ebook vol4 marketing and sales alignment

8/14/2019 eBook Vol4 Marketing and Sales Alignment

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ebook-vol4-marketing-and-sales-alignment 1/16

101 B2B Marketing and Sales Tips

from The B2B Lead

Playing on the same team to generate leads and drive revenue

Marketing and Sales Alignment

VOLUME FOUR

P R E S E N T E D B Y



P R E S E N T E D B Y

10 Tips or Marketing and Sales Alignment:

Marketing and Sales are on the same team, right? Then why does it seem that they just cannot get along. With the latest sales orce and marketing automation technologies, the

communication gap between Sales and Marketing should be closing. When Marketing and Sales teams are aligned to the same goals, communication opens, the number o quality

leads increases and ultimately revenue goes up.

In this collection o 10 Marketing and Sales Alignment tips rom The B2B Lead, you will nd inormation on lead scoring, dening a lead and much more. Here’s a ew o the

included tips in this eBook:

• UseLeadScoringtoIdentifySales-ReadyLeads

• MarketingMetricstoDriveSales

• PracticalStrategiestoBuildingSales-MarketingAlignment

• UsingSalesWinsAnalysisforFocusedLeadGeneration

I you like what your see here, be sure to check out theb2blead.com or more B2B Marketing and Sales tips.

Content contributed by:

AmyHawthorne,DirectorofMarketingatReachForce

Jon Miller, author o the Modern B2B Marketing blogandVPofMarketingforleadmanagementsoftwarecompany,Marketo

SuaadSait,CEOatReachForce

CodyYoung,Sr.DirectorofCustomerSuccessatReachForce

101 B2B Marketing and Sales Tips from The B2B Lead

VOLUME THREE • Event Marketing 2

http://theb2blead.com/

http://blog.marketo.com/

http://www.marketo.com/


http://blog.marketo.com/

http://theb2blead.com/



101 B2B Marketing and Sales Tips from The B2B LeadP R E S E N T E D B Y

VOLUME FOUR • Marketing and Sales Alignment 3

Table o Contents

Marketing and Sales Alignment

1. Here’sWhyMarketingandSalesCan’tGetAlong

2. What is Marketing’s #1 Job?

3.PracticalStrategiestoBuildingSales-MarketingAlignment

4.DeningaLead

5.MarketingMetricstoDriveSales

6.UsingSalesWinsAnalysisforFocusedLeadGeneration

7.UseLeadScoringtoIdentifySales-ReadyLeads

8.UsingSurveysforLeadScoring

9.EasytoTakeLeadScoringSurveysHelpDriveHighResponseRates

10.TheIntegratedRevenueCycle:ANewModelforSalesandMarketing





Here’s Why Marketing and Sales Can’t Get Along

The gap between marketing and sales teams has been around since the two unctions were created and is usually just accepted as an irreparable inconvenience in many busi -

nesses. Sales thinks only they are worried about the quarter; Marketing thinks they are the only ones who think strategically. Sales wonder why they have to generate all their own

leads; Marketing complains that sales ignores or criticizes everything they generate. Sales thinks marketing is lightweight and easy; Marketing thinks salespeople will say anything to

get a deal.

It is time or this ghting to stop. As the spread o the internet and social media transorm the B2B buying process, aligning the warring departments has never been more critical to

driving revenue and growth. And stopping the ghting begins by understanding the real and signicant dierences between the two unctions.

There are a number o actors on which marketing and sales dier, including timerames, goals, and ways o showing value. While marketers look months and even years down the

roadastheyseektodevelopabrandandgrowbroadinterestintheircompany,salesislaser-focusedonhittingtheirnumbersforthehereandnow.Eachviewpointmeetsadistinct

and valid business need, but these contrasting views lead to conficting perceptions o what contributes to the overall success o the business. It also means that marketing and

sales tend to attract dierent skill sets and risk proles, which exacerbates the “us versus them” mentality and makes it harder to appreciate the other’s disciplines.

Thedissonanceisfurtherintensiedbythefeelingamongmarketersthattheyaretreatedassecond-classcitizenswhilesalesgetstheglory(andtheincentive-basedcompensa-

tion). The value o a new sales win is immediately quantiable as new revenue, but marketing is oten seen as a cost center because its impact on revenue isn’t made explicit.

