A Manifesto for turning the Marketing Dept into the Sales Team’s Secret Weapon

We’re all marketers now Engaging customers today requires commitment from the entire company—and a redefined marketing organization.

No doubt, 2011 was the tipping point for the marketing department. Marketing Automation, Content Marketing and analytics entered boardroom conversations.

Even at the smallest of companies (for which I consult), marketing directors and channel managers find themselves in the spotlight for the very first time.

So how should the CMO, marketing director and CEO respond?

I think that’s the real question McKinsey & Co. attempted to answer in their July 2011 report, “We’re all marketers now.”
(fyi: this report was the #3 most read in 2011, falling in just behind articles on strategy and brainstorming. And in typical McKinsey fashion, their research involved more than 20,000 customers…talk about comprehensive research!)

Here are the highlights (you may also grab my personal, marked-up, highlighted version of the report here):

• “Customers no longer separate marketing from the product—it is the product.”

• “In the era of engagement, marketing is the company.”

• Customers are on the hunt for a solution waaaay before you can even think about reaching out to them in traditional direct/push marketing fashion. Translation: the conversation has morphed from “a monologue to a dialogue.”

• “Customers thirst for objective advice” and in response, “some have built publishing divisions to feed the ever-increasing demand for content required by company.” (aka, content marketing)

• “The marketing organization itself needs to become the customer-engagement engine, responsible for establishing priorities and stimulating dialogue throughout the enterprise.”

• The firm will “require a new kind of marketing organization…that orchestrates the delivery of the end-to-end customer experience.”

• What’s more, “’Marketing is going to become a much more science-driven activity,’ says Duncan Watts of Yahoo! Research.”

• “A premium will be placed on problem-solving and strategic-marketing skills.”

How will you respond? What are your plans for YOUR marketing department in 2012?

Just after completing my third webinar on my new Book Publishing Workshop last week, Frank Gillham called.

Frank is founder/CEO of Funding Architects in Tyler, Texas. Known as “capital campaign strategists,” his firm works with non-profits on their capital campaigns.

His pitch is simple:

While leaders of non-profits (churches, for instance) are skilled at their particular mission, it’s rare if that same leader is capable to raise the funds necessary to support the cause. Given that most capital campaigns occur (at most) every 5-7 years, there’s little opportunity to develop any fundraising expertise.

The cool thing about Frank is that he’s not some young pup. Frank is 80-years old. He’s even got a 10-year plan! And no, he’s not retiring any time soon.

But his phone call to me was about his greatest regrets: Relying on Word-of-Mouth Marketing.

What’s wrong with Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

I’ve always said that if you’re going to rely upon Word-of-Mouth Marketing as your main source of leads, you better have a lot of mouths talking you up. It’s a numbers game.

But Frank’s complaint about Word-of-Mouth Marketing had nothing to do with it being a numbers game. No, Frank’s issue is that Word-of-Mouth Marketing isn’t strategic. By definition you can only get more of the same customers you already have.

That really struck me as some very wise advice. I thought about it over the weekend, and then called him Monday to have him repeat it so I could record it and share it with you.

It’s just 6 minutes. Well worth a listen. Feel free to forward.

Download and listen here:
http://expertsmp3.s3.amazonaws.com/FrankGillham-on-Marketing-with-JohnFox.mp3

I look forward to your comments.

Early on in my sales career at Intel, a customer asked me to “help” him write a request for proposal (RFP). I say, “help,” because he really meant for me to write the entire thing. And this wasn’t just any RFP, it was for the very products I was selling.

Junior sales guy that I was, I debated my customer’s motivation. I had three questions:

1. Was this guy just trying to pawn off work on me? I mean, wasn’t he getting paid to do this?
2. If I did help him out, wouldn’t the RFP be (unfairly?) weighted in my favor?
3. Am I the only one he’s asking for help, or has he extended the offer to my competitors?

If you know anything about me, you know my immediate reaction was to offer help. But before I could, I had to get my questions answered. [Spoiler alert... answers are: Yes, Yes, No]

To the first question, I found out that Yes, he was trying to pawn it off on me. For good reason, though. The products he needed were not commodities or something his firm would be buying any more often than every 3-5 years.

As an example, telephone systems fall into this category. You need to get smart about a particular product, make sure you’re buying the right product at a good price, but once the deal is done, you can file it away for years. No need to revisit that purchase for a very long time.

