B2B marketers & The digital camera

Think about what the digital camera has done to the average picture taker. In the "old days" of film you had to be selective on the pictures you took as film was expensive and you only had 24-36 pictures at your disposal (unless you were carrying extra rolls of film). Once the roll was done you had the roll developed and hoped for around 70% quality photos. As the years went by you slowly became a better and better picture taker, learning through trial and error what environmental factors drove the quality of your photos. Even without the ability to instantly receive feedback on the picture quality your average quality photo percentage grew to around 90% per roll. As a picture taker, you were forced by the limitations of your technology to become better if you wanted to increase quality, reduce cost, and avoid the opportunity cost of not capturing those "one in a lifetime" moments.

Then came the digital camera and all its benefits!?!
Much to Kodak and Fuji's dismay the digital camera was a revolution not an evolution. Almost overnight the digital camera brought immense benefits that film was no match for. Loaded with a 2GB memory card, a digital camera can hold 180 pictures at "no cost." In addition, the photographer (I use that term loosely) can review the photos instantly for quality and immediate feedback. This technology enabled and afforded the average picture taker the ability to snap as many pictures per minute as a professional sports photographer sponsored by Kodak. In addition, the digital camera user gained the benefit of instant feedback on the quality of their pictures. By reviewing photo's as they were taken the picture taker could, in theory, accelerate their photography learning curve. The digital camera was going to enable "average joe" to capture images like a Pro!

The Problem
The problem is that most digital camera owners are "trigger" happy, quickly filling their memory cards with 180 images hoping that a few of the pictures will turn out. Sadly, the average digital camera owner never learns anything about taking a better picture. Because pictures are "free" to take the camera owner keeps pushing the button hoping for "one good picture." Further more, even though the capability and technology exists on the camera, the average photographer rarely reviews and filters the photos for quality before dumping them on the home hard drive. It is only when the masses of snap happy and skill deprived picture takers want to do something with their pictures a few months or few years later that they learn what a mess they have created. 3-hours into cleaning up bad photos and realizing the images they hoped they had captured do not exist do they learn what the cost of not becoming a more skilled photographer truly is.


B2B marketing technology advances are accelerants not replacements
Unfortunately many of today's B2B marketers exhibit very similar behaviors to the average digital camera owner.

• The cost of gathering unqualified inquiries and contacts through list sources and database providers has dropped substantially over the last 5-10 years, not unlike the cost of taking a picture. As a result, many marketers have become less concerned with precise targeting, qualifying, and filtering and more driven by the quantity of inquiries they can generate.
• A majority of B2B marketers do not filter, cleanse, and pre-qualify the inquiries and contacts they have captured before loading them into their marketing database, SFA, CRM system. Unfortunately, unlike the average digital camera owner, who's only expense is time to filter through their gigabytes of bad photo's, the B2B marketer creates significant expense and opportunity cost for their organization.
• For many, the low cost and automated inquiry capture tools available to the B2B marketer have become an easy "solution" rather than an enabler to enhance the lead lifecycle management processes and lead generation programs already in place.
  

While it shows my age that I have a decade or more of film based photography under my belt I am glad for the experience. Without the cost and quality drivers of a film based camera I may not have become the photographer I am today. And yes, the digital camera has enabled me to become even better.


B2B lead generation sales leads management Lead management lead lifecycle management B2B lead management lead generation
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Does Your Marketing Database Need a Health & Wellness Plan?

When will the health & wellness craze come to Marketing Database Management?

It seems to me the Health care management industry has done a better job than most to capture the operational and financial value of proactive "preventative maintenance" over the past few years. As B2B database driven marketers I believe we should take a collective look at what the health plan providers are doing as we are sure to learn a thing or two.

As the cost of health care continues to skyrocket YoY the health plan providers that sell to businesses have taken a novel approach to their marketplace. Rather than pouring low return and seemingly futile efforts into reducing the cost of servicing people with illness and chronic disease they have developed new products and services aimed at reducing the number of people affected by illness and chronic disease. The model is intended to create a win-win-win situation.

Health & Wellness Service Benefits

• The healhplan provider wins by selling a new "health & wellness" program to the company and reducing direct care costs for treating illness and chronic disease.
  
• The Business wins by realizing reduced YoY healthcare premium increases as an incentive for purchasing the Health & Wellness plan. The business also wins by having a more productive workforce as, in theory, the employees will take less sick time.
• The employee wins by receiving health club membership discounts, wellness counseling services, dietary counseling services, and living a healthier and longer life.
  

As a B2B marketer that works with a wide range of B2B company's marketing databases I have been afforded a unique, near real-time, comparative view into a broad spectrum of B2B marketing databases. The conclusion I have drawn is that a majority of B2B marketing database efforts and investment are spent on servicing "illness" and "chronic disease" within the database and not on health and wellness.