(Marketersoftenexacerbatethisbyfocusingtoomuchonmeasuringactivityinsteadofoutcomes;whileit’seasytomeasuresalesoutcomesbuthardtomeasuresalesactivity,theopposite is true in marketing.)

What to do about it?

Putsimply,thesedifferencemeansthatSales is rom Mars, and Marketing is rom Venus. Thereore, they key to closing the gap between marketing and sales is not to slam the

two groups into one unction under one leader, as some pundits advise. And it’s not to orce marketers to behave more like salespeople, with aggressive quotas and huge variable

compensation. Instead, the answer is to recognize that marketing and sales bring dierent strengths to the revenue process, and to nd ways to get the best out o each unction in

a coordinated, ecient process.

In my next guest post, I’ll share my six keys to building a happy marriage between sales and marketing, so stay tuned!

http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2006/12/9_stop_being_a_.html

http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2008/03/sales-is-from-m.html

http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2008/03/sales-is-from-m.html

http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2006/12/9_stop_being_a_.html





What is Marketing’s #1 Job?

Marketing’snumberonejobshouldbeleadgenerationwithmeasurableimpacttotop-linerevenue,right?Ibetthat’swhatmostCEOsandSalesExecutiveswouldsay.Sowhydo

otherdepartmentsstillthinkofusastheoneswhoorderthet-shirtsandgotocoolevents?Andthesearethenicecommentsmade,askafewsalesguyswhattheythinkofmarket-

ing and I’m sure you’ll get a variety o not so nice answers.

According to the CMO Council, 38% o CMOs say that aligning and integrating sales and marketing is a top priority this year. But, only 30% have a clear process or program to

makethispriorityareality.Ithinktherealquestionhereis-whyisitonlyapriorityfor38%?

ForMarketingtohaveaclearimpactonrevenue,theymustbealignedwithSales.IbelievetherearethreeimportantfactorsforhealthyMarketingandSalesalignment:

1. Marketing’sgoals(andbonuses)aretiedtothesamegoalsasSales–e.g.bookingsandnewcustomersacquired

2. Clear denition o a lead and when leads should be passed to Sales

3. A closed loop process that allows Sales teams to push leads not ready or Sales back to Marketing or ongoing nurture programs.

WhenSalesandMarketingsharethesamegoals,theyhavetoworktogether.Neitherwillbesuccessfuliftheydonotcommunicateopenlyandcollaboratetoreachtheirgoals.The

breakdown typically starts with the denition i a lead. With Sales constantly asking or more leads, it is no wonder that many Marketers are orced to get new contacts any way theycan(websiteregistrations,eventattendeesorjustbuyingalist)andthenjustthrowthemoverthewalltoSales.Moreisbetter,right?Notnecessarilyinthiscase.Instead,Market-

ers should warm all new contacts through an email, direct mail or webinar campaign to gauge their “sales readiness”. This enables Sales to ocus on only the warm/hot leads while

Marketing continues to educate those that aren’t ready to buy just yet. Through this process Marketing should also be able to weed out companies and contacts that are not a t or

the business allowing or more productivity and eciency on your sales team.

TheidealscenarioistobuildafunneltogetherwithSalesanddenethestagesofitandthespecichand-offpointofalead–auniedfunnelistheONLYapproachtocreatinga

win-winforthebusiness.





Practical Strategies to Building Sales-Marketing Alignment

I recently wrote about why sales and marketing can’t get along. Here are some practical tips to start bridging the gap!

1. Model the entire revenue cycle. As opposed to a standalone sales cycle, ocus on an integrated revenue cycle that starts rom the day you rst meet a prospect and continues

through the sale and beyond to the customer relationship. This helps each team understand what the other is doing, and how their actions help acilitate revenue.

2. Develop a common vocabulary.Partofanintegratedrevenuecycleiscommondenitionsforeachstage.Whenmarketingsitsdownwithsalesandsays,“whatisthedenition

o a good sales lead,andhowcanwehelp?”thedynamicbetweenthetwodepartmentschanges.Withthedenitionofsales-readyinhand,marketingcanbeginrebuilding

trust by delivering leads that meet that denition. This common language and metrics is essential or communication between the unctions.

