According to a recent study by the Harvard Business Review, only 8% of leaders manage strategy execution effectively. Furthermore, leaders who can strategize well are most likely to be able to put the strategy into place, but only because they happen to make the right choices at crucial points in executing their strategies.
As most leaders know, strategies are simply roadmaps, and there are extenuating circumstances that can change the plan in a blink of an eye. This is what separates a strategy from a plan: a plan may not necessarily consider extenuating circumstances. In contrast, a strategy can fail if it is too complex and demanding for those who have to execute it. For example, if a manager assigns a project to a team of two employees when it usually requires at least five people to execute it, the project may be doomed to fail. Similarly, a complex strategy usually leads to complicated execution.
What Makes Strategy Executable and Effective?
Sir Lawrence Freedman, renowned author, and professor of War Studies at the prestigious King’s College in London, penned a book in 2013 entitled “Strategy: A History”in which he demonstrates how strategy must have a working definition in order to evolve and be relevant. He makes a strong argument about using all available resources to enable one to react to unanticipated events and stay on course. He terms it “the art of creating power” because it entails a delicate balance of power, authority, and resources.
As a historian, Sir Lawrence has studied military strategy, which he says dates back to Greek mythology when gods employed either raw strength or guile in their battles. This is evident when you look at two great warriors, Achilles, and Odysseus, who both fought on the side of the Greeks during the Trojan War. Achilles used his strength to fight while Odysseus used his craftiness and the Trojan wooden horse to end the war.
Studies have shown that top executives are often frustrated with achieving success with only 65% of their financial strategies. What does this mean? “The strategies are outstanding, so why aren’t we reaching our goals?” is what troubles most managers because they simply don’t comprehend why they cannot bridge the underperformance gap between strategy and execution. As a result, the organization ends up wasting energy, time, and missed opportunities.
In a nutshell, strategy is an ongoing process that takes you from one level of success to the next. A strategy should have a beginning without an end, in the sense that running an organization is an ongoing battle. And every stage will bring new challenges that a leader must face and add to the strategic plan. Sir Freedman sums it up best: “The world of strategy is full of disappointment and frustration, of means not working and ends not reached.”
How to Meet Strategy and Execution Consistently: Best Practices
For strategies to stay relevant and operative, best practices in strategy development can be employed, including:
Plan your strategy based on realistic data: your finances, resources, and market data that identify top priorities.
Ensure that your strategy has quick and corrective action.
Track performance and compare it with long-term goals.
Review and analyze people, processes, and products on a frequent basis.
Create accountabilities and establish clear communications.
Review performance bottlenecks.
Keep the strategy simple but complete and concrete, and make it a point to reward the people who are helping you achieve your goals.
Finally, avoid the common pitfall of trying to create the perfect strategy because it doesn’t exist – at least not by planning ahead. The perfect strategy is one that adapts to situations while staying true to its course.
Need help with your business strategy? Contact us for a complimentary consultation call.
An Interview with Pamela Campagna | President, BLUE SAGE Consulting, Inc.
What do you most like about your job?
Because I work with many companies and organizations, I’m able to carry what I learn from one situation to another. The variety and the constant challenge of solving client problems are really intriguing. As a Certified Management Consultant (CMC®), I am bound by the requirements of a global organization to deliver quality results in an ethical manner.
Why does your work stand out from others that do what you do?
My clients can speak to that: “I had the pleasure of working with Pam at a few firms, one where I hired her as a consultant to help launch new marketing and sales initiatives under an extraordinarily tight timeline. Pam is a strategic thinker who cuts through the noise and identifies the high impact issues and opportunities. She maps out clear plans and then tirelessly executes. Pam just jumps in and does what it takes to achieve the desired targets and immediately earns the respect of the teams she works with. I would highly recommend Pam! “
What questions are you commonly asked, and how do you answer?
Many clients aren’t sure how to work with a consultant. One common question is: “I’m not sure where to get started.” Once the client begins to describe the issue in their business (and with my prodding and probing and discussion), I can get a general sense of where we need to start and how I can help them. Sometimes we “don’t know what we don’t know”. That’s where I come in!
