2012 Resolutions for the B2B Marketer

Well here we are.  2011 is history, and we embark on another year.  At the end of 2011, I resisted the temptation to become a prognosticator, figuring that I didn’t want to deal with the ramifications of my predictions potentially not coming true.  Instead, I have chosen to produce a list of resolutions for this New Year.  These resolutions are not mine alone.  They stem from discussions I’ve had with marketers over the past year.  Although there are five, I’m hoping that each B2B marketer should resolve to focus on at least one for 2012.

Resolution #1:  Don’t be Self-Centered

I receive 3-5 calls or emails per week asking if I have 30-minutes to view a demo or learn how a product can make my business better.  In most of these cases, I’ve never spoken with the sales rep.  Usually, I don’t have a need for their product or service.  If this is still the marketing and sales approach for your organization, you should resolve to stop it in 2012.

The truth is, your buyers do not care about your product and service nearly as much as you want them to or think they should.  What they want to know is:

• Do you understand the day-to-day issues they are facing?
• Do you have information that can better educate them?
• Do you understand them, their needs and their current situation?

When you begin the conversation, “can I show you a demo,” you’re showing that it’s about you, not them.  In 2012, instead of accosting your buyers with product literature and “sales pitches”, commit to understanding them so you can develop a content plan that engages them.  Ensure your content is more about them and less about you. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the difference it will make.

Resolution #2: Drive and Embrace Change

Perhaps no word or concept strikes more fear and angst into an organization than the word “change”.  The fact is, change is not easy and it’s rarely met with open arms.  I have had many CMOs and senior marketing/sales people tell me “we know it’s broken but changing it would be too hard.”  They’re right.  Change is hard.  But, in order to succeed and drive the revenue that is expected from marketing by the CEO, it must occur.

There is no doubt that the B2B buyer has changed dramatically. Without adapting (or changing) to the new buyer, growth will not occur.  So, in essence, change is not an option.  It’s essential.  The branding and communications focus of yester-year is no longer applicable in today’s B2B buying process.  Instead, the buyer of today expects an introduction, dialogue and eventual engagement. If marketing and sales teams are going to succeed in our new world of B2B marketing, change must happen.  So drive and embrace that change!

Resolution #3:  Be a Realist

I recently went through the process of building a house.  During construction, we lived in a rental about two miles away which gave us the opportunity to drive by and watch the work on our new home progress.  Early on (to this novice eye) it seemed that little to no progress was being made.  For weeks we would drive by and simply see a hole in the ground.  What was being done? Why was there no foundation being poured? Why wasn’t the framing complete?  The simple answer was that building a house takes time.  The builder was taking the time to lay the right piping, to ensure the sides and bottom where the foundation was to be poured was level, and to confirm that each stage of the build process was properly inspected for quality.

B2B marketers should adopt this same philosophy – the change mentioned above takes time. It won’t be completed in a matter of weeks.  While the temptation of marketers is to commit to quick timelines and to expect complete transformation in a short time, the reality is that it’s just not feasible.

Recently, a marketer told me of some of their plans for the New Year:

• Develop buyer personas for their top five buyers and chart the buying journey for each
• Develop and implement a demand generation strategy including content marketing and development
• Implement and launch a marketing automation system and integrate it with their CRM system
• Develop and implement a lead management process to ensure more value from their automation investment.  They were committed to doing this in a unified approach with sales.
• As part of their demand generation strategy, develop a nurture program for prospects and customers

After listing these items the marketer asked, “how do we develop the project plan for this that covers the next two years?”  In essence, she got it.  She understood that this was not a 45-day quick hit, that automation is not plug and play and that the change involved would take time.  No matter what any consultant or automation vendor will tell you, these are not short term initiatives.  As you look to transform your organization in 2012, be realistic with your time frame.  If you run across a vendor who tells you otherwise, ignore them.  They are probably just looking to make a quick sale.