3. Look or operational disconnects. Too oten, sales energy and promotions are ocused in a dierent direction than marketing’s most recent campaigns. In some cases, they

can even be in confict! In one example, the sales team had an incentive to sell a product that marketing was planning to discontinue in the next month. Make sure that initia -

tives and promotions are aligned by developing plans jointly and meeting monthly or at least quarterly.

4. Create a closed-loop reporting process.Marketingneedstohaveawaytofollow-upwithsalestoseehowwellleadsareperforming.ThiscanbeaeldintheCRMsystem,a

regular call, or even an automated survey. Just make sure it’s easy or the rep to respond. It can be as basic as sending the rep an email two weeks ater receiving a lead with

thesubject“WasleadABCgood?”Thisway,theycansimplyreply“Yes”or“No”,whichtheycaneasilydoontheirBlackberryorinahotelroom.Closingthelooplikethiscan

help tune lead generation eorts, and is an important way to take qualied prospects that are not yet sales ready and recycle them back into marketing or lead nurturing.

5. Share accountability between the teams. Marketing is a very measurable process, but the results are head to measure; it’s easy to measure Sales outcomes but Sales activity

is hard to measure. As a result, compensation and rewards tend to be very dierent, which creates urther problems. So be sure to review how each team is compensated and

rewardedtoensurealignment.(Onetypicaldisconnect:marketingfocusesonthenumberofnewdealswhilesalesisfocusedontheamountandsizeofthetotalpipeline.)The

better your ability to measure marketing ROI, the easier it is to bridge this gap.

6. Foster respect and trust. Perhapsmostimportantly,Inparticular,buildingalignmentbetweenmarketingandsalesorganizationsstartswithacommonsetofvaluesandshared

belies. I the two unctions don’t undamentally believe the other has the same set o goals in mind, it will be much more dicult to drive alignment. This is rooted in good and

regularcommunication,butitcanbechallengingtorepairyearsofmiscommunicationallatonce.Startbyfocusingonsmallwins(forexample,lookforaparticularrepwho

closed a big deal because o a marketing lead) and promote the result aggressively. By having a “victory parade” or small wins, you will begin the process o better communi-

cation and trust.

http://www.theb2blead.com/b2b-marketing/here%D5%B3-why-marketing-and-sales-can%D5%B4-get-along-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-145/

http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2008/07/the-revenue-cyc.html

http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-software/sales-lead-insight.php

http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-software/lead-nurturing-software.php

http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-software/marketing-roi.php

http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-software/marketing-roi.php


http://www.marketo.com/b2b-marketing-software/sales-lead-insight.php

http://blog.marketo.com/blog/2008/07/the-revenue-cyc.html

http://www.theb2blead.com/b2b-marketing/here%D5%B3-why-marketing-and-sales-can%D5%B4-get-along-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-145/





Defning a Lead

Notetheperspectiveinthisblogbiteassumesthefollowing:Leadgenerationisaboutdeliveringhighqualitytargetedopportunitiestosalestoacceleraterevenue.

I have spent several years listening people complain about the ollowing:

Sales: Marketing does not know what they are doing, their leads are bad

Marketing: Sales is not smart enough to ollow-up on our leads

The crux o the problem, in my view is the denition o a lead and metrics that are used to measure marketing success. My opinion, 2 things you should consider:

1. GetWRITTENbuy-infromsalesondenitionofalead

2. Compensatemarketingnotongeneratingvolumeofleadsbutthenumberofleadsthatsales“accepts”–basedon#1(compensationtiedtorevenueisALSOkey)

So what is a lead?

IlikeSiriusDecisionsframework.It’sagoodplacetostart,thenyoucanadaptforyourbusiness:





Marketing Metrics that Drive Sales

B2B marketing is all about driving sales, right? The most eective teams know that alignment o marketing and sales is a requirement or productive lead generation and customer

growth.

We’ve had sales pipeline metrics in place orever, I sometimes wonder why we as Marketers got to skate along all this time with no accountability…that’s a post or another daymaybe…

With today’s sales orce automation and marketing automation solutions, we as Marketers are now able to prove our worth with every campaign or program we launch.

Here’safewmetricswehereatReachForcetracktoensurewearedrivingvaluablesalesactivityandcustomergrowth.

