免費獲1 2 當日華爾街日報 3 掃一掃回復：加入“起點財經 群。ANDREWCo-founderandManagingDirectoratGreenInthise-book,AndrewHausseggeropensupthediscussiononSalesandMarketingAlignmentinB2BfirmsandprovidesaguidelinetoturningthesetwooftendisparatefunctionsintoaunifiedfightingThereisstilla‘chasm’betweenmostB2BMarketingand IspokerecentlyataB2BMarketersForumonSalesandMarketing(SaMa)Alignment.Aspartofmypreparation,IreferredtoavailablemarketresearchaswellastheGreenHat/ADMAannualB2Bmarketingresearch.IsoughtouttheviewsofsomeleadingCMOstoseehowtheyfeltaboutthestateoftheiralignment.Theone-linesummaryis…therehasnotbeenmuchimprovementoverrecentyears.2Isthatsurprising?YesandYes…becausealignmentissomethinginternaltoananisationthattheCXOscanactuallycontrolanditcanhavesignificantimpactonfinancialperformance.Moreonthatbelow.No…becauseB2Bfirmsaresales-driven,notmarketing-driven(likeB2C).Theytendtoinvestmoreinthesalesfunctionthanthemarketingfunction,andoftenarenotawareoftherevenueandpipelinebenefitstheMarketingteamcandeliverwithastrategicapproach.TheCMOcanbeleadingthewaybyeducatingtheCEOandHeadofSalesontheopportunitiespresentedbymoderndata-drivenmarketing,andaligningthesetofinancialobjectives.TheHeadofSalesneedstorecognisethatthewaysbuyersbuyhaschangedandideallyisopentocustomerengagementstrategiescomingfromMarketing.3DEFININGSALESANDMARKETINGWhatis‘SalesandMarketing(SaMa)Alignment’?Idefineitas:“JoiningSalesandMarketingatthehipwithsharedgoals,KPIsandpipelinedevelopmentprocessestogrowrevenue”.Thekeywordsare‘goals’and‘KPIs’.TheCEOwhoassignssharedstotheCMO/HeadofSales,withastrong mendationto‘align’,providestheimpetusforsuccess.Thesescancoverarangeofareasbutultima ypipelinemetricsarekey.AlignedSaMaexecutivessharemiddlefunnelandbottomfunnelmetrics.UsuallytheCMOwillcarryresponsibilityforupperfunnelsuchascontactdatabasequalityandgrowth,websitevisitorsandcontentengagement.WhatmightsharedslookCMOisaccountablefeneratingleadsforX%ofBoththeHeadofSalesandtheCMOsharetheMQL-to-SQLconversion(marketingqualifiedleadtosalesqualifiedlead)BothsharethetotalrevenueSharedgoalswilldrivebehavioursyouwouldexpectfromahigh-performanceSaMateam.Inthisyear’sB2Bresearchreportwefoundthatonly44%ofB2Bmarketersaregettingsatisfactoryleadfollow-upbysales.ignedSaMateamwillhaveanestablishedleadmanagementprocesswitha‘closedloop’reportingandfeedbackmechanism.JustastheHeadofSalescarriesarevenue,theCMOmaycarryaMQLquota.AusefulsharedmetricisthepercentageofMQLsthat eSalesAcceptedLeads(SAL),beingthestagethe‘leadbaton’ispassedfromMarketingtoSales.KNOWNKNOWNMQL(SQL)REALISINGROIFORSALESANDMARKETINGWell-alignedteamsaremorestrategicandanisedaroundterationandmanagementofbetterqualityleadandrevenue es.Research(andcommonsense) lsusthatthemoreeffectivethisis,thelesswastageandthegreatertheROI.%RevenueSiriusDecisionsintheir2016SalesEffectivenessresearchfoundthat%RevenueAligned:Aligned:15%MoreJustBeginning,Scalingor19%FasterSource:SiriusDecisionsAberdeen’s2016researchreport‘MarketingandSalesAlignment:WhoisAgileEnoughToWin?’statedthat,fromtheirsurveyacross322end-userfirms,thosethatoptimisedtheirsalesandmarketingrelationshipgrewrevenueatarateof38%fasterthanthosewhodidnot–doublethatreportedbySiriusDecisions.Regardlessofthesizeofthenumber,thisisasignificantimpact.Anotherimportantpointtohighlighthereishowmisalignmentmaybeexperiencedbycustomersandprospects.It’sanareahardertomeasurethanpipelineand esclearlyitwillimpactAlignedSalesandMarketingteamsaremorelikelyEffectivelyengagethebuyer,withnooverlaporacrosscommunicationsandmessagingfrombothteamsProvidetherightinsightcontentattherighttimewiththerightoffersthrough-to-endbuyingprocessHavemoreconsultativeandadvisory