A sampling of typical marketing database investments to service "illness" & "chronic disease":

• Using an external provider to "cleanse" the database on a quarterly or annual basis. The underlying disease causing a constant stream of bad and inaccurate records is ignored while the symptoms of the illness are treated periodically.
  
• Investing in new databases to support specific marketing initiatives & business units. Over time multiple databases exist with redundant and/or conflicting record details and the reliability and accuracy of all databases are called into question.
• Investing in ongoing database integration efforts (outside of mergers, acquisition, partnership efforts)
• Investing reactively in new lists and append services as the primary source of "targets" for new marketing campaigns
  

A small sample of marketing database Health & Wellness investments to prevent "illness" & "chronic disease":

• Marketing database alignment to the businesses go to market strategy as a core strategic focus
  
• Inquiry management processes, and pre-qualification filters to ensure only new and quality records enter the marketing database
• Activity tagging of records to measure the frequency, content, and responses illicited from the multi-modal marketing campaigns that touch a given record in the database
• Subscription management programs to support best practice driven e-mail marketing campaigns

If more of us can migrate our focus and investment to marketing database health and wellness initiatives I would argue we as B2B marketers can create the same win-win-win outcome!

• The B2B marketer wins by realizing improved delivery, opt-in, and response rates across all campaigns that leverage the marketing database.
• The B2B Company that employs the marketer wins by realizing a lower cost per sale, increased intimacy with prospects and customers, and increase revenues.
• The end customer/prospect wins by receiving the information they need, when they need it, in the format they desire.
  

How do I leverage sales lead Rank & Score?

You scored 100 three times in a row!

So, what exactly does that mean? Well, if the three scores represented golf, bowling, and an IQ test it would mean you are POTENTIALLY one of the following:

1. Of almost average intelligence and not very coordinated or physically talented
2. Of almost average intelligence, a 7 handicap golfer who played a US Open course from the back tees on a windy day, and a first time bowler
   
3. A poor IQ tester and a beginner at golf and bowling
4. A relatively gifted 5-year old or 100-year old

The point being, a score, even when put in context of an "event" or combination of "events" does not provide the insight and actionable information required to make decisions or predict future behavior and outcomes. In the above scenario the individual who scored 100 three times could range in age from 5-100, could be a pro athlete or uncoordinated couch potato, and may have any number of careers that range along the intellectual spectrum.

So, How do we effectively leverage Rank & Score in Marketing?

The first step is to avoid (3) major pitfalls when attempting to migrate through the marketing rank and score lifecycle. That is, moving from rank & score program infancy to a program delivering invaluable information and insight:

1. Rushing into Rank & Score because the new system supports it before doing the hard work: What are the goals within the scope of our Rank and Score program? What rank and score criteria is to be used? What are the activity, demographic, and firmographic "values"? How will we capture, measure, compare, and report the information? How do we ensure consistency of process, measurement, and execution across all customer and prospect engagement points (inside, across, and outside our automated systems)?
2. Incomplete Rank & Score measurements: At a minimum the approach needs to include demographic and firmographic attributes along with behavior/interactions. In the opening scenario think of the refinement offered if we had insight to the age and profession of the individual as an example. An incomplete rank and score measurement approach quickly becomes a never ending fountain of unusable information dressed in a pretty wrapper!
   
3. Lack of consistency and measurement standards: Think again to our example above. Even without the firmographic and demographic information on the individual a history of scores based on consistent measurement (same golf course, Test type) would provide a wealth of information on which to predict future behavior and outcomes. However, if you take away the consistency related to the measurement and scoring methodology all you are left with is a lot of uncorrelated historical data and no actionable information.
   

So what is someone to do? To simplify the getting started process there are several keys or "triggers" I would suggest we focus on. While this is by no means and exhaustive list it will help to ensure some of the biggest pitfalls are avoided.

• Rank and Score definitions are clear: Ensure the marketing & sales teams are educated
• Scoring methodologies are locked: Weighting can be modified (with a disciplined process)
  
• The big (3): Demographic, firmographic, and activity based scoring
• Patience: Time & Trend drive ever improving insight, don't jump to conclusions
• Study: patterns and resulting performance for the greatest return
• Compare: Internal patterns & performance to industry benchmarks

Rank and Score is not something you "turn on"
The intent of this post is not to scare anyone away from traveling down the path of a lead lifecycle management rank and score implementation. On the contrary, I hope it drives one or two people to become evangelists and also protectors of the rank and score process within their organization. However, this post is most definitely a warning to anyone out their who wants to "turn on" the rank and score capabilities of their lead management software solution. Rank & Score is a core lead management process, not a switch to flicked!


