Bradley H. Smith >

Bottomline, my job is to make sure the prospect will take the call from sales.

RIIIIIIINNNGGGGGG.... "Hello. Oh, yes, I know of your company and have a strong impression that your solutions will help me. Come on in with your dogs and ponies." 

 

(Sales still needs tools for the close AND the client experience too )

Don't assume the power cable to the LCD projector is in the bag.

< sigh > 

Twitter (and a sales person's good SoMe skills) drove my marketing automation choice.

I asked my Tweeps what they suggested for setting up a complete marketing automation process.

I got a couple practical responses (thank you.)  But of more interest, I got a call from a sales person who “saw my Tweet.”  He got the sale even though his compnay was never discussed in the Tweet thread. He had his TweetDeck set up for his competiors' @handle. 

 

FYI: I am going with Salesforce with and Act-On marcom integration. Both were the right scale for my needs.

Go out on prospective calls with the sales team.

Listen to prospects' objections. Listen to sales' response. Don't critique - that's the sales manager's job.

 

Go back to your desk and write how YOU would have responded.

The three little words marketers like to hear are not "I Love You."

They are "Tell Me More." 

 

It's the common denominator for all conversations at all levels in any sales and marketing funnel. What will your website (or your sales people) say when asked that?

Fishbowls are for fish. Not for business cards in your tradeshow booth.

Fishbowl business card drops only produce non-leads and wasted time.

If a tradeshow attendee is not interested enough in your company or solutions to have a conversation with you, don't reward them with an opportunity to win a prize just for "walking by." They have done NOTHING to deserve it.

Most conference hosts supply the names anyhow. 

 

Your brand will open the door, not close the sale.

Crisp business-to-business brand building is essential for a key reason: it will save the sales people valuable time on the phone with a prospect. They won’t need spend time telling your “company story,” just right into the “product story.”

Sales people only have a very limited time with a prospect.

 

An easy and powerful sales meeting contest that REALLY stirs the competitive DNA of your sales team! (and a little fear too)

Create a test about your products and services with special emphasis on the points you need them to learn at the sales meeting – make the questions real and pertinent. I suggest multiple and short “fill in the blank” questions. Make the test about 20 minutes.

Give this test to them FIRST THING – within the opening session. Tell the team there will be prizes and recognition.

Now for the hook: Give the exact same test at the very end of the meeting. Announce the awards are for high overall score, most improved score, lowest score and worst improved.

Be warned - you will be amazed at how serious they will take the test and how pissed some (lazy) folks will become when they realize what this test WILL illustrate.

Create a "MarCom Web" for sales and partners - a library of essential materials.

Treat sales and other stakeholders like customers and give them a well organized (password protected) website.  If you don't keep it up-to-date, then sales will keep calling you "hey, do you have the XYZ white paper on XYZ." That wastes EVERYONE’S energy.

 

Don’t make it fancy, just well organized. 

 

"Don't sell religion, Sell Bibles." - Darrel Heaps

Great sales quote from Darrel Heaps, CEO Q4 Websystems.  Qualify leads and focus sales on the close. Don’t have them waste time on “educational or evangelical” conversations. That’s for your marketing team.

Darrel, the app.