Resolution #4:  Work at It

Living in Colorado, I must admit that I have been fully swept up in Tim Tebow mania.  I am a Denver Broncos bandwagoner and refuse to miss a game.  One of the things that I so admire about Tebow is that he consistently shows through both words and actions his commitment to improve.  His detractors discuss his poor mechanics, his low quarterback rating, how he needs to improve, etc.  When pressed on these comments, Tebow’s response is always the same, “I am going to keep working hard to be the best NFL quarterback I can be.”

Imagine how organizations could flourish if the same resolve was in every B2B marketing and sales professional.  Numerous studies have shown that there is a large skills disparity that exists in today’s B2B marketing and sales professional.  The good news is that there are several resources that will bring about the professional development needed to overcome the gap. There are conferences by SiriusDecisions, MarketingProfs, DemandCon and OMS.  You can read blogs like the FunnelHolic, Propelling Brands, Marketing Interactions, etc.  In addition, training and certification are available through organizations such as  The Marketing Automation Institute . So make 2012 an educational year where you learn the new skills that are needed to succeed.  Don’t let another year pass without developing professionally.

Resolution #5:  Have Fun!

I know I have said this before but I think it bears repeating: There has been no better time to be a B2B marketer. I meet more marketers who are deflated with their current roles. And while, for some, that may very well signal a need to change jobs, for most it’s just the result of not seeing what a great place they’re in.  The relevance that marketing has taken in organizations, and the need for marketing excellence to propel revenue has provided a huge opportunity never seen before.  Knowing that your work is making a difference is fun. So go for it and enjoy the ride!

2012 can be the year that marketers do what is necessary to up their game.  The opportunity is before you. Resolve to make it happen.

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Software Advice Whiteboard Session with The Annuitas Group – Demand Generation Vs. Lead Management (Part Two)

There is a lot of confusion about the role of marketing automation software as it relates to marketing processes. In part two of Software Advice’s whiteboard session with Annuitas Group CEO and Marketing Automation Institute Executive Director, Carlos Hidalgo, we discuss how marketing automation technology is not the complete answer to all your demand generation and lead management needs. Rather, it provides a critical piece of your demand generation strategy and lead management process.

View Part Two of the Whiteboard Session Now.

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Software Advice Whiteboard Session with The Annuitas Group – Demand Generation Vs. Lead Management

Demand generation and lead management are two terms that companies should be fairly familiar with, but it turns out there is quite a bit of confusion around the two.  Software Advice, a site that offers reviews of marketing automation solutions, recently hosted this two-part whiteboard session with Carlos Hidalgo, CEO of Annuitas Group and Executive Director of the Marketing Automation Institute to explain the difference and how companies can make sure they develop successful programs for both.

View Part One of the Whiteboard Session Now.

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If It’s Too Good To Be True…

About 15-years ago, I was at lunch with a guy who told me that within weeks I could be making in one month what I was currently making annually.  He proceeded to tell me that he was making $70,000 per month through a new multi-level marketing company and that I had an opportunity to get in on the ground floor.  He continued, telling me that this was the easiest money I would ever make. In fact if I took advantage of this opportunity, I wouldn’t even feel like I was working.  Then our conversation came to a screeching halt when I asked “If this money is so easy how come every one isn’t doing this?”  Check please!  (Yes, he paid for lunch.  After all he was making $70k per month).

Promises of exponential riches, rapid weight loss and real estate fortunes will continue to come and go throughout our lives.  And most of us are smart enough to smile and politely say, “No, thank you”.  Yet, it seems that the promise of “gold at the end of the rainbow” is picking up steam with many in the B2B marketing space. And many marketers in search of El Dorado are being drawn like lemmings to the sea.

Just this past month, we’ve seen offers such as “guarantee of significant business impact in less than 60-days”; or “a detailed understanding of where you’re deficient in your automation strategy in less than 10-days”; or even “100% increase in qualified leads to sales”.  Sounds great!  But if it’s this easy, then why isn’t everyone doing this?  Maybe because it’s not so easy.

