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How a global corporation defines the selling and marketing of value

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Global Partners begins its second “CxO Insight Series” on the topics of Value Selling and being a Trusted Business Partner.

In this series, we look at these topics through the lens of a global leader, Cabot Microelectronics with two senior Cabot executives, Stephen R. Smith, Vice President, Marketing, and Daniel S. Wobby, Vice President, Global Sales. Cabot Mircoelectronics Corporation is the leading global supplier of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) slurries.

Microelectronics is a highly relevant industry for Value Selling and Trusted Business Partners because the extremes are cutting edge technology versus commoditization. And the cycle from one to the other is faster than in many global industries.

We believe for any organization that wants to be close to its key customers, it’s important to know how its customers’ senior leaders think.

Let’s see how Steve and Dan define the selling and marketing of value for their brand.

GLOBAL PARTNERS: Let’s start with some basic definitions. How would you define the terms Value Selling and Value Marketing? Is it one definition? Or two?

DAN: We did contribute to a single definition that we like. It’s: Identifying and quantifying the differentiated value of what we can offer to our customers and presenting it in a compelling way to the various buyer types who care about value. 

GLOBAL PARTNERS: I think what’s different in that definition is presenting it in a compelling way; then looking at the buyer types who care about value. That kind of narrows the field. 

DAN: We see Value Selling and Value Marketing as a single definition standpoint. The way this came together is Steve and his group started by talking about brand with us, but we did the Value Selling. What makes selling and marketing function as one is we collaborate on key messaging in support of the brand. From a scope standpoint, it’s complementary. 

STEVE: It’s a set of messages that we weave into both of our activities. So just as an example, one of the needs that we identify clearly are our customers require consistent quality. So, for example, we’ll have data that says that our out-of-control for the products that we manufacture have reduced by 10x over the last five years. We might have other data that provides input on all the different quality awards we receive from some of the leading customers in the industry. 

GLOBAL PARTNERS: So it’s value from the product or solution, but it’s also value from capabilities that you can provide, like the technology network. 

STEVE: It’s obviously very specific to the semiconductor industry. But, like other industries, it starts with what were the key needs of each of those stakeholders, and obviously around our Value Selling initiative it’s very much around the customer, and then cascading from those needs. And then, what are some of the key value points that we think answer those needs that we are going to emphasize in a number of our Marketing and Sales activities.

GLOBAL PARTNERS: From Marketing to Sales to Messaging collaboration, it sounds like Cabot has a strong single definition for value plus a formula for working together where 1+1 =3.

Dan and Steve have explained how a collaborative approach to messaging that speaks to the needs of key stakeholders enables both Marketing and Sales to support their brand. The ability to consistently communicate this value through both Marketing and Sales activities helps prevent Cabot Microelectronics from being viewed as another commodity supplier while supporting their Trusted Business Partner culture.

How do Marketing and Sales collaborate in your company to create a single definition for Value Selling and Value Marketing? How does your company define Value?

4 key areas where a common vocabulary connects marketing and sales

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 Perceptions differ. For example:

"Marketing doesn't give us any good leads and materials"

"Sales people don't understand what we do" 

These two quotes illustrate how divided Marketing and Sales can be within the same organization, even though they are trying to accomplish the same goals.

When Global Partners conducted its webinar last month on Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B, participants said poor communications was a major, contributing factor.

Traditionally, Marketing manages everything that a firm does to reach and influence customers. Sales is responsible for everything that a firm does to close the deal, sign the agreement and get the direct revenue. Both have to work together, and especially communicate better, or there is no success.

1. CUSTOMER PROFILES: Marketing and Sales must agree on the most important questions to ask their customers to truly understand how they make purchase decisions. For example:  

• What are the main drivers (functional and emotional) for your ideal customer?
• Who is involved in the decision making process - from primary decision makers to influencers?
• What are the main criteria and metrics for the customer's purchase decisions?
• What are their critical business issues now, and how can you help them address these?

Do Marketing and Sales communicate enough to really understand customer profiles at your company?

