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AM WORKSHOP WORKBOOK
HOW TO BUILD A MARKETING PLAN
THAT MAPS TO YOUR SALES PIPELINE Stephanie Ristow | Director of Marketing, Charter School Capital
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Confirm Your Company Goals
Establish Stage-Level Objectives
Demand Generation vs. Account Based Marketing
Defining the Demand Unit(s)
Outlining Audience Personas
Developing Messaging
Calculating Pipeline-Based Goals
Program Creation/ Prioritization
Tactical Mapping
Review, Revise, Optimize
Glossary
3
4
5
7
9
13
16
18
22
26
28
29
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INTRODUCTION
uilding a marketing plan that is understood, valued, and approved by both executive leadership and sales is Btougher than it looks.
This workbook will provide a step-by-step how-to on building the elements for an effective, strategic marketing
plan.
Use this guide to prevent strategy tourism among your team, create the flexibility to shift and prioritize quickly
throughout the year, and align marketing and sales departments to a central mission for a predictable pipeline of
sales.
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CONFIRM YOUR COMPANY GOALS
WORKSHEET
This probably seems like a no-brainer, but starting with your company-level goals is important touch in order to
create a touch-stone for the rest of your plan. Too often, marketers jump into the plans without considering the
driving forces behind the business overall first. Not to mention, including these show-cases your higher-level
thinking with the executives, since these are the metrics they care about.
Sales Volume Goal
People Process Product
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ESTABLISH STAGE-LEVEL OBJECTIVES
Objectives Message Themes KPIs
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
LOYALTY
Ÿ Cultivate brand recognitionŸ Generate new leads
We do (things). Check us out! Ÿ Site trafficŸ Leads (MCLs)
Ÿ Drive engagement with leads and contacts
Ÿ Open doors with influencer audiences
We are a resource for (audience). We know and specialize in this space. Learn more!
Ÿ Lead engagement (MQLs)Ÿ Influencer meetings
Ÿ Support opportunity conversion with value prop/ product-related content and sales support
We (value prop). Purchase with us!
Ÿ Sales accepted leads (SALs)Ÿ Opportunities
Ÿ Drive additional purchases from clients
Ÿ Capture referrals from happy customers
Look how great it is to work with us. Purchase with us again. Refer us to other prospects.
Ÿ Upsell opportunitiesŸ Client referrals
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Objectives Message Themes KPIs
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
LOYALTY
ESTABLISH STAGE-LEVEL OBJECTIVES
WORKSHEET
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DEMAND GENERATION VS. ACCOUNT BASED MARKETING (ABM)
Demand Generation Account Based Marketing
Traditional, funnel based marketing strategy focused on
persona-based messaging and programs. This strategy works
great if you have a transactional sale and need a large volume
of leads.
(Fishing with a net)
When you are focused on high-value accounts with multiple
decision makers and complex sales cycles, this strategy is
used for a more targeted, proactive approach based on
delivering account-personalized messages and tactics.
(Fishing with a spear)
Both strategy approaches are incredibly valuable. The make-up of these two strategies in your own company should
be based on your product price-point and length of sale. Don’t just follow the trend to ABM. With these two
variables in mind, identify the appropriate proportion of Demand Generation to Account Based Marketing programs
in your overall marketing plan.
EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2
Sales Cycle: 3 months
<$100,000Deal Size:
Sales Cycle: 12 months
$2,000,000Deal Size:
ABMDEMANDGENERATION
DEMANDGENERATION ABM
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WORKSHEET
Both strategy approaches are incredibly valuable. The make-up of these two strategies in your own company should
be based on your product price-point and length of sale. Don’t just follow the trend to ABM. With these two
variables in mind, identify the appropriate proportion of Demand Generation to Account Based Marketing programs
in your overall marketing plan.
DEMAND GENERATION VS. ACCOUNT BASED MARKETING (ABM)
Sales Cycle:
Deal Size:
Other Factors:
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DEFINING THE DEMAND UNIT(S)
Build some context and parameters around the groups you’re reaching out to. Most companies segment sales
organizations by geographic market or industry vertical. Additionally, how and who you message to will likely vary by
product. Some companies may have only one demand unit (but most will have at least two).