If you truly want to revolutionize your B2B marketing organization, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1.  Quick Does not Equal Effective

We live in an instant gratification society. But that doesn’t work in B2B organizations.  Defining new processes, developing and implementing new strategies and aligning marketing and sales teams is not something that can be done overnight.  Yes, strides can be made quickly, and initial milestones can be reached in relatively short time.  But expecting to arrive at best-in-class status or having a comprehensive understanding of ALL your business issues in a matter of days is not realistic.  Yes, quick wins are great. But lasting, effective wins do not come quickly. They take time.  Anything else is just cutting corners.

2.  There is more to B2B Marketing Than Lead Nurturing 

Lead nurturing is getting quite a bit of attention from multiple vendors.  Many vendors and consultants are developing “quick hit” programs focused on helping organizations develop and launch lead nurturing campaigns.

Lead nurturing is certainly a vital component of a demand generation strategy, however, there is much that needs to be addressed to ensure that your nurturing will be effective.  If your goal is to produce an effective lead nurturing program that has tangible results (qualified leads that convert to sales) you must ensure the following components are in place:

• A data management process
• Lead qualification process (hard to know how to nurture them, if you don’t know how qualified they are)
• A defined lead routing process
• Content mapping
• Metrics

Most companies need significant work done in these areas.  All of these processes take time to review and develop. Not developing them will produce lack luster results.

3.  It’s Not The Technology, It’s You

Not getting what you want from your marketing automation platform?  It is surely the fault of the technology right?  Think again.

Yes it is true that many organizations are striving to get more value from their automation solution.  But determining value based on which features and functions are or are not being used is not the way to determine value.

In order to improve the value of your return on technology investments look internally at your operations, your demand generation strategy and your process.  Identify your gaps, make the fixes, and develop the strategy to fill the gaps.  Only then are you ready to consider how the technology will allow you to execute that strategy.  As much as automation can provide, it should be one of the last things you consider when looking to transform your organization.

The B2B landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years.  As a result organizations need to transform their approach.  A quick fix is not the answer.   Be realistic in your approach and remember patience is key. Consistency over time wins the day.

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Ten Ways the C-Level can Positively Impact Marketing and Sales (Part Two of Two)

This is part two of our 2-part series on how the C-Suite can help affect marketing and sales for the better. (click here for part one)

A recent report published by MarketingSherpa asked B2B marketers what was the top barrier for overcoming their marketing challenges.  17% cited difficulty in getting buy-in or support from the C-Suite.  Quite frankly I am surprised that the percentage is not higher.

Part of the reason that executives are so hesitant to buy into marketing is that they’ve not been provided a solid business case for making the necessary investments into marketing that will improve their business.  Yet marketing and sales need budget so they can adapt to the changing buyer, move them faster through the buying cycle, and ultimately drive revenue.  It’s imperative that marketing gains executive support.

We’ve blogged before on what marketers can do to remove the barriers and win over “mahogany row”.  In this post, we provide the final five things the C-Suite can do to enable their marketing and sales teams so they can improve their return on marketing and sales investments.

6.  Don’t Stay Married if It’s Not Working

Hear me out here. I am not advocating divorce.  However, what I am talking about is the dynamic where executives get so married to their plans, that they fail to change course if the plans are not working.

To change direction doesn’t always signal failure or indicate a poor strategy.  To the contrary, it can often signal maturity and understanding of the ultimate objectives.  If something’s not working, or if your marketing strategy is not going to plan, then make the necessary adjustments. Gather your team, collect their input (they usually have a more realistic and better view than you do) and adjust the course.

7.  Stop Talking About Alignment

If you conduct a Google search on the term “Sales & Marketing Alignment”, you generate 11,700,000 links to view.  This seems to be only a fraction of all that has been written on this topic.  Just today I saw three more articles that detailed the keys to marketing and sales alignment.

Executives would do well to stop trying to solve this “problem”.  Actually, it’s not a problem; it’s a symptom of a deeper problem.  Here’s what needs to happen to achieve alignment:

• Bring marketing and sales together to develop a lead management process that addresses how leads will be managed.
• Use common objectives and measurements between marketing and sales. (Revenue contribution goals are a good place to start.)
• Design sales quotas to match average buying cycles.  As an example, it’s unfair for a sales person to have to meet a 90-day quota when the sales cycle is 180 days.