2. STAGES OF THE SALES CYCLE: There is often a wrong notion that the Sales Cycle (or from the customer's perspective, their "buying cycle") has limited time boundaries. It never does. In B2B, it is usually a longer "Relationship-Building Cycle", not just a "Sales Cycle." Marketing and Sales should arrive at a common interpretation with the same vocabulary to define the stages of the prospect relationship, including what exactly qualifies as a "lead". How can your company articulate these Sales Cycle stages and define an ideal relationship, so Marketing and Sales are on the same page?

3. EFFECTIVE SALES TOOLS: These help teams win in the field. But, each tool usually requires different expertise, from both Marketing and Sales. Communicating what is needed in priority, who should develop each tool, and a common vocabulary for planning (including a baseline to measure performance), will help harmonize Marketing and Sales and minimize inefficiencies. Some examples of sales tools that need such coordination include:

• Presentation and proposal templates
• Multi-media demos, especially videos
• Competitive analyses
• Diagnosis of customer insights, issues and key drivers
• Relevant story telling
• Case studies segmented based on the industry verticals
• Professionally designed charts, stats, and graphics
• Realistic calculators of ROI

How do Marketing and Sales work together to create and prioritize effective sales tools at your company?

4. PIN POINT KEY ISSUES: Marketing and Sales have different roles so points of contention often arise naturally. Communicating and listening is the first step. If there is an honest effort to really understand each perspective, then a mutual interpretation with a common vocabulary is the output, ensuring success of the organization. Have you tried to develop an effective, yet practical, "bridge" that fosters better communications between Marketing and Sales at your company?

Do these 4 key opportunities for improvement help you understand why/how better communications between Marketing and Sales can minimize inefficiencies and waste?

Image credit: julesagogo

4 actionable SAM lessons from the SAMA Pan-European Conference

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For those of you who might not be familiar with the Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA), they have been around for a long time, and their sole purpose as an association is to be a platform for gathering and disseminating Strategic Account Management (SAM) best practices. Although SAM has a long history beginning in large corporations, it isn't just for the big-boys anymore. We attended the SAMA 2013 Pan-European Conference from March 10th to March 12th in Berlin, Germany and wanted to share some of the highlights with you.

Here are 4 actionable SAM lessons from the SAMA Pan-European Conference:

1. NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL: From Food Service to IT to Pharma and everything in-between, customer needs in all industries have become so specialized that SAM programs have to be built around challenges that are unique not just to the industry, but also the organization. We see this as a confirmation of our philosophy at GPI of tailor-made, custom programs and training designed around a client's unique situation.This was very well demonstrated by the Compass Group, winners of the SAMA Excellence Award for Co-Creating Customer Value.
2. STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT IS A JOURNEY: Today, sales organizations need a road map to understand their global customers; one that takes them from understanding the customer profile, learning the company culture, the CEO's vision and the "Capture Plan" to gaining more business. Best practices at the conference emphasized this aspect of good SAM programs. The theme that SAM is a journey and not a destination was covered during Endress+Hausers' Keynote Address on Monday morning.
3. COLLABORATION IS THE ENGINE BEHIND INNOVATION AND GLOBAL ALIGNMENT: More and more companies cite global alignment as the #1 challenge that prevents their SAM programs from being effective. Teamwork and collaboration across continents and functions were frequently mentioned as ways for making progress toward this goal. Schneider Electric and IBM's presentation on Utilizing Strategic Alliances was one of several very good example of this. Additionally, HP's Tuesday morning keynote address surprised many by redefining innovation as a tool for alignment and collaboration.
4. LOOKING FOR THE 'WEAK LINK': There seemed to be consensus in every session and break out, regardless of how mature the company's SAM program was or how knowledgeable and experienced the attendees were, they all recognized that there was considerable room for improvement. It wasn't that they felt their program was broken, but there was a strong belief in SAM and its potential. This discussion began with the Academic Forum on Strategic Value Creation and carried through the entire conference.

We support and promote the same 'learning attitude' that was so present at the SAMA Pan-European Conference this year. That's why we would love to hear from you. Let us know what your SAM/GAM/KAM goals are and the challenges you face in realizing them.

If marketing and sales are not aligned at your company, 12 facts to motivate action

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This fact, alone, should place the alignment of marketing and sales as a top priority at any company, especially B2B. In a recent Global Partners webinar, Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B, participants, although surprised by this fact, emphasized that their key challenges included raising awareness, involvement and mind share of this issue, especially with senior management.