This exercise is most important in ABM strategies.
Example:
Demand Unit 1: Financial Services – Automation Software
Market or Industry:(Geographic or industry segmentation)
Financial Services
Demand Unit:Job titles related to this product purchase
1. CMO
2. Marketing Director/ Manager
3. Contributor (Marketing Operations)
4. Influencer (Partner Agency)
5.
6.
Product:
Automation Software
Target Accounts:Specific parameters for your target accounts (BANT)
Companies with 4-10 person marketing teams, a $10K+,
internal decision making power, a B2B selling environment
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WORKSHEET
DEFINING THE DEMAND UNIT(S)
Demand Unit 1:
Market or Industry:(Geographic or industry segmentation)
Demand Unit:Job titles related to this product purchase
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Product:
Target Accounts:Specific parameters for your target accounts (BANT)
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WORKSHEET
DEFINING THE DEMAND UNIT(S)
Demand Unit 2:
Market or Industry:(Geographic or industry segmentation)
Demand Unit:Job titles related to this product purchase
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Product:
Target Accounts:Specific parameters for your target accounts (BANT)
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WORKSHEET
DEFINING THE DEMAND UNIT(S)
Demand Unit 3:
Market or Industry:(Geographic or industry segmentation)
Demand Unit:Job titles related to this product purchase
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Product:
Target Accounts:Specific parameters for your target accounts (BANT)
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OUTLINING AUDIENCE PERSONAS
Use the job title details you outlined in the demand units here in the “role” column. In many cases, the roles will be
consistent across different demand unit types. Unless you see key persona differences in the roles across different
demand units, no need to create different personas for each.
Role Description General MessageWhat are they stressed about? Key Channels
Specific description of this role. Background, demographics, specific interests.
What are the major stresses in their job that your product/ service can solve?
How will you position your product/ information specifically for this role?
LinkedInSlackEmailEtc.
CMO(Janet)
Marketing Director(Stephanie)
Contributor(Brittini)
Influencer(Michael)
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OUTLINING AUDIENCE PERSONAS
Role Description General MessageWhat are they stressed about? Key Channels
WORKSHEET
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OUTLINING AUDIENCE PERSONAS
Role Description General MessageWhat are they stressed about? Key Channels
WORKSHEET
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DEVELOPING MESSAGING
Leverage the “general message” you outlined in the personas as the Awareness level message here. Then expand on
that message through the funnel. How would your message change as you’re stage-level objectives shift?
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
LOYALTY
CMO
Message for C-level executive that doesn’t know about us
Director
Message for decision maker that doesn’t know about us
Contributor
Message for contributor that doesn’t know about us
Influencer
Message for influencer that doesn’t know about us
…has heard of us, but not yet engaged
…has heard of us, but not yet engaged
…has heard of us, but not yet engaged
…has heard of us, but not yet engaged
…has considered us and is looking for a solution
…has considered us and is looking for a solution
…has considered us and is looking for a solution
…has considered us and is looking for a solution
Message for C-level client regarding upsell and referrals
Message for decision maker client regarding upsell and referrals
Message for contributor client regarding upsell and referrals
Message for influencer client regarding upsell and referrals
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DEVELOPING MESSAGING
Leverage the “general message” you outlined in the personas as the Awareness level message here and expand. How
would your message change as you’re stage-level objectives shift? Then, circle the roles/ stage combos that are
highest priority.
AWARENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
LOYALTY
WORKSHEET
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CALCULATING PIPELINE-BASED GOALS
We need to establish quantitative performance metrics to identify our budget and resource priorities across
programs for the new business sales volume goal. This is what you’re ultimately driving to:
Key Questions Last Year This Year’s Goals
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
How many MQLs? MQL > SAL rate? SAL > Opportunity rate?