• #ofnetnewcompaniesfromourtargetmarketsweetspotsareaddedtothemarketingmixeachweek

• #ofnetnewcontacts(rightrole,notjustanyone)fromourtargetmarketsweetspotsareaddedtothemarketingmixeachweek

• #ofcontactsbeingtouchedwithamarketingmessageeachweek;netnewcontactsvs.thoseinnurtureprograms(andofcourse,wetrackopensandclickthroughs)

• #ofinboundrequests

• #ofpeoplehittingalandingpage,thenjumpingtocorporatesiteforproduct/serviceinfo.(wedonewsletterandsearchengineadvertisingdrivingpeopletobestpractice

content accessible via a landing page)

• #ofpeopleoriginatingatTheB2BLead(ReachForceblog)andjumpingtotheReachForcecorporatesite(productpages,solutionpages)

• #ofnewsalesmeetingssetfrommarketingleadgenerationprograms

• #ofmarketingleadsmovedtothequalicationstageofoursalespipeline

• #ofmarketingleadsmovingtoaproposal,andofcourseclosing

Once a new customer is onboard I then go back and identiy what activities were involved in moving this lead to being a new customer so I can be sure to do more o it.

Nowofcoursethereisalistofmetricssimilartothisforeachinitiativeyoutakeon.It’salwaysimportanttooutlinegoalsandexpectationsofeachprogramsothatyouaresureto

spend your time and resources on the best producing programs.

Doyoumeasureanythingnotonthislist?Ifso,pleaseshare.





Using Sales Wins Analysis or Focused Lead Generation

Doyouknowyourbestcustomers?Canyoueasilyidentifyyoursweetspot-theverticalmarketsinwhichyousellthemostorthefastest?Arethereotherbusinessbuyersinyour

sweet spot that you should be targeting? I you can’t answer these questions but wish you could, ollow the ve steps below to gain insight into your sales unnel.

Five Steps to Eective Laser-Targeted Lead Generation Using Sales Win Analysis

Thefollowingve-stepprocessgivesyouaroadmapforfastandefcientSalesWinsAnalysis.Byfollowingthispath,youwillbeabletoeliminatefalsestartsandquicklyidentifytop

perorming vertical markets so that you can execute laser ocused programs that produce a higher response rate, more sales conversions and aster pipeline velocity.

Step 1: Review and categorize the opportunities in your Marketing and Sales pipeline.

Eective Sales Wins Analysis begins with a thorough review o your Marketing and Sales pipeline including open opportunities and closed deals rom current and previous years. By

analyzing both the size o the deals, as well as the velocity o those deals as they move through the pipeline, and categorizing those deals into distinct market sectors, you can begin

toidentifymarketsthatareproducingthemostrevenueforyourorganization.Togetstarted,compilecustomeraccountdatafromyourCRMsystemandbuildadatamodelthat

answers the ollowing questions:

• InwhichverticalmarketsegmentsamIclosingthemostdeals?

• Inwhichverticalmarketsegmentsaredealsclosingthefastest?

• Whatotherverticalmarketsegmentssharesimilarcharacteristics?

Step 2: Build a profle o your top accounts.

Ater identiying the most lucrative target markets or your product or service, you will want to discover additional prospect accounts in those markets with characteristics that are

similartoyourbestbuyers.Theseprospectswillundoubtedlyhavethehighestpropensitytobuyfromyou,sotargetyourLeadGenerationprogramsatthisgrouprst.Considerthe

ollowing when building your prole:

QualicationCriteria:Proleyourbestcustomerstodeneasetofthreetovecommoncharacteristicsthatwillserveasqualifyingcriteriaforidentifyingnewprospects.Lookat

companyrevenues,locations,numberofemployeesandothereasytonddata.DomostofyourcustomersfallintotheFortune1000-sizerange?Aremoredealsclosingfasterin

theSmallandMedium-sizebusinesssector?Isthenumberofemployeesacriticalsuccessfactor?Aretherekeytrendsyoucanidentifyincertainindustriesthataredrivingthe

needforyourproduct?Forexample,youmayndthatyouclosemoredealsquicklywithorganizationsthathaverevenuegreaterthan$500,000,000USDandglobaloperations





with a minimum o ve locations. I so, use these as minimum qualication criteria or selecting your new prospects in your best vertical markets. Then make sure you capture this

type o data or all new leads so that you can better qualiy the leads you provide to Sales.

