Optimize Your Sales & Marketing Funnel
OPTIMIZEYOUR SALES & MARKETING rsSalesSocialMediaTradeshows
HOW TO FINDPROBLEMS SOLUTIONS AND CREATE
EVERY BUSINESS HAS ASALES tsCustomersCustomersCustomers
SuspectsSuspectsSuspectsBUT EVEN IF YOU ARE MICROSOFT,CISCO, ORACLE, OR GOOGLEYOUR FUNNEL WILL SuspectsSuspectsSuspectsSuspects Suspects
WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT HOW TOFIND AND ELIMINATE THOSEBLOCKAGE SuspectsSuspectsSuspects SuspectsSuspectsSuspectsAND IN THE IN THE PROCESS, HELPGREATLY INCREASEYOUR CustomersCustomers
BUT FIRST LET’S LOOK AT SOMEBEST PRACTICESFOR DESIGNINGYOUR FUNNELI CALL THIS “BUILDING A SALES & MARKETING MACHINE”
?WHAT IS A“SALES & MARKETINGMACHINE”
CLEARLY DEFINEDLEVERS THAT YOUPULL TO MAKE IT GOFASTERPREDICTABLESCALABLEAUTOMATEDSALES &MARKETINGMACHINE 9INSTRUMENTEDWITH GREATMETRICSCOST OPTIMIZED
HOW DO YOU GO ABOUTBUILDINGONE OF THOSE?
9STEPS
4WHY 4 FIRST?BECAUSE 1, 2 AND 3 ARE NOT OBVIOUS SO WE WILL COME BACKTO THEM AT THE END AFTER WE HAVE SEEN WHY THEY ARESO VALUABLE
4ALIGNALIGN EVERY MARKETING ACTIVITY AROUND ONE GOAL CREATING LEADS THAT HELP SALESCLOSE MOREDEALS
SalesCLOSEDDEAL
BloggingSocial MediaeMailCampaignsSalesSEOWebinarsSEMPRCLOSEDDEAL
RULE NUMBER 1If it doesn’t create a lead, ordirectly contribute towardsclosing a sale, it doesn’t belong
SalesCLOSEDDEAL
RULE NUMBER 2If the cost per lead is too high,it doesn’t belongException to this rule: If you can recover cost through: higher conversion rate to closed deals higher average deal size
SalesCLOSEDDEAL
5LINK
CLEARLY LINK FLOWS FROMSTART TO FINISH E1.At the end of every action, there should be a clear link to the next action2.The overall flow from start to finish should be carefully designed3.Every action should contribute clearly to moving the lead through the closed deal
AN ORGANIZATIONALSTRUCTURE
YOUR CUSTOMER’SPURCHASING STAGESPURCHASECONSIDERATIONCLOSEDDEALAWARENESS
AN ORGANIZATIONALMETAPHOR FOR THE KEYFUNNEL STAGESSALESMIDDLE OF THE FUNNELCLOSEDDEALTOP OF THE FUNNEL
WHAT IS TOP OF THEFUNNEL?customer is not awarethey have a problem, orthat your productcategory existscustomer has aproblem and islooking for a solutionGENERATEAWARENESSGET FOUND
WHAT IS TOP OF THEFUNNEL?RAW LEADGENERATEAWARENESSWEBSITE
WHAT IS TOP OF THEFUNNEL?RAW LEADGENERATEAWARENESS &GET FOUNDInbound marketing BloggingSEO/SEMSocial MediaInfluencer CampaignsBlogs, Press & Articlesetc.Outbound marketing Cold Callingetc.WEBSITE
WHAT IS THE MIDDLE OFTHE FUNNEL?NURTUREQUALIFYMQL(MARKETING QUALIFIEDLEAD)
WHAT IS THE MIDDLE OFTHE FUNNEL?NURTURE WebinarsFree TrialseMail CampaignsNewslettersetc.QUALIFYMQL(MARKETING QUALIFIEDLEAD)
PROBLEM:SALES SAYSMARKETING ISN’TGIVING THEMENOUGH LEADSMARKETING SAYS THAT’SRIDICULOUS, I GAVETHEM A TON OF LEADS.THEY JUST DON’TFOLLOW UP ON THEMPROPERLY.MARKETINGSALES
CAUSE:SALES CALLS A FEWUNQUALIFIED LEADS,AND FINDS THEY AREWASTE OF TIME - THEYSTOP CALLING THEREST OF THE LEADSSALES
SOLUTION:GET AGREEMENT ONTHE QUALIFICATIONCRITERIA NEEDED TOBE ABLE TO PASS ALEAD ACROSS TOSALES (MQL)MARKETING
SALES FURTHER QUALIFIES THOSE LEADS TOSALESFINDOPPORTUNITIES
USING BANTBUDGETAUTHORITYNEEDSTIMING
COMMON LEAD STATESRAW LEADCLOSEDDEALMQLOPPORTUNITY(MARKETING QUALIFIEDLEAD)(SALES QUALIFIEDLEAD)
6AUTOMATE
AUTOMATE THE KEYFUNNEL STAGESSALESMIDDLE OF THE FUNNELSELLING &CLOSINGNURTURING &QUALIFYINGTOP OF THE FUNNELCREATINGAWARENESS& DRIVINGTRAFFICCLOSEDDEAL
SALESMIDDLE OF THE FUNNELCRMMARKETINGAUTOMATIONTOP OF THE FUNNELINBOUNDMARKETINGCLOSEDDEAL
7MEASURE"IF YOU CAN NOT MEASURE IT,YOU CAN NOT IMPROVE IT."- LORD KELVIN
THE KEY METRICSCAMPAIGNSTO DRIVETRAFFICOVERALLCONVERSION %VISITORSCONVERSION%TRIALS(BY LEAD SOURCE)CONVERSION%CLOSED DEALS
8ANALYZE
IDENTIFYYOUR BLOCKAGE POINTS
HOW?
