That the “Occupy” movement has gained visibility and traction over the past few weeks is an interesting commentary on our times.  The demographic studies done a few days ago as to who is part of the group seems to dispel the myth that they are white suburban hippy want-a-be’s.  What is clear at this point is that the group is dissatisfied with any one of the following:

• Lack of jobs and/or unemployment
• Student loans
• Mortgage rates/foreclosures/loss of housing
• Wall Street players making inordinate amounts of money
• The demise of the American dream that if you work hard, you will be rewarded
• The inability of elected officials to act positively

My interpretation of this social upheaval and dissatisfaction is less nuanced.   I believe that the average American is born with a fundamental sense of Fair Play.  We intuitively know when something is right and when something is wrong.  The “Occupy” people are expressing this feeling that something is not fair and is wrong, and they want it to be made right.  This does not mean that they want hand-outs, or a more socialistic society, or stronger government intervention.  They want things to be more in balance and more equitable.  (An example of the inequality can be found in this NY Times chart: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/26/nyregion/the-new-gilded-age.html?ref=politics)

What does this mean to Marketers?  Dick and I have written before about “under-promising and over-delivering” and the need to exceed expectations.  If my assumption about Fair Play is correct, the practice of exceeding expectations is now a requirement for every company. 

This does not mean lowering prices, or giving things away.  It means being responsive to customers, whether B2B or B2C.  For example:

• Making it a practice to solve a customer complaint on the first call, or within a designated period of time.
• Beating or meeting all communicated delivery dates, whether it is a product or services.
• Including all elements of a purchase at the time of purchase, not “nickel and diming” the purchase experience.
• Deciding not to charge for something that has been free or bundled in…the Bank of America debit card charge and Netflix streaming video change are two current classic examples of creating customer dissatisfaction.

I am sure that you can implement other actions that are specific to your business or service.  The point is that in America today there is a growing desire for Fair Play in all things.  Recognizing this, good marketers will ensure that their products and services do not run against this current, or if they do, make the appropriate changes.

Do you even know how your products are perceived in the market or do you act with the hubris of BofA and Netflix?  If this movement gains more steam will you win or lose?

RHM ­- 10/27/2011

From Wikipedia:

“The Emperor’s New Clothes” (Danish: Kejserens nye Klæder) is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that are invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, “But he isn’t wearing anything at all!” The tale has been translated into over a hundred languages.[1]

Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor’s_New_Clothes>

Recently, on days ending with a “y,” I feel that many B2B Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are like the Emperor, and that social media vendors and supporters are the weavers.  They conjure up out of thin air meaningful tapestries of “hits” “bounces” “likes” “followers” “re-tweets” “viewed” and cover them with a cloak of viral.  If I were a B2B CMO and dressed with all this finery I would indeed feel proud and assured when meeting my peers…for they will be able to see how well-dressed I am.

For the B2B CMO who believes this, he will rapidly undressed when the CEO says, “You do look nice today, but tell me how you have helped to generate revenue”  Responses relating to building the Brand, and Brand recognition, along with success with key demographics tend to get tossed aside like dirty clothes thrown in the hamper.  Comments about selective pruning of leads, enhancing the quality of the pipeline, resulting in a large group of potential customers being nurtured via the new marketing automation system tend to appear like clothes that you slept in.  In short, from the point of view of contributing to revenue, “you aren’t wearing anything at all.”

What the B2B CEO wants is increased revenue.  To this end he has his foot on the neck of the VP of Sales, who in turn is saying one of two things; (1) I could close more business, but my team has to spend most of their time prospecting, or (2) Most of the leads we get are old, tired or not qualified. This leaves the B2B CEO with an impression that Marketing is not doing its job.  In this scenario the only solution is for Marketing to deliver an increasing number of qualified leads to the sales organization, month after month.  (This assumes that Sales and Marketing agree upon what is a qualified lead.)

Any other metric beyond a Month-Over-Month increase in qualified leads is like the Emperor’s new clothes, i.e. invisible.  The B2B CMO can, and should, request that he be copied on all lost sales reports so that he can judge the quality of the leads and establish a feedback loop to success.  However, in my experience the sales organization that has the time to focus on writing lost sales reports has one foot out the door.

