I’ll admit it. I’m a 1970s kid. If you are as well, then you likely remember that cartoon with the kid asking the owl, “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?” I can’t just sit back and enjoy the fact that Zift Solutions recently secured a great new customer. I want to know exactly what it took to win the deal – and share some insight with our Channel Chatter audience.
It’s one thing to tell you that, “Times Have Changed,” and that significant shifts in the way today’s buyers and businesses evaluate goods and services before they purchase requires an entirely new approach to channel marketing and sales. And it’s absolutely my hope that providing pointers on How you Can Drive Better Marketing Results by Selecting the Right Tactical Mix proves helpful. However, in my experience, nothing resonates quite like real-world experience.
Digging Deeper
When I initially looked at the CRM record tied to this new deal, I saw that the lead source was marked as Website. “Great! Our website created an opportunity that helped us close a deal,” was my first thought. But there had to be more to it than that. There is always something that occurs to drive a prospect to a website, and it’s important that channel marketers and sales teams dig a little deeper to understand and evaluate the impact of all their outreach efforts.
In this case, I decided to take a hard look at all of the campaign influences and various touchpoints that helped Zift secure our new customer. What I discovered was that this deal actually encompassed multiple marketing tactics that touched 12 different individuals! We created the graphic below to give you the complete picture of the deal, interactions and tactics involved. {The names have been changed to protect the innocent.}
As you can see, the deal that was initially tied to our website actually involved an array of tactics, including social media, a virtual event, internet search, tradeshows, nurturing with webcasts and eBook offers. Those various tactics touched and impacted a wide variety of people from various levels, different departments and diverse roles, from Channel Marketing, to Channel Operations, Marketing Communications, Business Development and Sales.
Different Strokes to Move the World (And a Deal Through to Close)
Had I stopped with my first glance at the CRM data for this deal, I might have simply decided to invest heavily in our website (and you do need to Build a Foundation Before Leads Hit the Funnel.) Yet, like the theme song from another 70s classic reminds us, “The world don’t move to the beat of just one drum…It takes Different Strokes to move the world.”
Closer examination of this deal revealed and reinforced the fact that you must reach out and touch decision-makers and deal influencers at different times with multiple offers and with different tactics. Successful Lead Nurturing entails recognizing that there are multiple people involved in the modern buying process. Different people consume information differently and different types of content are valuable at different stages of the sales process. You will have a direct relationship with some, and indirect contact with others, but each of those individual touches and tactics are valuable. They all work together to advance the sales cycle and add up to true marketing and sales success.
Have you done some analysis of your own deals? What surprised you? I would love to hear from you – and if you have questions about our process, please don’t hesitate to ask!