TheCustomerBuyCycle:Next,mapthebuycycleforyourbestcustomerstoidentifyanddescribetherolesandresponsibilitiesforthedecision-maker,economicbuyer,end-user,

and other key players in the buying process. The number o roles depends upon the number o people typically involved in the buying process. You’ll want to understand their roles

both in the buying cycle and within the organization. Make sure you phone screen a sample o these targets to understand the responsibilities or each o your buyers. This will give

youtheinsighttoproducehighimpactMarketingmessagesandastrongcalltoactionforyourmulti-modalMarketingcampaigns.

Step 3: Identiy additional target accounts in your top markets.

You now have a blueprint o the best possible prospects or your business. Apply that blueprint to the universe o buying organizations in your top vertical markets to hand pick

thebestpossibletargetsforyourDirectMarketingcampaigns.Whilethesecompanieshavenotyetpurchasedfromyou,theysharemanyofthesamecharacteristicsofyourbest

customers, and thereore will likely have a higher propensity to purchase your products or services.

Step 4: Conduct Contact Discovery to identiy the right buyers in your target accounts.

With your target Accounts list compiled, you’ll need to identiy prospects in the right roles within these companies. Make sure you veriy more than just contact inormation and

titles. To ensure you are getting to the right buyers as quickly as possible, identiy your prospective buyers by their role in the organization and more importantly the buying process.

Surveyasampleofyourcontactsontheirpainpoints,decisiondrivers,triggers,andtrustedinformationsources.Gatherasmuchinformationasyouneedtocaptureyourpros-pects’ attention and communicate your value to them.

Step 5: Execute a multi-modal marketing campaign to deliver the right message to the right buyers.

Multi-modalDirectMarketinginvolvesacarefullyexecutedcampaignthatdeliverstargetedmessagestobuyersusingtheirpreferredmeansofcommunication.Notallbuyerslike

to receive product inormation in precisely the same way, so it’s best to tailor your messages based on your buyers’ preerences. In act, a recent Marketing Sherpa research project

surveying3000ITbuyersandvendorsdemonstratedthatB2BDecision-makersorExecutive-levelbuyersprefertolearnmoreaboutproductsviaWebinars,whereasContributors

orEnd-userspreferwhitepapers.Mapoutandexecuteyourmulti-modalcampaignfocusingonkeyverticalpainpointswithmessagesthatappealtoeachofyourtargetroles.Start

with an oer that requires a low commitment to respond like a white paper download and work your way up to a more involved call to action such as a product demo.

OngoingMarketingandSalesPipelineMonitoring

Withthisve-stepprocessforSalesWinanalysis,you’llbeabletolaser-targetyourLeadGenerationprogramstoproducemoreimpressiveMarketingmetrics,alignyourdemandgeneration programs with Sales, and improve your unnel eciency by driving greater revenue aster. Keep in mind, however, that just as customers and markets evolve, your

Marketing programs must transorm accordingly. This is why it is important to conduct Sales Wins Analysis at least quarterly so that you can monitor your pipeline closely to uncover

new opportunities and spot trends. Maintaining visibility into your Marketing and Sales unnel will give you the insight you need to boost Marketing results and revenue.

Allofthissoundabitdaunting?Noworries,checkoutourInsight Lite product on the salesorce.com AppExchange:

Or Schedule a Demonstration o ReachForce Insight Pro version and analyze not only your customer win data but also in unnel opportunities or trends.

https://www.salesforce.com/appexchange/detail_overview.jsp?NavCode__c=&id=a0330000002Pyw4AAC

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https://www.salesforce.com/appexchange/detail_overview.jsp?NavCode__c=&id=a0330000002Pyw4AAC





Use Lead Scoring to Identiy Sales-Ready Leads

MostleadsfromB2Bmarketingcampaignsarestillresearching.Prematurelypassingtheseearlyleadstosalesonlyannoysthebuyerandmakessalesevenlesslikelytofollow-up

on marketing leads. This means the majority o inquiries require urther lead nurturing beore they become sales ready, so marketers also need the ability to know when to try to

nudge the prospect to the next stage and when to pull back and give the prospect some space.