The bottom line of most businesses in America is profitability.  There are millions of way this can be achieved, but they all boil down to selling your product for more than it costs you to make, distribute and service it.  Selling it requires finding buyers who have a need, and convincing them that your product/service fills that need.  Growth comes from finding more buyers.  Profitability comes from controlling your costs as you grow, or cutting them if your revenue is flat.   One of Marketing’s roles is to find new buyers and pass this information along to sales.

Great marketing organizations provide month-over-month increases in qualified leads.  Good ones do so most of the time.  We need not worry about the ones that don’t, as they a finely dressed in today’s new clothes.

What are you wearing today?

RHM  2/4/2011

Blame it on the repetitive snow storms, the cold, or the blahs of January.  I feel compelled to spout off about a number of subjects:

• Self proclaimed experts.  In the Social Media/Digital 2.0 world a self proclaimed expert pops up every 15 minutes.  Malcolm Gladwell had it right in this book The Outliers where he said that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert.  One more blog or article about the need to listen, act and integrate social media by some 20+ year old blogger will convince me that the millennials never learned about plagiarism.  I would settle for one good report that tightly links repeatable social media actions to sales by a B2B company whose products sell for over $50K each.  (By tightly I mean, I did this digitally and as a result this specific sale occurred, not that we listened, responded and our overall revenue went up 10 %.)

• The assumption by the social media “experts” that the same tactics used in B2C apply to B2B. Listen up!  B2B is different than B2C.  Any time a company is going to put out 6 or 7 figures for something, and that something is tied to a person or committee in the company, they want to see, hear, and talk to a person…directly.  Yes the significant influencer will do research on the Web.  Yes, they will appreciate “nurturing” emails as they progress through the buying cycle, but at the end of the day the person/committee making the decision wants to sit across the table from a person, have him/her look them in the eye, and talk about the product.  A corollary to this action is that many buying companies want “one throat to choke” and they cannot choke a plug in the wall.

• Providing a value add.  It appears that fewer and fewer companies are providing a true, differentiated value add.  Most companies seem to feel that they can or should offer something that is similar to what is already in the market, and then gain revenue and profit by exploiting a distribution, service or promotion flaw in the market leader.  I recognize that many “first movers” fail, and that being second in a market is a valid strategy, but being 4^th, 5^th or 6^th speaks to either unbelievable hubris or stupidity.  How some of these companies get funding or resources remains a mystery.  If you have a fully differentiated product, go for it.  If you are planning to be a “me too” go back to the drawing board.

• Most buyers are smarter than sellers think. It took less than 2 years for B2B buyers of software to realize that the later in the month/ quarter that they negotiate their purchase, the bigger discount they get.  Buyers quickly learn about, and subsequently reject, ploys to get them to part with their money.  Three things count for a B2B buyer:

• • Does the product do what I want it to do?  (References are key here.)
  • Do I respect the seller and do they respect me? (Personal contact required here.)
  • How long have they been in business and what is their reputation? (Due diligence required.)

The buying company will use the Internet to get some of the information to answer these questions, but in order to               achieve the emotional comfort that is part of the purchase, a person has to be part of the equation.  Note that often price is number 6 or 7 on a list of key criteria.

• Being polite.  People made fun of the way IBM used to enforce a dress and behavior code.  But their salespeople always showed up “presentable” and conveyed an image of respect, helping propel IBM into profitable leader.  It is  not clear that today’s sellers of $100K+ software packages or hardware project the same image or give the same impression, either by their dress or the way they act, with the resulting negative impression reflecting back on their companies.  For some it seems acceptable to show up in jeans and a black T-shirt and say, “Dudes, glad to see you guys here.  Sorry I am late, can you wait a few moments while I get my x%#**g presentation hooked up and by the way do you have any Diet Coke?”  Sure, I am going to give this guy’s company $250K over the next three years.

As someone has said, the only constant is change.  However, underneath the change remain certain bedrock principles of trust, respect, responsibility and doing what is right.  It goes without saying that the higher the value of the transaction, the more important these principles are.  Personally, I don’t know of any way these can be accurately conveyed over the Internet…a knowledgeable, articulate presentable person is required.

