Articulate. Collaborate. Succeed.

Most people believe that what they’ve experienced is the norm: Sales: “This is what I’ve seen in the field, so it must be true for everyone, everywhere.” Marketing: “This is what the data shows us. The average buyer wants ______, so all buyers must want it.” Neither is 100 percent correct. Neither is 100 percent wrong. But how do you get the two points of view to concede the other side may have some good intel? It’s difficult finding the perfect blend of data and experience when egos are involved and people feel they must defend their turf (and titles). Several sales experts suggest it comes from the top. The company CEO, says Laura Posey, a business growth expert with extensive experience training sales teams, needs to develop – and articulate clearly – their vision for the company, so the company goals are crystal clear. Then that CEO must tell sales and marketing to come together and sell more.  Seems obvious, doesn’t it? But non-collaboration happens seems to happen about as often as collaboration. Ultimately, lack of collaboration leads to failure. Marketing materials don’t work because marketers aren’t hearing prospects’ pain points, so materials are left back at the office or the prospect tosses them in the trash. Sales calls aren’t as successful as they should be because they don’t have the support they need from marketing. Collaboration means working together, it means talking to – and hearing – each other. And it means working toward a common goal. What is your experience with sales/marketing collaboration? How did the CEO’s articulated vision help or hinder...

It Takes Three

To close a sale, it takes synergy between all three: • A prospect with a problem that needs solving • A marketer to articulate why your company’s solution is better than anyone else’s • And a salesperson to answer questions and help the prospect understand how your solution fits the prospect’s requirements. Seems simple, doesn’t it? Sometimes, though, there’s a gap between those three. Sometimes that gap is a pretty big. Simply making an opportunity to learn about one another’s issues can result a better outcome for the customer as well as the company. In a small company, the silos aren’t as high. There is, by necessity, a lot of cross-pollination between groups. At the very least, they are more likely to run into one another at the coffee machine and engage in a little shoptalk. In larger companies, Sales and Marketing need to make an effort to talk, either through formal channels such as joint meetings, through educational channels such as attending each other’s conferences, and through informal socializing. If you’re in sales, don’t you want all information available to close the sale? Doesn’t your commission and bonus ride on using every tool? If you’re in marketing, don’t you want to know how well your ideas are working out in the field? So open up. Share. Everyone will win....

Digital Storytelling: What is it and why do I care?

Digital Storytelling means different things to different people. Some see it as some sort of computer-generated, media-rich information that is shared on the internet. Some think it is just video, or a platform for advertising, or an employee communication tool. Sure, it can do all those things, and it most likely will include video (we highly recommend it!), but mostly it’s a new way to think about how to tell your story. Remember those gawdawful filmstrips you endured back in middle school, with the narrative on the separate vinyl record that would ding when it was time to advance the film one frame? How are they different, really, from the slide show you bore your prospects with in a business meeting now that you are grown up? The lights are low, the progression is predictable, everyone is bored silly. Wake ‘em up with your digital storytelling Sure, include your video snippets, but don’t forget to make them interactive, like our CuePoint Videos™. Add multi-layered explanations to your photos, voice-overs, fly-throughs, 360-degree views, animations – whatever you need to tell your story, keep your audience of prospects awake and involved, and showcase how you are better than the rest. Be ready to jump around to answer questions from anyone in the audience, from CEO to engineer to end-user. Be nimble. Close the...