They thought, by shining a light on the realities of the problem, this could accelerate a solution. So we're here to help.

Here are 12 facts to motivate action if marketing and sales are not aligned at your company. 

• 80% of marketing leads end up lost, ignored or discarded by sales (Source: Marketing Sherpa) - Tweet this stat
• 77% of potential company revenue is lost due to long term leads, often ignored by sales (Source: Marketing Sherpa) - Tweet this stat
• 73% of companies have no process for re-engaging and nurturing leads after sales (Source: Marketing Sherpa) - Tweet this stat
• 56% of sales, marketing and channel management professionals report their companies do not have any formal programs for aligning marketing and sales  (Source: Savvy B2B Marketing) - Tweet this stat
• 45% of a company's qualified leads don't end up buying from that company but instead from a competitor within a year (Source: PointClear) - Tweet this stat
• Only 16% of companies describe their sales and marketing functions as being collaborative (Source: Savvy B2B Marketing) - Tweet this stat
• 50% of marketing leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy (Source: Gleanster Research) - Tweet this stat
• 42% of businesses name email as one of their most effective lead generation channels (Source: Circle Research) - Tweet this stat
• Only 25% of leads from marketing are legitimate and should advance to sales (Source: Gleanster Research) - Tweet this stat
• The number of marketers who say Facebook is "critical" or "important" has increased +83% in just 2 years (Source: HubSpot) - Tweet this stat
• Emails with relevant content drive 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails (Source: Jupiter Research) - Tweet this stat
• Personalized emails improve click-through rates by 14%, and conversion rates by 10%(Source: Aberdeen Group) - Tweet this stat

Would these facts generate attention and mind share at your company? Do they motivate you?

To judge how well Marketing and Sales are aligned at your company, complete this checklist for a free preliminary assessment. We will contact you with the most important next steps to be taking at your company to better align marketing and sales.

image credit: asparagus_hunter 
Source: * Aberdeen Group

8 facts about the quality of sales leads to align Marketing and Sales

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Take a moment to consider that:

• +20% annual revenue growth occurs in organizations that report good alignment between Sales and Marketing *
• -4% annual revenue declines are reported when there is poor alignment (Source: Aberdeen Group *
• 24% difference in annual revenues is the gap between companies that report good vs. poor alignment between Sales and Marketing *

That's a lot of money to leave on the table. It begs the question: Why can't Marketing and Sales people just get along?

In a recent Global Partners webinar, Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B, one of the key challenges that participants cited was the quality of sales leads. Sales people say Marketing generates leads, but not quality leads. Marketing people say Sales people don't do enough with leads in general to close enough sales.

To set the record straight, we researched this issue from reputable sources.

1. 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales. Lack of lead nurturing is the common cause of this poor performance (Source: MarketingSherpa) Tweet this stat
2. 57% of companies with a blog have generated a lead from it (Source: HubSpot) Tweet this stat
3. 50% of leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy (Source: Gleanster Research) Tweet this stat
4. 42% of businesses name email as one of their most effective lead generation channels (Source: Circle Research) Tweet this stat
5. Only 25% of leads are legitimate and should advance to sales (Source: Gleanster Research) Tweet this stat
6. The number of marketers who say Facebook is "critical" or "important" has increased +83% in just 2 years (Source: HubSpot) Tweet this stat
7. Emails with relevant content drive 18 times more revenue than broadcast emails (Source: Jupiter Research) Tweet this stat
8. Personalized emails improve click-through rates by 14%, and conversion rates by 10%.(Source: Aberdeen Group) Tweet this stat

The conclusion we reached is: The majority of leads are not going to be high quality leads, but with the right dialogue and process, Marketing and Sales can find the best sources that generate consistent revenue. If there is a +24% revenue gap between the companies that do and don't align Marketing and Sales, isn't it worth looking into for your organization?

At Global Partners, we have a proven process for aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B. What end of the scale does your company fit in the 24% revenue difference between good and poor alignment of Marketing and Sales? How can your Marketing and Sales people be better aligned? 