I have to go snow-blow my driveway for the 12^th time this month and put another log on the fire.  Your thoughts?

RHM  1/27/2011

Much is being written today about aligning Marketing and Sales, a divide which is being exacerbated by social media tools, lead nurturing and new Marketing metrics.

Over the years I have had the privilege of working with some outstanding Sales people and Sales management.  They all have many things in common, but one trait that sticks out is skepticism.  Whether this is inbred or arises out of constant rejection is unclear, but if you scratch the surface of a good salesman you will find a skeptic.

This skepticism comes to the fore in discussions where Marketing trumpets its social media successes: increasing hits on the web site, a new CRM system that allows them to track inquires and downloads, Email open and click-thru rates, etc.  Since many of the charts start at a low level and increase over time, Marketing is looking good, and why shouldn’t Sales be impressed?

The Sales skepticism about the Marketing results can best expressed by the phrase uttered by Rod Tidwell in the movie Jerry McGuire, “Show me the money.”   Sales people aren’t interested in hits, click-thrus, downloads or other Marketing metrics.  What they want are solid qualified leads.  An added plus would be the customer’s potential pain points, as well as multiple contacts within the customer.

If the Sales force has to weed through patches of leads to find one that is worthwhile, then they feel that the work that Marketing is doing is not meaningful.  Sales people are generally paid on a commission, which to them means that time equals money.  The more time that Sales has to spend prospecting, the less time they have to sell and close.

David Merriman Scott recently released a white paper through Hubspot entitled 11 Examples of Online Marketing Success. Each example is indeed a Marketing success, but my skeptical Sales friends would say “show me the money.”  Only one of the examples deals with lead generation, and it relates to how John Deere gave away a tractor.  It does not report on how many of the people who registered to win the tractor were qualified leads for a sale.

I understand that part of Marketing’s role is to build and sustain a brand.  And I also understand that Product Managers are responsible for delivering the right product, at the right time and through the right channels.

But a key part of Marketing is delivering qualified leads.  In 2011 I think it is important that Marketing people don’t get caught up in digital metrics and overlook this important role.  When Marketing delivers qualified leads the conversation about a divide between Marketing and Sales disappears and the skepticism of Sales regarding Marketing goes down, however it never really goes away.

How well are you delivering qualified leads to your Sales forces?  How does this compare to how often are you telling Sales and management what a great job Marketing is doing on building the brand, recording hits, and downloads?

Are you focusing on the right thing?

RHM  1/13/2011

Many of the discussions that Dick, Tom and I have with clients and potential clients center on the lead generation processes and the conversion of  leads to sales.  Most companies have a combination of “older” programs (trade shows, direct mail, advertising, etc.) and  “new” programs (email, blogging, webinars, SEO, etc.) that generate leads.  Whether old or new the recurring question is some form of “how do I do a better job of converting a lead to a sale?”

Under the “older” programs, all leads are turned over to sales, or “qualified” leads that went through some screening process, are turned over to sales.  Once in the salesperson’s hands, it was up to him or her to follow up, understand the potential customer’s pain points and close the sale.

The emergence of the “new” programs and the rise of Customer Relations Management tools and programs add complexity to this process.  Now leads are followed and nurtured until a certain criteria is met, i.e., 3 visits to the web site, 4 downloads of white papers, 2 or more people from the same company looking at pricing, etc.  Then the lead is turned over to sales, who files reports on his contacts, both with the lead and other people in the company, ranking the probability of a sale.  The highest probability are recorded, ranked and followed, with additional resources, i.e., sales management, executive management, being called in at the appropriate time to close the sale.

The CRM tool makers will tell you that their following and nurturing process is more successful than the older process.  Yet we see many companies who employ the older process who are doing well.

Stepping back and looking at the conversion process from a high level, several aspects are clear:

• Today’s buyer has much more information about the vendor, his products and competitors than he has had in the past.
• While price is always important, other elements have significant influence in the buying decision, i.e. pre and post sale service, reference accounts, specific features that match the buyer’s needs, etc.  Conveying these differences to the buyer is difficult.
• Most B2B buying decisions are made by multiple people or a committee.  Frequently a lead that is generated is by a heavy influencer, not a decision maker.
• Reaching all members of the decision making team through digital marketing is problematic.
• Finer customer segmentation is required today to achieve continuing growth.

