Assessment

PURPOSE: We usually begin with a rapid assessment so we can quickly prioritize and focus on the things that will grow pipeline quickly.

PROCESS: We review your current programs, systems, and content, and campaigns with your team. This helps us to quickly determine gaps and create programs that optimize each of the four key pillars (Story, Planning, Infrastructure, and Team) that will drive pipeline growth. 

DELIVERABLE: We present you with a detailed assessment of your existing marketing practice and give you specific programs to increase pipeline.

Yes, it's a report, but it's a concise one, and it may be the most useful one you've ever read.

Story & Content:
The Unfair Advantage (1 Day)

PURPOSE: You may not be able to outspend your competition on campaigns, but you can gain a sustainable advantage by having a more compelling value proposition. Most tech firms focus their messaging on product and features, which quickly causes prospects to approach the sale as a "checklist" commodity. Instead, every piece of communication must first reflect an understanding of the business problem, and then propose a solution with unique advantages over the competition.

PROCESS: We interview each key member of your team - sales, marketing, and support - as well as representative customers to get a direct, perspective on why they bought your product and what their buying process was. We then lead a message building exercise that produces a definitive set of company and product messages designed to drive increased sales pipeline.

DELIVERABLES:  Depending on your situation, some or all of the following may be part of your solution.

• Customer Profile - Describes all of the influencers and decision makers in your selling cycle, the problems they're trying to solve, their buying criteria, and view of your product.
• Message Map - Lays out your story and serves as the guide for all of your content. It describes your market, the problem you solve, how you solve it, and your unique selling proposition. It provides the specific phrases, descriptions and points that will consistently drive understanding to your audience.
• Content Plan - Lists specific pieces used in lead generation (email, video, graphics, documents, etc.) along with creative concepts and themes to tie them together. It also contains suggested outlines for sales, analyst, and investor presentations.
• Creative Brief - A series of creative concepts and themes to create effective campaigns and content.
• Content Production - Depending on your in-house capabilities, we can produce all the content listed in the Content Plan.

By having a consistent message that always conveys a better value, you can out-compete the largest competitors

Lead Generation:
A Pipeline Playbook

PURPOSE: It's been said that "If you don't know where your going, you'll probably get there." Nowhere is this more true than in marketing, where the sheer number of moving parts can be daunting.  Your marketing team has to execute and measure their success against a detailed set of schedules, tactics, and associated costs. An added benefit of having this is that it allows your team to simplify their activities by finding out what actually works and focusing on that.

PROCESS: We begin with your revenue targets, selling cycle, and lead conversion rates to derive a lead generation schedule that meets those targets. From there, we work with your marketing team to create "Playbooks" which include specific campaigns, calendars, and metrics that keep your marketing on track, on time, and on budget.

DELIVERABLE: Your "Playbook" is delivered as a spreadsheet and can also be integrated into your CRM system. It contains every campaign, the expected results, milestones and responsibilities, and estimated costs. It also provides for the input of results and tracking and reporting of related metrics. I also provide direct interaction with your team to guide them through day-to-day implementation of the programs for as long as required to make them self-sufficient and able to produce and manage this system moving forward.

Infrastructure & Automation:
System Tune-Up

PURPOSE: In order to attain your lead and revenue goals, your marketing automation systems must be integrated in a way that lets you create test plans, execute them, and measure the results. This actually allows you to increase your efficiency while simplifying your workload.

PROCESS: Depending on the systems you employ, we create integration paths that allow them to work together, and deliver reporting functionality that let's you measure what's going on. . If you require the personnel to implement them, we can bring in technical experts to complete the work for your team. We may also suggest specific technologies you may not already have, but which may optimize your programs.

DELIVERABLE: Once complete, your systems will be thoroughly tested and set up to support your lead generation "Playbooks" (above). Your team will be trained on how to use, modify, and tune their systems..

Personell & Roles:
Team Tune-Up

PURPOSE: Modern marketing has a lot of moving parts, and for your team to be effective there has to be a clear assignment of roles filled by people with the right skills. Unfortunately, these skills are often hard to find because they're really not formally taught, they're acquired over careers.

PROCESS: I have been making these hires and building effective marketing teams for 25 years and can provide both the team structure and candidates that you need to create one for your organization.

DELIVERABLE: Once your lead gen planning and infrastructure is determined, I provide you with a team structure - with specific roles and responsibilities - that offers the best fit for your existing team and, where necessary, shows any gaps that may exist. I then provide the job descriptions and hiring criteria needed to fill those gaps, refer you to recruiters or other resources for candidates, and then help you evaluate applicants.