Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach that aligns marketing and sales teams to target specific high-value accounts and drive revenue growth. By orchestrating coordinated campaigns across multiple channels, ABM enables businesses to build stronger relationships, increase customer engagement, and improve sales efficiency. Stop using “Marketing-generated” with ABM. ABM is a team effort between marketing and sales.
A typical priority in revenue growth transformation and Revenue Architecture design is getting to the next level of Demand Generation and Buyer Engagement effectiveness. Quite often, companies come to us with what they perceive as a “marketing execution” issue. When we dig a little deeper in a Diagnostic, it often becomes clear that while there are always improvement opportunity in the mechanics of marketing execution, core issues often revolve around a broader view of buyer engagement strategy.
For better demand generation performance, it is helpful to validate your buyer engagement strategy by answering these 3 central questions and following these 9 best practices:
This article is periodically updated. It was originally published in 2013.
Your LinkedIn profile is an outpost for your personal brand. For many, it takes the place of a website. It is a landing page you can manage and share your professional background, positions, experiences and achievements. A LinkedIn profile often takes the place of a resume or CV. We used to think of LinkedIn as the online resume. While it remains important for job seekers and recruiters, it is now a powerful business social network.
Qualification requires a more collaborative approach. Deal Qualification should not be considered as a moment in time, rather it happens thorough buyer engagement process and across the end-to-end marketing and sales funnel. Qualification is based on a body of knowledge and insights gained through prospect engagement along the buyer journey.
Buyers want an efficient, effective, quality buying experience. They don’t consider whether their experience is “marketing-generated” or “sales-generated”. They choose if they want to engage with your web content, 3rd party digital outposts or marketplaces or with your sales people. They most likely will interact with all of these in different sequences and in unstructured and unpredictable ways.
Buyer engagement efforts take place all along the buyer journey and to deliver the experiences buyers expect and maximize your revenue impact, you need an integrated marketing and sales process.
Post originally published in 2014
We have written a few articles about collaborative qualification and how to select and apply the right sales qualification tools – including SCOTSMAN and BANT. These tools are quite familiar to B2B sales and teams that focused on a considered sale. Yet, we see some challenges:
So what is the right approach to sales qualification? We suggest a collaborative approach using FACT.
Written with contributions from Ed Funaro
As growth focused companies realize the critical synergies required across the marketing, sales and customer success functions, they are increasingly recruiting a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the way. Yet many CROs fail without a properly defined role and an adequate onboarding process. It is vital to ensure CRO success.
A Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is responsible for a company’s revenue streams. He/she has the ultimate accountability for driving revenue growth. The role is clearly cross functional. The CRO oversees and aligns revenue-generating departments: Marketing, Sales and Customer Success. It is a challenging role. The average tenure of a Chief Revenue officer working at the same company is incredibly brief – only about 18 months, according to an annual survey from CSO Insights.
The first 90 days are critical – Whether a company makes money rests with the CRO. Expectations are that the CRO will have about one quarter or 90 days to prove they can meet management’s expectations. As Michael Watkins points out in his top selling book The First 90 Days.
Most businesses have a business continuity and resiliency plan that allows for continued operation in the event of an unforeseen circumstance, but most businesses do not have a revenue recovery plan! The pandemic crisis has forced new ways of working and impaired business performance, but companies must anticipate coming out of the crisis and being prepared for the new environment. This is the time to take advantage of the crisis by examining and addressing ineffective and unproductive elements of your revenue architecture including systems and talent.
An informal survey of CXO’s conducted by Revenue Architects over the last 6 weeks indicates that sales and marketing organizations are functioning differently through the uncharted waters of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results confirmed that 90% have been materially impacted.
Conducting business under current constraints with social distancing, remote working and the reduction of capital expenditures is a new challenge. It can be harder to sell if you are not in front of the client. Yet even before the pandemic the skills and profile of sales superstars were changing. And the B2B buyer, already digital savvy, was becoming more educated and self-sufficient using online resources to self-sell.
“If you give me a techno-savvy, Internet-friendly, google ranked, instant responding, collaborating, differentiated, social media savvy, value-driven, a value-based messaging, salesperson who uses the voice of the customer testimonials and is interested in how the customer profits…then, I will give you sales results”.
But how do we infuse these talents and skills along with sales best practices into our selling team and drive sales, take market share, and position for the upcoming market expansion?
Professional selling, at its core, is senior selling. It’s not about managing a junior team, but rather about seasoned experts doing the selling themselves – building personal brands, actively cultivating networks, and engaging prospects with unparalleled thought leadership and insights. Whether you’re a consultant adopting a seller-doer model or an expert selling high-value products and services, your presence and approach define your success.
In this landscape, LinkedIn stands out as an indispensable resource. It empowers senior professionals to connect directly with prospective clients, build undeniable credibility, and share valuable content that nurtures relationships and develops opportunities. Beyond one-to-one interactions, LinkedIn also offers powerful paid options to amplify awareness and drive lead conversions.
So, how can senior professionals truly harness the power of LinkedIn for sales? It boils down to a streamlined, three-step process: 1. Develop a Clear Strategy, 2. Establish Essential Systems, and 3. Execute Your Program with Precision.
