INTERVIEW WITH
Kevin Alansky
Chief Marketing Officer
B2B Customer Acquisition: The role of human engagement in a world of digital-first enterprise marketing
there now needs to be a certain level of credibility established before prospects are willing to engage in conversations with salespeople.
How has the initial engagement between salesperson and buyer changed in recent years?
It used to be that salespeople could build trust with their prospective customers by meeting with them very early on in their buying journey. But there now needs to be a certain level of credibility established before prospects are willing to engage in conversations with salespeople. We all know that an introduction through an existing or former customer is the quickest and easiest way to establish credibility with a prospect, but this isn’t always possible. So companies have to highlight their credentials online now in a place where prospects can easily find them. This can be achieved through social proof on your website, such as customer success case studies and the logos of current customers. If you can show the prospect you have a solution that is relevant to them and has proved successful with other customers that look like them, they are far more likely to engage with your sales team.
Once the dialogue is initiated, it is the responsibility of the sales person to build the next level of trust by demonstrating their subject matter expertise and reassuring the prospect that the solution they provide will not allow them to fail. This can only be achieved if the salesperson takes the time to listen to their prospect and really understand what their goals are. Once they understand the prospect’s goals, they can tailor their presentation of the solution accordingly to educate the prospect on why the solution is necessary for their business.
A true thought leader has to go against the grain and offer a new perspective if they want to cut through the noise.
What value does being a thought leader hold for salespeople and how can they achieve this?
Sales people who are able to position themselves as thought leaders in their respective industries will find themselves more successful than those who don’t. But this is no easy task. A true thought leader has to go against the grain and offer a new perspective if they want to cut through the noise. Marketing teams can support their sales colleagues in becoming thought leaders by helping them really lean into the company’s values and approach when talking online. It can be easy for salespeople to focus on the ‘what’ their company does, but it’s the ‘how’ and ‘why’ that will help them to stand out online. Thought leadership is ultimately achieved by sales people educating their buyers.
Alongside this, marketing can also share relevant insight with their sales colleagues that highlight the pain points faced within their customers. This empowers the sales team to talk in a way that not only resonates with prospects and creates credibility, but also gives them the confidence that there is a viable solution for their problems in the market. Instead of feeling like they are being sold to, the prospect should feel like they are learning something during initial calls with sales people, and that the salesperson is somebody who can support their goals and not let them fail.
point of conversion should not be the sole objective of an advertising campaign, more credit and emphasis should be attributed to brand building.
KEVIN ALANSKY
Chief Marketing Officer
JEDOX
Should marketers stop advertising to millennials?
It can be tempting to say that advertising simply doesn’t work anymore - particularly with the millennial generation. Direct action is harder to achieve than ever as we are all constantly bombarded by advertisements from thousands of different brands everyday. This means that advertisers are constantly having to get smarter with their creative efforts if they want to stand out from the crowd. But point of conversion should not be the sole objective of an advertising campaign, more credit and emphasis should be attributed to brand building. It sounds remarkable, but the millennial generation probably has the greatest level of brand recognition compared to the rest of the population. They absorb advertisements, but often simply don’t click. Of course this makes it harder to define ROI from the data available, so businesses need to have faith that when that millennial generation needs a solution like theirs, then they will be front of mind.
Jedox is the world’s most adaptable planning and performance management platform that empowers organizations to deliver plans that outperform expectations. Over 2,500 organizations in 140 countries trust Jedox to model any scenario, integrate data from any source and simplify cross-organizational plans across all business systems. Jedox enables a culture of decisiveness and confidence so teams can plan for opportunities, react quickly to changes, and uncover what they didn’t know was possible.
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