steve mckenzie - inbound vs. account based selling
TRANSCRIPT
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INBOUND VS. ACCOUNT BASED SELLING …..
Friends ….. Foes ….. or Frenemies?
Steve McKenzieHead of Sales InsightSquared [email protected]
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ACCOUNT BASED SELLING?
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1. Sales people might be thinking ….. – What is this Marketing Speak? – This is how we have been selling all the time
• We focus on accounts• We find the key contacts• Run then through a process• We sell to them
2. Right?
ACCOUNT BASED SELLING?
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GTM MACHINE HAS EVOLVED
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B2B BUYERS HAVE EVOLVED 1. Buyers are empowered
2. Buying is done by committee
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B2B SELLERS HAVE EVOLVED 1. Walking catalogue
– Look what I have ….
2. Solution selling– Help me understand …..
3. Challenger Sales– Here’s what I know/how I can help …..
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1. Organization = Account2. Person = Contact or Lead 3. Person who is ‘loosely engaged’ = MQL4. Person who is ‘more engaged’ = SQL5. Person who a Rep is going to try and sell to = SAL6. Organization that is engaged = Opportunity7. People in that organization = Contacts8. Organization that you have contracted with = Customer
DEFINITIONS
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SPECIALIZE FOR EFFICIENCY
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DIVISION OF LABOR
Marketing
BDR / SDR
Account Exec
CSM
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INBOUND STRATEGY
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1. Publishers of content to draw people (leads) in
2. Goal = Opt in to start a digital relationship
3. Further engagement to create ‘Hand Raisers’ / MQL
4. Marketing Optimize for the Denominator
5. Focus is on Quantity
6. Usually stop once Op created
INBOUND MARKETING
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1. MQL handed off to BDR / SDR – SLA – speed to reach out– SLA - number of touches
2. BDR to book meeting / demo for AE3. AE qualifies and converts to Op4. AE sells5. Hands over account to CSM to manage
INBOUND SALES
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1. Higher volume transactions
2. Faster sales cycle
3. Lower ASP
4. Very large total addressable market (TAM)
5. Inside sales predominance
6. Optimized for SPEED and VOLUME
TYPICAL INBOUND USE CASE
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Pros1. When it works well it’s a machine!2. Cost effective for broad coverage3. There is always someone to call!
– Good steady lead flow Cons1. Marketing control who sales sells to 2. Could hit a MQL fiscal cliff (Quantity)3. Hit an MQL decay curve (Quality)4. MQL & Op misalignment 5. Division of labor can lead to silos and finger pointing
PROS AND CONS
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ACCOUNT BASED STRATEGY
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ACCOUNT BASED MARKETING Focus on Accounts, Contacts and Engagement1. Ideal Client Profile (ICP) definition – with sales2. Identification of target accounts3. Identifying / add contacts4. Specialized content for accounts and contacts 5. Focus on the Numerator - Quality6. Involved beyond op creation
– create broad account coverage / engagement
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1. Build list of target accounts (with Mkt) 2. Add relevant persona’s / contacts3. Proactively reach out and try to engage4. Stay the course with the accounts / building trusted advisor relationship5. Challenger Sales methodology
– teaching on industry trends– Tailoring account / persona specific needs
6. Engaging for the longer haul
ACCOUNT BASED SALES
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1. Smaller well known addressable market
2. Fortune 100 for example would be obvious
3. Larger ASP
4. Longer sales cycle
5. Deeper / complex engagement
6. Broader account coverage required
TYPICAL ACCOUNT USE CASE
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Pros1. Clearly identified accounts and contacts to go after2. Can create a deeper engagement3. Works well when there is good Marketing and Sales alignment Cons1. If your accounts won’t engage, you are stuck2. Cost per interaction are higher3. Harder to scale4. Works badly when Marketing & Sales not tightly aligned
PROS AND CONS
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MARKETING STRATEGY SUMMARY
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CASE STUDY
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1. Sales Goal / ASP = # of Deals
2. # Deal / Conversion Rate % = # of Ops
3. Ops needed / MQL/A to Op conversion rate = # MQL/A’s
4. MQL/A’s needed / Mkt campaign conversion rate
BOTTOM UP PLAN
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BASED ON THIS
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OTHERWISE WE SHOULD MAKE FRIENDS
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HEY FRED ….
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WE KNOW WHERE THIS IS
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1. Good sense of our Ideal Client Profile (ICP)2. Could identify Target (ICP) Accounts 3. Value prop non commoditized (consultative selling) 4. Biggest loss reason doing nothing 5. Closed Lost – 2nd time round 2 x more likely to buy6. Closed Lost – 3rd time round 4 x more likely to buy7. Therefore ‘Closed Lost’ Accounts = rich vein of opportunity
WHAT WE KNEW
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Total Addressable Market (TAM)
Target Accounts (ICP)
Named Accounts (A’s & B’s)
• Contact• Contact• Contact
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1. Built list of Target Accounts2. Scored and ranked them (A’s, B’s, C’s & D’s)3. Reduced the number of personas we targeted (8 to 3)4. Identified key contacts and added to accounts 5. Marketing switched from MQL to MQA (engagement)6. Sales and BDR teams switched to Named Accounts7. Changed sales behavior to acknowledge the ‘Come Back Kids’
WHAT WE DID
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EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN - TOFU
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EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN - TOFU
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EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN – MOFU
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EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN - STALLED
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EXAMPLE CAMPAIGN – LOST
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1. Volume changed - scary
2. Re think sales activity plans and cadences
3. Plan for world of scarcity rather abundance
4. Had to deliver higher quality smarter engagement
5. Forced to raise our game on sales execution
AND?
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1. Increased ACV by 2.5x in 18 months - √
2. Sales cycle stayed constant - √
3. Conversion stayed constant – X
….. but was nerve-racking for a while
………. and the game ain’t over
RESULTS
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Fortune 500 Million
SO WHAT’S THE ANSWER?
INBOUND
Lower ASP
Simpler sales process
Shorter sales cycle
Large TAM
Inside sales predominance
Lower Mkt. cost per unit
ACCOUNT BASED
Higher ASP
Complex sales process
Longer sales cycle
Easily identified target accounts
Field and Inside sales
Higher Mkt. cost per unit
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NOT ALWAYS SIMPLE MATH
1 + 1 = 2
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AB
IB
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE ??
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1. Data points – Sales cycle– ASP– TAM
2. How do your buyers buy – By committee / individual
3. Buyer’s expectations– POC / hand holding / self serve
CONSIDERATIONS
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1. Focus on customer experience 2. Account based selling is desirable
– it insures against one contact trap– it accounts for buying committee
3. Sales is tethered to Marketing4. Need to balance between quality and quantity / speed and
value
CLOSING COMMENTS
