Expanding the Role of Marketing for Sales Enablement

It’s no surprise that B2B sales cycles are rapidly changing. Research suggests it takes 8-12 touchpoints to close an enterprise-level sale and that it can take up to 6-12 months (or more, depending on the industry) to close the deal. And for good reason, as buyers grow increasingly risk averse and seek broader consensus and approval internally.  

For marketing teams on the frontlines supporting B2B sales, it’s time to play catch-up. While above-the-line marketing is useful for building brand awareness, the process of converting prospects into clients can be long and winding. So, how can marketers drive value, and conversions, down an ever-expanding sales funnel?

1. Make it easier to open doors  

Bank of America’s Global Payment Solutions team was looking to attract prospects for introductory conversations at Sibos, an annual trade show organized by the SWIFT community. They wanted to stand out from the competitors with their bland, temporary conference rooms and coffee bars, but also didn’t want to be too gimmicky—as salespeople are often skeptical of booths with experiences or entertainment detached from the conversation. The solve? An interactive “lite brite” experience nostalgic toy where participants answered questions by placing pegs on a giant light-up board. Besides giving attendees an opportunity to learn what their peers thought in real-time, the activation served as an enticing billboard that people could see from across the floor. The result was that BofA was able to create a genuine, organic conversation starter that opened doors for salespeople to start conversations. 

2. Introduce yourself as the solution to your prospects’ challenges  

Crown Castle, a leader in technology infrastructure and fiber optics, got their start in wireless. This was problematic because it wasn’t always clear to prospects that they were an ideal partner, equipped to solve their complex needs. So, a major priority for our marketing efforts wasn’t just driving leads, it was educating prospects on Crown’s expertise and capabilities. Because prospects don’t really care about you—they care about what problems you can solve for them. This insight became the lens through which we created almost all of our lead generation materials – start with the customer’s challenge as specifically as possible and then educate them on who you are and what you do.

For Crown, we developed interactive calculators that helped prospects better define and quantify their challenges. We also developed a series of illustrated infographics tailored to different industries, highlighting their challenges first and then demonstrating how Crown Castle’s solutions could solve them. That way, when a salesperson met with a customer, they didn’t have to spend time explaining who they were, they could get right into discussing their needs.  

3. Keep the conversation alive 

Amex Global Commercial Services has a robust global marketing machine that targets enterprises of all shapes and sizes with their leading Corporate Program and B2B Supplier Payment Solutions. Their program had lots of great awareness-building tactics such as advertising, direct outreach, and closing materials including decks and implementation/onboarding programs. But the problem existed somewhere in-between building awareness and closing the deal – sales teams needed anywhere from 3-8 reasons to get in touch with a prospect to nurture the opportunity and drive brand preference.

So, how could they keep conversations going once the initial meetings had been conducted? The team turned to a unique content partnership with Forbes to publish a study on Future Forward Finance. This was a gift to salespeople because it offered a host of relevant and interesting insights and content that resonated with their target audience. From programmatic content to mass market emails highlighting a tradeshow or event, Future Forward Finance is helping teams fill the communication gap with relevant and valuable content their prospects are excited to consume.

Conclusion

The future of the B2B sales cycle is hard to predict, but one thing will not change — the need for salespeople to stand out and nurture the relationship at every step in the journey. Organizations who bring together marketing and sales will have the leg up—allowing them to be nimbler and more proactive to meet the ever-changing needs and preferences of buyers.