This is where lead scoringcomesin.Leadscoringistheprocessofdeterminingaprospect’slevelofinterestinyoursolution(engagement),aswellasyourinterestinaprospect

(demographicstargeting).Whenusedeffectively,leadscoringmeansyouwillpassfewer,buthigherquality,leadstosales.Bynotwastingsalestimeonlowqualityleads,repscan

ocus on just the high quality leads — meaning wins rates and sales productivity go up. In act, as little as a 10% increase in lead quality can generate a 40% increase in sales

productivity. In a world where the sales department costs equal 20 or 30% o total revenue, this kind o improvement means a dramatic impact on the bottom line.

How can you use lead scoring to achieve this kind o benet or your organization?

Firstofall,toomanycompaniesuseonlybasicdemographicdata(e.g.title,companysize,etc.)inscoring.Thisisuseful,butdemographicdataonlytellhowinterestedyouarein

theprospect—andnothingabouthowinterestedtheprospectisinyou.EvenBANTcriteria(budget,authority,timing,andneed)havelimitedusefulnesssincebuyers’answersto

those questions are notoriously inaccurate, and as we all know, people’s actions speak louder than their words. This means you should also track a lead’s behaviors so you can you

measure their interest and engagement in your solution.

Begin by monitoring and tracking online behaviors, such as email responses, completed orms, and Web site visits. You can do this manually with web analytics, or automate the

process using marketing automationsoftware.Assignapointvaluetoeach,justasyouwouldassignavaluetoeachjobtitle.Certainbehaviors–suchasusingyourcompany

brandnameinasearch,visitingyourpricingpage,orreturningfrequentlytoyoursite–indicatehigherreadinesstobuy,soassignevenhigherweightstothosebehaviors.Since

B2B purchases typically involve 6 to 21 dierent people, add up the scores or each contact at a given company to measure the total level o engagement or that organization.

Finally,besuretolowerthescoreovertimeifengagementgoesdown.

Reviewthepointvalueswiththesalesteam,anddecidewhatscoreindicatessales-readiness.Ifthesalesteamdeterminesaprospectisnotyetready,recycletheleadbackto

marketingforadditionalnurturing.Finally,besuretoclosetheloopandreneyourscoringrulesandpointvaluesovertimeforcontinuousimprovement.

Want more details? Here’s a link to a ree eBook rom Marketo called Best Practices in Lead Scoring.



http://www.marketo.com/library/are-they-hot-or-not-lead-scoring-wp.pdf

http://www.marketo.com/library/are-they-hot-or-not-lead-scoring-wp.pdf







Using Surveys or Lead Scoring

Lead Scoring appears to be the newest tactic Marketers are using to better identiy warm to hot leads or Sales. Marketing Automation vendors like Marketo are promoting lead rat-

ing and lead scoring as a means to increase sales eectiveness and accelerate typical sales cycles. Both are measuring a contact’s interaction behaviors with marketing activities.

But should a contact really be considered a hot lead i they open a ew emails and visit your website a time or two? I think our Sales team might disagree here.

AtReachForce,wearedoingalittleleadscoringofourown.Insteadofanalyzingprospectbehaviors,wearegoingdirectlytothemandaskingthemtoparticipateinasurvey.By

gathering qualiying inormation directly rom the prospect, our customers are able to better target their messaging at these new prospects. By enabling them to get to the right buy -

ers, in the right companies, with the right message, they are seeing increased marketing results and sales conversions.

Here are ew tips we share with our customers when we’re building out a lead scoring survey.

Lead Scoring surveys can quickly:

1. Qualifyacompanyasauserofacertaintechnologyorapplication–Thistypeofquestionistoconrmifaprospectorganizationusessomethingthateithercomplimentsor

competes with the survey sponsor’s oering.

2. Findoutrespondentstatus:decisionmaker,apartofadecisionmakingteamorasecondaryinuencer–Thistypeofquestionisusefulwhensettingthestageforasalescall

or marketing campaign so messaging can be made as relevant and personalized as possible.

3. Findouthowwellthetop2‐3productorservice“keyvalues”arerecognizedbyeachrespondent–A“keyvalue”issomethingthatmakesanofferingbetter,uniqueoruncom-

monly relevant to the prospect. This type o question is used to nd out i they will “get” your value proposition, or i education or special messaging is required.