Okay, check one. He needs help getting it done and has no interest in becoming an expert in my product line. Don’t fault him for that at all.

Question 2…was it fair? No. Writing an RFP for my customer would not be fair…to my competitors. Would the resulting RFP be weighted in my favor…Yes! Moral dilemma? No.

If you don’t mind, allow me to take a side road for just a moment and comment on something many B2B marketers don’t get about sales. Not to paint all B2B marketers with the same brush, I do have to say the great majority don’t understand this one, very important point:

People buy from People they Trust

When it comes to non-commodity purchases, buyers don’t buy stuff from people they don’t know. Why? Because Murphy’s Law is still law. Something’s bound to go wrong and when it does, you better have a relationship with the guy who sold it to you so he can make it right.

That’s kinda hard to do when your relationship is with a website and the only customer service contact is an e-mail address no-reply@widgets-inc.com

What was true in my Dad’s day of selling petroleum products for Sinclair (yeah I had all sorts of little green dinosaur toys) to my days at Intel to today… People buy from People they Trust.

And that’s why I agreed to help my customer write his RFP. I’d be the one who had to fix it if anything went wrong. I wasn’t introducing bias into the RFP, I was writing it so he’d get the best product for his particular situation… Mine.

Lastly, was I the only one helping him? To answer that I have to remind you that Trust is a two-way street. I didn’t even have to ask.

I wrote the proposal (I actually typed it on an IBM Selectric) and won the business.

Webinar:
Establishing Credibility & SEO with a Published Book
by Jan. 2012
Roger Parker interviews John Fox
Thurs Oct. 27: 1p ET and 7p ET
Call-in details at: http://99-questions.com

There are about 50 work days left in 2011…

What’s one thing you can do today to generate leads for your sales team in January?

We all know lead volume and lead quality boils down to having relevant content that converts online (and offline).

But what are your choices?

White papers, blogging, autoresponders, webinars, newsletters, ebooks, reports, manifestos… There are lots of content marketing options.

But the best one I’ve discovered is an endorsed, published book that lets you control the content distribution. For about the same cost as a decent white paper you can:

• Sell it on Amazon (print and Kindle) – perceived value + world-wide distribution
• Offer as an incentive for attending a webinar (PDF download)
• Viralize the book by letting Channel Partners co-brand your book
• Give away at tradeshows & conferences (and autograph your book!)

…and afterwords, you can convert individual chapters of your book into:

• Blog articles
• Autoresponders
• Podcasts
• Mini-presentations on YouTube
• Webinars

Basically, your book becomes your editorial calendar for 2012.

If you agree there’s merit to an endorsed, published book, you’ll want to attend my webinar, Thursday, Oct. 27^th.

Roger Parker (the “32 million dollar” author and book author coach) will interview me as we both discuss the important role books now play as the most effective content marketing tool in a marketer’s arsenal.

For your convenience, there are two sessions: 1p ET and 7p ET.

Join us. Bring a colleague. Get call-in details and register at http://99-questions.com

PS, to jumpstart your creative juices, all attendees will receive a copy of my book, 99 Questions to Jump Start Your Partner Channel Brain: http://amzn.to/99q-paperback

The following is a transcript and audio mp3 clip from my presentation to the Business Marketing Association’s annual conference (June 2, 2011)      Download the complete mp3 (7:21)

I know my bio says I’ve been a marketing consultant for the past 14 years, but in reality I get hired to play the role of John Gray for my clients’ marketing department.

(John Gray is the Men from Mars, Women from Venus gender relationship expert).

Somehow, some way, out of the clear blue, people like you wake up one day to the stark reality that you’re spending most of your waking hours in a relationship with your sales counterpart that feels a whole lot like an arranged marriage.

Unfortunately, you didn’t have a lot to do with the selection of your “Partner” and you’ve got to find a way to make it work.

Because of my background, I tend to be one of those go-to-guys to help marketers navigate to calmer waters.

While the analogy goes just so far, it’s interesting that a lot of the telltale signs of a troubled marriage apply to sales and marketing. Arguments over finances (budget), loss of respect (trust), not agreeing on common goals, etc. A lot it stemming from bad communications.

Speaking for the marketing department, I think it’s kind of funny that we’re the half of the relationship responsible for “communications” and yet we use words like sales and marketing “alignment” without thinking about it much. I’ve been happily married for 29 years (to the same woman) and I don’t think I’ve ever told Ruth, my wife, that we have an alignment problem. It sounds and feels formulaic and stuck in the 1950’s with Ward and June Cleaver’s assigned roles and responsibilities.

