Sales and marketing should work together.
It’s fundamental.
They should map out and understand the buyer’s journey – together.
Why? Because your buyer’s journey is much more complex than most marketers think.
Assuming a simplistic buyer’s journeys for complex B2B sales to base your marketing on, does not work and will burn a lot of cash for limited or no results.
Many marketers think that one size fits all and will rely on the good old three stages, the awareness, the consideration, and the decision stage.
Well, that’s a start but let me tell you, when you spend time in a complex B2B sales environment, you know that isn’t the case.
You know there are multiple stakeholders. You understand that the decision-making process takes time. You know that there will be back and forth and that you can’t just rely on a linear process throughout the above mentioned three stages.
So, that’s why sales must be involved.
It’s not a simple stylised three-step process.
If you are dealing with complex B2B sales, the ecosystem that a large organisation goes through to make an important and complex decision is something that will change your buyer’s journey .
It will make it more complex.
Less linear.
More complicated.
And I know this because I’ve sat on both sides of the table. I have worked for large corporates. I’ve made multimillion-dollar purchases. I’ve sold to corporates who are making that decision. And I have worked with a lot of clients that sell in that complex B2B space.
To help businesses, I’ve developed a model and I’ve called it ACT ON.
It will be your key to understanding your buyer’s journey better and making your marketing more effective. Grab a pen and a notebook; you are going to want to write this down.
ACT ON.
Awareness – Who are you and what do you do?
Consideration – What problems do you solve for your customers?
Tempt – How do you interest your customer in working with you? Why are you different?
This is the first stage of the buyer’s journey , awareness, consideration, and tempt. That’s the marketing piece.
The O and the N are where sales needs to pitch in.
Option – How do you become a preference for the customer? Why are you the best solution for the customer?
INvest – How long is the decision-making process? Who are the key personas and stakeholders involved? What’s driving them to make the decision? What are the barriers that are stopping them from making that decision?
So if you’re working in a complex environment and your marketing team doesn’t work with sales, you’re missing a trick.
You’re going to miss out on understanding the true buyer’s journey.
So, ask your team what framework they are using.
Do they involve sales in unpacking the buyer’s journey ? Do they use the ACT ON model? Are they building momentum in the market for you.
If you answered no to any of the above questions, please call me. Your marketing and sales results could be much more effective.
