Hey , the craziest paradox we see in B2B marketing is that marketers get excited about hitting their lead quota while the sales team almost never hits their sales quota.  

This misalignment results in ineffective marketing campaigns that generate poor-quality leads.

In the same vein, it breeds an infamous war between sales and marketing. Why? Simply because marketers would blame the sales team for not being able to close deals and sales would retort that marketing generates low-quality leads. 

In the face of this, there is an urgent need for modern B2B marketers to be revenue responsible and align with the sales team for greater results.

But the problem is, not all companies have a good environment and culture for marketing & sales alignment. 

In this newsletter, we’ll share with you a step-by-step guide to aligning sales and marketing teams around your strategy and around outputs instead of inputs.

Before we dive in, here are some job listings that you or someone around you might be interested in.

TRENCHES JOB BOARD

MaxBill is hiring a B2B Demand/Lead Generation Specialist

Responsibilities: 

• Execute data research and contact qualification for outbound/ inbound campaigns ;
• Drive lead generation programs, measure, analyze, and optimize lead generation channels ;
• Create, manage, and develop email campaigns, landing pages, capture forms, and automation workflows to stimulate interest in MaxBill products and solutions.

Learn more and apply here.

Flashtract is hiring a Head Of Marketing (Remote US, >150k)

Requirements:

• 5+ years of B2B marketing leadership experience ;
• 1+ year of experience in a managerial/leadership role, with the ability to recruit, retain, and motivate both existing and future talent;
• Experience working with marketing and sales automation systems (Outreach, Salesforce, and Pardot experience a plus) ;
• Experience with selecting and managing outside agencies ;
• Construction industry knowledge or experience is a plus

Learn more and apply here.

Now, let’s get down to brass tacks.

5 points you need to get marketing and sales alignment in a B2B Company 

1. Goals.

What do you want to achieve? Renew contracts? Accelerate pipeline? Go upmarket and win several enterprise clients?

Be clear because your marketing programs, metrics, and budget will depend on the goals you’re targeting.

2. Metrics. 

If your sales cycle is long, no marketing program will magically decrease it. Define leading indicators that will help you measure campaign performance and forecast revenue.

Here are some examples:

- ABM: # of connections with buying committee members

- Thought leadership: # of chats about your product, brand mentions, media invites

- Awareness campaign: # of views/clicks from target accounts

3. Focus segment.

All segments have different needs, goals, and reasons to buy. You should understand that all segments are not created equal. Some of them might generate 10x-20x more revenue than others.

Your mission is to identify them and know where to concentrate your efforts and resources.

4. Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).

ICP for B2B companies consists of two parts: 

1. Ideal Account Description

Ideal Account Description is a list of firmographics, geo criteria (e.g. revenue, team size, location), and custom qualification criteria (e.g. PE-backed company, marketing team > 3 marketers) you’ll use for account list building.

2. Buying Committee

There are 4 core roles inside the buying committee that usually influence the opportunity

a) Champions who are in charge of the product/vendor research

b) Decision-makers

c) Influencers who don’t take part in research or negotiations but are engaged in vendor evaluation and provide feedback on your offering

d) Blockers are the buying committee members who are not interested in your solution or might see a danger to themselves.

You need to understand the typical goals, needs, and pain points of these 4 roles to tailor your vertical value proposition to them.

At the end of the day, you sell to people, not to "B2B organizations".

5. Marketing message and value prop for the buying committee.

What are the benefits that your target accounts can get from your product? 

What makes it different from the competition? 

How can every buying committee member benefit from your product?

You can't just say "better price" or "better features", that’d be too easy.

The buying committee members care about their own performance and KPI. Your message should clearly articulate it.

Enjoyed this newsletter? Share it with a colleague or friend and earn some exclusive perks.

Upcoming community events

ABM Days, Boston, MA (August 30th, 3 pm ET) 

Join Fullfunnel.io, Goldcast and Alyce in person for a one-of-a-kind hybrid event experience in Boston's trendy Seaport neighborhood.

Join our expert speakers for a chance to get all of your B2B marketing questions answered, gather insights to accelerate your career and business, and create new connections.

Can't make it to Boston? We got you. We will be streaming the content virtually via the Goldcast platform.

Register Now

B2B Marketing Strategy Live Bootcamp 

Want to start selling the way your best customers buy? Join us for our B2B Marketing Strategy Live Bootcamp.

Oct 10 – Nov 3

08 practical workshops to:

• Develop a full-funnel marketing plan to create awareness, generate & capture demand, and generate sales opportunities with target accounts
• Define marketing activities & content that can attract the attention of target buyers, educate them, and generate demand for your product
• Get marketing & sales alignment on goals, ICP, campaigns, and leads hand-off process
• Build a unified marketing & sales report to connect all marketing activities to revenue even if your sales cycle is long

Learn more about the Bootcamp here. 

Best Shares From Trenches Community

• When is the best time to send an email and other musings, by Josh Shulman and Den Renyi
• How full-funnel marketing influences the buying journey (a real example) by Vladimir Blagojevic
• 7 organizational problems that destroy great marketing teams and ideas by Andrei Zinkevich 
• 17 steps to land opportunities with 20%+ of your target accounts by Vladimir Blagojevic 

NOTE: If you found this content interesting and useful, chances are you have 1 or 2 colleagues (well, maybe 03) who'd also enjoy it. Help them by sharing this and earn some exclusive perks.

See you in Trenches 😉

Adechina D. Odjo,

Content Editor @Trenches