Tapping Inside Sales toAddress Pipeline Dysfunction

Presenter:Donna J. KentSenior VP of Global Sales,Marketing & Services

AAISP Leadership Summit Presentation: April 17, 2012

What Is Pipeline Dysfunction?

Meet Brian: Sufferer of PDBEFORE & AFTER…

What Is Pipeline Dysfunction?

“PD”: A symptomatic set of issues thatnegatively impacts sales pipeline health.

The Bad News: We all have sales pipelines and they’renot in perfect working condition.

The Good News: The symptoms are all treatable by tapping into the strength of the inside sales immune system.

Breaking Down PD

Common Symptoms… Lead leakage or lead waste Stalled leads Poor lead quality (so low volume of SAL’s) Inaccurate targeting (top of the funnel weakness) Incomplete and inaccurate contact data Un-nurtured sales leads Poor visibility into sales opportunities Insufficient lead intelligence and insight

Possible Causes

Fairly simple &

basic20%

Multi-stage &

somewhat complex

19%

Multi-stage & very

complex41%

Custom multi-stage

selling model &

extremely complex

20%

Based on 179 Respondents Sales process complexity Average sales cycle length between initial contact-closed sale

Discrete steps in sales process

Possible CausesDistinguish between Marketing Qualified Lead and Sales Qualified Lead

Single or multiple stakeholder sales engagement

Process to obtain useful feedback from sales team on lead quality and quantity

Possible Causes

Account-Based Marketing programsfor targeted strategic accounts

Do you segment data forvarious marketing objectives

Contact data challenges

Possible Causes

Most significant contact data challenges

Possible Causes

Distinction between how leads are nurtured based on buying cycle stage

Ability and skill sets within your organization to properly analyze the relevance and effectiveness of your lead nurturing process

Symptom: Lead LeakageLeads and opportunities that fall through the cracksdue to poor follow-up, irrelevant messaging, lack ofongoing contact, insufficient quality and quantityof contacts.

Impact: Lost revenue and market share Impact on brand image

Inside Sales Treatment: Training on message alignment Alignment with field sales Disciplined, integrated workflow (digital and dialogue) Strategic roadmap and multiple entry points

Symptom: Stalled LeadsDormant leads/opportunities that lose momentumdue to lack of solution alignment, lack of salesvisibility, decision postponement, wrong contacts,budget loss, competitor positioning.

Impact: Competitive displacement Loss of future revenue opportunity

Inside Sales Treatment: Ongoing opportunity analysis More contacts – go deeper and wider Discover solution alignment in other places Long-term nurture – keep it alive!

Symptom: Poor Lead QualityUnqualified leads delivered without sufficientinsight, outside lead definition scope, incorrectcontact, no solution match.

Impact: Wasted sales time Distracted focus from better leads

Inside Sales Treatment: Collaborative lead definition Acquire the RPC (right-party contact) Know the solutions and find alignment

Symptom: Inaccurate TargetingInsufficient quantity and low-quality leads at the topof the funnel due to poorly targeted lead gen efforts,solution misalignment, incorrect personas, strongcompetitive position, unknown insight.

Impact: More wasted sales time Inefficient use of marketing budget Time not spent on real opportunities

Inside Sales Treatment: Leverage skills to beta test markets, accounts, personas Use dialogue skills to discover insight and filter in/out “Knit one pearl two”

Symptom: Bad Contact DataNo purchasing committee contacts, inaccuratecontact information, no role-based intelligence,insufficient account insight, no relationship-mapping.

Impact: Sub-optimized lead conversions Closed-won revenue deficiency Unnecessarily lost opportunities Decreased program ROI

Inside Sales Treatment: Acquire the right contacts Map relationships and buying committee positions Identify personas/roles and value prop alignment

All other sales lead conversion practices being equal, 90% contact record usability rate vs. 75% contact record usability rate yields a closed-won delta of approximately 30%.

(Within our client base we observe usability rates below 75%.)

Symptom: Poor VisibilityNo insight into the status of the open opportunity, itsmomentum, its probability, competitive positioning, itsalignment with your value propositions.

Impact: Inaccurate forecasting Unresolved issues (sales rep, pricing, etc.) No prescribed next steps

Inside Sales Treatment: Get inside and stay inside Identify, communicate, analyze and resolve issues Use dialogue to eliminate blind spots

Symptom: Un-Nurtured LeadsInsufficiently touched relationships due to lack of contact discipline or irrelevant messaging.

Impact: Deals go dormant or to competitors Loss of sales rep and brand integrity Decelerated revenue and pipeline momentum

Inside Sales Treatment: Design and execute an integrated touch workflow Sustain communication with multiple contacts Align the messaging to distinct personas

Symptom: Insufficient InsightLack of understanding about a prospect’s behaviorsand interests – individually and holistically across theentire account.

Impact: Missed opportunity for full deal value Unknown contacts – deficient mapping Misalignment of messaging and solutions

Inside Sales Treatment: Look for cues via website behavior tracking (MAT) Get access to same BI given to sales rep and marketing Use the BI to inform your dialogue

Pipeline perfection isn’t the goal, but the conditions can be significantly improved

Inside Sales has unique talents and capabilities that Sales and Marketing can leverage to improve the pipeline

It’s not just about the immediate lead; it’s about insight, nurturing, and focus on long-term opportunities

Contact data challenges are at the source of many symptoms – Inside Sales can help resolve

Key Take-Aways…

For More Information…Donna KentSenior VP of Global Sales, Marketing & Services+1 888-787-2829Donna.kent@televerde.comwww.televerde.com

Do you have Pipeline Dysfunction?

Which of the symptoms cause you the most pain?

Can your inside sales team help resolve the symptoms?

Discussion & Questions…