We’re not in Kansas anymore. You went to sleep in an orderly black and white world of cold calls, trade shows and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. interaction… and woke up in a technicolor virtual world of content marketing, social media and 24/7 acceleration.
This is an incredibly exciting and challenging time to be a B2B marketer. It’s nearly impossible for sales people to get in front of prospects early enough in the buy cycle to influence a decision. Buyers do their researching online, and will only speak to a sales person when they’re ready to talk price, terms and conditions. Today, B2B marketers own the top three quarters of the sales funnel.
Prospects are busier than ever. If they consume your messaging and product information at all, they consume it online. They won’t read a 12 page white paper, or sit through a 30 minute PowerPoint presentation. So how do you communicate the features, benefits and value proposition of complex B2B products and services in a way that they’ll consume?
The sales team owns the bottom of the funnel. When they have ‘sales-ready’ leads, they can perform the extremely valuable function of closing profitable deals… but they don’t have the skills, time or tools to develop those leads. Marketing must do that job, do it well, and do it cost effectively. The days of just filling the top of the funnel with unqualified prospects are over.
Online analytics automatically measure how well your campaigns turn prospects into qualified leads, and turn qualified leads into ‘sales-ready’ leads. So what kind of campaigns can you develop that will:
- either be delivered to, or be found by, the right target prospects?
- grab their attention and hold it?
- be able to communicate a significant amount of information in a short amount of time?
- gently persuade them in an entertaining way that they’ll remember and share?
- convert them into either qualified or ‘sales-ready’ leads?
This is the first in a series of blog posts we’re running that will answer the above questions for you.
Stay tuned.
Tags: b2b marketers, profitable deals
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Bob, you’ve got all the answers and you’ve been keeping them from us? Looking forward to the next post. I have a hunch it will involve video…
Something like that, Joe… time will tell.
Bob,
Very timely article, albeit scary for anyone stuck in 20th Century thinking. I believe this exciting new way for B2B to “sell” will revolutionize business itself. I look forward to your next blog on this very important and timely topic. Thanks for the insights.
Bob,
Whew, I’m glad I’m in sales, not marketing!
I’m also glad you are in marketing, because I am looking forward to hearing your answers to those important questions…
Thanks, Dorothy and Brian.
What I have in store, by all accounts, is unique and what B2B companies need in this new market landscape. I’ve been fortunate to have access to the best and the brightest of B2B marketing experts, and I’ve been pressure testing my solution with them.
The proof of concept is in the works, and we’ll be unveiling it in about six weeks.
Bob