Begin working on these three areas and you will see the alignment issue disappear.

8.  Ensure You Have the Right People

One of the greatest ironies about NBC’s The Office was that Michael Scott, played by Steve Carrel, was an awful sales manager but a very good sales rep.   Carrel’s role served to highlight what many organizations do: they take someone who has had success in one role and promote them to another role for which they are not suited.  This is a poor HR practice.  Have the courage to determine if you have the wrong people with the wrong skill set in your marketing and sales roles. If you do, it’s time for some fresh talent.  Capable job seekers abound in today’s economy. If you are going to stock up on new talent, now is the time to do it.

9.  Know Thy Customer

On a recent episode of CBS’s Undercover Boss, a cruise line CEO posed as an entertainment crew staff member on one of his ships.  He was assigned to oversee the ice skating rink that had been installed on board the ship.  After hours of back breaking work just to get the rink set up, no one came.   He asked, “Why do we have this if no one wants to skate?”  Perhaps if they had done a better job of getting to know their customer, they would have known the answer.

This episode illustrates the fact that most executives don’t truly understand their customers.  Why?  Because their customer interaction is often limited to the top 5% of their customer base.  Such a small percentage does not provide an accurate representation of the buyer.  Yet, if you take the time to get to know your customer inside and out, you’ll be able to create better product, deliver better service and improve customer retention.  It will help you avoid mistakes like installing an ice skating rink on a cruise ship.

10.  Lighten Up

Life is short. Work can be stressful and difficult.  Good leaders make work fun for their employees. They keep things light.  Yes, most of us are passionate about our companies, and the services we provide.  But for most of us, we’re not selling things that are life changing. We need to remember that.

In one company I worked for, we were pressing to meet a product launch date.  Tensions were high among marketing, sales and product management (all of whom sat in close proximity to each other).  Sensing the stress cloud, the president of our division walked down a row of cubicles and announced, “$50 to the one who can do a wall sit longer than I can.”  The stress bubble was burst as a line of people doing wall sits emerged.   We took 10 minutes to unwind, watched a product manager win $50, and had a few laughs.  Our president was smart. He knew that tension did not create productivity.  Stress relief did.

We may have covered some non-marketing areas in these two posts.  But if marketing and sales are going to improve and adjust in this new buyer driven B2B world, it is vital that the C-Suite lead and enable change.  Without it, you’ll end up with an environment that limits what can be done, and fails to reach objectives.

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Four Things to Consider Before You Buy Marketing Automation

Well, we’re in the dog days of August.  However, for many B2B marketers, 2012 planning is right around the corner and usually starts right after Labor Day.  And for many of you, one of your goals will be to finally implement a marketing automation tool. Unfortunately, too many marketers begin this process with the question, “Which automation tools should we look at?”  Not only is this the wrong question but its not even close to where you should begin.  To have a successful marketing automation implementation start with this question and this question alone: “What does our lead management process look like and how can we automate it?”  If you don’t have a solid lead management process in place than a marketing automation platform (MAP) will only automate a broken process. What’s the point of that?

Instead reviewing your current lead management process, making improvements where they are needed, and finalizing a plan and map for the improved process will have two effects. First, you’ll become more efficient in your marketing and sales efforts.  Second, defining the process ahead of time will help make selecting a marketing automation tool easier because you’ll now have process requirements which will guide the technology selection.

So before you go lining up demos consider these four stages for lead management process development.

1. Review Your Current Process

You can’t begin to automate processes you haven’t defined. And you can’t define those processes you haven’t reviewed. So the first phase in lead management process development is to do a deep review and discovery of your existing processes (you may even call it an audit). This process should be jointly conducted with marketing, sales and other appropriate stakeholders. If you can’t find an internal objective source, consider bringing in an outside consultant. What is the goal of this review and audit? To define the current process, identify gaps, and create a new lead management process that fills those gaps. This process should cover areas such as data management, lead qualification, lead routing, lead nurturing, and metrics.