If I were a client, what should I know about your business?
There’s no magic in consulting. Just like many other professions, there are methodologies and processes and best practices that can be followed. Being able to solve problems, think strategically and act with urgency to improve the client’s situation should be the most important role that a consultant can play. Consultants who are committed to the business of consulting and have a lot of successes under their belt can save companies a lot of time and money.
What is the most memorable client engagement that you’ve had?
Several years ago, I was contacted by a company that was looking for help to reorganize their sales organization. Once I started to ask what product they sold (and to whom), what the plans were for products and services in the future (they weren’t sure), how profitable each product was (less sure) and what the business strategy was for the company….we realized that what was missing was a strategy for the company and specific plans to implement it. The sales force wasn’t broken. The company’s strategy was. We started what turned out to be a 4-year engagement, by working on their strategy, then on their product line offerings and go-to-market plan. The engagement was especially worthwhile for the client as it moved their business into a direction much quicker than they had imagined.
Are most of your engagements that long and complex?
By its very nature, the work that I do involves many elements of the client’s business. Whether it’s creating a marketing strategy or developing a program for customer retention, the consulting work tends to be more complex. However, there have been many instances where the project was straightforward and the goals were clear so the work that we did was mostly to execute the project.
What are the most common types of work that you do for your clients?
Our clients in B2B, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, and non-profit organizations look to us for:
short-term help on a business issue
long-term advice on operational improvements
growth strategies for a lagging product line
skills development for teams and individuals
guidance on how to develop marketing initiatives
leadership for change and transformation initiatives
operating model and process improvement development
special, unstaffed projects
The projects and engagements span a wide range: we’ve gone to Capitol Hill with a client to support their lobbying efforts as part of their business development strategy. We’ve developed distribution plans and processes with Amazon for another client. We’ve worked with a large pharma to understand the impact of their investment in medical education. Dozens of engagements have included product launches, services implementation, press and analyst relationship development and staff development. And every single engagement is unique.
How do you stay up to date on tools and happenings in your industry?
In addition to my consulting practice, I am an Adjunct Professor at Boston College and a Professor of Practice at Hult International Business School where I teach Leadership, Strategy, and Marketing. The combination of in-the-field experience with my clients, and teaching and collaborating with students and faculty in higher education are a great source of information and inspiration. In addition, we invest our resources in continuing education and ongoing personal development.
Can you name a few trends that you think will have an impact on the consulting industry?
The landscape of the workplace is changing. The concept of a “job for life” doesn’t really exist anymore. The distinction between a contractor (someone who is between jobs or who is a person-for-hire) and a consultant (someone who follows a specific competency framework and builds a business) is confusing to companies that are looking to hire a competent supplement in their organization. Often, the alternative of a large agency or a big consulting firm is too cumbersome for companies that want to get a job done quickly without a lot of overhead.
The trend of “talented resources on demand” will continue and offers an opportunity for consultants like me and the BLUE SAGE team to provide value to clients who are looking for proven results from a team of experts who have years of experience in a number of businesses and challenging situations.
Does this mean that you work alone?
Actually, it really depends on the needs of the client and the requirement of the engagement. In some cases, I work alone on a particular project or as a retainer-based outsourced consultant. Other times, the project may require subject matter expertise or additional bandwidth to be completed. In that situation, I call on BLUE SAGE Associates with whom I’ve worked over the years. They work for the client as part of my team. In addition, I often work with internal teams in the client organization to get the job done.
What are some of the pitfalls of the business?
I’ve spent thousands of hours on 100s of projects helping my clients to navigate through change, build their strategy and run their businesses. I can typically get a sense of how the working relationship with the client will be, based on how discussions go as we figure out how to work together. I can also get a sense of how challenging an engagement will be based on early interactions with potential clients.