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B2B Lead Management; Why buy a Ferrari if you live on a dirt road?

Why buy a Ferrari if you live on a dirt road?

If your dream home is 5 miles from the nearest paved road what would the true cost be to purchase and get "value" from a Ferrari? Well, if getting "value" from a Ferrari is taking advantage of the handling, acceleration, and appearance offered the rough up front cost for the Ferrari would be as follows:

• Ferrari = $250,000
• 5 miles of pavement = $4,000,000

After you have made the up-front investment your maintenance costs per year would then kick in:

• Ferrari = $12,500 per year
  
• 5 miles pavement = $100,000 per year

The point being:

1. No one with 5-miles of dirt road outside their garage would consider buying the Ferrari without first considering the cost and time associated with building the road.
   
2. The cost of the Ferrari pales in comparison to the cost of the infrastructure (road) that will enable you to take advantage of what the Ferrari has to offer.
3. Ongoing maintenance of both the Ferarri and the road need to be considered
   

While the above scenario is admittedly absurd I would argue that this very scenario presents itself each and every week in sales and marketing organizations around the world and most organizations either do not consider, or ignore, the fact they have "roadwork" to do! That is, organizations budget for and then spend significant amounts of money on the latest CRM, SFA, and lead automation solutions (read Ferrari) without taking into account the processes, infrastructure, and people (read road) that are needed to take advantage of the the new CRM, SFA, or Lead automation solutions potential performance capabilities.

In my experience I believe there are (3) primary drivers for why this seemingly inexplicable behavior continues to repeat itself over and over again within marketing and sales organizations.

1. "Roads" (lead lifecycle management processes, staff, discipline, and infrastructure) are more work and cost more in terms of time, money, and labor to build/maintain. In addition, after all the hard work to succesfully build the "Roads" they are not very easy to "show off." The "Roads" do not actually do anything or deliver anything they make the doing and delivering more efficient, faster, and consistent.
2. "Ferrari's" (CRM, SFA, Lead automation solutions) have enormous marketing budgets behind them driving brand, market demand, and interest. As the saying goes, there is not an easier person to sell to than a sales person and no one easier to market to than a marketer! "Roads," on the other hand, are not "feature" rich web enabled tools built to support flashy sales presentations.
   
3. Lack of time & "Budget": The Average CMO tenure is still well under 2-years. In 18-months he/she can pull together an ROI and implement a CRM,SFA, or lead automation system in hopes of demonstrating their value to the executive team. There is little chance the CMO can fully evaluate the current condition of their "infrastructure," make the significant investment (multiple's of the Ferrari), and deliver measurable ROI in less than 18 months. To be fair to the CMO, most have their hands tied by head count limitations and ill conceived budget constraints that make doing the right thing, fixing infrastructure, all but impossible.

Regardless of the initial quality and performance characteristics of any software application or piece of equipment without the implementation of supporting processes & execution of a proper maintenance plan performance and reliability will consistently deteriorate over time. While the previous statement is not a epiphany to be sure, most of the marketing and sales lead management systems that are implemented today seem to ignore this simple fact. The end result is that many marketing and sales leaders are left spinning their wheels in the dirt wondering why their high performance, feature rich, systems are not delivering as promised!

Inquiry Management - 6 steps to clarity

We have all seen the the "sales pipeline" & "sales stages" represented in terms of close rates and percentages of Stage "x" prospects that make it to down the funnel to stage "y". For years sales people and sales management have used these percentages across the sales stages (usually 5-7 stages depending on the organization) to measure individual and company sales pipeline health.

Inquiry management is the fountain of youth for your sales pipeline:
Ironically, inquiry management and "Inquiry Pipeline" management has not received near the focus over the years even though inquiry management is the life source & fountain of youth for most sales pipelines. Until my recent read of James Obermeyer's post on the SLMA Blog I have not seen a crisp, clear, overview of how to measure Inquiry pipeline health. James' article "Is Your Sales Force Starving For Leads? Follow A Six Step Process To Create Enough Inquiries To Make Quota!" is a crisp, to the point, read that I have linked to by clicking on the title of this post.

Like all good-to-great processes, Inquiry pipeline management requires that we identify the correct metrics, measure them relentlessly, and gain the insight to take action for course correction and continuous improvement.

I hope you enjoy the "to the point clarity" of James Obermeyer's article as much as I did.

Optimize Lead Management - The top 10 to dos

What percentage of marketing and sales management professionals currently state they have at least (2) full time responsibilities within their organization? The answer.......over 50%. Granted if you asked the group of respondent's respective boss' the percentage would be much lower. The point is most of us have more to do than we can get effectively done each and every week.

As a result, it is more important than ever that we, as marketing and/or sales management professionals, maximize our productive output per hour worked.