2. Obtain Executive Buy-in

So now you have a newly defined process. However, implementing it throughout the organization will go nowhere unless you have executive buy-in. Executive teams today are revenue-driven and ROI-focused (if yours are not, you might want to start dusting off the resume), so management will often look at marketing automation as just another expense. It’s imperative to present the need for a new lead management process, supported by automation, in terms of revenue. To see how this can work, go to “Myth 5” in this example.

3. Implementation Is More Than Just Software

Once you have the new process in place and the approval of management, you can move on to implementation. But remember, we’re not just talking software here. This is the implementation of a new process for how you obtain, manage and close sales leads. The best way to achieve a successful process implementation is to give authority and responsibility to an “independent” project director. This person will lead the cross-functional team in implementing the new process, and selecting (based on the process) the new automation platform.

4. Monitor, Tweak, Enforce, Repeat

Nothing would be worse than to spend all the time, effort and resources on implementing a new process only to have everyone revert back to old behavior. The new process will not run on its own. Long lasting success requires ongoing monitoring, tweaking and enforcing the process changes you’ve implemented. Like the implementation phase, this is best achieved by identifying the resources that will have the authority and knowledge to ensure the new process is being followed. They will spend significant time reviewing the process, analyzing metrics, monitoring technology use, and interacting and communicating with the various stakeholders. If your organization is not committed to this kind of long-term role, then you may want to consider investing company resources in something else besides marketing automation.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Marketing automation is not easy. It requires time, planning, process and patience. But for those ready to take this approach to the journey, the returns can be exponential.

This post originally appeared on the PointClear blog.

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The Results Are In…And They’re Not Pretty

Over the last week Demand Gen Report & Televerde published reports which reviewed the performance of B2B marketing and sales teams.  The results are far from attractive and show that many companies are still lagging far behind.   A few highlights from the two studies include:

• 40% of the respondents did not know their conversion metrics or indicated that their metrics were not applicable or calculable
• 61% of the respondents recognize lead leakage as a problem within their organizations
• 89% recognize contact data challenges in their organization, with 43% indicating that their data is not cleansed, updated or enriched

While these reports were published separately, there were some common themes in both studies that explained the Why, the Who and the What behind the numbers:

Why?

• The changing and evolving B2B buyer has been the main catalyst to expose the knowledge and skills gap that exists in organizations as they struggle to shift and adapt.
• In spite of adopting and implementing technology (Marketing Automation, CRM, etc,) to support connecting with the buyer, neither marketing or sales is getting it right.

Who?

• Both reports indicate that while there is indeed a skills gap within marketing organizations, the same exists in sales as well.

What?

So what is the impact that this gap is having on organizations?  The impact is lost revenue:

• Approximately two-thirds of the respondents indicated that lead leakage (i.e., lost leads that are neither acted upon nor followed up on) exists within their organizations with a combined 6% quantifying an annual estimated revenue loss at between $500,000 and $5 million-plus.
• According to IDC – B2B companies’ inability to align sales and marketing teams around the right processes and technologies has cost them upwards of 10% or more of revenue per year, or as an example, $100 million for a billion-dollar company.

While these totals are staggering, they are not necessarily surprising.  Technology alone has never been able to drive change within organizations.   To truly get the most from these technologies it takes the right process (see the IDC quote above) and the right people.

To develop the process and people needed for generating more revenue, here are a few myths you should bust:

1.  All I Need is Lead Scoring & Nurturing to Improve Engagement with my Buyer

While scoring and nurturing are certainly important components to your overall process, they are not enough.  To truly develop a closed-loop process you must develop a full Process Framework that includes:

• Data
• Lead Planning
• Lead Routing
• Lead Nurturing
• Lead Qualification (this includes the scoring)
• Content Blueprint
• Metrics

Without these individual processes working together, you will not have the necessary foundation in place to achieve a greater return on your marketing and sales investments.

2.  My People Will Be Just Fine

While you may have smart and capable people in marketing and sales roles, they still require continuing education and cannot be expected to learn new skills on their own.  According to SiriusDecisions, the average company spends less than $1,000 per year on training their marketing personnel.  The numbers are not much higher for sales training.  Organizations have a responsibility to properly equip and enable their revenue engine by enabling their people.  There are many places where this education and skills development can be achieved. One that we recently joined is The Marketing Automation Institute which was founded specifically to address this gap.