Our 2011 recommendations for lead conversions mix the old and new processes.

1. Make sure that your web site is current and that you are close to the top via SEO.
2. Understand that the buying cycle will be shorter, and therefore transfer leads to the sales force as soon as it appears to be qualified.
3. Make sure the sales force is trained and/or that there are sufficient SE resources to augment the selling process.
4. Use multiple channels to reach your customers.
5. Use contact information developed by the sales forces to expand the digital process, but don’t depend upon it to impact the sale.
6. Obtain sales and customer feedback via social media.
7. Focus on all high probability sales that fall within a 90 day window.

In short, use the new tools to improve processes that are already in place.

What are your experiences?  Do you think that digital marketing and in-house telesales can take the place of field sales people?

RHM   1/7/2011

With the changing of the selling model to where the customer is in control; I contend that the old sales strategy of promising the world and getting the order no longer works.  Instead, I would suggest a different approach of under-promising and over-delivering. Let me give a few examples to support my hypothesis.

The wood man:  For those very cold nights in Maine we buy fire place wood from a local young man. The sales cycle goes something like this.  In the fall I get a call from the “wood man” and he asks if I need wood.  I say yes.   He asks, when do you want it? I say how about Friday or Saturday, he says; I will see what I can do. I ask what the price is and he says $170 for a cord of semi-seasoned wood.  I say okay.  Phone rings Thursday night and the wood man is calling to let me know he will be there first thing Friday morning. Early Friday morning a clean/neat trunk shows up filled above the side walls.

So how does this support my idea?  Well, the wood man’s price was not the lowest BUT, he communicated with me, there were no surprises, he delivered on time, was very professional, and I paid a good price for the value (he delivers more than the standard cord and it is all quality wood). He might be a small business, but the wood man does not promise or commit to every thing and he exceeded my expectations.  Will I order from him again, you betah!

New oil furnace: My neighbor recently had to buy a new furnace.  The furnace company explained in detail why he needed a new furnace, gave him three options he could pursue, with the pros and cons for each option.  They also gave him three customer references, an estimate of how long the project would take and of course three different prices.  Then a furnace “engineer” showed up and explained how the three options were different from an operational and efficiency point of view. Well the net was the furnace was installed in less than a day. All the other tasks that the buyer normally has to do (example, pull the permits) were done by the company. The company cleaned up everything in the basement (even areas that had nothing to do with the task).  A couple of related things from the old furnace system were upgraded AND the price still stayed the same.  Again, minimum promises and in this case far more was delivered then my neighbor had anticipated.

Travel management company:  Another neighbor has a time share that she has owned for years. Each year she and her husband “exchange” it for some other place around the world. The travel management company told her, exchange when ever and where ever, no time constraints, if you do nothing your time will automatically “banked”. Well two years ago, she received an email stating that her exchange could not be done because she was too late.  To make a long story short, the truth was that the management company made a mistake and had accidently exchanged her time share. But instead of admitting to a mistake, they dragged her on for months with mounting frustration. Finally after my neighbor hired a lawyer, the travel company miraculously found her a new exchange!   The result is that my neighbor has changed travel companies.  Reason, far too many promises and no delivery.

So if companies understand that the selling model has drastically changed and that customers are in the driver’s seat; then they must find different ways to get their order. Loyalty and customer satisfaction are two ways to retain and capture new customers. One strategy to accomplish these methods is to under promise and over deliver!  Now one might say this can be an expensive way to get the “order”.   I would argue first that getting back an existing customer that you have lost is extremely costly, and second that the perceived additional costs are actually less because you are also getting additional benefits in awareness, thought leadership and creditability; all of which are hard for your competitors to compete against.

Are your salespeople and your company still promising the moon in order to land the sale, or have you moved on to under promising and over delivering…and the resulting increase in sales and customer satisfaction?  Let me know.

