Top Seven Turn-around Tips to Drive More B2B Revenue

Top Seven Turn-Around Tips to Drive More B2B Revenue

Jep Castelein

jep@leadsloth.com

7 Tips

• Marketing as a Revenue Driver

• Focus on online marketing

• Two scenarios:

– Improvements with CRM & Email Marketing only

– Improvements with Marketing Automation

1. METRICS-DRIVEN MARKETING

Metrics

“In God we trust;

All others must bring data”

-- W. Edwards Deming

Types of Metrics

• Response Measurements

– Response/Conversion rate

• Cost Measurements

– Cost per Qualified Lead

• Revenue Measurements

– Buying Stage Conversion Rates

– % of Pipeline Sourced by Marketing

Convert More Leads Into Customers

Source: October 2006, Best Practices “Improving B2B Lead Management”

Lead Management Closes the Gap in The Middle of the Funnel

SiriusDecisions DemandGen Waterfall

Source: SiriusDecisions, Inc

Measure Conversion Rates

SiriusDecisions Inquiries MQLs SALs SQLs SQL-to-close

Benchmark N/A 5.1% 61% 56% 26.5%

Best Practice N/A 9.7% 82% 62% 29%

Example: moving from Benchmark to Best Practice For each 1,000 leads, best-in-class companies create 46 more MQLs than benchmark companies (97 instead of 51). They create almost 10 additional deals (14.3 instead of 4.6 deals, a 300% increase).

MQL = Marketing Qualified Lead SAL = Sales Accepted Lead SQL = Sales Qualified Lead (i.e. sales opportunity identified)

SiriusDecision‘s Waterfall Model gives benchmark numbers for conversion rates between the different stages in the funnel. With improved lead management, conversion rates will be higher.

Basics: Process, CRM & Excel

1. Define Qualified Leads

2. Let Sales give back leads to Marketing

3. Track Opportunities in a CRM system

4. Every week: put the # of new leads, new qualified leads, new opportunities and won business in a spreadsheet

MA: Automate Reporting

1. Define Qualified Leads

2. Let Sales give back leads to Marketing

3. Let the system capture the data

4. Use the system to generate reports

2. PREVENT FOLLOW-UP FAILURE

Why Follow-Up Failure

• No Leads Left Behind

• Facts

– 50% of Leads are not ready to buy

– After 6 months, only 23% have bought

– Nurtured Leads deliver 20% more sales opportunities

– Best-in-class Lead Nurturing produces 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost per lead

Create Formal Lead Flow

New Lead

MARKETING

SALES

Nurturing MQL

Evaluation

Recycled Lead

Customer

Long-term Lead

SAL

Selling SQL

Customer

Lost deal/ Cancelled

Closing

Basics: Use Lead Status in CRM

• Lead Status should indicate the stage in the buying process

• Qualified leads should move in 7 days:

– Disqualified

– Recycled

– Qualified

• If you use Salesforce.com, add Contact Status field to Contacts

MA: Automate Lead Flow

• Use Lead Scoring to qualify leads

• Automatically enter leads into email nurturing campaigns

3. SEGMENT YOUR LIST

Why Segmentation?

• Relevant messages are more effective

– Segmented Emails: 30% More Opens, 50% More Clicks

• Segment by

– Demographics/Firmographics

– Behavior

Buyer Persona Step-by-Step

1. Desk Research

– Goals

– Pain Points

– Needs

2. Persona Interviews

– Ask select customers

– Record the conversation

3. Persona Workshop

– Get feedback from sales

– Test whether persona description sounds realistic

Basics: 3-5 Segments

• Create 3-5 segments, e.g. based on:

– Job role

– Type of contact (customer, prospect, other)

– Vertical

• Upload this information in your email tool, so you can segment based on that

MA: Dynamic Segmentation

• Segment on any field

• Segment based on behavior, e.g.:

– People who respond to 3 emails will get subsequent emails fast (acceleration)

– Send a email to all people who visited the “Financial Services” section on your website

4. CREATE COMPELLING CONTENT

Write For The Reader

• Content Mapping

– Buying Stage

– Role (executive, end user)

• Mix Formats (whitepaper, webinar, video, etc.)