3.  Take An Honest Look

We once had a meeting with a VP of marketing to discuss their lead management issue.  Quite defiantly, he folded his arms and stated, “We don’t have that problem here.”  After some number crunching on the white board, we showed him that his organization was leaving $22 million on the table because of their lack of process.  They are now one of our best clients.

Reviewing numbers that indicate a loss is not a fun exercise, but it’s a necessity.  You can’t begin to fix something if you do not know where or how badly it is broken.  Begin to assess the damage in your organization, analyze the impact it’s having on buyer engagement & revenue, and begin to fix it.

4.  We Can Address This Quickly

The issues that exist in organizations did not occur overnight. Unfortunately neither will the fixes.  Too many organizations want a quick fix, and some are being told they can get one. The reality is, changing and developing processes and people takes time.   Throughout this process, be realistic and set achievable milestones so you can measure your progress.  Patience is a must!

5.  We Can Do This By Ourselves

As highlighted above, the issues of revenue, skills and process are not just marketing’s problems.  They are just as much a sales issue.  The good news in that is that the teams can work together to address the problem.  You want alignment?  Work together to begin the development and implementation of process.  If necessary, bring in outside help.  The consultative, objective “third party” can create efficiency in the change management process.

The current state of B2B marketing and sales is one of underachievement.  However, the solutions to the problems are there for the taking.  Organizations that want to improve their revenues and gain market share will be the ones that move forward and begin addressing these needs.  Those who don’t will continue to struggle.

Posted in Industry News, Lead Management Process, Marketing Automation, Sales and Marketing Alignment | 2 Comments

Automation and The Sales Funnel #marketingautomation

If you have read this blog for any length of time you know that we are big proponents of process being the key to improving ROI from your marketing automation investment.  Over the last few days, I have had several conversations about the idea of lead management process as it relates to marketing automation.  During two of these conversations, I was told that marketing automation is only useful for nurturing the middle of the sales funnel.

To be sure I asked for clarification.  To shed light on their remarks, my colleagues said that automation was not useful until you have the ability to begin nurturing the buyer as nurturing only happens in the middle of the funnel.

Yes, nurturing does happen in the middle of the funnel, as it should.  However, to say that automation is only useful once you have “middle of the funnel” nurturing in place is short sighted.  Lead nurturing should happen at every stage in the funnel. Let’s take a look at the various sales funnel stages to see where nurturing can happen.

The graphic below illustrates a typical sales funnel and corresponding aspects of automation that can and should be used at each stage.

 

As you can see, automation can be used to enable dialogue and communication at all stages of the buying process.  As you continue to learn about your buyers and further refine your process, you will have a better understanding of the many ways automation can be used.  If you are new to automation, attaining these levels can take time. But don’t stop moving.  Remember, dream big, start small and scale appropriately.

 

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Five Myths of Lead Management

Lead management continues to be a hot topic in the world of B2B marketing as we turn the corner and head into the second half of 2010.  Over the last 12 months, marketing and sales dialogue increasingly has focused on how marketers can better engage with the more empowered B2B buyer and what they need to do in order to leverage the B2B buyer relationship. As a leader in lead management process development, our firm has seen a lot of confusion in the market about what constitutes lead management.  There is quite a bit of uncertainty on how companies should approach lead management and what it takes to achieve best practices.  In addition to the confusion, we’ve also witnessed the emergence of many falsehoods about lead management.

In this post, we’ll dispel what we see as the Top 5 Myths of B2B Lead Management.

So what are these myths?

Myth #1:  A Marketing Automation Solution by Itself Will Deliver Lead Management

This myth is at the top of the list as it is so prevalent in the market and causing a lot of confusion for many organizations.

In the late 90’s and early 2000’s many companies fell prey to a similar promise.  Remember the initial emergence of CRM solutions?  Companies embraced the hope of increased revenues and a more effective sales force if they simply implemented CRM.  What they found however was that CRM didn’t help them fix their faulty sales process.

