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Customer Journey x Infinity

Feb 4, 2019
2 min

Customer Journey x Infinity

Image Courtesy of Think with Google I've been saying this for years....every customer journey is different. That means there is an infinite number of customer journeys that can be created - one by one from each person looking for the solution you provide. Mapping this journey can very quickly become overwhelming trying to figure it all out. Guess what? It's impossible to map ALL the possibilities. So take that load off your shoulders! It's time to move forward!! Knowing there

Sales Suffer from Lack of Content

Dec 14, 2018
2 min

Sales Suffer from Lack of Content

Wait what? Nearly two-thirds of sales people can't find what they need. Anyone else find that stat alarming? This stat was a result of this survey by Kapost, and refers to content sales reps need to send to prospects. The question becomes: how many sales is the rep and company missing out on if sales doesn't have the necessary information needed for a prospect to make an educated and timely decision? Another question: is the competition giving them what they need? There are

Solutions Marketing

Jun 11, 2018
2 min

Solutions Marketing

What's the difference between: Option A: "Buy this device with a 5.8" screen, 12MP rear and 8MP front camera, Snapdragon 845 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB with expandable microSD up to 400MB storage phone" and Option B: "Buy this device that allows you to manage your schedule, check your email, post and respond to social media interactions, create and edit a video for your VLOG, talk to your parents and Live stream with your friends" Besides the obvious "Buy" that no one ever s

Back to Basics

May 18, 2018
1 min

Back to Basics

With so much focus on the fast pace of business and technology - and how we can "stay ahead" of the competition - we often lose sight of how we got to where we are. Or more importantly, why that matters in the direction we are headed. Whether you're in Marketing, Sales or a unique blend of both there's a core fundamental need to understand how your role and team cohesively exist and why the contributions you own individually impact the company overall. Back to basics is about

Marketing-Sales Calls

Apr 19, 2018
3 min

Marketing-Sales Calls

Tip 9: Get Marketing involved on Sales calls. What better way to have Marketing understand Sales than to actually have them be on/attend calls? During my longest tenure at an employer - all of which were various marketing roles - the sales team would often refer to us as being in an "ivory tower". You may have heard of this as well so what this means is we (marketing) didn't have practical knowledge or experience as to what sales really was, did or needed. Not knowing at the

"Blue Ocean" Leads

Apr 18, 2018
3 min

"Blue Ocean" Leads

Tip 8: Identify the need by asking "blue ocean" questions. Have you ever paid attention to the number of people who have their real estate license? I know a handful off the top of my head - including one new person whom I'm helping with his marketing. The reason I ask is that how does one realtor differentiate their brand from the other? Aren't all realtors building relationships with intent to win the listing opportunity and to help them find their new home? In working with

Showcase The Sales Rep

Apr 17, 2018
2 min

Showcase The Sales Rep

Tip 7: Showcase your sales rep's expertise. Sales people rely on Marketing to develop and post content - blogs and social media. However, with some effort in collaboration, the team work between these two groups can be even more powerful. Since sales people need to focus on building, managing and closing their pipeline, they shouldn't be expected to write blog posts. Marketing can help promote the sales person's expertise by drafting blog posts in the name of the sales perso

Content Creation Process

Apr 16, 2018
3 min

Content Creation Process

Image credit: Kapost and SalesForce Tip 6: Marketing AND Sales need to be involved in the content creation process. It's great to have a starting point with research and data BUT.... It would be even better to have direct prospect feedback. And sales is directly interfacing with this group and is reason it's critical to have them involved in the content creation process: they know what prospects are saying, what they like and what they don't like. Armed with this informati

Who Owns the End Result?

Apr 13, 2018
4 min

Who Owns the End Result?

Tip 5: Results: Marketing and Sales own the end results When Steven Covey stated "Keep the end in mind" he provided various perspectives. Whether it's waking up and what to accomplish that day, a project you're starting and what you want to accomplish at the end or even a meeting and what action items or information you want to communicate by the end. Regardless of the scenario, there is one constant: to reach the end. It's a vague concept that can be applied across any sit

From MQL to SQL

Apr 12, 2018
2 min

From MQL to SQL

Tip 4: Identifying the criteria and hand-off from MQL to SQL. The above funnel should be familiar as you've probably seen multiple versions of the process from a Marketing and/or Sales perspective. I've combined both and included a definition for each step - most importantly and what this article is particularly focused on: MQL and SQL. But first, a quick review of the definitions: MQL: Marketing Qualified Leads refer to leads who have demonstrated enough interest and/or en

