What Sales Leaders Should REALLY Expect from Marketing Automation

Ian MichielsPrincipal & CEOGleanster Research

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What Sales Leaders Should REALLY Expect from Marketing Automation

Ian MichielsPrincipal & CEOGleanster Research

COMPLIMENTS OF:

Agenda

Sales Goals in 2014Sales Challenges in 2014Sales Perceptions of Marketing AutomationWhat should you expect?How do you get there?

TODAY’S STATS

Total survey responses:

465

PERFORMANCE BASED

ALGORITHM

All Respondents

Customer Experience(Jan. 2014)

n= 276

B2B Marketing

(Dec. 2013)n= 189

Top Performers: Respondents that achieved Top Quartile performance in key KPI’s

Everyone Else

Gleanster Benchmark Stats

Customers in Control

Sales Goals in 2014

Revenue Targets!

Operational Efficiency

Data-Driven Decisions

Risk Mitigation / Accountability

Employee Development

Lead Generation

Sourcing and Retaining Talent

Customers in Control

Sales Goals in 2014

Revenue Targets!

Operational Efficiency

Data-Driven Decisions

Risk Mitigation / Accountability

Employee Development

Lead Generation

Sourcing and Retaining Talent

+MARKETING

+HR

SALES

+PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT+SERVICE & SUPPORT

There’s No Perception Gap in Lead Quality

5 – Qualified Leads

1 – Not Leads

2

3

4

MARKETING (n=98) SALES (n=76)

100% 50% 50% 100%

How would you rate the quality of leads generated by marketing on a scale of 1 to 5?

There’s No Perception Gap in Lead Quality

25%

5 – Qualified Leads

1 – Not Leads

2

3

4

MARKETING (n=98) SALES (n=76)

100% 50% 50% 100%

10%

38%

27%

5%

34%

27%

19%

15%0%

How would you rate the quality of leads generated by marketing on a scale of 1 to 5?

Challenges in 2014

Locating contact information

Insufficient materials

Navigating multiple decision makers

Sales forecasting

Establishing relationships with buyers

Longer sales cycles

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

37%

49%

55%

65%

72%

89%

Challenges with Customer Engagement in 2014

Sales (n=112)* Customer Experience Management Survey, Q1 2014, n=276

Mitigating Challenges

CHALLENGES

Longer sales cycles

Establishing relationships with buyers

Sales forecasting

Multiple decision makers Insufficient materials

Locating contact information

Marketing Automation

Landing Pages

Lead Nurturing Lead Scoring CRM

Integration Analytics

Marketing Automation

But moaaam…

Marketing Automation is not…

Just about “automating” marketing

For marketers only

Another fragmented technology

investment

Challenging traditional perspectives

Tradeshow badge scan

Email campaign open rate

Downloading a whitepaper

More than 5 website visits

Downloading 2 or more whitepapers

Demo Signup

Contact Us form fill

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

7%

9%

12%

15%

18%

19%

20%

Sales (n=78)* 2013 Marketing Automation Survey, Sales Reps n=78

What activity drives the most conversion to a qualified opportunity in your organization?

No Clear Winner?!

?

What should sales really expect from marketing automation?

What should sales expect from marketing automation

Faster sales cycles

Efficiency gains

Forecast accuracy

Visibility into buyer behavior

Conversation starters

Downstream accountability

Survey Says

Tangible

Fluffy

REVENUE

What’s on your mind?

Save Time

Improve Success

Rate

Path to Revenu

e

Expect it to be an investment in time, not necessarily budget

Budget usually resides in marketing

Establish a common languageDefinition of a “qualified lead”Integration with CRMLead alertsTerritories and account business rules

Stop guessing

But I’ve heard about too many failed implementations

Top Performers are 4x more likely to invest in marketing automation

Establish a “Clarity of Focus”Share Customer Win Data with Marketing

Prioritize 3-5 Key Personas

If you don’t know where you are going every path

will take you there.

Expect 2x higher bid-to-win ratios from your highest performing reps

32% of All Respondents report leads that are passed to sales are qualified by BANT criteria.

Top Performing organizations report 2x higher bid-to-win ratios in the first 12 months of using marketing automation.

* B2B Marketing Survey, Q4 2013, n=189

But do I need to disrupt existing processes to get there?

Lead scoring creates rules to automate qualification and outsource it to marketing

Content uncovers intent- conversation starters

Multi-channel communication is less intrusive to prospects

Real-time alerts in CRM give reps context

Expect an average of 1.5x higher revenue year-over-year.

100% of respondents reported an average of 1.5x higher revenue YoY.

82% of sales leaders report “significant improvement” in lead quality within the first year of investing in marketing automation.

76% report a “significant decrease” in lead quantity. * B2B Marketing Survey, Q4

2013, n=189

But every time we beat a target …my target increases!?!

Measure the conversion from “marketing qualified” to “sales accepted lead”

Measurement gives Marketing and Sales leaders to confidence on performance so you can say:

Sales: “if you give us X sales accepted leads we will convert Y revenue in this timeframe.”

Marketing: “to generate X sales accepted leads we need Y in marketing spend.”

Expect Shorter Sales Cycles

89% of sales leaders report sales cycles decreased “as a result of marketing automation.”

* B2B Marketing Survey, Q4 2013, n=189

Expect an increase in CRM adoption among sales reps

In your opinion, did marketing automation with CRM integration lead to an increase in CRM usage among reps?

Yes

No

* B2B Marketing Survey, Q4 2013, n=189

Expect marketing to be just as accountable as sales.

Quantify everything. Leads meet the criteria or they don’t.

Link marketing spend to revenue for closed loop measurement.

Determine what messages resonate across different channels. Help sales reps adjust tactics.

Replicate and scale best practices.

What to expect?

2x higher bid-to-win ratios

“significant increases” in lead quality

“significant decrease” in marketing-to-sales lead quantity

1.5x higher increases in revenue

increased CRM adoption

reduced sales cycles

tangible accountability – in marketing

ComplimentaryDeep Dive Research Report

What Sales Should Really Expect from Marketing Automation

Ready to Learn More?Call +1 (877) 530-1555Email sales@act-on.com

Web www.act-on.com

THE FORRESTER WAVE™ LEADERS

QUADRANT

Thanks!

Q&A

Ian MichielsGleanster Research @InsightFanatic

ian.michiels@gleanster.com