Sometimes, the early interactions are an indication that the working relationship is not a good fit. Take, for example, the company in New York that was looking for help to get their marketing activities and infrastructure in shape as they were preparing to seek another round of funding from an investor. I was introduced to the company through one of the key stakeholders and had several conversations and meetings with their leadership. After that first meeting, it became very clear that the President of the company didn’t understand how a “solid” company might run – as they themselves had very little business experience. That’s not unusual, and it allows a consultant to be a “teacher” as well as a consultant. It also became clear during that first meeting that the President was more comfortable doing the work that he had always done instead of taking on more of a leadership role. He spent his days writing copy for the website and code for the product instead of building a team to take that product to market and sell it.
I’m a firm believer in studying best practices and learning by them. I believe in having a sense of urgency and driving toward a goal in an organized fashion. In this case, indecision and “business as usual” were the way that this company runs, and they were not prepared to take action to change. So for them, the timing wasn’t right and it was clear to me that the client was not a good fit for BLUE SAGE as I could not serve them well. In this case, I respectfully pulled out of discussions and I continue to stay in touch with the stakeholder if I can help them in the future.
What is the best way to determine if working with a consultant is the right thing for a business leader?
I rarely come across a leader who thinks that they “need a consultant” in their business. Typically, there is a business need – a pain, a challenge, an opportunity – that needs some attention. Sometimes an objective perspective from an outside third party is what’s required. In any of these scenarios, a qualified consultant should be able to get a sense of the business need and outline areas that might be explored. There are different methodologies that we use depending on the nature of the business problem and the level of complexity. In some cases, it may be as simple as defining a plan and then moving to implement and manage the plan. Either way, the best way to understand whether or not a consultant is a good solution for a business leader is to start a conversation.
Collaboration in a global marketing setting can be challenging on the best of days. Our guest blogger, Jen Kelly of New Initiatives Marketing shares her views on how to rise to the challenge.
Delivering a workshop can be one of the best ways to share your knowledge and get in front of your future clients. While the content of your talk needs to be relevant, helpful and insightful, you must put just as much care into the execution of the event as you do into developing the content. Over the past few weeks, my strategy partner, Pamela Campagna of Blue Sage Consulting and I presented to the small business clients of Middlesex Savings Bank. Pamela was onsite at each location in the greater Boston area. I joined in online from Toronto, live via Skype video.
Here are some tips that helped us to deliver a polished and relevant workshop four times over four weeks. I hope they can help you deliver your next best workshop.
Open doors for others
1. Be a good partner
In our case, with Pamela in the room and me on video, it was easier for the audience to make an immediate connection with her. She said hello to everyone, was able to chat and shake hands before and after the workshop. Ensuring that we both got enough airtime in front of the audience was important. Also, it was important that we didn’t confuse the audience. We did this by scripting our presentation to be really clear in the beginning, middle and end what each of us focused on. We worked to make it crystal clear that Pamela’s expertise is strategy – work with her if you’re creating or revamping your strategy. Mine is implementation and execution – work with me if your challenge is implementing and executing your marketing strategy.
2. Be good to your sponsor
Our sponsor was Middlesex Savings Bank. Their marketing team had enough on their plate without taking on the promotion of our workshop series. Knowing this, we did our best to make this easy for them by ensuring they had all the elements (photos, bios, logos, copy) to create their mailings. We also suggested content, subject lines, times of mailing. We developed a survey to send out once someone registered for the workshop. This survey helped prepare the attendee for the content and prepared us to meet the expectations of the audience. Make it as easy as possible for your sponsor to help promote your workshop.
3. Be good to the audience
People have taken the time to attend your workshop. Ensure you have something for everyone to do next. For those who will sign up to buy right away – be ready to take an order. For those who want to try out what they’ve just learned from you – have take-a-ways like worksheet that spell out the first few steps they need to take to get started on their own. For those that need to think a little bit more about what you’ve just presented – encourage them to connect with you on LinkedIn, to download your presentation slides, and to check out the resources (industry articles) you’ve provided to learn more. Each person will move at their own pace, be ready to match it.
Before and after
4. Rehearse
Pamela and I were both comfortable public speaking. What was new to us was working together. We put the time in to rehearsing and found out how to work with our different presentation styles.