RHL 11/09/10

1-      Give your sales force and or resellers that key compelling feature for your product or service that is being worked on in development. Something like, 100Million trillion bits per second with 1,000 priority channels. This will be enough for your sales team to sell to any potential customer. Forget that it does not address any customer application or there are no new benefits or value propositions to the customer.  These things are far overrated.

2-      Cut your web site activities to zero.  It is not true that customers are researching for products or services over the Internet and eliminating companies before they even contact you.  Your features (see above) are enough to get the orders.

3-      Stop having your Marketing resources track what is being said about your company and/ or products via social media like Facebook or twitter.   The chances that any portion of the 600 million plus social media users are critiquing your company and or products/services are highly unlikely.

4-      Eliminate all email campaigns and newsletters No-one really reads your emails to see what values you are providing or is interested in your thought leadership.

5-      Put on hold any product/service introductions, as no one is buying anything anyways (except from your competition). Just milk your core products until the economy gets better and in the mean time let your engineering team support sales.

If you do some or all of these suggestions I personally guarantee that your will be out of business within twelve months.

It has been proven time and time again that companies who increase their marketing activities during slower economic times come out ahead AND have increased in their market share.   The choice is yours, play it extremely safe and lose big time or embrace Marketing and win big time!

RHL 11/2/10

Below are only some of lead generation programs that you can use:

• Word-of-mouth referrals
• Advertising
  • Print (Magazine, Newspapers)
  • Billboard (Google: Jack Welch Billboards Lexan Detroit)
  • Bingo Cards
  • Collateral material
  • Television
  • Urinal inserts (See Maverick Marketing by Tom Hayes)
  • Blimps
  • Product placement in movies (Look for Bud Light in The Town)
  • Trade Shows
• On-line
  • Webinars
  • Podcasts
• Social Media
  • Blogging
  • User Groups
  • You Tube
  • Microblogging – microsites
  • Facebook, LinkedIn groups
  • Facebook, LinedIn ads
  • twitter
  • Brainshark, SlideShare
  • Getting mentioned by influential bloggers
  • SEO for website
• Email
• Direct mail
• Product reviews

And this is only a partial list.  In talking with B2B clients in the New England area, Dick and I find that the vast majority use only a few programs; usually a mix of direct mail, emails to existing customers and purchased lists, print advertising, collateral material and one-two key trade shows (which don’t generate leads but are “required.”)  Some firms have put their toe into the Social Media environment,  but they really haven’t embraced it.

While the mix of what works for each company is different; based on their product, their industry, their available resources, etc., we find it odd that there seems to be a continuing reliance on past practices and a reluctance to try something new.  This is surprising as in many of our conversations the marketing people comment on the dearth of new leads and/or the unqualified nature of the leads they are getting.  Duh…what I am doing is not working, but I am correcting it by changing the ratio of what I have done in the past.

Today’s economy and the speed of change requires a philosophy of “try it, and if it fails, try something else” rather than “stick with what you know best, and ride out the storm.”  Five years ago only a few people were using the terms viral marketing and buzz marketing.  Today they are being used by creative people to generate leads, drive revenue and gain market share.  On the horizon are newer, untested approaches to get buyers attention and mind share.

Trying something new and/or changing your approach need not be expensive or incur significant added cost.  Failing to change may lead to lost sales.

Is Sales satisfied with the number of qualified leads that you are providing?  What new program are you trying?  If that fails, what are you going to do next?  Unabashed plug; we can help by reviewing your mix and making suggestions.

An interesting blog that talks about continuing with the tried and proven and the consequences, is here:  http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/09/dont_innovate_italian_soccer_s.html

RHM  9/23/2010

Now I realize that 800 numbers (one channel into a contact center) is a cost effective way to handle customer’s requests, but let’s put some logic into the script that these companies are providing.

Here are some actual 800 number responses that I have encountered.

 Hi, for account balance, press one, for payments press two, for loans press three, for change of address, press four.  Well, I wanted to dispute a transaction.  So like everyone else I pressed ZERO, and here is what I got; to replay the messages press 5, to talk to a customer representative press 6.  You got it, I press 6 and I get,   to hear an account balance press one……

This is a great one, Hi, welcome to XXX Company, please key in your account number, (well I am traveling and I have a paperless account, so I don’t know the account), so I key in 00000,  reply that account number is not valid, try again,  after several tries, I get, we will connect  you to a customer representative;  ring, ring, ring,  to talk to a customer rep, please key in your account number,  key in 0000, that number is not valid, after several tries,  thank you for calling XXX Company, good bye!