Today many B2B marketers are buying into a similar idea: If they acquire a marketing automation solution, then they will wind up with a lead management process.  Nothing could be further from the truth. Technology adoption must occur hand-in-hand with process evolution.

Lead management is a business process that is enabled by technology (in this case marketing automation).  Groups such as Aberdeen Group and Gartner have substantiated this claim with their research into the B2B market.   Any organization seeking to develop effective lead management must remember that it is process first, technology second, not the other way around.

Myth #2:  Lead Management Is a Marketing-only Initiative

While the development of an internal closed-loop lead management process necessitates involvement from marketing, it is not solely a marketing program.  In fact, if organizations approach lead management from a “marketing only” perspective, the chances for long term success are short lived.

The development of a lead management process, at the very least, must involve a collaborative effort between marketing and sales.  These two groups must work together to define, agree to and implement the process.

In many cases there also will be other groups that will need to be involved, including IT, finance, third-party agencies, partner channels, etc.  The best lead management initiatives include a collaborative effort among all groups that have any stake in the demand generation continuum.  By including all of the appropriate groups, you will obtain a much fuller perspective on your prospects and customers, significantly increase the likelihood of company wide buy-in to lead management, and develop a process that has long term sustainability.

Myth #3:  Lead Management = Lead Scoring + Lead Nurturing

When our firm first engages with a prospective client, it’s not uncommon for us to hear them say something like, “I need help with my lead management process.  Can your firm help me create a lead scoring and nurturing program?”

While lead scoring and nurturing are important components of the lead management process, they certainly don’t constitute the whole.  To focus solely on these two parts would be akin to replacing only one tire on your car when all four are worn down.

When developing a lead management process, there are six key areas that should be taken into account.  At The Annuitas Group, we’ve defined this as the Lead Management Framework^TM.  This framework consists of the following components:

• Data
• Lead Planning
• Lead Qualification (Includes lead scoring)
• Lead Routing
• Lead Nurturing
• Content Mapping & Blueprint
• Metrics

We use the term ‘framework’ to describe the conjoined nature of these components.  Getting back to the tire analogy, to address only one of the components would be like replacing just one tire when all four are bad.  You can still drive the car, but the fuel efficiency is going to be significantly lower than hoped for.  In the same way, improving only one or two of the lead management components will not lead to significant marketing and sales effectiveness.  Instead, lead management must be looked at holistically.  Building out this framework in its entirety will provide a solid foundation and yield the best results.

Myth #4:  I Have a Solid Lead Generation Engine, So I Don’t Need To Worry About Lead Management

As referenced at the beginning of this post, the B2B buyer is now more empowered than ever before.  Their self-directed path to buying has changed significantly.  The most notable change in this path is that sales interaction comes at the end of the buying cycle instead of at the beginning.  In addition, buyers are now demanding one-to-one communication as they drive their own buying experience. It is incumbent on organizations to engage in this one-to-one dialogue if they want to win over the buyer.

Since this is the case, having rock solid lead generation campaigns, i.e. filling the top of the funnel, only serves to begin the dialogue with the buyer. True success comes from also having the ability to manage the relationship all the way through the buying process, i.e. lead management. Most B2B companies fail in this area.

It has been estimated by Gartner that up to 70% of leads generated by a campaign do not get the proper follow-up.  Ignoring these leads by not having effective lead management doesn’t just limit potential marketing ROI, it actually costs an organization money.

 

Myth #5: My Executive Team Would Never Sign-Off On a Lead Management Initiative

In situations where executives have said ‘no’ to a lead management initiative, it’s often because the initiative is presented as just another program.   In the minds of many executives, a new program = new expense.  With the economic turbulence over the recent years, executives want to know how to generate revenue, and cut expenses. However, initiatives that can focus on generating revenue have a better chance of getting funded.  In other words, lead management should be presented as an initiative that will generate revenue.