As the old adage goes, “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Your LinkedIn sales efforts are no different. A brief but focused strategy session is paramount.
Know Your Audience, Precisely.
Who are you targeting? LinkedIn Sales Navigator is your secret weapon here, offering robust search and segmentation capabilities. You can pinpoint your ideal customer profiles (ICPs) based on criteria like region, industry, company size, and specific job titles. Are you aiming for particular companies or broader functional roles? Build these targeted lists directly within LinkedIn for seamless integration with your outreach.
Craft Your Message, Powerfully.
Once you know who you’re talking to, define what you’ll say and how effectively you’ll say it. This is where a professional writer or social selling expert can add significant value, helping you tailor your writing style to resonate with each audience. While you may not be creating the core thought leadership assets yet, you are crafting the persuasive messages that will appeal to target personas at different stages of their buying journey.
Remember, you’re likely operating at the top of the funnel on LinkedIn – building awareness and engagement through thought leadership or direct messaging. Your messages should be engagement-focused, emphasizing the value you offer rather than an immediate pitch. Be direct and to the point, respecting your buyer’s time.
In a competitive environment, gaining traction requires a compelling narrative. Design your messaging campaign using a “Pain-Empathy-Insights” approach:
These key messages will also serve as the foundation for your content assets, from core thought leadership (like a handbook or white paper) to derivative assets (blog posts, social snippets, emails).
Map Your Go-to-Market Strategy.
How will you engage this audience end-to-end? While LinkedIn is central, consider other channels that make sense for your buyers. Where do they “gather” online and offline? Beyond LinkedIn (which offers sponsored posts, InMail, and 1:1 engagement options), think about other social platforms, Slack communities, Zoom, email, and even phone calls.
Define Your Metrics for Success.
What does success look like for this program? Start with simple, bottom-up metrics. If your goal is to acquire, say, 5-10 new clients averaging $100K each within 6-12 months (totaling $500K+ revenue impact), you can reverse-engineer your campaign metrics:
These numbers are a starting point for “funnel math” and can be adjusted as you gather real-world data. This exercise will guide your engagement strategy, including any budget allocation for paid media.
Embrace “White Hat” Methods.
Your professional reputation is paramount. While some automation tools and scrapers exist, we strongly advocate for a “white hat” approach. High-touch, personalized outreach and self-directed content strategies are superior to “black hat” tactics that risk LinkedIn suspensions or profile bans. If it feels creepy, it probably is.
Architect Your Engagement Program.
Outline the high-level sequence of your campaign. Will you outsource elements, or manage it entirely yourself? What’s the team mix of professional selling, marketing, and administrative support? Define which channels are most likely to succeed, what content supports your offer, your clear call-to-action, the conversion approach, and your follow-up process.
Define Your Channel and Media Mix:
Once your strategy is clear, it’s time to set up the necessary foundations.
Cultivate a Powerful Personal Brand & Digital Hub.
Your personal brand is your most valuable asset. A strong LinkedIn profile and consistent online presence are crucial. Ensure your profile is up-to-date, speaks to your ideal target persona (rather than just being a resume), and tells your unique story. If prospects search for you, what will they find? Is it what you want them to see? If you’re directing them to a webpage, is it optimized with a clear call-to-action and trackable elements?
Implement Your Technology Stack.
LinkedIn (and Sales Navigator) will be central, serving as a source of accurate prospect data and offering powerful search parameters. Beyond LinkedIn, integrate your CRM, website, blog, landing page funnel, email marketing platform, and any customer data platforms. The goal is a seamless “tech stack” where all elements work in concert.
Define Clear Roles and Responsibilities.
Who does what, and when? Professional sales and buyer engagement require a personal commitment, but also effective marketing and administrative support. Technology facilitates efficiency, but the human element is key. Clearly delineate responsibilities to ensure smooth execution.
With strategy and systems in place, it’s time to launch and iterate.
Marketing Execution: Build, Test, Run.
Sales, like all lead generation, is a numbers game. Start by creating your database of ideal targets using Sales Navigator and identifying relevant LinkedIn Groups. Build your core and derivative assets – your eBook, blog posts, social snippets, landing pages, thank you pages, and meeting schedulers. Use compelling graphics, media, and clear calls-to-action to engage and drive conversions.
A simple outbound engagement sequence might look like this:
This sequence can be powerfully combined with paid social and retargeting to build brand recognition and impressions within your target accounts.
Adopt a Metrics-Driven Methodology.
Remember your “funnel math.” For every 100 relevant requests, connections, or conversions, track your yield. For high-value B2B programs, even a modest conversion rate can generate significant opportunities. Measure followers, impressions (for awareness), visits from target company IP addresses (for account-based programs), and the level of engagement (messages exchanged). For lead generation, track conversions from LinkedIn-initiated interactions (e.g., landing page visits, meeting bookings) all the way into your CRM. Continuously measure, learn, and adjust your strategies for optimal performance.
Good luck, and good selling!
Persuasive Communications helps you communicate more effectively and deliver your message in a logical and persuasive manner. A very useful framework for communicating and persuasive arguments is S-C-Q-A. At Revenue Architects, when discussing a client presentation, we often ask each other, “What is the S-C-Q-A? ”.