Does anyone at these companies think about why customers might be calling and have a script that addresses these issues OR at least one response that will take them to a customer representative?

Some things to consider about 800 numbers and the contact center software.

First, the software is as only good as the scripting that is developed for each type of business.  Therefore, companies need to understand what they will be offering and what will be the likely reactions. Make sure that the scripts do not have closed loops in them and after a customer tries the same pattern X number of times, there should be some trigger that takes them to a real person.

Second, I think companies should reevaluate the cost savings of automated answering systems versus a real living person answering the phone.  Depending on your type of business, it might be far better for customer relations as well as cost effective to have an agent at the other end.  If goodwill is your main asset, then real live people should be on the answering end of the phone.  If you have very basic and limited “transaction” then an automated system will probably be well suited for your company.

Third, if companies are going to use voice inputs versus number selections, then they better have specific examples for guidance; If not you will run the risk of further irritating your customers.

Fourth, while I realize security is a big issue, companies need to understand that not everyone has memorized their account handle, their passwords, their PINS, their favorite color, their first grade teacher.   And to make matters worse, these vary depending if you are calling about your web account versus your billing account versus your bank card.   If a person doesn’t have the information needed, live secure solutions exist.

Fifth, Outsourcing contact centers and agents was a big thing a couple of years ago, now the trend seems to be reversing.  Seems like quality and customer satisfaction were taking a hit.

Given these issues, if one considers that customer satisfaction is becoming the key differentiator for some companies and their competition, then they should definitely consider evaluating those parts of their automated system that cause customer dissatisfaction and if necessary consider increasing the number of customer representatives.

I have a suggestion on how to improve automated systems.  It goes something like this:  1-800 Insane, Hi thanks for calling YYY Company.  Press one for account balance, press two if you want to go around in circles for 20 minutes, press three if you want to go around in circles for 30 minutes, if you want to speak to the president, enter the square root of 35.7B,   goodbye. 

OR re-evaluate your contact center and agent strategy.   I would prefer the later approach!

RHL 9/21/10

Many key customer meetings fail because the sales team didn’t deeply understand and effectively exploit the opportunity – they didn’t do all their homework.   The “opportunity” is not just what the team thinks it can sell.  It is more about knowing how to best position and present what they can sell — given the corporate strategies, executive personalities and competitive offerings.  And for that they need an information-fed customer strategy.

Cases in Point:

The good:

– A sales team planning to sell a large-scale enterprise IT solution to Sears Holdings changed its strategy after research found Sears was in no condition to make the purchase.  Sears had serious IT deficiencies and greatly lagged its top competitors technologically.  However, just post-merger with K-mart, the combined entity had serious leadership and decision-making issues, and the team now expected slow comprehension and execution of the solutions.  Based on these findings the sales team decided to pitch smaller, point solutions, and provide a vision for longer term solutions.

– A leading IT outsourcing firm selling ERP services to a large chemical firm tweaked its positioning after research found that the firm’s new CIO was “in way over her head”.  We learned that this CIO had no formal IT education, had just been hired away from a much smaller firm, and that her last ERP implementation was now failing miserably.   Her new CEO had publicly promoted his new ERP plan and his new CIO as its champion.  We suspected she was a bit overwhelmed.  Based on this intelligence, the IT firm subtly positioned its ERP outsourcing service as a way to the take the load of her back, and even more delicately – as a way to save her job.

The bad:

– At a customer briefing, the CIO of mid-size manufacturer began by asking the sales team if anyone was familiar with his firm’s business strategy.  After an awkward silence, he dejectedly looked down and explained their strategy.  Clear to me was that this deal was already lost – the sales team didn’t do its homework.

– Just recently, a state government CIO told me how frustrated she was with IT vendors lack of preparation — and respect, and she now insists that vendors understand their business strategy before they walk in her door.  “This is public information”, she tells them, “Find it”.