Setting Expectations

Apr 10, 2018
3 min

Setting Expectations

Tip 2: Setting expectations for Marketing and Sales B2B companies' inability to align marketing and sales teams around the right processes and technologies has cost them upwards of 10% or more of revenue per year, or $100 million dollars for a billion dollar company. Source: IDC I don't know about you but losing 10% of revenue per year is an alarming number. On the flip side, what would your financials, stakeholders, annual commitments look like if you GAINED that 10% back

Communication, Communication, Communication

Apr 9, 2018
2 min

Communication, Communication, Communication

Tip 1: Communication, communication, communication. As a marketer, could you sell? As someone in sales, could you be a marketer? If you answered "yes" to either or both, we definitely need to talk! If you said "no" that would be the common response and reason why there's a a need to align marketing and sales. Companies hire marketing people based on their education and experience in various capacities: design, development, research, messaging, PR, product management, marke

Introducing...

Apr 6, 2018
2 min

Introducing...

With so many opportunities to align Marketing and Sales teams, I'm creating YouTube videos dedicated to this topic. I've labeled the series "Under 3 with Vicki" which I will create videos under 3 minutes twice a week to include topics that focus on aligning Marketing and Sales and the impact it can have to the company when these two teams are in sync. As I mention in my last blog post, the three biggest areas of positive impact to a business when marketing and sales are align

Marketing & Sales Alignment: Why It's Important

Apr 2, 2018
2 min

Marketing & Sales Alignment: Why It's Important

The short answer is three reasons: revenue, customer retention and win rates. When marketing and sales are aligned, overall performance of both teams and the company are better. Check out these stats from Hubspot (July 2017): Companies with good marketing and sales practices in place generated 208% more revenue from marketing efforts. When marketing and sales teams work cohesively together, companies see 36% higher customer retention and 38% higher sales win rates. When the

8 Things Sales People Need to Know About Marketing

Jan 11, 2018
4 min

8 Things Sales People Need to Know About Marketing

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a blanket statement that I believe to be true: People don't trust without earning the right to be trusted. ~ Vicki O'Neill And the way to trusting people is to spend time with them. Think of your spouse, your best friend, your kids....there was and continues to be a lot of time mutually invested in building, earning and keeping the trust that earned them that title. The same is true in business. Your prospects need to know you - the

Marketing 1 : Sales 1

May 31, 2017
2 min

Marketing 1 : Sales 1

A couple of weeks ago, HubSpot released their 2017 State of Inbound report. This report in particular is extremely valuable as it focuses on priorities, challenges and alignment of Marketing AND Sales - together and separately. It's a great report available to anyone to download on HubSpot's State of Inbound website.. Honing in on the Sales Challenges section, there are 13 identified by survey respondents. I'm focusing this post on the top challenge (38% of respondents): get

Which came first: Marketing or Sales?

Apr 27, 2017
3 min

Which came first: Marketing or Sales?

Marketing and sales are essential components for all business that are interested in generating revenue. Both have a lot in common - communication, messaging, pain points, understanding the buyer – and both rely on each other to be effective in their respective areas. Try to imagine your business without a marketing or sales division – how successful would it be? The scene from Tommy Boy where the model car catches fire comes to mind. With a marketing plan, he would have had

Why Do I Need Multi-Channel Marketing?

Mar 1, 2017
3 min

Why Do I Need Multi-Channel Marketing?

But first...what IS Multi-Channel Marketing (McM)? Multi-channel marketing refers to the practice of engaging with your target audience using consistent messaging via a combination of traditional and digital marketing platforms - website, social media, email, video, live streaming, podcasts, apps, commercials, radio, billboards, etc. In doing so, you give them the choice to interact with you in a way that’s best for them at all stages of their customer journey. Over 90% of ma

How To Create An Engaging Customer Experience

Feb 22, 2017
4 min

How To Create An Engaging Customer Experience

Photo credits: Medthodbites.com Video introduction to this topic As Steve Jobs quoted "You've got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology." He may have known a thing or two about creating intrigue, customer experience and loyalty when he and Steve Wozniak founded Apple. In Mr. Jobs quote, and how you'll hear Simon Sinek refer to Apple in his book "Start With Why", is that Apple knew that to be different they needed to create a compelling cus

$5M + 30 Sec = No CTA?

Feb 6, 2017
2 min

$5M + 30 Sec = No CTA?

Super Bowl LI is in the books! The New England Patriots' 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons drew on average 111.3 million viewers on FOX, according to Nielsen. It was a record setting first-ever over time game in the history of the Super Bowl. And, it was a great game to watch! If you were one of the millions of people viewing the most watched show on television, you probably saw a commercial or two. Brands spent on average $5 million for a 30-second spot. The intent? To