• Use Simple Words

– “Use” instead of “Leverage”

• Avoid Jargon

– Check at http://gobbledygook.grader.com/

How to Create Content Quickly

• Link to Other People’s Content

• Ask a thought leader to contribute

• Interview coworkers (podcast/video)

• Collaborate with partners

• Reuse content across formats

Optimize Your Emails

• Receive > Open > Read > Respond

• Short and concise subject line (40-50 chars)

• Use a Headline

• Present benefits

• Be brief: no more than 3 paragraphs

• Use only 1 call-to-action

Basics: Compelling Content

• Send different content to different roles

• The click rate will tell you how compelling the content is

• Ask people for feedback on the content

MA: Send the Right Content

• Use Lead Score and Web Activity to determine stage in the buying process

• Vary nurturing frequency based on interest level

• Measure download rates for PDFs

• Automatically send email to ask for rating

5. MINE YOUR EXISTING DATABASE FOR BUSINESS

Don’t Waste Lead Gen Dollars

• Reconnect with dormant leads

• Be upfront that you haven’t emailed for a long time

• Create a series of emails (not just one)

• Define your success criteria and follow-up strategy

How Much Are Your Leads Worth?

1. Fit with the Ideal Customer Profile

2. Acquired Names vs. Inbound Leads

3. Recency

4. Activity Level

5. Cross-sell Opportunity

Visualization: How Old Are Your Leads?

Basics: CRM & Email

• Select dormant leads in your CRM system

• Send them an email series and monitor responses

• Update status in CRM for responders and non-responders

MA: Lead Reactivation Program

• Select the dormant leads

• Schedule the email sequence

• Create automation rules to update leads based on responses

6. NO MORE EMAIL BLASTS: CHANGE THE WAY YOU USE PURCHASED LISTS

56% Thinks That “Just Not Interesting” Email is SPAM

Have Educational Offers

• NOT: asking for the appointment

– You’ll only get today’s hot leads

– You can send such an email only once

– You’ll miss out on leads that need more time

• INSTEAD: offer useful content

– Everyone wants to learn

– Builds credibility

– Allows you to develop an email series

Design Multi-Step Campaigns

• You cannot force leads to buy, they will buy when they are ready

• Different people may be interested in different topics

• Vary the day and time of the day

Send On Behalf of Real People

• Sales person

• Sales Development Rep

• Marketing manager

• Fictitious person

• Include company name if well-known

Choose a Good Subject Line

• 40-50 Characters

• Attract attention:

– Cryptic

– Curiosity-invoking

– Typos

• Test different subject lines

Use Basic Formatting

• “Outlook” formatting

• 10-40% higher response rates

• Include signature

• Personalize beyond the “first name”

7. INCREASE SALES PRODUCTIVITY

What Does Sales Want From Marketing?

• Get Qualified Leads who want to talk to them

• As much info as possible on a lead’s online behavior

• Be involved in how leads are nurtured

• Get help with prospecting

– See which companies are visiting the website

– Get pre-tested (and trackable) email templates

– Use a fully automated email prospecting campaign

Better Lead Priorities

• Make someone responsible for lead qualification (other than the sales person)

• Define Ideal Customer Profile

• Shortcut to Sales by mixing in sales offers, e.g.

– Request personal demo

– Request free consultation

Basics: Sales Collaboration

• Train sales people to look at lead statuses in the CRM system to find the best new leads

• Have sales people set Lead Status to add/remove people from the mailinglist

• Put sales people on your mailinglist

• Put some email templates in your CRM system

MA: Advanced Sales Alignment

• Sync CRM and Marketing Automation

• Provide a prioritized lead list based on lead score

• Show email & web activity in CRM (+ alerts)

• Let Sales push unqualified leads back into marketing

• Provide Sales with trackable email templates

The 7 Steps

1. Metrics-Driven Marketing

2. Prevent Follow-up Failure

3. Segment Your List

4. Create Compelling Content

5. Mine Your Existing Database

6. No More Email Blasts

7. Increase Sales Productivity

Q&A

Jep Castelein

jep@leadsloth.com

www.leadsloth.com

@jepc @leadsloth