Master your Market

For B2B industrial companies, where sales cycles are complex and customer relationships are key, maximizing the efficiency of your sales team can improve win rates, increase deal size, and reduce sales cycles. One of the most effective ways to achieve these results is by adopting a consistent sales methodology. Let’s explore how this approach can improve your team’s performance and help you achieve above average growth while crushing your competition who do not use a sales methodology. According to CSO insights, 50% of B2B sales organizations do not use a sales methodology.

If you're going to prosper in the coming years, your sales team needs customers, prospects, vendors, and peers to say "yes" more often than "no." Getting to "yes" requires a substantial degree of persuasion and influence skills. Contrary to popular belief, persuasion and influence take much more than just a ready smile, a big handshake, and an outgoing personality.

In the realm of B2B marketing, our content and corresponding marketing strategies must lead to revenue generation. If they fail to do so, it is crucial to either address the issue promptly or halt the activities altogether. This way, resources, and budget can be redirected to tactics that are proven to drive revenue effectively.

The framework for how content converts to revenue I'm presenting in this post is highly effective and measurable.  I present the solution to converting content to revenue as 7 pieces of a puzzle rather than a linear series of steps because the process is best viewed linearly, but not necessarily executed linearly.  If you put together each piece of the puzzle with the whole in mind, you will generate revenue with your content.  I have employed this framework at more than one global manufacturing company resulting in growth rates of 20% to 30%.  It works.  For every piece of content you intend to create, you should visualize how it will churn through the 7 pieces and end up as revenue.

In the fast-paced world of B2B marketing, mixed messages can be a death knell for an emerging business, new product launch, or even an established business.  Imagine attending a trade show where your CEO and a sales rep offer completely different explanations of what your company does.  Ouch.

Strategies and tactics are frequently used interchangeably when discussing achieving goals. However, despite their apparent similarity, these two terms hold distinct meanings, particularly in the realm of marketing.

The strategy is the direction towards the goal. Tactics are the action taken to support the strategy. Simply put, strategy refers to the plan to achieve a goal while the tactic is how you execute the plan.

In business, marketing is the action a company takes to create brand awareness and place products in front of prospects. When creating your marketing plan, strategic marketing comes first because it deals with the direction of your business growth in relation to your competitors. It is a long-term goal that is broad. Next, comes tactical planning which consists of the actual process involved in improving your competitive position.

Strategic marketing and tactical marketing don’t oppose each other; they complement the other. Essentially, strategic marketing is the concept while tactical marketing is the action. Let’s take a closer look at what each type of marketing involves.

The key lesson for successful marketers is to shift the focus away from themselves. Effective messaging revolves around the needs and desires of the target audience, rather than highlighting the company, CEO, sales team, or marketing team. Skilled marketers understand that the content they create should address the pain points or passions of their audience, not the internal concerns of the executive, sales, or marketing teams.

While it's essential to incorporate product-focused content in your content library, the key is to ensure that even descriptions of your offerings are centered around your audience. Every piece of content should address the question that potential customers are silently asking: "How does this benefit me?"

To determine if your content is self-centered, take a moment to review your website pages, brochures, or webinar invitations. Are you focused on showcasing your company and offerings, or are you engaging your audience by offering them valuable insights and opportunities for growth? Keep an eye out for common phrases that indicate a 'me first' mindset, as these can hinder audience engagement and connection.

Explore how implementing a strategic go-to-market plan can propel your business to market dominance and outperform competitors.

Understanding the Importance of a Strategic Go-To-Market Plan

A strategic go-to-market plan is essential for the success of any B2B business. By having a well-defined strategy in place, businesses can effectively enter the market and establish a strong presence. This plan outlines the steps and actions needed to reach the target audience, generate leads, and convert them into customers.

In the olden days of marketing, we talked about positioning statements, the 4 Ps, marketing plans, branding, etc. Some pundits and bloggers might claim that these old style concepts and practices are obsolete and have been replaced with content marketing, social media, marketing automation, SEO, SEM and so on. I suggest these so-called old style, outdated concepts, strategies, and tactics are more important than ever. As professional marketers, I propose that we go back to the future and embrace the fundamentals before we begin to use the modern tools and trendy fads.

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE?

Do you know why your existing customers decided to buy from your firm and not your competition? Do you know your customer buying criteria? How about your target audience, do you know their buying criteria?

Perhaps the best we can do with measuring marketing performance ROI is to employ the age-old statement made by John Wanamaker more than 90 years ago, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."