Sales Enablement Playbook for Technology Marketers
November 05, 2007
A whitepaper from Launch International
By Launch International
Sales organizations are often compared to sports teams. And, with good reason. Competition is very real and tougher than ever, whether it's on the field or on the street. But as all great coaches know, the competition doesn't just show up at game time, and the team that is best prepared at kickoff is the team that is most likely to win.
As marketers, your role is to arm your company's sales team with the tools and resources they need to get—and stay—in the game. That means avoiding the "single play" or "single game" mentality and taking a more holistic look at what's needed to be in your company's winner's circle. Moreover, it means setting a marketing strategy that integrates with your sales processes, allowing you to achieve new heights in performance.
But, can you be sure you've done your part to keep your sales team in the game for the long haul? Here are some ideas and suggestions for your playbook.
Tip No. 1: Map your marketing deliverables to the sale cycle.
Every company subscribes to some particular sales methodology and requires its sales force to follow it. And, all marketers can tell you which methodology his/her company uses. Further, most marketers can even define and identify the associated stages of that methodology's selling process, because they've "read the book" or participated in training. Yet, very few can then actually map their own marketing deliverables and sales tools across that selling methodology and explain how a salesperson knows when to use which piece or process.
Tip No. 2: Maintain a multi-touch communication model with your sales teams.
As a marketer, you're certainly well versed with the concept of integrated demand generation. In fact, you probably wouldn't deem a demand gen campaign worth anything significant if it didn’t have multiple touches to your target audiences. And that's because you know from experience that every touch to customers and prospects increases response rates exponentially. So, why then do we launch sales tools to the sales force and expect them to dive at them like ducks to breadcrumbs? And, why are we surprised when they don’t?
When we ask marketers how they share information with their sales organizations, the number one response we hear is that "information is posted at a sales portal." Unfortunately, that means only the salespeople with a specific need for a specific piece of information will ever see that information at any given point of time. Worst of all, after a little probing, we quickly discover that the information located at the portal is out of date, hard to find, and rarely used.
Tip No. 3: Rethink your thought leadership.
Most companies simply don't know what intellectual content they have, because individual assets are often created independently from one another and by different organizations. In fact, the only person who's probably read them all (in their entirety) is somebody in the Legal Department.
Yet, thought leadership programs were formed because companies needed a more intelligent way to demonstrate differentiation to customers and prospects in an increasingly competitive and crowded marketplace. That state of affairs hasn't changed. Demonstrating thought leadership remains one of the areas most heavily invested in by marketing today.
That being said, marketing owns the information, and therefore, must manage and maintain their intellectual content assets just as their intellectual property counterparts manage and maintain IP assets. While this is not an attempt to compare the value of a white paper to a patent, we should fundamentally agree that both provide competitive differentiation and strengthen company value. And both, if tended, can continue to bring in money over time.
Tip No. 4: Build smarter content.
Just about every client struggles with developing intelligent, business-focused content in-house. Product managers are responsible for product positioning and functionality and marketing communications departments are responsible for execution and delivery. That means that nobody in either organization has the time to develop content. This year, take the time to build a small arsenal of "smarter content developers." Open your thinking to specialty organizations that can help you build differentiation, even if you have to take on the hassle of getting new vendor approval. If you or your colleagues have said that the provider you use "just doesn't get it," it's time to move on. When they don't get it, you end up paying extra in the long run.
Tip No. 5: Leverage technologies and capabilities that put more power in the hands of your salespeople.
While content and messaging are critical to helping salespeople talk to customers about your solutions, be sure to consider technologies and platforms that enable and encourage ongoing communication with customers and prospects. Communications platforms that can dynamically create webcasts, websites and customer presentations can help speed many customers through the sales cycle. And optimized email platforms that provide fast access to industry—and challenge-specific solutions can elevate salespeople to "trusted advisor" status. There are many supporting technologies today that are viable, proven, affordable and effective. Best of all, these solutions don't have to tax your internal infrastructure; in fact, a hosted or "software as a service" model can help you sidestep your technology and reporting structures and focus more on the system benefits.
Tip No. 6: Embrace organizational changes that
are customer-focused and enable sales.
In recent years, companies have placed a renewed interest on how they train and support their sales organizations. It's the logical result of building thought leadership programs that are gaining traction in the marketplace. Customers are getting smarter and so too, are the salespeople who support them. Different from sales training, sales enablement focuses on the creation and delivery of specialized sales tools and helping salespeople use these tools
to close business and grow share of customer.
Companies will begin to build sales enablement teams from within the marketing organization, which will serve as specialists in helping salespeople activate proper tools in appropriate sales situations. Just as sales support (or other solution engineering teams) provides demo or site assessment help in the sales process, these enablement teams will activate the appropriate tools throughout the sales cycle, and ensure that they are personalized and meaningful. In essence, the team would serve as a sales advocate within marketing and a marketing advocate within sales.
Tip No. 7: Maximize time and opportunity at "Kickoff."
Everybody's looking for the flash and dazzle at the big kickoff event. But remember the mantra of all great marketers: It doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to be right. Find creative ways to grow mindshare with the sales organization and demonstrate integration into their selling process.
Develop and deliver meaningful sales tools, such as whiteboard pitches, sales guides and case studies that map to appropriate points in the sales process. And, spend time with salespeople to learn about their challenges, needs and frustrations.This is your opportunity to demonstrate that you are part of the team and can provide the support they need to make winning plays.
Launch International provides strategic marketing, sales enablement and communications services that help technology companies maximize revenue potential. With 15 years experience serving corporate, channel and alliance marketing groups, Launch International understands how to create and deliver tools that produce results. For more information, call 215-230-4340 or visit our web site: www.launchinternational.com.
Sales & Marketing Management Magazine
This article is brought to you by Sales & Marketing Management, the leading authority for executives in the sales and marketing field.
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