Providethoughtleadershipand alisedforthebuyerEnableSalestodriveaconsultativediscussionwhenthetimecomesforface-to-faceAcasestudyexampleofaneffectiveSaMa‘teamplay’isaglobalHRservicesproviderwhoproducesregularcontentontheissuesthat‘keeptheircustomerupatnight’.Werefertothisasearly-stagenurturecontent.Marketingcuratesanddistributesthecontentusingalisednurturestreamsandsocialchannels,andtransitionsthetypeofcontenttopositionthecapabilityofthefirmasthebuyerengagesmoredeeply.Importantly,Salesis‘educated’onthecontentthemessothat,whenthebuyerisreadytoengagein-,Salescancontinuethethemeofconversation.Thisenablesconsultativesellingonbusinessissuesandimpact.ADEEPDIVEWITHFIVECMOSONWehad‘deep-dive’interviewswithfiveexperiencedCMOsandaskedthemsixkeyquestionsabouttheirmaturityofalignmentwiththeirSalesfunction.Thefirmsrepresentedweremid-largeenterprisesfromthe s,financialservices,professionalservicesandITsectors.ThetablebelowshowstheaveragedresponseswithratingsoutofSalesSales&MarketingAlignment DoyourMarketingand shavesharedKPIsforrevenueHavetheyworkedtogetherondefiningaleadmanagementflowinto forSalestofollowIsthereacleardefinitionofamarketingleadispassedtoSalesforfollow-up?IstheleadflowprocesssystematicandworkingtoyourAreyousatisfiedwithSalesfollow-upofmarketingAlignmentE?ectiveness(1-Source:GreenHatCMOSnapshotSurvey,Sowhilstthissmallsamplewasmoresatisfiedwithmarketingleadfollow-upthanthebroaderresearchgroupreferredtoabove(44%),thisCMOgroupdidnotratetheiralignmentwithSalesaseffective.Sometakeawaysfromthediscussionswere:SurprisinglyonlyoneCsamutually-agreeddefinitionofanMQLwiththeOnsharedgoalsforrevenuegrowth,therewasclearlysomeworktobedone–oneCMO‘MarketinghasarevenueachievementbutthereisnorealalignmentwithSales.Forexample,wedon’tmeetwiththemtoreviewprogressagainstthesegoals.’OneCdimpressivesinplacesuchas15%ofrevenuebeingmarketing-sourcedand50%beingmarketing-influenced,butstillstruggledtogettheSale toembracetheleadmanagementprocesswithinthe.9FIVESTEPSTOGETTINGALIGNMENTMarketingdoesnotworkforSalesnordoesSalesforMarketing.WenowoperateinaB2Benvironmentwherethebuyingprocesshaschanged(thanksto‘digital’)andthebuyerhasthebalanceofpowerovertheseller.So,theSaMateammustrespondasacollective.Thedigital-savvyMarketingteamhasgreatvaluetoaddtotheSale ,andtheSale ’sknowledgeaboutthebuyerandthebuyingprocessisinvaluableforthemarketer.Fromourexperienceandresearch,weseefivekeystepsforbestpracticeSaMaSHAREDGOALS&Ifgoals,recognitionandbonusesarealignedbetweentheHeadofSalesandCMO,bothexecutiveswillbefocussedonjointplanningandstructurestooptimisetheirmutualsuccess.Bestpracticeteamswillpushtheseobjectivesdownwardsandpromotecross-functionplanningtodrivetherightoperationalbehaviour.BI- Thereneedstobea‘contract’betweenbothteamstocommittocertainactions.Marketingneedstocommittometricssuchasleadvolume,qualityandfrequency,newcontactacquisitionratesandcontentassets.SalesneedstocommittometricssuchasleadacceptancetimeframesandleadeAUTOMATEDLEADSUCCESSThisisakeystepandcan ecomplex.Bothteamsshouldworktogetherondefiningthebuyer’sjourneythroughthefunnelandtherelevantleadandopportunitystages.Thisleadlifecycleprocessneedstoaddressmanybuyingstages:contactacquisition,leadgeneration,leadnurturing,theMQLhand-offprocessfromMarketingtoSales(iethetransferofownershipofthelead),theSalesfollow-upprocessandthecloseLeadnurturingcanoftenbethe‘graveyard’phasewhenleadsleakorstagnateinthefunnel.MarketingneedstoautomatethisprocessandthenempowerSalestocontinuenurturingtheprospectthroughsales-driven