Sales & Marketing Effectiveness

Some Industries Thrive During Hard Times

Good news!  There are those industries that actually grow during tough economic times, so opportunities still abound for your sales and marketing people. Just need to know where to look. 

I’m not sure any industry is what I would call recession-proof, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 72 industries that grew throughout the recessions of 1990, 2001 and, again, in 2007.  Based on the BLS statistics, these industries are the most likely ones to continue growth now and in the future. 

Among the industries that have typically thrived during recessions are:

• Healthcare
• DIY industry for hardware, supplies
• Debt management
• Consulting
• Energy

There are lots more and you can find a complete list at Career Hub.  You can also find more information on these recession-proof industries at BizChicksRule, Yahoo! HotJobs, Wikipedia, plus numerous other places. 

So, check out the links above and do your own search for other valuable lists.  No doubt, you will get some ideas on how to better focus your sales and marketing efforts, find new and better prospects, and most important, thrive also. 

As I stated in my last post, Hard Times Require Hard Work, a slow economy shouldn’t slow your marketing efforts. 

And, if you have an idea or suggestion of any other recession-proof type industries, add a comment and let us all know.  There is enough business for everybody, even during hard times.  We just need to know where to look and see the opportunities. 

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Is a Truism Holding True?

The software industry often expounds that you are 1st,  2nd or 3rd  in your category or simply out of business. The question I pose is whether the announcement that Entellium, makers of Rave CRM, has falled on hard times is an early warning of more fallout to come in the CRM space.

If you believe the numbers, that less than 20% of small and mid-size businesses are using CRM, you can understand the opportunity.  Yet, potential users need to show caution in their selection of a CRM product and vendor.  Another truism might be that the marketplace does not care about the “best technology”. 

A CRM project must be approached as a blending of strategy, process and technology for sales, marketing and customer service.  While selecting the right software that facilitates this blending is important, it is not the most important activity. 

Some pointers on the right way to approach CRM

A CRM implementation will have more chances of success if:

•  It is not considered a technology project

• There are clear and documented step-by-step processes for how you go to market, how you sell and how you achieve customer loyalty

• There is an implementation plan with clear, measurable, and phased objectives for each user group

• Management takes the time to determine the real ROI for a CRM implementation and evaluates each phase against the established ROI for corrective actions

• You don’t get overwhelmed by the features of sophisticated systems. Evaluate systems based on the features that will help you reach your current goals, plus potential for additional capabilities

• You consider hiring an expert for selecting and installing your solution and/or training if your company doesn’t have the necessary skills or resources

I cover all this, and much more, in an earlier posting “Building Customer Relationship – A Blueprint for Success” 

If you have not read that post, I encourage you to do so before venturing too far down the CRM selection path. 

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Hard Times Require Hard Work

I’m sure many of you have heard that phrase before.  For real marketers, that should mean more marketing and smarter marketing. A slow economy shouldn’t slow your  efforts.

As pointed out in his recent post, “Now Is Not the Time to Hide”, Lewis Green, Founder and Managing Principal of L&G Business Solutions  said "When everyone else is being super-cautious, this is the time for business to move from good to great. When everyone else is pulling their heads in, poke yours out. Get noticed. Rise above the pack."

His post provides some great suggestions for smarter marketing in these tough economic times and is well worth a read.

Yes, economic conditions are bad, have been for quite a while, with no real solutions in sight. We’ve all been flooded with blog posts, articles, newsletters, email and editorial opinions on how this puts a brake on marketing.  But unless you’re working in a progressive, marketing-oriented company aren’t you, in essence, used to working in a slow economy in your very own company?  How many of your companies are suffering their own internal recessions?   

Budget cuts, staff cuts, idea cuts, along with increased demands for proving ROI, aligning up with sales, and trying to explain to your CEO and CFO why marketing is valuable – isn’t this the norm for marketing people? Isn’t that our every day, own internal recession? 

At the first of the year, On February 26, 2008, I wrote a post addressing the issue of marketing during a recession. In that, I offered some advice on what, I believe, might help all of you live out the storm successfully.  The storm still builds around us. 

Again, you are on the brink of another year and also on the brink of possible major economic disasters, but unless you are anticipating that the bad economy is going to drive you right out of business, then you better plan on driving your marketing strong and in the right direction. 

Marketing is the push and support that drives sales.  And sales are what drive economies – all economies - yours and the world’s.  

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Cure “Deal-Blindness” by Applying a Territory or Account Map

As year-end looms and next year’s quota is just a dream (but sure to be even bigger), sales reps are caught in the vice of big territories, big numbers, and little time. As a result, most reps are forced to be entirely opportunistic, preventing them from ever deeply penetrating their territory or major accounts. The focus on quick wins leaves millions of dollars on the table. Yet, many organizations get caught in “deal-blindness” - an affliction that hits every three months no matter how many vitamins you take!  Similar to snow-blindness, your organization may be so hyper focused on just this month’s or this quarters deals, that you only have a handle on just a small portion of any given territory or account.  You get stuck in the places you know well, without ever getting a handle on where you could or should be throughout the territory or major account. 