I could do whole seminar on this, but if you want to unleash your sales force, the FIRST thing that has to happen is that they’ve got to see you and your marketing as relevant. You know the old term, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Well, if your front lines don’t see you as a relevant, contributing factor to the solution, they’re going to see you as part of the problem.

If you want to take a really bold step, hire an independent 3^rd party to ask this question of your front line team: “Is our marketing relevant to you?” It might be a humbling experience, but it could be the most important first step you can take.

In the case of your sales team, rather than focusing on alignment, for example, set a different goal. Set a course to become their secret weapon. And rather than following some formulaic advice you got about roles and relationships, figure out who is “best at what.” You may find out, for example, that your best copywriter is a guy in inside sales.

So, how do you know if your marketing department and all the fine work they produce is relevant to the sales team? Here are 5 statements that will ring true of your marketing.

Your marketing is relevant IF:

1)       Sales reps BELIEVE Marketing is their “secret weapon.”

2)       Marketing actively contributes in the weekly revenue meeting.

3)       Marketing automation (e.g., pardot, marketo) installed, being used, generating reports, contributing to deal flow.

4)       Campaigns don’t end at the click.

5)       Marketing collateral (marcom, et al) is created solely to solve a sales process problem.

Each of my five statements indicate an attitude or relevancy. They’re big, boulder-size milestones in your arranged marriage with Sales.

What about some baby-steps? What can you do – today – to get on the right track? Here are 5 simple questions you can use as your guide to assess your progress and provide a 30-day roadmap for getting on the road to relevancy.

1.      What are the names of your customers responsible for 80% of your revenue? Bonus if you know the name of the buyer.

2.      What are the questions customers most frequently ask sales reps, customer service, tech support?

3.      Do you have Google Alerts set for your top customers?

4.      If 10 of your sales reps gave your pitch, how similar would the presentations be to one another?

5.      What would Marketing have to do so sales reps could connect with one additional prospect each day?

Another milestone for Linkedin: LinkedIn hit 100 million subscribers today.

And to mark the occasion, Reid Hoffman sent out this Thank You to all the early adopters like me.

I’m # 117,215. Can you top that?

I’m a member of the Marketing Executives group on LinkedIn.

It’s a group for Marketing Executives (20,260 members) who want to collaborate and network to share cases, experience and connect.

This question was posted to the group: “How would you describe your job in language a 5 year-old could understand?”

If you’re a member, you can read all the responses. Some are really terrific. Most, though, sound like something from the Dilbert Mission Statement Generator (remember that?).

The best answer (so far) is this one posted by Chris Knutson:

“I help other kids make more money so they can buy cool stuff.”

You gotta love the simplicity. And yes, even a 5 year-old (or anyone for that matter) can understand.

What’s yours?

How would you answer the question: How would you describe your job in language a 5 year-old could understand?

PS, if you’re a member of Marketing Executives, please post your answer there.

Click for $50 promocode (JFX-50) & instructions. No registration!

I just finished comparing PRNewswire’s US1 National Newslines with PRNewswire’s Tier-1 offered exclusively through eReleases.com.

The master list is on PRNewswire’s site here or you can download the list (careful, it’s a 169 page pdf!).

Guess what? They’re identical services!

eReleases must have some kind of cool, bulk distribution deal with PRNewswire. That’s good for them and good for you and me.

What about cost? Here’s my price comparison:

According to PRNewswire pricing, the cost for a 500 word press release on US1 is:

$715 (first 400 wds) + $195 (second 100 wds) = $910*
(*plus annual membership: $195)

Submitting your release to PRNewswire through eReleases.com is:

$399

Click to go to PressReleaseChecklist.com for the $100 promocode

$50 discount Promocode, the cost is: $349 (61% less)

-OR-

$100 discount Promocode, the cost is: $299 (67% less)

Weird?

When I save that kind of dough, I like weird. Don’t you?

2011: Year of Content ePublishing

It’s that time of year for predictions.

Here’s mine: all that terrific content we B2B marketers have been creating over the last few years is in for massive tidal wave. As we all fight for a sliver of mindshare, we’ve got to provide content where customers want it.

