Efficient and effective sales processes are essential for success. However, many organizations struggle with sales challenges that hinder their growth. You’re wondering, “Why are the marketing people talking about sales?” or maybe, “How can marketing play a role in overcoming the hurdles to elevating your sales game?” Let’s dive into some key sales challenges and discover marketing-supported solutions to enhance your approach.
Creating Value in a First Meeting
When clients meet with your sales team, they expect more than just a pitch. They’re seeking the knowledge and experience that they need to improve their results. Failing to create value in this initial interaction can lead to missed opportunities, as prospects may not see the need for a second meeting. However, by working closely with marketing, you can ensure value is added through the creation of:
Surveys and Needs Assessments
This is a major sales ops support allowing you to gather insights into what your prospect’s interests are, allowing your sales professionals to tailor their approach accordingly. They can also act as a great lead magnet to bring in new leads with a well-crafted campaign.
Educational Materials
Create engaging collateral that addresses the problems your company solves and the solutions it offers. Developing collateral that addresses the common deal breakers, roadblocks, and other common reasons for prospects to say no are particularly useful sales tools.
Leave-Behinds
Provide tangible materials, also known as swag, that reinforce your value proposition and serve as a reminder of the benefits you bring to the table.
Post-Demo or Consultation Follow-up Practices
While demos and consultations are an essential part of the B2B sales process, what happens after could make the difference between a new customer and a lost deal. It’s easy to delve into “how it works,” sharing all of the features and possible uses, while missing the “how it will help you” aspect. The aforementioned data collection techniques can help develop customizable demos making it simpler for the sales team to create more relevant experiences. When the sales and marketing departments work together, it’s easier to create sales-enablement content to support asynchronous communication of what’s possible, so that the team can focus on what’s useful, such as:
Use-Case Content
Identify and develop use-case content that aligns with different client needs, ensuring your demos are relevant. Posting this content to your website will also allow your audience to self educate and feel more confident in asking for a demo or consultation that fits their specific needs.
Demo and Presentation Training
Collaborate with the marketing team to create sales training tools that ensure your reps can deliver a wide range of custom demos that cater to each client’s unique requirements. This could be decks or checklists to have in front of them to remind them of what should be covered on each topic.
Low Referral Business Despite Satisfied Customers
Referral business can be a game-changer, reducing acquisition costs and shortening buying cycles. But many B2B companies struggle to generate referrals, even when they have satisfied customers. Some of this is because certain clients may not take the initiative to refer unless prompted. Coordination with marketing helps to increase referral numbers through:
Promoting Referral Incentive Programs
The marketing team can help develop support tools to drive proactive engagement with customers that offer incentives for referrals, such as
- Landing pages for seamless referral acceptance
- Flyers and graphics to get the word out
- Targeted email campaigns and automation to make sure that the communication is not overlooked
Coordinated Efforts
Collaboration with customer experience and operational teams to identify the right moments in the customer relationship to request referrals and simplify the process.
Final Thoughts
The marketing people are talking to you about sales processes because, in the dynamic relationship between sales and marketing, the success of one is tied to the other. Creating synergy between these two departments emerges as the cornerstone of success. When sales and marketing collaborate closely, ineffective processes are reborn, transforming them into powerful business multipliers. This strategic partnership opens doors, engages clients, and catalyzes growth. It’s about stepping into uncharted territories, armed with marketing solutions that not only address challenges but pave the way for new opportunities.
Ready to supercharge your sales processes and drive growth?
Partner with Gladiator Consulting and see how our expertise in aligning marketing strategies with sales goals can help your organization overcome challenges and achieve remarkable results.
Contact us today to embark on your journey to sales success.