To judge how well Marketing and Sales are aligned at your company, complete this checklist for a preliminary assessment. We will contact you to help you develop next steps for making your company more successful.

Source: * Aberdeen Group
Image credit: dieselbug2007

5 reasons why overlapping accountability of marketing and sales is resulting in lower quality leads

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These statistics prove: It's the quality - not quantity - of sales leads that counts. Maybe this explains the frustrations between marketing and sales, resulting in a "silo mentality" in B2B companies.

Traditionally it's the job of the marketing department at B2B companies to generate leads, and it's the job of the sales people to do something with them. Today, these functions are often blurred, so it's easy to see how finger-pointing can start to occur.

Last week, Global Partners conducted a webinar on Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B. One of the key challenges participants mentioned was 'accountability'.

Here are 5 possible solutions to clarify this accountability issue and improve collaboration between marketing and sales.

1. LOSE THE SUPERIORITY COMPLEX: Perceptions differ. Many marketers have business degrees, so they think they're better than sales reps who don't. Many sales people think that since they talk directly with customers, they manage the only dialogue that matters. Unfortunately, a lot of potential sales revenues are lost due to these conflicting perceptions, which can result in a lack of collaboration. How do you address the sales and marketing superiority complexes at your company?
2. EMPHASIZE THE ART OF SELLING AS A DIFFERENTIATOR: For a B2B product, many of which compete in commodity categories, the 4 Ps of marketing (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) are not the only differentiators. How these 4 Ps are used to build a trustful relationship with a buyer can make a huge difference. How have you factored the art of selling into your process for nurturing sales leads?
3. STOP WASTING AND START SAVING MONEY BY COLLABORATING: As the statistics above prove, the majority of generated leads are not used nor understood in terms of readiness to buy. It costs money to create the programs that generate those leads. Money is being left on the table by doing nothing with them; money that could have been saved if there was a regular quality review of sales leads. How do you prevent these lost opportunities at your organization?
4. EMBRACE MEASUREMENT: "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it," said Peter Drucker. When looking at sales leads, segment them by a quality factor, e.g. high to low quality or readiness to buy or size of company, and frequently review progress based on results of sales closed. What are you measuring to ensure the quality of sales leads?
5. EXHIBIT TRUST: When someone shows they are interested and want to listen to you, it's hard to not like them. Exhibiting just a little trust and mutual respect can go a long way. It can break down all the barriers a lot faster and with much better results. What barriers that block trust can you break down at your organization?

These 5 initiatives can help align marketing and sales in ways that will improve accountability, minimize waste, enhance sales leads and help build a more trustful relationship with customers. How can they work for your organization?

Listen to this recent webinar on Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B for ways to bring marketing and sales together, and send me an email if you would like to share your thoughts. I'd like to listen.

Sources: * MarketingSherpa, ** Gleanster Research, *** Gleanster Research

6 experts explain why marketing and sales don’t get along

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Global Partners is conducting a Free Webinar on March 12th at 12 pm EST: Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B. This is a timely topic because:

of sales, marketing and channel management professionals report their companies do not have any formal programs for aligning Marketing and Sales *  

of a company's qualified leads don't end up buying from that company but instead from a competitor within a year **  

of companies describe their sales and marketing functions as being collaborative *

Does this sound like something that's occurred at your company? 

2. Marketing thinks selling is easy. Marketers think that they can create so much demand that selling consists of taking orders. However, many "demand creation" activities don't create all that much demand-especially in B2B, where customers generally ignore ads, brochures, and such. And, of course, anyone who's ever sold knows exactly how difficult it can be. - Geoffrey James, Inc.

Is this a disconnect between marketing and sales where you work?

3. Many corporate cultures don't support a meeting of the minds between sales and marketing. And without the support of upper management, any valiant attempts to close the gap will likely fizzle out. Whereas marketing often revolves around a campaign schedule that can be drawn out over months, sales is sweating to meet quota every month. - Stephanie Tilton, Savvy B2B Marketing

Is there upper management support to align sales and marketing in your organization?

4. If alignment initiatives are ever going to be truly effective, they must be centered on the customer's buying decision process and not just the vendor's internal sales and marketing process - and the vendor must acknowledge that some of their existing processes may have to change as a result. - Inbound Sales Network

Are marketing and sales in communication at your company?