alisedcommunications.SalesneedtoalsoadviseMarketingastotheinformationtheyneedwhentheMQLispassedover.CONTENTFEEDBACKWeB2Bersareallng‘contentmarketing’inonewayoranother.Thebestresultsaregeneratedbythosewhogetintheshoesoftheircustomerandunderstandtheirstrategicandoperationalchallenges.Best-practicemarketersappreciatetheinherentknowledgethatSaleshaveaboutthepainpointsofthecustomerandtheytapintothisasakeysourceofreferencewhenbuildingcontent,anddothisisintwomainways:PutprocessesinplacefortheSale tomake mendationsforcuratablecontent(fromthirdparties)thatcanbeusedincustomernurturingPuttechnologyinplaceforSalestoeasilygettocontentthathelpsthempitchandclose(suchasHighspotorSho COLLABORATION&OPTIMISATIONThefinalstepistocollaborateinordertosystematicallyreviewandoptimise.Setupascheduleforoperational‘stand-ups’tocheckinonprogressandforstrategicstakeholderreviewstodeepdiveintoperformanceagainstyouragreedandshareds.I mendyouformalisetheSaMaAlignmentwithinthebusinessensuringthattheCEO,SalesandMarketingteammembersallunderstandthewhat/why/when/who/howoftheinitiative,thevaluetothemallyandthebusinessasawhole.Brandyourteaminternally,maybeTheSaM rformanceCouncil,andcreatesomebuzzandenergyaroundit.THEROLEOF‘INTEGRATEDToroundoffthisdiscussiononalignment,IneedtotouchonautomationandAtrulyalignedB2BSaMateamisnotpossiblewithouttherightintegratedtoolsinplace.Initssimplestform,thisis(1)aconnectedtoa(2)MarketingAutomationPlatform(MAP).TheMAPalsoshouldbeconnectedtothewebsiteandsocialplatforms.WhyisthisLeadgeneration,nurturingandmanagementhas esignificantlymorecomplexwiththeadventofdigital.Leadscancomefrommanychannelssuchasawebsitevisit,,socialmedia, search,anonlineadvert–aswellasthetraditionalmechanismsofeventsand Withsomuchdata,itcanfeelliketryingtodrinkfromafirehose!Marketingautomationhelpsusgetcontrolofleadinformationinasystematicway.TheSaMateamcandefineautomatedprocessesforleadscoringandleadroutingtojointlydevelopa‘leadsuccesspath’–thepathwaywewouldlikeourleadstofollow–withprovisionsforallofthoseleadswhotakeadetour.TheMarketingteamcanthenempowertheirSalescounterpartsinthreekeyProvidingrichleadinformationpusheddirectlyinto ,includingdataabouttheonlinebehavioursuchaswgesvisitedandcontenttopicsthey’veshowninterestEnablingtheSalesreptoaddthecustomerto‘nurturestreams’thathavebeenpre-setbyMarketingbutcanbestillbe alisedonbehalfoftheSales DeliveringarangeofalertstotheSalesrepsotheycanbeultra-responsivetocustomerFinally,onthispointofsystemisingthealignmentprocess,research lsusthatthereisadirectcorrelationbetweenrevenuesuccessandthedegreeofintegrationbetweenSaMa%AchievingRevenueGoalsbyDegreeofIntegration%AchievingRevenueGoalsbyDegreeofIntegrationBetweenKeySales&MarketingSystems Source:DemandMetricResearchCorporation,Sales&MarketingAlignmentResearchReportAccordingtoDemandMetric’sresearch,anisationswithhighlyintegratedsalesandmarketingsystemsare80%likelytoachievetheirrevenuegoalsasopposedtoa36%successrateforthosewithnosystemsintegration.SALESANDMARKETINGSYSTEMSLIKELYTOACHIEVETHEIRREVENUESUMMINGALIGNMENTWeliveinaB2BbusinessworldwheretheCEOexpectationsof‘morefromless’areThereactionoftheHeadofSalesandtheCMOisusuallyto‘lookoutwards’.Wherewefindnewmarkets?Howcanwegrowwallet-sharewithcurrentclients?Whatnewproductsandservicesshouldbeoffer?Whatisourcompetitionupto?Allimportantquestions.Buthowmuchimprovementcanberealisedby‘lookinginwards’?Askyourself…Howeffectivelyareyouprocessingleads?Areyoualignedontheleadlifecycleprocesstominimiselead/r/