In 2011, the “where” is Rich Media e-Publications: ePUB and MOBI ebooks, PDF publications with rich interactivity, Flash publications.

Courtesy: The ePublishing Workflow Webinar, here are the compelling stats. Is your content ready?

Facts About Electronic Publishing Today

As more companies plan to release new eBook reading devices by the end of 2010, the electronic publication market continues to expand rapidly.

• More than 3 million iPads have been sold between April and August 2010. After languishing for years as a largely untapped market, the release of the sleek, multi-function iPad finally convinced the mainstream market of the convenience, utility, and pleasurable reading experience of ebooks, e-magazines, and other electronic publications.
• In the same time frame 4 million Kindles had been sold; Amazon boasts the Kindle as its most popular product.
• Amazon sold 3 times as many Kindle ebooks in the first half of 2010 as in the first half of 2009. Amazon now has over 630,000 books available for the Kindle.
• The iPad is not alone. In September 2010 BlackBerry announced the BlackBerry PlayBook, a tablet computer targeted at the Enterprise, but with plenty of power for the Small Office/Home Office and even consumer crowd. The PlayBook bests the iPad in many features, including full support for Flash-powered games and publications, multitasking (running multiple applications at once), a built-in video conferencing camera, and many other features.
• In October Microsoft announced that tablet devices and e-readers running Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 will be available by Christmas 2010.
• Magazines are going electronic. Currently deployed on the iPad, smart phones, and other mobile media are interactive, digital-only versions of the following perodicals:
  • Wired Magazine
  • Sports Illustrated
  • Fortune Magazine
  • PEOPLE Magazine
  • Maxim
  • And dozens of others.
• Newspapers are going digital. Currently deployed on the iPad, smart phones, and other mobile media are interactive, digital-only versions of the following daily newspapers:
  • The Wall Street Journal
  • USA Today
  • The New York Times
  • Dayton Daily News
  • The Chinadaily
  • And more every week.
• Catalogs are going digital. Consumers are carrying in their pockets and purses warehouses worth of product listings in the form of electronic catalogs deployed on the iPad, smart phones, and other mobile media. A few of the brands that have taken advantage of the media just since the iPad was released in April 2010 include:
  • Pottery Barn
  • Arhaus Furniture
  • SoundScreen
  • SkyMall
  • Ticket Master
  • And more almost daily.
• 99.26% of all the computers, tablets, and mobile devices in the world can open Flash-based publications.
• PDFs are still the number 1 type of rich content, interactive electronic publications.
• There is a free PDF reader available for every computer operating system, tablet device, and smart phone.
• Author Seth Godin, author of 12 worldwide bestselling books announced in 2010 that he has completely moved away from traditional printed book publishing. All of his future books will be published exclusively in electronic format.
• Electronic publishing skills are in demand for new hires and contractors. A search of DesignJobsLive.com, Monster.com, and other regular employment and freelance job sites revealed more than 400 openings looking for skills related to electronic publishing layout, design for electronic publishing, or electronic publication project management (date of sample: September 28 2010).
• According to the Association of American Publishers audio book sales for 2009 totaled $192 million, down 12.9% on the prior year. E-books overtook audiobooks in 2009 with sales reaching $313 million in 2009, up 176.6%.
• A recent article in the Wall Street Journal (online) reports that “a group of libraries led by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library, are joining forces to create a one-stop Website for checking out e-books, including access to more than a million scanned public domain books and a catalog of thousands of contemporary e-book titles available at many public libraries.”

The Digital Publishing market is exploding, so it’s now more important than ever to learn how to create e-books, e-magazines, e-catalogs, and more. The ePublishing Workflow Webinar will give you the skills you need to stay relevant and on top of this second digital publishing revolution.

What do you think?

PS, if you’re attending the ePublishing webinar, Chuck Green has a $30 discount for his newsletter readers. That’s where I learned about the conference. You can subscribe to Chuck’s newsletter here.

Here’s what Chuck posted:

Interested in ePublishing?

I heard about this ePublishing Workflow Webinar from Pariah Burke–a colleague from the InDesign world and a fellow graphic design fanatic. It looked interesting to me so I thought I’d mention it (I have no association with the program and I am not being compensated for the plug). If you sign up, use the discount code “4ChucksFriends” and they’ll give you a $30 discount. If you decide to participate, I’d love to hear your impressions…

http://epubworkflow.eventbrite.com/kreatable.com