…and the ugly

– I witnessed a Fortune 100 firm senior executive, in support of a regional sales team, fly cross-country to attend a regional executive briefing — and swore never to return as he witnessed an unprepared, unfocused sales team stumble its way through the meeting.

From what I have seen, too much expectation is put on each sales person to analyze their strategic customer opportunities – and so this analysis rarely gets done to any acceptable level.  Customer meetings often take place with sales teams recognizing a lot more could have been known about the opportunity and decision makers.  No real connection is made with attendees.  Meetings meander.  Presentations are less customized, executive speakers less focused, and conversations less relationship-oriented.  Customers leave under-whelmed.  Sales teams leave potential relationships on the table.  Selling to strangers is a drag.

Sound familiar?

Despite the availability today of just about any customer information, few do the hard work of deep-dive customer analysis.  Everyone recognizes the need for customer research before a meeting.  Crucial information lies not just in SEC documents, Hoover’s and Crush reports, but also in blogs, Tweets, Facebook, LinkedIn, and every trade magazine and website on earth.  Add to this your firm’s hidden internal knowledge both from former sales teams and from your Market Research team.  Ignore the entirety of available strategy-setting customer intelligence and you are your competitors’ dog meat.  Ok, that was harsh, but you get the point.

What is Deep-Dive Customer Analysis?

Deep-dive is digging further into issues, reading between the lines, and constantly asking why.  Say you find a customer’s CEO quote in his quarterly earnings update that indicates a future 50% reduction in IT expenditures.  Digging deeper is trying to find out why.  What is driving this reduction?  Are they simply finishing off a large IT contract or are they fundamentally changing their IT approach?   How should you re-position your solution in light of these deeper findings?

The problem is this — Sales people simply don’t have the time, skill, or will to dig deep –and it is a tough assignment.  Research is not their specialty — and I would argue that today it takes a specialist.  Few world-class meetings result from second-rate research efforts.

Funny to me is how firms spend big bucks on McKinsey, Accenture, Gartner, IDC and even their own in-house research departments for overall market assessments, but when it comes to an actual, live strategic opportunity, they expect their sales people to Google and Hoover their way to the finish line.  Why does quality research support stop when it is most needed and when the ROI is so clear?

Serving a nice hot beef brisket lunch to a CIO who had recently blogged about his family’s devotion to Veganism?  Oops.  I bet the competition served nice hot Soba Noodles with Peanut Sauce.

Public information may be your gift, but it’s also your burden.

Here’s a solution — and what some top firms do: Embed a “Customer Strategist” into sales teams for strategic accounts.  Appoint a senior level analyst who understands the sales process, and who can gain the respect of, and influence “Type A” sales people and executives.   The Customer Strategist is responsible for deeply analyzing select customer opportunities, and for helping to construct intelligence-fed account and meeting strategies.  This person could also help coordinate customer briefings – ensuring sales strategies and presentations synch and reflect research findings.

The strategist’s role is to ask the sales team at each step of the sales cycle, “So what information do you need to close this deal?”  Then they use their skills to answer these questions, and proffer their own ideas and recommendations.  They filter, analyze and help integrate customer intelligence into the overall sales strategy.   They ensure the sales team conducts a focused, coordinated, visionary, and relationship-building customer meeting.

The illustration below depict the role of an embedded Customer Strategist:

Think about it – a more informed, focused, and relationship-directed sales strategy makes meetings more effective, efficient and fun.   Everyone wins.

For big-ticket, strategic opportunities, having a professional “Customer Strategist” perform deep-dive research duties for sales teams will accelerate opportunities and relationships.  Let the top sales people sell, and an embedded Customer Strategist support strategic opportunities – together they can deliver much more effective, focused, successful and fun customer meetings.

In future blogs, I will discuss more specifically how to dig deeply; what tools to use and how to spot business and individual drivers.   I will also discuss how firms point to price as their customers’ chief concern, but research often proves them wrong, as they were leaving millions on the table.

Ned Daubney is Principal Consultant at SalesTeam Strategies, http://www.salesteamstrategies.com/ with over twenty five years of sales and marketing management and research experience in both high-tech and financial services industries. Ned holds an MBA in Marketing from Babson’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Management, and a BS in Accounting from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.