6. One big reason is a reactive versus proactive mentality. Salespeople tend to be reactive. Their days often consist of answering questions, solving problems and putting out fires. Their weakness is an unwillingness to plan (or..Planning is not a strong point for Sales, while Marketers...), Marketers, on the other hand, tend to be proactive. They think in terms of plans, programs, campaigns, strategies and tactics. Salespeople who resist planning get stuck in the mud. Marketers who resist practical thinking create elegant programs that don't work. - Brad Shorr, Straight North

Is your company's approach to selling reactive or proactive?

Are marketing and sales at your company out of alignment? Consider attending our webinar, Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B, on March 12th at 12 pm EST to learn how to close the gap.

Do the explanations from these 6 experts help you? Do they speak to your pain point? Let us know.

Source: * Savvy B2B Marketing, ** PointClear  
Image Credit: REL Waldman  

4 steps bring marketing and sales into alignment: Case Study

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of marketing leads end up lost, ignored or discarded by sales*

of potential company revenue is lost due to long term leads, often ignored by sales*

of companies have no process for re-engaging and nurturing leads after sales*

The numbers suggest that billions of dollars are wasted by companies each year, especially large, global organizations because marketing and sales are out of alignment.

Does this sound like your organization? How do you initiate change? Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B is the topic of a free Global Partners Webinar that will take place on March 12th at 12pm EST.

In a case study from Forbes, Marketing partnered with Sales at a large global organization to win a strategic deal and drive more revenue. This very large B2B enterprise technology vendor had an equally large retailer as a target account they wanted to win.

The Sales team did all the usual stuff of cold calling, networking, sending letters, and inviting executive management to events, but all that effort wasn't breaking through the noise. Sales came to Marketing and asked for help; not expecting much.

What did Marketing do? They put their egos aside and took these 4 steps to bring Marketing and Sales into alignment to help the company win.

1. RIDE-ALONGS: Marketing leadership, demand generation, product marketing, sales enablement, business development, and product management went on at least 6 sales calls a quarter. Do you do ride-alongs at your company? 
2. JOINT TERRITORY PLANNING: Regional Sales leader, demand generation, and sales enablement sat down every six months and did three things: 1) Analyze the revenue potential for the territory, 2) Evaluate past Marketing/Sales activities and develop/update marketing plans, and 3) Set joint targets/metrics. How regularly do Marketing and Sales sit down together in your organization? 
3. COMMON VOCABULARY: Too often people assume everyone is using the same definition when the complete opposite is happening. The best way is to develop a common vocabulary with documented definitions and publish it. There are numerous lists on the Internet to use as a starting point. Do your marketing and sales people share a common vocabulary and is there a list that defines it? 
4. WORKING TEAMS: They set up joint working teams of 3-5 people made up of quota-achieving Sales reps and Marketing members who met monthly on key touch points that impact the pipeline. The charter of these teams was to understand what's working, the root cause of what isn't and fix it, monitor organizational compliance, and measure the impact on the pipeline. Do you discuss what's working and not working between marketing and sales at your company? 

In this case study, the company won the account and a year later tripled their sales with that customer. Of course, an equally important dividend was the long term partnership created between Marketing and Sales.

Alignment is a way of doing business. If you're interested in learning how to bring Marketing and Sales into alignment at your company, Global Partners is sponsoring a FREE webinar on March 12 at 12 pm EST. You can register for this webinar here. 

What steps are you taking to bring marketing and sales into alignment? We'd like to know.

* MarketingSherpa
Image Credit: Victor

3 ways to recognize if your sales organization is out of (global) alignment

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Is global alignment a critical factor to the effectiveness of your sales organization? Then, consider these percentages:

Up to of content marketing generated by marketing for global sales and channel enablement is not used by sales.*

Companies with aligned cultural and innovation strategy see a 17% increase in profit growth. **

Only 7% of sales people in global organizations understand their company's global business strategies and what's expected of them in order to help achieve company goals. ***

These numbers signal both the problem and an opportunity.

Here are 3 ways to recognize if your sales organization is out of (global) alignment.