5. Debrief
Make the time to debrief after each session. As I was on video I had such a different perspective than Pamela did. We made the time to do this the same day of each workshop so that the experience was fresh in our minds. We’d talk about what worked well, what didn’t and what to adjust. Sometimes this was a 10 min conversation. Other times, longer. Always valuable.
Expert help
6. Get the tech right
Oh technology. We love you. Except when you don’t work – for no reason. We did our best to test everything including four site checks at each location to understand the setup and technical requirements unique to each place. We also brought Pamela’s colleague onsite to manage the tech set up, and to be responsible for any backup fixes we’d need if the wifi failed for any reason. Doing so allowed us to focus on the audience and our content, knowing we had a pro in charge of all the technology.
7. Be ready for your close-up
For me, presenting on camera was a big step. I knew I wanted to present well and frankly was really uncomfortable on video. So I got some coaching. Jaeny Baik who works with business leaders to get over themselves (essentially!!) was my secret weapon. She worked with me to learn how to present on video. While I have a long way to go, her coaching made me feel good. I learned some of the basics with lighting, camera angles, and scripting to look and sound professional. Without her coaching as a first step, I’d still be shy and uncomfortable on video and probably would not have agreed to do this workshop – what a missed opportunity that would have been. More and more opportunities exist for delivering your expertise in a workshop setting. While you’re sure to know your content inside out, these tips are meant to ensure the implementation and execution of your workshop goes smoothly. Good luck!
What tip would you add to the list?
Need help with the implementation and execution of your next workshop? Contact Jen.
Marketing generates quality leads, sales happily accept them, deals close, the MQL to SQL (Sales Qualified Leads) conversion rate is almost 100%, and everything is terrific, right? WRONG!
If marketing holds onto every lead until they are sure it’s a lock-down SQL, bad things happen, like:
Losing your selling window. Remember, buyers are in control. They buy on their timeframe, not yours. Wait too long, and the buyer will be locked into another vendor or on to another project.
Losing out on promising leads. Qualifying leads isn’t an exact science. Marketing can err on the conservative side – knowing that some good leads might not get to sales (what we in the marketing demand gen world call a “False Negative”), or marketing can be more aggressive knowing sales will get some “False Positives”.
For those not familiar with the term, a False Positive would be a lead that appears to be sales-ready by displaying buying behavior, such as watching demos, looking at pricing, or downloading RFP templates, but in fact, they are still just researching.
Most companies will accept “False Positives” to rapidly get sales leads, provided it doesn’t get out of hand. I recently talked to one CEO who saw a 90% MQL rejection rate, meaning that only 1 out of 10 leads was sales-ready. Now, that’s out-of-hand, although it’s not uncommon.
So, what’s the right MQL to SQL conversion rate? Today’s best practices hover around 60%. Get close to this, and you should likely be feeling pretty good. But to get the full story, you need to be looking at a bunch of other metrics (metrics that a sound closed-loop marketing automation/CRM system should be able to cough up quickly), such as:
% of MQLs resolved – meaning the rep could reach the prospect and conduct a discovery call. Somehow, the best reps always seem to have the highest percentage, but there can be other reasons for varying rates. For example, my tele-qualifiers passed MQLs over at one point without setting appointments, as the reps wanted to own their calendars. With this process, we only got a 30% resolved rate and a 15% MQL conversion rate. Once the tele-qualifiers started to schedule meetings, the resolution and MQL conversion rates tripled.
% of MQLs disqualified with lousy info (bad contact info, the wrong role, not being employed at a company, the company not in the right region, size, etc.). This number should be low, but it is important to watch to ensure the demand generation process is aligned correctly. For example, perhaps a marketing list was created with companies that are too small or a tele-qualifier misunderstanding the qualification criteria.
% of MQLsreturned to marketing for nurturing (right company type and role but doesn’t fully meet MQL definition). In other words, these are your “False Positives” and at some point, down the road, through nurturing efforts, they hopefully will be ready to buy.
These metrics can differ by marketing campaign, region, and sales rep, so understanding them helps both marketing and sales adjust behavior and improve conversion rates. What trends are you seeing in your company?