So as you focus on winding up this year, and begin to think about setting next year’s quotas, you might want to think about how badly your organization suffers from “deal-blindness.”  What are some of the symptoms?

• Deals come from predictable areas, with major pieces of the territory untouched
• Revenue is coming from only 1 division or department in a major account, relying on only 1 or 2 internal relationships
• Your “global” account” is actually only generating revenue from 2 or 3 countries, merely scratching the surface of global potential
• Your reps are pushing for lower pricing, while at the same time there is a low influx of net new opportunities being generated within their territory

The reason that many organizations have some of the issues above is that quota pressure pushes reps into focusing on “what can I close today or this month?”  Rather than really analyzing, thinking through and building a set of defined objectives, strategies and action plans to map their way to more fully realized territory or major account.

What if you could see a visual of your territory that plotted all your existing accounts, your pipeline accounts, and those similar companies across your entire territory that you haven’t touched yet?  Instead of working every lead that comes your way (even the ones that aren’t a fit), consider what it would be like to have the ability to make clear choices on where you’d spend your time, who you spent it on, with action plans to drive execution.  In effect, using tools like territory and account planning and mapping plots the map to not only meeting your quota, but builds insurance so you can exceed it, AND prime the pump effectively for next year.

Territory or account planning provides a set of tools that will enable sales reps to effectively & efficiently penetrate their assigned territory or major accounts.  It allows reps and sales managers to leverage resources to achieve the greatest gains from territories or major accounts.  And it enables Sales Management to consistently evaluate the effectiveness of the territory or account strategies selected and executed.  A territory or account plan and map drives success through 5 key elements:

1. Analyze The Territory Or Major Account
2. Make Informed Choices of the Best Targets/Strategies
3. Build Targeted Objectives & Actions
4. Work The Defined Plan
5. Manage To The Plan

Without a plan and a defined process and tools to create one, millions of dollars are left on the table by corporations and their sales people. Territory and account planning bring much needed strategy to “tactics-only” reps. Opportunistic selling can only take you so far. Creating and documenting a strategy with an action plan provides the means to ‘work the plan’ for deeper and more focused revenue generation.” 

So if you want to cure “deal-blindness”, consider implementing a territory or major account planning and mapping process.  Without a map, any road can get you somewhere.  With one, you can get directly to where you want to be, and know what that destination is in advance.

By Lisa Dennis - About this Author
President, Knowledgence Associates
ldennis@Knowledgence.com

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What Every Marketer Must Know About Their Best Customers

As a marketer, how much do you really know about your best customers?  How much more should you know in order to retain them and find more like them?

I’ve posted several times about the importance of complete current top customer knowledge, Too Many Marketers Have Too Little Customer Knowledge and What You Don't Know About Your Best Customers Equals What You Don't Know About Your Best Prospects .

I can’t stress this enough because without knowing your best customers, you and your sales reps are just floundering when it comes to effective lead generation and customer retention. It’s like trying to catch a fish without the right lures or equipment. You probably won’t catch what you want.   

Most sales & marketing experts will agree that defining your best prospects and retaining your best customers hinges on what you actually know about those current best customers. They are the key to a successful business future. If you don’t know them, you don’t know enough.

So, how much do you know about your best customers and how much more should you know? 

Here is a list of vital key customer knowledge that every marketer should be gathering and leveraging to keep their best customers and find more like them. 

• Correct Name (seems simple, but think of how many different ways the same company is spelled and entered into your systems)
• HQ address and other location addresses – plants, service points, etc. 
• Phone, Fax, Website, Email
• Primary SIC code, and secondary if applicable
• Industry Segment (your classification for analysis)
• Annual revenue
• Employee size
• Number of years in business
• Parent company (if any) and applicable information about them
• Company divisions or units, if any, how many and what products do each sell 
• Merger and acquisition history
• Partners and affiliations
• Major customers
• Primary products and other related products
• Product (s) they buy from you
• What other products might they use from you?  Which department/division/units might use your products, contact names, and will your current contact refer
• How often they buy from you
• Why they buy from you – price, quality, service, locations, effective communication, or other
• How much of their total last year revenue was influenced by your product
• How often you communicate with them and the method they prefer
• Their current market share
• Their major competitors and their competitors’ current market share
• What competitors do you sell to, what products, how much
• Your share of customer wallet, share of competitor wallet and potential for each
• Their current industry challenges
• Their latest press releases and newsletters, plus external news on them
• Trade publications the decision makers read/subscribe to
• Lead Source – what lead source did they originate from
• Outstanding proposals you have with them
• Decision maker/Contact for each key account/division/unit, the product sold to those, along with titles, email, phone extensions for each and personal interests
• Influencers to the decision makers, along with their contact information

I encourage everybody to comment and / or add to this list.  Perhaps, together, we can build a very effective type of “Vital Best Customer Knowledge List” for the benefit of all marketers. 

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