The Funnel Newsletter - Getting to 'Yes'

April 2007

B2B Funnel Analysis Tool

Use this spreadsheet to project revenue from your demand generation activities.

Click here to download

"Bob:

The Funnel 'Lead Qualification: Getting to No' issue was very good. I've seen it happen again and again. A sales campaign is burning time and resources, and other opportunities are missed, due to pursuing a prospect that won't or can't buy. It's not the typical sales spiel found in newsletters. You're going counter to the crowd. Good for you."

John DeLuca
Program Manager
Market and Field Engagement
EMC

Hello Bob,

Before we dive into this issue's topic: Lead Nurturing: Getting to 'Yes', I want to tell you about this issue's gift. Just click on the link in the red column to the left, and you can download Bolen's B2B Funnel Analysis Tool. It's designed to help you play "what if" scenarios with your demand generation and lead nurturing activities.

"You can't shortcut the purchase process, but you can deliver all the information prospects need to move through each phase of the buy cycle as quickly as possible."

Getting to 'Yes'

Last issue we talked about qualifying leads out of the B2B sales funnel. On average, about 20% of leads generated are 'sales-ready'. We showed you how to identify those, and told you to get them into the hands of your salespeople immediately. Also, on average, 20% of leads generated will never buy. We showed you how to identify those and told you to discard them. See Issue 3 Lead Qualification: Getting to 'No' here.

This issue is about the remaining 60%. They aren't ready to close this month, but if they're nurtured by being fed relevant information over time, the majority will buy from you within a year. If inquiries are simply passed on to salespeople, reps, dealers or distributors for follow-up, beware. You may be leaving as many as 6 out of 10 sales prospects on the table for your competitors.

Here's my definition of 'lead nurturing':

"Lead nurturing is the process of building a relationship by conducting an informative dialogue that engages and educates qualified prospects who are not yet sales-ready."

Research from Forrester and CSO Insights demonstrates the ROI of lead nurturing. In particular, companies that excel at lead nurturing:

have more salespeople that make quota (9% increase) and a shorter ramp up time for new reps (10% decrease)
drastically reduce the percent of Marketing-generated leads that are ignored by Sales (from as high as 80% to as low as 25%)
raise win rates on Marketing-generated leads (7% higher) and reduce "no decisions" (6% lower).

Additionally, anecdotal evidence suggests that prospects who are nurtured buy more, require less discounting, and have shorter sales cycles than prospects who bought but were not nurtured.

B2B Buy Cycle

So how do you nurture them? First you need to contact them to determine where they are in their buy cycle. Match their current position in their buy cycle to the appropriate sales tools (listed below). It's natural to want to make your sales assets correspond to your sales cycle - don't. Prospects aren't thinking in terms of your sales cycle. Their perspective is from within their buy cycle.

Stages 1 and 2 of the cycle are primarily delivered by Marketing or Sales Support personnel. Salespeople should handle all customer interactions. In the beginning of the buy cycle these interactions are brief, limited to an occasional email or phone call, and are designed to position the salesperson as a trusted advisor. The role salespeople play grows as the prospect relationship grows, and as the purchase decision gets closer.

Stage 1: Identify the Problem

They're trying to solve a business problem or implement a business initiative. The buyer is looking at all possibilities. They want education. They want to understand what their options are. They don't need all the details, just overview information. Sales tools that work best for this stage of the cycle are:

backgrounder white papers
content-rich (aggregator) websites
benchmark and trend studies.

Stage 2: Research Potential Solutions

Potential buyers have narrowed their focus to a specific category of solution. They want to know the essentials of how a given solution works; how it would interact with other aspects of their company; if it's scalable; if it's actually solved problems similar to theirs. Sales tools that work best for this stage are:

competitive comparisons of solutions
case studies
ROI evaluators.

Stage 3: Evaluate and Define Must Haves

They need assistance to prove the business case to management. They may want help writing an RFP (though this is falling out of favor). They want to assess the short-term and long-term impacts of the purchase decision, and any hidden costs. This is when salespeople should become actively involved to provide reference accounts, site visits and technical support. All sales objections should be anticipated and convincing arguments readied.

Sales tools that work best:

detailed business case development tools
technical briefs
pilot program offers.

In complex B2B sales, a cast of characters is involved in the buying decision. There are strategic buyers, economic buyers, technical buyers and a number of decision influencers - all with their own agendas. Successful B2B sellers build out a library of sales assets that are matched not only to the stages of the buy cycle, but to the personal motivations of the different titles involved in the decision.

Stage 4: Purchase Decision

Sales is in full command now. They're interfacing frequently with prospect decision makers and influencers. Marketing and/or Sales Support should assist with proposal development.

Depending on the price and complexity of your product / service / solution, this nurturing process could be as short as a couple of months, or as long as a year. You can't shortcut the purchase process, but you can deliver all the information they need to move through each phase of the buy cycle as quickly as possible. Don't make them wait while you build the asset they need. Your competition may have it on the shelf.

If you need help, contact Bolen. We are professional sales and marketing content developers who specialize in B2B.

The next issue of The Funnel, is all about Case Studies, one of the most effective sales tools (when done right) that you can have.

Bob Leonard

www.bolencomm.com

941-366-9704