4. Measurehowimportantkeyvaluesaretoeachrespondent–ThisfollowuptoQ3isusedtondouthowimportanttherespondentthinksthesponsor’skeyvaluesare.Com-

bined scores to this set o questions are used to determine degree o interest and help make sales and marketing messaging relevant and personal when ollowing up on the

lead.

5. Determinebudget–Thistypeofquestionisusedtopinpointhowmuchtherespondents’organizationspends(andbyimplicationwouldexpecttospendnexttime)onoffer-

ingssimilartowhatthesponsorsells.Payingcloseattentiontoscoresthataretoolowhelpsalesandmarketingteamsprioritize.

6. Conrmplan–Thistypeofquestionhelpsndoutwhenorhowoftentherespondentisinthemarketforwhatthesurveysponsorisselling.Questionslikethiscanalsobe

centeredonndingtriggerevents(audits,budgetplanning,corporateinitiatives)thatcreatesalesopportunity.

7. Establishtimelineor“windowofsalesopportunity”–Bycombiningtheresponsesto“Conrmplan”andthistypeofquestion,theresultisnormallyareliableindicationof

when the respondent’s organization will begin the buying cycle or what the survey sponsor is selling.

The lead score you end up with or each prospect should help you to determine i the prospect can be immediately handed o to sales or put into a marketing campaign or urther

nurturing.





Easy to Take Lead Scoring Surveys Help Drive High Response Rates

When developing lead scoring survey questions that eectively determine need, interest, timing and budget, remember these things:

• Don’toveruseindustryjargonandacronymswhencraftingthequestions

• Usesimpleanddirectlanguage

• Avoiduseofpassivemessagingandsalespitches

• Offerasmanymultiplechoicequestionsaspossible

• Randomizepresentationofmultiplechoicestoavoidbias

• Designquestionstomaximizemeaningfulcrosstabanalysis

• Useasfewquestionsaspossible

Formoreinfoonleadscoringsurveyscheckoutmylastpost,Using Surveys or Lead Scoring.

http://www.theb2blead.com/lead-scoring/using-surveys-for-lead-scoring-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-99/

http://www.theb2blead.com/lead-scoring/using-surveys-for-lead-scoring-b2b-marketing-and-sales-tip-99/





About ReachForce

ReachForcedeliverssoftware(SaaS)anddataservicesthatenableB2Bcompaniestolasertargettheirleadgenerationprograms.ReachForcesolutionsallowmarketingandsales

teamstotargetmarket‘sweetspots’usingCRMandwebsitevisitordatathenreachtherightbuyersinthesecompaniesusingrole-basedcontactdiscoveryservices.

ReachForcewascreatedtoensureMarketers,keeptheirseatatthetable.AsateamoflongtimeMarketerswedecidedweweretiredofitbeingoktobewrong97%ofthetime.With marketing response rate industry averages being less than 3%, there is something undamentally wrong with the way we as B2B Marketers have been driving lead generation

initiatives.Responseratesdon’tequalleadsandleadsdon’talwaysmeanqualiedbuyers.

AtReachForce,wedon’tcareaboutormeasureresponserates,wedriveandmeasurerevenuedeliveredtothebusinessfromleadgenerationinitiatives.Byaddressingthefounda-

tionofanymarketingprogram,thedata-or“TheWHO”aswecallit,ReachForcewasfoundedwithonegoalinmind:toprovidebusinesseswithrevolutionary,highquality,cost-

eective data to uel their marketing and sales lead generation initiatives.

About Marketo

MarketoprovidesB2Bsophisticated,yeteasymarketingautomationsoftwarethatturns“clicksintocustomers”andtranslatesmarketingspendintorevenue.Marketo’saward-win-

ningmarketingsolutionsprovideemailmarketing,leadnurturing,leadscoring,andclosed-loopreportingcapabilitiestohelpmarketingandsalesteamsworktogethertogenerate

andqualifysalesleads,shortensalescycles,anddemonstratemarketingaccountability.Drivenbyarelentlessfocusoncustomersuccessandtoutingthemostinnovativeuser

experienceinbusinesssoftwaretoday,Marketoisemergingasthefastest-growingleadmanagementvendorintheworld.

Marketo’son-demandmarketingproductsareeasytobuybecausetheydon’trequirecompleximplementationorupfrontfees,easytoownbecausetheydon’trequireITsupport,

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