I think we’re all tired of hearing about (and trying to achieve) that coveted Sales and Marketing alignment. But we all know what happens when it’s not there, and it’s not pretty.
When it comes to aligning teams, an account-based strategy is the right place to start.
According to Gartner, “The typical buying group for a complex B2B solution involves six to 10 decision makers, each armed with four or five pieces of information they’ve gathered independently and must deconflict with the group.” (1)
For sellers interacting with buyers, that’s like hearing that you need to get the entire family’s consensus on what you should have for dinner.
This much is clear: orchestration across all revenue teams is no longer optional. An account-based strategy across marketing and sales is the most efficient and cost-effective resource allocation to reach as many buyers as possible in a coordinated way.
But without a way to unite your Sales and Marketing teams and execute the plan, even the best strategy will fail. That’s where Sales Engagement can help.
Are Sales and Marketing Focusing Attention Where It Counts?
Many companies use this approach with prospects in the buying window:
- Run paid ads across LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google.
- Build whitepapers, case studies, and infographics tailored to solving the intended audience’s pain.
- Engage prospects via tailored digital content hubs
- Invite prospects to high-touch virtual experiences
Even with these marketing efforts, organizations often fall short. Why is that?
By the time a buyer shows intent on a website, they’ve already submitted their contact info to your competitors. And, according to Gartner, “When buyers are comparing multiple suppliers, the amount of time spent with any one sales rep may be only 5% or 6%.” (1)
Given this reality, Marketing and Sales teams need to be coordinated with their efforts and focus their attention where it counts the most in order to successfully connect with buyers.
“Sales Engagement Only Helps Sales Development Reps.” Think Again.
I hear this refrain a lot, and as a seller who can’t imagine doing my job without sales engagement, this hurts me to my core. Not only does this hurt me, this mentality also causes Sales and Marketing teams to miss out on effective joint execution of their account-based strategies.
Ultimately, pairing Sales Engagement with your account-based marketing strategy ensures that Sales and Marketing teams are efficiently working the same accounts, increasing the likelihood of closing more revenue. Here’s how.
Sales Engagement platforms facilitate better Sales and Marketing alignment by providing the tools and reporting needed to drive higher connect rates and better conversations, regardless of the channel.
Sales Engagement helps sellers communicate more effectively and efficiently to make more connections. Through A/B testing, marketers (and sellers) can learn what messaging resonates best with prospects. Sales Engagement also helps you maintain consistent messaging across all revenue-generating teams, which is key for preserving brand integrity.
Plus, when sales reps execute plays with a Sales Engagement platform, all their activity is constantly syncing to your CRM. This feedback loop provides you with the data you need to understand what’s working and what isn’t, and adapt your account-based plays for success.
Account-Based Orchestration + Sales Engagement: An Exercise in Imagination
Picture this: you’ve reached a point of understanding not only which ads work, but which ones accelerate revenue generation. You know how much to personalize your messaging in order to reach buyers. You know which campaigns drive revenue and deal velocity. Not only do you have a picture of success, forecasting is far less daunting. Imagine knowing:
- The specific buyer personas and industries that are engaging.
- The specific LinkedIn searched target lists and segments that are working.
- The subject line, opening sentence, and CTAs that are yielding the highest ROI in terms of revenue.
- How to calculate your lifetime value-to-customer acquisition cost across both Marketing and Sales-owned funnel stages. This pleases your CFO (allowing you to optimize future investments and open up headcount for growth).
Ultimately, account-based marketing combined with an effective Sales Engagement program ignites full-funnel marketing. Sales Engagement and Account-Based platforms provide a useful feedback loop for each other, too.
For instance, combining intel from its own platform and multi-channel cadences in SalesLoft, 6sense doubled its monthly pipeline in just four months.
A robust Sales Engagement platform also offers integrations that help your teams maximize effectiveness and revenue. Uberflip used a Sendoso integration available in SalesLoft to formulate an award-winning direct mail campaign that generated a 450% return on closed revenue.
Sales Engagement isn’t just for sales teams. The right platform will help you execute your account-based strategy and support growth goals across all revenue-generating teams.
Want to learn more about how account-based strategy and Sales Engagement make a perfect pair? Check out our eBook, Your Account-Based Strategy Playbook: How to Build “Sales First” Account-Based Programs.
More about the author – Blanche Reese is a Senior Enterprise Account Executive at Salesloft. Having been at SalesLoft for over 6 years, Blanche is well versed in their entire sales structure.
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