250080%1%
444490%1%
AWARENESS
How many leads (MCL)? MCL > marketing qualified (MQL) rate?
5000
50%
8888
50%
How many opportunities?Opportunity to win rate? Value/ won opportunity?New Business VolumeGoal?
2025%$100,000
$500,000
4025%$100,000/ won opportunity
$1,000,000
But let’s back up…
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CALCULATING PIPELINE-BASED GOALS
Last Year’s Numbers (Benchmark)
Notes:
Use this worksheet to establish last year’s numbers first – this
is your benchmark.
This benchmark is important in order to see the delta
between what you have done in the past vs. what’s expected
this year, and what is realistic.
If you’re investment and internal resources are the same, and
the only way to hit your goal is to double MCLs, you’ll need to
speak with leadership.
WORKSHEET
1. New Business Volume : $__________________________
2. Value/ Won Opportunity: $________________________
3. Opportunity Win Rate: ___________________________
4. How Many Opportunities (1÷2÷3) = _________________
5. SAL > Opportunity Rate: __________________________
6. MQL > SAL Rate: _______________________________
7. How Many MQLs (4÷5÷6) = _______________________
8. MCL > MQL Rate: _______________________________
9. How Many MCLs (7÷8) = _________________________
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CALCULATING PIPELINE-BASED GOALS
WORKSHEET
Goal Numbers:
Notes:
Remove any volume expectations that should come from
existing business when you start with item #1 here, as this is
calculating only new business sales volume.
There are likely market-based ceilings to many of these
numbers. When establishing goals for next year, consider the
items that are most fixed first. If the total market is 1000 leads,
getting 1200 MCLs next year isn’t really possible. So you’ll
need to optimize conversion rates instead.
1. New Business Volume : $__________________________
2. Value/ Won Opportunity: $________________________
3. Opportunity Win Rate: ___________________________
4. How Many Opportunities (1÷2÷3) = _________________
5. SAL > Opportunity Rate: __________________________
6. MQL > SAL Rate: _______________________________
7. How Many MQLs (4÷5÷6) = _______________________
8. MCL > MQL Rate: _______________________________
9. How Many MCLs (7÷8) = _________________________
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CALCULATING PIPELINE-BASED GOALS
WORKSHEET
Now that you’ve done the calculations for last year’s conversion benchmarks and this year’s goals, you can clearly
see which programs need to be prioritized to accommodate the metrics you’re setting out to improve.
Worth Noting:
• You should already have leads; not starting from scratch
• If the MQL/ SAL number is too high, you’ll need to optimize conversion rates
• Use these numbers to help prioritize your programs
Key Questions
CONSIDERATION
CONVERSION
How many MQLs? MQL > SAL rate? SAL > Opportunity rate?
AWARENESS
How many leads (MCL)? MCL > marketing qualified (MQL) rate?
How many opportunities?Opportunity to win rate? Value/ won opportunity?New Business VolumeGoal?
Last Year This Year’s Goals
More lead gen activities
More engagementcampaigns
More salessupport materials
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PROGRAM CREATION/ PRIORITIZATION
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had all the time and all the budget resources we need to do all the necessary tactics
for all the relevant programs, for all the target audiences, at every market/ industry/ product segment we’ve
covered? Well you don’t. So, let’s prioritize what’s going to really move the needle.
Which objective stage metrics are going to require the biggest push next year to hit your pipeline goals? (Page 22)
Awareness (Lead Generation Activities)
Consideration (Engagement Activities)
Conversion (Sales Support Activities)
Which audience groups were most important in those funnel areas? (Page 18)
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Which of your Demand Units are MOST important? (Pages 11-13)
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
What’s your ABM/ Demand Generation split? (Page 9)
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Which channels are most effective to reach them?
(Pages 15-16)
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
WORKSHEET
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PROGRAM CREATION/ PRIORITIZATION
Brainstorm Time! Based on the priorities you developed on the previous page, start sketching out some programs
you think will reach those audiences and the tactics they should include. Specify the key audiences/ messages
associated.