WHAT IS STOPPING MEFROM INCREASING SALES BY 5X ?
9IMPROVE
IN DIAGNOSING MANY FUNNEL BLOCKAGE POINTS,I HAVE FOUND THAT THERE IS ACLEARPATTERN
YOU ARE HOPING YOURCUSTOMERS WILL DOSOMETHINGTHAT THEY ARENOT MOTIVATED TO DO
IN OTHER WORDS YOU DESIGNED YOUR FUNNELTHE WAY YOU HOPED IT WOULDWORK BUT YOU MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT ENOUGH ABOUTTHE CUSTOMER’S POINT OFVIEW
JBOSS EXAMPLEPUT A REGISTRATION FORMON THEIR WEB SITE BEFOREA FREE DOWNLOADIMPACTCUT THE DOWNLOAD RATEBY MORE THAN 10X
GET INSIDE YOURCUSTOMER’S HEADCONCERNS- Hate being sold to- Find it offensive to givename and email- Don’t want to get spamsales emails- Worried that emailaddress will be given toother marketers
UNDERSTAND WHATMOTIVATES THEMCONCERNSMOTIVATIONS-Want to solve my problem-Recommendation from a friend-Education-Data/ information reports-Entertainment-Free stuff-Meeting other people like me thathave insights to share
CREATE A SOLUTION THATENTICES THEM AND ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNSCONCERNSENTICE &ADDRESS CONCERNS-Customer testimonials addressvendor risk-Free trials address productviability and fit concerns-Lowest price guarantees
JBOSS example- FREE open source software- downloaded 5 MILLION times- selling documentation 27,000 per month
JBOSS exampleNEEDED:a carrot to incent them to providean email addressSOLUTION:give away the documentationfor freeRESULT:10,000 leads per month
EXAMPLE: DRIVING TRAFFIC TOYOUR WEB SITEGETTING FOUNDNot going to find your siteunless:concerns- On top page of Googlesearch results- Recommended by a trustedsource- Referred to in social media orblogosphere
LESSONS FROM WEBSITEGRADER Free tools drive viral spreadLow customer work requiredHigh value deliveredScore leverages competitive urgeBuilds trust through cleardemonstration of expertise
GOOD LINKAGE TO NEXT STEP
using engineering for marketing
USING DATA TO DRIVE WEBTRAFFICSYSOMOS: SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORINGLEVERAGED THEIR DATABASE TOCREATE BLOG POSTS WITH DATA ONTOPICS OF CURRENT INTEREST: IRAN ELECTION RIOTS TWITTER’S GROWTH FACEBOOK USAGE
LED TO:SYSOMOS ARTICLES INECONOMIST, NY TIMESWEB TRAFFIC TO READ THE FULL REPORTLEADS – IMPRESSED BY THE CAPABILITIESOF THE SOFTWARE
GETTING CUSTOMERS TO SIGN UPFOR A TRIAL- I don’t have the time- I don’t want to getspam emailconcerns- Yet another passwordto remember
RE-THINK THE PROCESSCONVENTIONALAPPROACHWOW! FIRST,REGISTER LATERSIGN UPFOR TRIALWOW!Source: Josh Porter – Designing for Social TractionWOW!SIGN UPFOR TRIALCONVERTTOCUSTOMERCONVERTTOCUSTOMER
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PROBLEM:GETTING A MEETING
GETTING TO EXECUTIVEDECISION MAKERSTECHCRUNCH FORINSURANCE CLAIMS
DROPBOX: SIMPLE FILE SHARING SOFTWARE–––Get you hooked for freeStorage slowly increases to the point where you need to payBut by then they have established trust–And it is hard to move your data that is shared with others
SellFirst ContactFirst ContactBuildRelationshipBuildTrustSell
SELLING IS10X EASIER ONCE YOU HAVE ESTABLISHEDTRUST
YOUR BLOG CAN ESTABLISH TRUST HOW?