About the Author
Jeff Whitney is a B2B software marketing executive with extensive experience – from early-stage start-ups to achieving marketing equity. Jeff has a passion for building a world-class marketing function, starting with the organization, demand generation programs, sales enablement tools, and aligning sales and marketing.
Perhaps, like many people around the world, you made New Year Resolutions as last year rolled into this one. Items such as eating healthier, getting organized and losing weight typically top the list of resolutions people commit to in the waning hours of New Year’s Eve. Many business leaders take advantage of the fresh start of a new year as well, vowing that this will be the year they conquer social media, expand their marketing efforts, improve their leadership skills or finally add some expertise to their bench.
January 1st dawns bright with promise and bursting with potential. The unfortunate reality, however, is that January 31st often shows no sign of the changes avowed just a few weeks earlier. A stunning 92% of people who make resolutions abandon them completely, afraid/unwilling/unsure of how to make the changes necessary to be successful.
How can you reach your goal?
Want to ensure that you’re in the 8% of people who make (and keep) their resolutions? A careful look at the habits of people who keep their resolutions provides insight into how to make sure you’re one of the few who maintain their resolve through the year.
Statistically, simply by making a resolution, you’re more likely to be successful at attaining success than those who don’t bother to make any commitment to change. (Seems rather obvious, doesn’t it?) It’s an important distinction, though. To be successful at improving or progressing, you must first determine where to make a change, and what the change needs to be. Put your resolution in writing as both a reminder and a commitment to yourself.
Another important component in reaching any goal is seeking professional help. In addition to acting as an accountability partner, a professional adviser can provide you with expertise and insight that can help you to determine what changes can and should be made to propel you to success. In your personal life, it could mean hiring a personal trainer, signing up for a class or learning a new language from a native speaker. For the business professional, partnering with a consultant may be exactly what you and your company need to reach new levels of success this year. A skilled expert can move you in the right direction.
What kind of consultant should you hire?
Do a quick internet search for ‘business consultants’ and you’ll get thousands of results. How do you know what type of consultant you need and which one would be the best to help you accomplish your goals? Finding the right consultant is imperative for your success. Look for a consultant who can offer assistance in multiple areas of business management, with proven success and verifiable client testimonials. Consultants with strong accreditations and experience in the business world will be able to readily identify areas that need improvement and offer you both support and advice.
What sets BLUE SAGE Consulting apart?
BLUE SAGE has been in the consulting field for decades, with accreditations and accolades and experience from some of the biggest names in the business world. (Find out more about us here.)
Prior to joining BLUE SAGE, our team of experts worked in a variety of fields, handling real-world business challenges and opportunities faced by market-leading public and private enterprises. From assessment, strategizing and execution, BLUE SAGE Consulting stays with our clients every step of the way. Regardless of the size of the organization, BLUE SAGE offers hands-on, focused attention to help our clients figure out exactly what they need to succeed. Most important, we not only get our clients to that point, but we also roll up our sleeves to work alongside our clients to make it happen.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a look at some of the issues that you may be facing in your organization this year and exploring how BLUE SAGE Consulting can help your business thrive in the coming months.
Don’t let your resolutions fall by the wayside. Let BLUE SAGE Consulting help you develop a strategy for success and move from “I should…” to “I did.”
Contact us today to find out how we can make this year the one when you get things done.
Even though your business is considered successful, you still feel like there’s more that can happen; you’re just not sure how or what. You’ve thought about hiring a business consultant but don’t really think that it’s worth the expense because you’re not sure how they can help you.
Being so close to your business, it’s hard to see how an outsider could really understand what’s needed and how to do it without being a part of the business. The ability to see your business objectively and provide you with active, viable solutions is part of the process of working with a business consulting professional.
Working with a management consultant means you’re ready to do what’s necessary to help your business thrive. The first step is finding the right fit.
Learn New Skills
Chances are your business marketing strategy may not be bringing the best results. Business consultants will put your strategy under the microscope and work with stakeholders in your business to implement techniques that optimize opportunities, and bring qualified leads through the door. Skills like project management, resource utilization and problem identification can make a big difference in your business. The more you learn about how to implement these skills in your business, the better prepared you’ll be to implement the necessary steps to succeed.
