decision makers in these targeted, high-value conversations.

GET THE WINNING VALUE PROP FORMULA