[early and often, get buy-in for their participation]
ABM is a team sport, particularly between, but not limited to, Sales & Marketing. Both departments need to support each other as the prospect bounces through the marketing & sales process (note: Sales also includes Account Management team, particularly important for upsell/cross-sell).
Shared Vision & Goals There needs to be a shared vision on which accounts have the highest propensity to buy and which existing accounts are of interest for upsell/cross-sell (existing accounts are an integral part of ABM).
It's important to define shared objectives and goals that sales & marketing will deliver together.
Determine how your marketing activities can integrate with sales efforts to maximize buyer engagement and conversion in the later stages of the buyer journey – including handover.
Takeaway: Engage Sales early. At the start. Develop a mutual understanding & trust.
HOW WE HELP As an independent third party, we run collaborative workshops to identify common goals and objectives and help Sales & Marketing learn how to get aligned and work as partners. ALIAS has done this with some of the world's best known technology brands in the UK & Ireland.
Sales & Marketing Alignment Workshop RECOMMENDED AGENDA: 1. Exercise 1 (1hr): What Worked, What Hasn’t Every member in the group to contribute:
2. Exercise 2 (1hr): Understanding Chain Set the target audience & solution and discuss:
This helps to determine what the messaging and content should address.
3. Discussion (1hr): Sales & Marketing Alignment Here is a checklist of what you will need to cover:
☑ Agreement on Ideal account profile ☑ Agreement on total target list ☑ Determined average customer value ☑ Defined MQL criteria & handover process ☑ Success goals & metrics
Exercise 1 - post-it notes grouped in the 3 categories: what worked, what didnt and what to stop/start doing