INTERVIEW WITH
MJ Patent
VP of Marketing - Logically
B2B Customer Acquisition: The role of human engagement in a world of digital-first enterprise marketing
Should sales and marketing still be seen as separate departments?
They are two-sides of a single coin, and this is becoming more apparent as buyer behavior shifts in enterprise. Most software purchases are now completed almost entirely digitally, often with little or no interaction between the purchaser and a sales representative. In these situations, the role of marketing is to enable buyers to find as much information as they need online before they are ready to speak with a sales representative. This drives human interactions to become opportunities to create value. Meaning that when the prospective buyer does speak with a sales representative, they can focus on business outcomes and specific questions about the solution rather than general fact finding, ultimately making the conversation more meaningful to the buyer. As solutions become more complex, particularly on an enterprise level, a sales and marketing partnership is required. Leading sales and marketing teams work hand-in-hand across the entire buyer’s journey and then identify opportunities to automate to work smarter.
As solutions become more complex, particularly on an enterprise level, a sales and marketing partnership is required.
How can businesses be smarter with their sales and marketing?
First and foremost, think about your ideal customer. What matters most to them and how do they want to be communicated with? This includes how human interaction they are likely to need. As we talked about before, when solutions are more complex, your prospects are likely to need a higher amount of reassurance from human conversation. Human interaction is also crucial to building relationships and trust, without which very few enterprise level deals happen.
Also think about how these priorities and preferences might vary from industry to industry. Without this information, there is likely to be a significant amount of wasted sales and marketing resources due to broad brush outreach attempts. The more targeted and specific you can be, the more likely you are to engage prospects. Don’t be afraid to ask your current customers what they found valuable during their buying journeys, especially if you have a good relationship with them.
Don’t be afraid to ask your current customers what they found valuable during their buying journeys
What makes a ‘great’ sales and marketing team?
Great sales and marketing teams have a different mindset compared to average ones. Instead of thinking about the sale and how to close it, great sales and marketing teams always think about how they can add value to the lives of their prospects with every single touchpoint. When somebody feels like they have been helped out, then the trust and confidence between prospect and seller increases significantly. Sales representatives are always working on their next deal to be successful, so often they struggle finding the time to identify valuable content for their prospects. This is where marketing teams can help them out, by sharing the latest industry news and insights for the sales reps to send to their prospects. With any content shared to their sales colleagues, marketing teams also need to explain why it is valuable to a particular prospect and how they should be positioning that piece of content for them. When done correctly, this approach enables sales representatives to become thought leaders to their prospects and ultimately build more trust.
Great sales and marketing teams always think about how they can add value to the lives of their prospects
MJ PATENT
VP of Marketing LOGICALLY
Logically is a leading national managed security and IT solution provider that helps organizations secure and support their businesses today, solve for tomorrow, and strategize for the future with cyber-first solutions. Our team of experts, including cybersecurity, engineering, networking, and cloud specialists, collaborate with customers to implement solutions that protect their assets, reduce risk, and optimize performance, end to end. Since 1999, we have made long-term relationships, customer service excellence, and purposeful innovation guiding principles to ensure customers have a trusted advisor at their side, helping them focus on their business, not the technology behind it.
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