Marketing Myths
and
Sales Follies
Martyn Lewis
Principal, Market-Partners Inc.
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Examining complex selling
• How do organizations think that their
stuff is gets into the market
• What is really happening
• What can we do about it
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
“There is only one valid business purpose:
to create a customer”
- Peter Drucker
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Lead
How do we go from a series
of marketing leads to happy,
satisfied, and profitable
customers?
Valuable customer
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Step 1. Lead Generation
Advertising
Cold calls
Trade shows
www.website.com
Direct mail
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Step 2. Presentation
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Step 3. Proposal and Order
ROI
big $$$
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Step 4. Objection Handling
and Negotiation
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
A Case Study
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
At your company...
• Who would respond
• Who has the authority
• Who would be involved
• Who are the decision makers
• Where would the funds come from
• How would you make the decision
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
and...
• What about internal politics
• Who would champion
• Who would support
• Who would oppose
……. is it clear, and would it change???
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
What’s really happening in today’s
Customer Acquisition Department?
Sales
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Sales cycles are often significantly longer
than imagined, and still getting longer
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Leads needed for each new order
much higher than planned
New customer
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Successful sales depends more on
listening and coordinating than
pitching/presenting/persuading
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Many sales organizations are still
challenged to complete the transition to a
true solution-selling model
?
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Ramp-up time is longer than expected
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Actual selling time is often
massively less than assumed
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Great products rarely imply great sales
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
So you think you’re different?
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
If only our sales people would
“get it”
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Sales and Marketing are rarely
aligned
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
The Selling Crisis: Root Causes
• New organizational models
• Fully deployed resources
• Technology
• Increased business demands
• Decreased product lifecycles
• Lack of engineered sales process
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Industry
dynamics
Macro
trends
Competition
End users
Specialists
Executive
Need
Buyer
Supplier
Lead
Marketing
Telesales
Initial
evaluation
Purchasing
Explore
alternatives
Discovery
Proposal
Decision
Close
Order
Customer
Sales
Specialists
Delivery
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Executive
A simple rule
It helps our sales process to be
successful if we also have involved
a third-party who is engaged in a
purchase process
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
The Sales & Marketing Matrix
Solution
Commodity
Value
Product
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
The Prospect’s Perspective
I have a need, and I
don’t know what I want
Only one supplier can
provide what I need
Solution
Commodity
Any one of many
suppliers can offer
what I need
Value
Product
I have a need, and I
know what I want
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Strategy
Solution
Ability and
Accessibility
Expertise and
Consultation
Commodity
Value
Price and
Availability
Brand and
Awareness
Product
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Selling/Buying alignment
• Sell the way the market buys
• There are no “bad” quadrants
• “Bad” is when you are trying to sell in a
fashion that the market isn’t buying
• The market may be shifted – usually only
horizontally or vertically
• You have to shift the market to the new
quadrant, before selling in that fashion
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Avoiding the myths and the follies
1. Selling is about more than sales
2. Understand how the target market(s) is buying
3. Sell the way the market is buying, or develop
realistic plans to change this
4. Design the sales process
5. Granularity is good
6. Coordinate and align all the activities of the
organization to this selling process
7. Don’t drink your own Kool-Aid
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Resources
www.market-partners.com
9 White papers
9 Solving Solution Selling
9 Sales is about more than Selling
9 Our Research Findings
9 Sales Effectiveness Briefing
9 Sales Wise
9 “Quest for Customers” from 21st Century Selling
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.
Martyn Lewis
Mlewis@market-partners.com
707 575 4722
©2003 Market-Partners Inc.