This scenario occurred with one of our clients.  The VP of marketing didn’t see the wisdom in spending money on the initiative.  Here was the response that we helped our client provide:

The lack of lead follow up is having a significant effect on sales productivity and overall revenue.  Gartner reports that 70% of all sales leads are never acted upon.  In addition, they report that 45% of the leads a company receives will eventually buy that company’s product or service, but not necessarily from that company.

Applying these percentages to the qualified lead totals generates the following:

• Total Leads/Responses Generated in 1-Month:  3,510
• 20% are qualified:  702
• Leads not followed up on (70%):  491
• Of the leads not followed up on, those that will buy(45%):  221
• Average sale amount:  $100,000
• Potential unrealized sales:  $22,100,000

When the executive was faced with the reality that developing a lead management process could help his organization recoup $22M in monthly sales, the approval was enthusiastically given.

Executives speak the language of revenue.  By framing lead management in ‘dollars and cents’ language, you can make the case for its importance.

As the B2B marketplace and the B2B buyer continue to change and mature, it will be vital for organizations to develop a cohesive, holistic lead management process.  Understanding truth from fiction will help companies from getting derailed, and will have a transforming affect on marketing and sales results.

This blog originally posted in August 2010 on Silverpop.com

 

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Defining Moments

The continuing growth of B2B marketing and marketing automation is indeed good news for those of us in the B2B marketplace.  Despite the claim by some that automation is “floundering”, marketing automation is clearly gaining steam and poised for even more growth in 2011.  Just recently, Gartner stated that “SaaS within the CRM industry could top $4 billion in revenue by 2014 . . . . and the segment with the strongest growth is marketing automation.” With these kinds of forecasts and vendors adding to their customer numbers quarterly, it’s hard not to be optimistic about the future of the space.

One of the keys to continuing this kind of growth will be the ongoing education of the marketing automation buyer.   This is no small challenge, due in part to some in the market who use interchangeable terms and inaccurate definitions when describing marketing automation.  This inconsistency can cause significant confusion.  This was seen most recently in the MarketingSherpa report “CMO’s Perspective on B2B Marketing Automation”. In this report, MarketingSherpa states the following regarding the definition of marketing automation:

“Since there is a number of marketing automation software solutions on the market, a common perception of the term marketing automation is that it refers to a software application. To the contrary, marketing automation is a highly sophisticated set of rules and processes for lead scoring, nurturing and management that move prospects through the various stages of the marketing-sales funnel.

For the record, we are fans of MarketingSherpa and the work they do.  However in this case, they missed the mark with phraseology that runs counter to what the market should be should be reading.

The issue of confusion and lack of definition is surely being felt throughout the market as evidenced by a question posed last week by our friend Steve Gershik on Focus.com. He asked: “What’s the difference between demand generation, lead management and marketing automation?” If I may be so bold, I’d like to set the record straight, seeking to lessen the confusion.  In response to Mr. Gershik’s question, I offer the following definitions:

• Demand Generation is the practice of creating interest or desire for your product or service.  The end result of demand generation is leads. Leads are the “the top of the funnel” activity whereby inquiries are acquired and move into a “dialogue stage” with the organization.
• Lead Management is a defined set of processes that manage the acquired lead from creation through close of sale and into the customer lifecycle. A solid lead management process framework is made up of a set of seven individual yet connected processes including:
  • Data Management
  • Lead Planning
  • Lead Routing
  • Lead Qualification (including definitions and scoring)
  • Lead Nurturing
  • Content Development Process
  • Metrics

This is known as The Annuitas Group Lead Management Framework™.  Only by having these process areas working together will a company obtain prospect/customer engagement, and ultimately greater revenue.

• Marketing Automation is an enabling technology that powers both demand generation and lead management. Marketing automation allows for the consistent and repeatable communications to buyers, tracks their behavior, and allows for lead qualification, data segmentation, metrics and other features. Marketing automation should not be looked at as being able to deliver demand generation strategy or lead management process.

Many in our industry have declared that we are in the midst of defining times in B2B marketing.  Marketing automation has helped get us there.  As B2B marketing continues to rise in prominence, it’s imperative that we work to keep our definitions clear and our language common.  Defining moments should not be derailed by confusing language.

 

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