To ensure that I and my team are directly engaged in high-value & high-return work focused on ensuring delivery of the top line revenue and margin goals via our lead lifecycle management program I have established a top 10 litmus test. Before we take on a new project, or initiative and prior to making modifications to existing programs, team structures, and initiatives we ensure we are focused on the key drivers that deliver and enhance an optimized lead lifecycle management ecosystem.

TOP 10 ENABLERS TO OPTIMIZE LEAD MANAGEMENT & PRODUCTIVE OUTPUT

1. Ensure Sales & Marketing Alignment
   
2. Clearly define program objectives
3. Establish common goals & success measures
   
4. Confirm disciplined processes are in place
5. Validate there will be passionate execution via cross department "buy-in" & "ownership"
6. Set benchmarking & milestones
   
7. Set key Performance indicators
   
8. Model ROI and confirm your targeted return will be achieved
9. Test Financial measurement
   
10. Review & Document Opportunity costs
    

If nothing else this list will act as a great workload "traffic cop" ensuring the ever growing congestion of projects, initiatives, and priorities begin to flow more smoothly and productively across your desk and your extended team(s).

Closing the lead lifecylce loop through measurement & Reporting; Final Part in a Dick Lee Series

Tracking, measurement & feedback: Here’s where we meet the end of the lead management cycle—and the beginning. The data we capture from the sales-follow-up process, and from prior lead management steps as well, not only tell us how we’re doing outcomes-wise—but should tell us how to do it better.

However, all too often companies barely attempt to apply back-end data to drive continuous improvement of sales lead management processes and performance. Why? Typically for several reasons: lack of analytical and interpretive skills; lack of time to “get analytical” and do something about the findings; or lack of training skills and resources; or some combination of these factors.

Back-end lead management data are used more often to “punish” than to improve

Sales follow-up data are commonly used for beating up on underperforming reps— when a closer look at these data would indicate why someone is underperforming and whether specific training and reinforcement focused on specific steps in the selling cycle would help improve performance. After all, despite common perceptions, not every sales failing stems from too much golf. And considering that the pool of sales talent is continuing to shrink towards perilously low levels, salvaging your investment in currently underperforming reps is typically more cost-effective than swapping out “bad” reps for new ones—who might just turn out to be worse. Other tendencies to sell short the value of “beneath the surface” data abound, but here are several examples of companies drilling down and doing things right.

A B2B financial services firm was seeing widely disparate sales follow-up:

So this FI examined data tracking the steps to the sale. As it turned out, its more successful reps were managing to get past the initial point of contact to present to the purchase decision team, while its less successful reps pitched the initial contact only and relied on that person to “carry the message” back to the team. Training, focused on communicating the value to the gatekeeper and gaining the buy-in from the gatekeeper to let the reps through to decision-makers. Measured results showed this resulted in making a significant percentage of low performers significantly more productive.

For another example, a business software company was aggressively generating sales inquiries through a range of publications—from highly vertical, low circulation trade pubs to higher circulation, more horizontal business magazines. The CPI (cost-per-inquiry) was significantly lower with horizontal pubs, with the more vertical trades showing a much higher CPI. But this organization didn’t jump to first obvious conclusions. It “closed the loop” by tracking sales follow-up outcomes and measuring CPO (cost-per-order) for all media sources. And guess what? The CPO rankings were the inverse of the CPI rankings. That sent a clear message that lead generation should focus on verticals unless (or until) they were getting tapped out, which marketing would know when CPO ratios started vectoring sharply upwards. Hey, wish you could have heard how the horizontal media reps howled when their below average CPIs didn’t lead to further placements.

Parenthetically, you might want to view this as a “dated” example. After all, isn’t the web now the primary method of generating B2B inquiries? Not exactly. This company’s software product was creating a new product category, and the reactive web is a relatively ineffective and unreliable channel for introducing new product categories. Customers don’t often google products or categories they don’t know exist.

For an excellent web-based example, just think Amazon.com. Buy once, and they already know something about you. Buy twice and they know four times as much about you. Buy three times, and they know 16 times as much. And on up the exponential ladder. On the pure B2B side, Cisco’s not too shabby either.

Putting the pieces together:

If I could ask you to stop reading and reflect for a moment, how would you rate the impact on sales performance resulting from effectively implementing all aspects of sales lead management? Hard not to say “Very high” or even “extreme,” isn’t it? Or, to put it another way, how would you size up the opportunity cost of not applying lead management to sales lead generating marketing programs. The very same answers, of course, but in the opposite direction. Regardless of which way you prefer to view this picture, either the return on lead management or the opportunity cost of not providing lead management dwarfs the cost of providing effective lead management services—either internally or through a third-party service.