Create Business Systems
Creating a business system forces you to address the specific steps you need to take to succeed. When you’re that focused, you’re forced to think things through and make better decisions. Being a business manager means that you’re wearing a lot of hats and probably judging competing priorities. A business management consultant can provide the experience, objectivity and focus that will help you improve your business and make it more adaptable.
Change Behaviors
We know the old adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, but when you change behavior, you can often change consequences. Most business managers are focused on things that prompt behavior, such as managing expectations or adhering to company norms, instead of things that can have a significant impact on future behavior, like trying new ideas or embracing culture change. Working with a business management consultant helps to create an environment where positive consequences can be encouraged, and new ideas can be tested.
Discover New Opportunities
Business consultants spend their time working with a variety of organizations, which helps to build extensive networks, strategic partnerships and joint ventures. Whether you’re building a new business or entity, growing a line of business, or maintaining a steady stream of business, a business management consultant can work with you to identify ways to expand your business in ways that minimize costs and maximize exposure.
In my first post on sales and marketing alignment, I shared a demand generation alignment checklist I’ve created and have continually refined over many years of marketing with many high-growth software companies.
Here, I’ll dive into the first two items of the checklist:
Get marketing ready by understanding the buyer persona, the buying cycle, and the competitive landscape. And make sure you know the differences by region and distribution channel. Interviewing the sales team (sales reps, SEs, etc.) and answering sales calls helps greatly. Also, interview partners and customers, including ones who have just bought. This process can take months and be quite formal, but you can get started quick ‘n dirty in days. The bottom line is this: marketing can’t play an effective alignment role unless they understand and help create a structure for the buying process.
Create a Marketing Qualified LEAD (MQL) definition. Not all leads are the same. Marketing creates leads in many ways –email campaigns, the website, webinars, trade shows, etc. An MQL is a lead that marketing has qualified and is passing to sales as having a high probability of converting to a Sales Opportunity. But, defining an MQL may not be nearly as simple as it seems. It requires understanding the maturity stage for each of your products and then educating and getting the revenue team’s agreement on the type of lead that best maps to that product stage. It also requires mapping leads to target geographic regions, company size, prospect job roles, etc.
You’ll need some patience here – both in understanding the MQL concept and getting agreement. The lead definition concepts are new to most people, and they’ll need time and education to overcome historical biases.
Check out Sirius Decisions’ research on Demand Types. They’ve been thought leaders in this area for years and have excellent reports. I’ve successfully used their research and analysts to help educate and select the proper lead definitions for my company’s products.
Historically, sales teams want BANT (Budget – Authority – Need – Timeframe) leads. And what salesperson wouldn’t? However, BANT leads work best in replacement markets (think toner, paper, office furniture, and other commodity-like products), where buyers already have the product, have the budget to buy more, and often buy on price or convenience. However, the replacement market is a tough one, and most companies don’t want their products in this category.
Fortunately, most software products fall into the New Paradigm category, where the product performs a function differently and hopefully better than previous solutions. But, because it’s a new approach, waiting until the buyer has BANT is not a good idea. Wait that long, and competitors have likely guided them to that point, and you’re just sales fodder. New Paradigm leads map better to prospects with Need and Interest. Sales reps may resist, but Sirius Decisions research shows that in this market, you’ll get more leads if you focus on Need and Interest, and that opportunities will close at a higher rate and for more money than waiting for BANT leads.
The third type of software product market is the New Concept. New Concept products address a problem that most buyers must be aware of. Wait around for BANT or even Need and Interest in this market, and your sales team will have lots of free time. You want to find people in specific target markets who can sponsor change for New Concept products.
If you’re unsure of what category a product falls under, take a quick survey of sales reps and other members of the revenue team to clarify key questions in the buying process.
A note of caution: if you have multiple product lines, they could fall into different market categories. Training teams to qualify one product on BANT and another on Interest and Need, for example, is difficult, but it’s necessary.