Program 1
Objective: ______________________________________
Audience: ______________________________________
Key Message: ____________________________________
Call to Action: __________________________________
Program Theme/ Summary/ Notes: ___________________
Program 2
Objective: ______________________________________
Audience: ______________________________________
Key Message: ____________________________________
Call to Action: __________________________________
Program Theme/ Summary/ Notes: ___________________
WORKSHEET
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PROGRAM CREATION/ PRIORITIZATION
Brainstorm Time! Based on the priorities you developed on the previous page, start sketching out some programs
you think will reach those audiences and the tactics they should include.
Program 3
Objective: ______________________________________
Audience: ______________________________________
Key Message: ____________________________________
Call to Action: __________________________________
Program Theme/ Summary/ Notes: ___________________
Program 4
Objective: ______________________________________
Audience: ______________________________________
Key Message: ____________________________________
Call to Action: __________________________________
Program Theme/ Summary/ Notes: ___________________
WORKSHEET
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PROGRAM CREATION/ PRIORITIZATION
Brainstorm Time! Based on the priorities you developed on the previous page, start sketching out some programs
you think will reach those audiences and the tactics they should include.
Program 5
Objective: ______________________________________
Audience: ______________________________________
Key Message: ____________________________________
Call to Action: __________________________________
Program Theme/ Summary/ Notes: ___________________
Program 6
Objective: ______________________________________
Audience: ______________________________________
Key Message: ____________________________________
Call to Action: __________________________________
Program Theme/ Summary/ Notes: ___________________
WORKSHEET
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TACTICAL MAPPING
Taking note of holidays, seasonality of your business, and resource cadence (budget and human resources), map the
programs you’ll be maintaining this year and adding to the docket. Obviously evergreen programs like drip
campaigns and triggered emails are year-round, but calendar programs should be mapped across the year to
appropriately set sales and executive expectations.
As a starting point, make sure you capture the following on your tactical marketing calendar:
Major Conferences
Holidays
Relevant Industry-Related Activities (Competitor Events, etc.)
Ongoing Programs (Webinars, Monthly Newsletter)
Workback of Customer Lifecycle Ramp to Busy Season
New Program Timelines
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TACTICAL MAPPING
WORKSHEET
January February March April
May June July August
September October November December
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REVIEW, REVISE, OPTIMIZE
Congrats! You’re done with the first draft. Now it’s time to socialize and update and socialize and update all this
marketing goodness. Here are your next steps:
Pull the final versions of the worksheet slides into a comprehensive marketing plan
Your internal marketing department
Your external marketing vendors
Your sales organization
Your leadership team
Update your plan to incorporate feedback and recirculate with stakeholders
Once approved, pull the final programs and calendar into a living document for weekly updates to the
marketing, vendor, sales, and leadership teams – vocalize that this is a living doc and will get updated
regularly
Review your plan quarterly (quarterly reporting analysis is a great time for this) to gut-check progress towards
goals, objectives, and key demand units
Update the plan as necessary, but don’t get stuck in strategy tourism!
Review the plan with the following for feedback:
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GLOSSARY
Ÿ MCL: Marketing Contacted Lead; this is someone who is in your system, but hasn’t yet engaged with your
content in a meaningful way.
Ÿ MQL: Marketing Qualified Lead; this is someone who’s done something meaningful to engage (downloaded an
eBook, filled out an apply now form) that your sales/ marketing teams agree warrants a notification the sales
team. This person is also within the demographic and geographic barriers for a quality lead.
Ÿ SAL: Sales Accepted Lead; this is someone who the sales team has said “yes, this lead is relevant; I will follow
up with them”.
Ÿ ABM: Account Based Marketing; this is a marketing strategy used for a more targeted, proactive approach
based on delivering account-personalized messages and tactics.
Ÿ Opportunity: Sales accepts a lead and creates an “opportunity” with the account, meaning they’re actively
working the lead to convert.
Ÿ KPI: Key Performance Indicator; the metrics that provide an early warning system for weather programs are
working or not.