1. NOT DEFINING EFFECTIVE GOALS: Researchers found a strong correlation between a company's financial performance and effective goal setting. Companies that more closely aligned goals across their organization enjoyed much higher levels of financial success. The study by the Global Innovation 1000 also found that employees in the weakest-performing companies did not clearly understand the connection between their individual efforts and the overall goals of their employers. Does your organization have effective global goals in place? Why don't they?
2. DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN CONSISTENCY AND ALIGNMENT: Looking at training program portfolios offered in many companies, you find that individual programs promote a consistent approach, e.g., process, to executing a particular skill, like collaborating. When many managers in the company learn and repeat the same process, the company has established a consistent approach to applying the skill in the manager population. Alignment takes consistency to another level - it connects a skill like collaborating to shared purpose, direction, and strategy. Are your sales people practicing with consistency or alignment? What are some of their practices?
3. NOT REINFORCING COMPANY VALUES: Reinforcement of company values in a portfolio is particularly important for creating alignment and integration, and so is the issue of creating shared terminology or connective language. So much energy and time is wasted by individuals using the same language across a business, but meaning different things. Can you think of an example in your company of terminology that is shared but has different meanings?

As companies continue to seek new opportunities abroad, gaining alignment among their teams is essential. This alignment isn't easy and takes better communication, better collaboration and an improved understanding of regional culture and target market.

When done well, the results can be impressive. Based on research, how does a 17% increase in profit growth sound to your company?

Is your sales organization in or out of (global) alignment? Do you want to talk about bringing it into alignment so it stays there?

*Source: Business Cloud 9; ** Source: SAP *** Source: Global Innovation 1000

6 experts explain why Strategic Account Management processes fail

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In a recent survey conducted by Global Partners, 94% of sales executives rated the Strategic Account Management (SAM) process at their companies as 'average' to 'failing'. When probed, one of their biggest challenges was: Defining account goals, strategies and processes that are long-term.

Why is it, for so many, that the SAM process at their organization fails and isn't long term? More important, what can prevent this? We sought some opinions.

Here’s what 6 experts said about why the Strategic Account Management process fails and what can prevent it from happening.

1. Lack of senior executive commitment and focus on short-term results. If it is not a business priority, it will not be successful as it is a long-term investment and cannot be compared to short-term initiatives.
- Rosemary Heneghan, Director, International Sales & Operations, Worldwide, IBM

2. Often they fail because the objectives and measures of value creation (for both the provider and the customer) have not been clearly defined or the program is not linked to the overall strategy of the company.
- Tim Harford, SVP and Global Industry Head Technology Sector, DHL

3. Programs falter when a supplier looks at SAM as a 'cost'. Successful companies measure growth, and show how it is a necessity for year after year market share maintenance and gain. Without a proper perspective and ability to measure results, many programs run blind to this benefit and are viewed as cost.
- Al Kamczyc, Corporate Account Manager, Siemens

4. What’s key to remember is that a strategic account plan is not a sales plan. A sales plan is purely quantitative on number of widgets sold. A strategic account plan is a relationship plan. It cultivates the relationship between company and customer, and aligns the pain and the value points.
- Bernard Quancard, President and CEO, Strategic Account Management Association (SAMA)

5. Companies that agree on a definition and the key components of a strategic account can make great headway. Without agreement, however, efforts stall out before they can even get started.
- Mike Schultz & John Doer, RAIN Group

6. SAM Programs are constantly challenged for effectiveness, return on investment and impact. These initiatives usually require a change in management organization and strategy for a focused and effective Account Management program, and that focus isn’t always in the traditional ‘comfort zone’ of organizational structure.
- Michael Stevens, Partner, Performance Methods, Inc.

Expert opinions like these were taken into account when we created the Global Partners’ 10-Step SAM Plan. Although we’ve adapted it to account for changing times, technologies and communication channels, it has a pedigree of success in global organizations for over 20 years.

We’re not saying it’s perfect, but we are saying, if the SAM process at your organization isn’t working, we put steps in place to ensure that it doesn’t fail.

Are you satisfied with your current SAM process? Contact us to see what the 10-step process would look like in your organization.

image credit: griffithchris