Once you identify the correct lead definition, you must educate and convince the sales team. Marketing can carry most of the education load, but sales management must take ownership of the convincing. It will take group and individual discussions and then monitoring to ensure compliance.
About the author: Jeff Whitney is a B2B software marketing executive with extensive experience – from early-stage start-ups to achieving marketing equity. Jeff has a passion for building a world-class marketing function, starting with the organization, demand generation programs, sales enablement tools, and aligning sales and marketing.
Successful sales and marketing alignment seldom happens by accident or because everyone wishes it. It requires true conscious competence and a commitment by all key parties.
By way of background, before finding my passion in marketing, I was a bag-carrying (and yes, above quota) sales rep. As a result, I started my marketing career confident I could avoid the seemly ubiquitous sales and marketing chasm.
Wow – how wrong I was.
Maybe I did better than other marketers without sales experience, but I fell into way too many chasms and each one hurt. I realized that no matter how hard I worked, alignment wasn’t just on my shoulders. Just as a solid marriage requires the commitment of both parties and agreement on key aspects of the relationship, I realized I needed the commitment of all key parties involved in the revenue generation process, along with the list of crucial alignment items for us to work on.
The checklist below combines the key alignment issues with items that marketing or sales must do to prepare for the alignment.
Get marketing ready by understanding the buyer persona, the buying cycle, and the competitive landscape.
Create a Marketing Qualified LEAD (MQL) definition.
Understand the MQL to sales opportunity metrics.
Set MQL and Marketing-Generated Sales Opportunity goals and then communicate to the team.
Create a closed-loop system for tracking leads from creation to win/loss. Create Sales SLAs (service level agreements) for handling MQLs.
Establish consistent processes for creating a Sales Opportunity.
Require quick, insightful feedback from sales on disqualified leads.
Communicate and listen to sales.
Help reps create their own MQLs.
Find out why opportunities stalled or were lost.
In additional posts, I’ll expand on this checklist and share my sales enablement checklist too. What are your experiences with sales and marketing alignment? Do you have any items to add to this list?
About the author: Jeff Whitney is a B2B software marketing executive with extensive experience—from early-stage start-ups to achieving marketing equity. He has a passion for building a world-class marketing function, starting with the organization, demand generation programs, sales enablement tools, and, of course, aligning sales and marketing.
Every April, my hometown of Hopkinton, MA – the start of the Boston Marathon – turns into an athlete’s village when tens of thousands of runners and spectators descend on our streets to make their way along the 26.2 mile course into Boston.
In years past, we would make it a point to be out of town during “the race”, including in 2007. That was the year when Mike Olivieri (now Executive VP at American Business Journals) made an appeal to guests at a Boston Business Journal-sponsored breakfast, asking if any Hopkintonians in the audience would be willing to give shelter to a marathon team the morning of the race. A Nor’easter storm was threatening to hit that morning, and Mike and his team from AccesSportAmerica were hoping to stay dry up until the start of the race. Mike and his team camped out at our “safe house”, which was close to the starting line, and a tradition was born that continues today.
Over the years, our family has hosted runners from around the world during the morning of the Boston Marathon: first time runners, elite runners (who knew?) and family from the Chicago Running Club. This year was especially memorable as the first race following the Boston Marathon bombings. Runners from Ireland, the UK and five different states arrived hours before the race, conducting their personal rituals, sharing strategies for completing the race and getting ready for personal triumph.
This year’s Marathon has ended, and the last athletes have crossed the finish line, which makes me think about some lessons behind our town’s slogan – “It All Starts Here” – and how they might apply to the business world, including:
Preparation is key, and repetition leads to improvement. The town of Hopkinton has hosted this event for the past 90 years, and each year it seems to go off without a hitch. With heightened security this year, the preparation was a bit different. Nonetheless, the town returned to a sense of normalcy within hours after the last runner left the gate. My guess is that 90 years of “getting ready” for this race were critical in anticipating and preparing for the unexpected.
