So far this month we’ve talked about inbound marketing, 14 types of content to engage audiences, and lead generation. Each of these activities is part of the lead nurturing process that moves prospects through the funnel toward the ultimate goal of becoming a closed sale.
Of course, clients don't always come to us with a request to enable sales -- sometimes a discussion begins with ideas for possible solutions to a different perceived problem. But when we confer and dig deeper, the desire to increase sales and revenue is usually what is driving everything, and that makes sense. After all, the purpose of marketing is to enable sales.
In this installment of the Marketing Flight Manual, Lisa Sifuentes, BDN’s Vice President of Client Services and resident sales enablement expert, answers some commonly asked questions.
Why does BDN care about sales enablement? Is it a buzzword or here to stay?
We care about sales enablement because it aligns with our core beliefs that: the purpose of marketing is to enable sales; marketing can and should be accountable for results; and marketing efforts can and should be measured. It is not a buzzword or a flavor of the month — sales enablement is what modern marketers can and should be doing. More importantly, it’s what today’s clients need, want and expect — results, in the form of sales and revenue.
What is sales enablement? Can you give some examples?
Sales enablement is a proven business process that involves activities that sales and marketing teams perform to help sales operate more effectively. Aberdeen Research has shown that leading organizations applying sales enablement techniques are seeing results such as:
- 99% overall team attainment of sales quota
- 9% advantage in year-to-year revenue growth over average companies
- 4% year-over-year growth in average deal size
Just imagine delivering results like these in your organization. It would clearly position you as a business expert, enhancing your credibility and increasing your influence of the marketing function.
What are the challenges associated with sales enablement?
One common challenge is in overcoming the status quo and introducing new ideas and ways or working. Also, effective sales enablement depends on a closely aligned sales and marketing team. These two organizations can no longer act as adversaries but must come together behind a clear and common goal that neither can accomplish alone. Read more about breaking down the wall between sales and marketing at Media Bistro.
Finding the time and resources to measure and track results can also be challenging for aerospace, aviation and defense marketers, but measurement is essential to success. Learn more about measurement in Marketo’s Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics and Analytics.
What marketing technique(s) might BDN use to help enable sales?
We’ve covered several techniques in this series, but specifically we employ email marketing, content, thought leadership and marketing automation.
Wrapping things up – Can you give our readers three tips to get started?
The most important thing is just getting started, and it’s OK to take baby steps and increase your capabilities for sales enablement over time. With that in mind, here are three things to start with today.
- Make sure your sales team can find and easily deploy content available to them. Simplify the delivery process and communicate.
- A Customer Relationship Management System – get one.
- Content calendar. Have sales and marketing brainstorm types of content that might be useful to your target audiences. You know more than you think and just need to put forward the effort to draft and distribute helpful information and resources.
P.S. Last week we promised more information about how to nurture and guide prospects through the funnel to a closed sale and satisfied customer. Silverpop has a comprehensive white paper, “From Cold to Hot: Lead-Nurturing Programs that Generate Sales” that covers this important topic very well.
Don't forget: Digital marketing is key to most lead-generation efforts. Download this useful digital marketing guide to learn more.