The New B2B Sales & Marketing Credo
Sales and Marketing are joined at the hip
Sales and marketing are not frenemies. To successfully impact a business' bottom line, they need to collaborate and push in the same direction.
Sales is not a dirty word
In fact, sales is a beautiful word; if you believe that your product will change someone's life or business for the better, selling becomes the simple act of communicating that value and removing obstacles to decision-making.
Marketing needs to prove its worth
Marketing's function is to help sales book pipeline and secure revenue. Gone are the days of spraying the marketing message across the board and hoping someone will convert.
One inch wide and a mile deep
Deep beats wide any day; in the prospect's eyes, the real value of your offering comes from understanding its relevance to their world. To do this, you have to follow the prospect in their rabbit-hole, see the world with their eyes, and connect the dots for them.
It's a game of inches
Do the work: research, call, build rapport, follow-up, test, repeat. You can't directly control the outcomes, but every touchpoint leads you closer to the goal.
Disqualify Early
Someone said: in sales, the second-best word, after a yes is a no. If your prospect isn't a good match for your product or service, move on and don't look back. Your products or services might not be a good fit for them at this time.
97% of sales stats are made-up
Including this one. The bottomline is that nobody has a silver-bullet. Take an agile sales approach: experiment, measure, iterate.
The shortest path between you and a sale is an arabesque
There are no straight lines ahead. The shortest path is full of twists and turns, mirages, and dead-ends.
Your competition is in your blind spot
Assume that your competition has a leg-up on you and always be ready for battle. Adopt a continuous improvement process and be a life-long learner.
Don't chase the new squirrel
Look, squirrel! Don't constantly change direction and follow new trends blindly. A new app came out? Familiarize with it, but don't over-commit resources. Most innovations don't change the evergreen fundamental principles of sales and marketing.
Retention is the new acquisition
It's always easier to keep current clients than win net-new business. Don't always focus on new leads; up-sell and cross-sell within your existing clients.
No bad teams, only bad leaders
Your team reflects the quality of your leadership. History proves that great leaders have managed to inspire ordinary men and women to do great things.
Gravity still applies
New channels aren't an excuse to break the rules. Would you behave the same way in real life? If not, you should change.