VALUABLE CONTENTEDUCATIONINFORMATIONENTERTAINMENTWITHZERO SELLING
THE KEYS TO SUCCESSDEEP UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR CUSTOMER What don’t they like?What do they like/need?What motivates them?What are their problems?What does their boss expect of them?etc.Combined withOUT-OF-THE-BOX THINKING
APOLOGIESMY EXAMPLES ARE ALL SOFTWARE COMPANIESTHIS APPLIES EQUALLY WELL IN OTHER BUSINESSES
FINALLY LET’S GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING
AND INTRODUCETHREE NEW STEPS ATTHE BEGINNING OFTHE FUNNEL DESIGNPROCESS
1IDENTIFYIDENTIFY ALL THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THEPURCHASE DECISION
2UNDERSTANDSKETCH OUT THEIR BUYING PROCESS ANDCONCERNS AT EACH STAGE
3ENTICEADD THE STEPS TO ADDRESS THEIR BUYINGPROCESSAND:ADDRESS THEIR CONCERNSENTICE THEM
SUMMARY
WE WENT FROMTHIS:1. Align2. Link3. Automate4. Measure5. Analyze6. Improve
TO THIS kAutomateMeasureAnalyzeImprove
THE NINE STEPS1. IDENTIFYIdentify people in purchase decision2. UNDERSTANDAddress their buying process and concerns3. ENTICEDesign actions to pull them through buying process& address concerns4. ALIGNEnsure funnel actions lead directly to sales5. LINKLink every funnel action to the next step6. AUTOMATEUse software to automate7. MEASUREMeasure key funnel metrics8. ANALYZEIdentify blockage points9. IMPROVEBrainstorm better enticements and ways to addressconcerns
SALES-DRIVENFUNNEL DESIGNTO ACUSTOMER-CENTRICFUNNEL DESIGN
ALIGN Ensure funnel actions lead directly to sales 5. LINK Link every funnel action to the next step 6. AUTOMATE Use software to automate 7. MEASURE Measure key funnel metrics 8. ANALYZE Identify blockage points 9. IMPROVE Brainstorm better enticements and ways to address concerns. CUSTOMER-CENTRIC FUNNEL DESIGN SALES-DRIVEN
The sales funnel exists almost exclusively within the “purchase” stage of the content marketing funnel with a little bit of spill over in either direction. Funnel stages for sales are as follows: Top of Funnel Sales Mid-Funnel Bottom of Funnel Closing the Deal In this chapter, we’ll address what
1.The sales funnel The starting point for the bottom-up approach is the concept of the sales funnel. The sales funnel is a method of measuring and categorizing your sales opportunities in a way that allows you to build a revenue model. The stages of the sales funnel The sales funnel is your mirror image of the customer’s buying process. From the
Funnel Audit Worksheet. The salesperson and sales manager remotely call in and go through the Funnel Audit. The Worksheet leads the manager and rep on a structured conversation about funnel health and where and why the funnel has changed (or not). The Audits take 60-75 minutes. A key part of the Funnel Audit is the 30 day funnel plan.
A Step-by-Step Marketing Funnel Template Chapter 2 Takeaways How to Growth Hack Your Business Through Funnel Hacking A step-by-step guide to funnel hecking . A sales funnel, or a marketing funnel, is a process that businesses can use to turn website visitors or prospects into paying customers. It’s a way of creating the right
sales funnel, your marketing and sales teams have the tools they need at their disposal to optimize the pace of the sales cycle and focus their time where they need to. 9. Use sales funnel reports to diagnose the health of your sales pipeline. Sales Funnel (Lifecycle) reports, which combine all of your marketing and sales reports into one .
of just a marketing and sales funnel component. However, APIs as a product where customers and partners include developers have what is called the developer funnel or integration funnel. The developer funnel is after the marketing funnel and before the sales funnel and has three core stages: 1. Pre-integration Stage 2. Sandbox Stage 3 .
Marketing & Sales Funnel Defining the 6 Stages of the Marketing and Sales Funnel Today’s Buyers Control Their Jouneys More Than Vendors Do But Your Buyers Are Doing That Top of the Funnel Marketing’s Responsibility Middle of the Funnel Shared Marketing & Sales
Managing unethical behavior in organizations: The need for a behavioral business ethics approach DAVID DE CREMER * AND WIM VANDEKERCKHOVE ** Abstract Issues of morality and ethics have increasingly become more important in organizations and business settings. Traditionally, these issues of ethics and social responsibility in business settings have been discussed and commented on by .