Common interests can be infectious. In her post “The Only Day People Know My Hometown”, Hopkintonian Shannon Motyka gives her perspective of how the Marathon has been a part of her life. Whether or not you’re a runner, it’s impossible to not get caught up in the spirit of the race and the sense of community that comes from a shared experience. Are there ways that you can encourage your customers and prospects to share common interests or discuss business topics? Are there common topics and specific business issues that you’re seeing in the market?
Never say never.This year, many who had hung up their running shoes came back to Hopkinton for the 118th running. Some runners began training last April following the bombings; others were determined to finish what they had started last year. A common theme that I heard is how different this year is from years past. Remembering that things change – whether it’s business conditions, personal training goals or a company’s overall success – can help keep an open mind.
It’s never too late to be what you might become. This year, we met Katherine Beiers – an 81-year-old runner from Santa Cruz who is #1 in her age group. Katherine began running at the age of 49, on her lunch hour. She explained to me that she doesn’t really like running, but she does looks forward to the rewards of a good run – being outside, increased energy and invigorated spirit. What an inspiration! Katherine’s approach is to look at the rewards of running – the outcome, and not the struggle of each mile. Whether you’re building an inbound business, launching a product or improving your company’s revenue model, think about the rewards, and remember that it’s never too late to try new things.
Have you learned any lessons from this year’s Boston Marathon? Are there other observations that might apply to the business world?
It’s fine to learn from your own mistakes, and it’s better to learn from someone else’s. Take inbound marketing for example. Countless businesses have tried to implement inbound marketing within their organization, only to fail miserably. And why? Not because of any inherent flaws with the inbound marketing process, but rather flaws in their perception of what it is and how it’s supposed to work.
In other words, they failed because they believed the myths of inbound marketing. And if you don’t learn from their mistakes – if you try to implement inbound marketing with the same set of unrealistic expectations – there’s a good chance you’ll join them. With that in mind, take a look at 6 inbound marketing myths that you can avoid on your way to building an inbound business:
Myth #1: You’ll have so many leads, you won’t know what to do.
You might get leads in greater quantity from inbound marketing, but the real goal here is quality. Instead of 100 cold leads from a purchased directory list – people who will likely hang up or opt out the first chance they get – you’ll have 20 leads from people who voluntarily expressed interest in your company, your products or services. Who would your sales team rather follow up on? Exactly, so don’t get hung up on the numbers.
Myth #2: Inbound marketing is a one-department job.
It’s called inbound marketing, but you’re going to need the expertise of other departments in order to succeed – from IT and product, to sales and engineering. We’ll be covering this subject in greater depth in the next few weeks, so stay tuned, but the bottom line is this: If you expect the marketing department to handle everything inbound-related, you’re probably not going to make it.
Myth #3: People will find your content on their own.
The “if-you-build-it-they-will-come” fallacy is fairly common among business starting out with the inbound approach. You’ve gone through all the trouble of creating original content, and because you don’t actively promote it, it just sits there collecting digital dust. To get your content in front of the right people, you’ll need to put some marketing muscle behind it in the form of social media, merchandising and perhaps even advertising spend.
Myth #4: Inbound marketing doesn’t require much money.
False. Compelling content doesn’t materialize out of thin air. Landing pages don’t self-replicate. Marketing automation tools (despite their name) don’t run themselves. Many companies fail at inbound marketing because they don’t anticipate the costs and quickly run out of money and/or content. Usually both.
Myth #5: Inbound marketing isn’t for every type of company.
Does your company have a product or service to sell? Good, then you can make inbound marketing work. It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is, what it sells or where it sells it – if you have a business, inbound marketing can work.
Myth #6: You’ll see results immediately.
You might see results immediately, but generally it’s a slow and steady climb. Many companies start off strong, with lots of new content updated on a regular basis, and when they don’t see the results they wanted after several months, they lose interest and give up. Remember, inbound marketing is a method, not a tactic, so you need to make a long-term commitment if you really want it to succeed.
There’s a lot of misconception surrounding what it takes to succeed in building an inbound business. The myths we listed here are only a few of the ways in which businesses get sidetracked.
