10 Steps To Effective DG - Dgauthority

The
Demand Generation Authority

Presents
Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

A detailed look at creating the process of creating more High Quality Leads and Opportunities for Sales using proven methodologies, implicit prospect activity and continuous communication.
By Gord Mackay
Demand Generation Evangelist 2008
DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081
Index Table of Contents
Chapter
Description
Introduction
Where I introduce you to the process and what you can expect
Page
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7b 8 9 10 11 12
Appendix
3 7 10 19 24 28 32 38 44 48 51 54 57 60
Step ONE Prepare and Communicate for Success with Both Sales and Marketing What you will need before we begin and how to start talking to each other Step TWO Build a Process that Becomes a Demand Generation Engine Put your Website at the center of everything you do, and build out from there Step THREE Establish Targets and Cleans the Data
Clean the slate, then figure out who your Perfect Prospect is, and where to find them
Step FOUR Score the Incoming Leads Based on Implicit and Explicit Criteria Its all about setting priorities and guiding each prospect in the right direction Step FIVE Research, Research, Research Your Prospect knows you already you need to know them, and all about what they know Step SIX Engage the Lead using Qualifying Criteria to Guide the Conversation The Tipping Point of Demand Generation is the most critical Step in the process Supplemental What to Look For in a Demand Generation Engagement Rep
A little bit of Marketing - A little bit of Sales - A little bit of Different
Step SEVEN Route the Lead Around the Qualification

Every thing has its place and NOTHING falls through the cracks
Step EIGHT Build a Network and Process Around Each Qualified Lead
Your prospect is interested, but you still have a ways to go yet.
Step NINE Communicate Results with both Marketing and Sales

Keeping everyone in the loop
Step TEN Continue Working and Improving the Process

Its actually a never-ending story, where nothing is perfect and change is inevitable
Conclusion
Wrapping up the process, and preparing you for the next step
Some Demand Generation Resources

A quick Top Ten of resources I use every day
www.dgauthority.com
Develop the Science of Demand Generation
Chapter One - Introduction
Demand Generation is a powerful process that has been used unknowingly for years, in one form or another. Essentially, it brings together the Lead Generation aspects from Marketing and Sales, bringing the two corporate entities closer together, and streamlines the process from Lead to Customer. There are several things that need to be done before an effective Demand Generation process can be set in place, and the entire process involves a great deal of time and effort. To give you an idea of the complexity Im referring to, my original draft of this eBook was called The 39 steps to Demand Generation. I thought that this may scare some people off, and decided my own description of the process needed to be streamlined first. Im not trying to make this undertaking appear overly daunting - I am suggesting that implementing an Effective Demand Generation process will involve a great deal of time, effort and commitment on your part, and on the part of those you work with. Hard work, dedication, persistence and open mindedness are critical. Now a bit about the flavor of this eBook. From time to time, I include comments that I believe are funny, and please keep in mind that you are dealing with someone with an odd sense of humor (I am Canadian). I have done this to make the experience of reading it a bit lighter, and more fun. Occasionally, I may go overboard, and since funny is a relative term, some might be offended, or simply tire from my efforts to obtain a laugh or two. Im not apologizing Im just preparing you. Somewhere in between these quirky jabs are steps to a process that will revolutionize the way you market to your audience, find new business and make more money.
www.dgauthority.com
The Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

These are proven success factors in building and efficient and effective Demand Generation program based on my ten years of experience, Best Practices (or, at least the ones I subscribe to) from various expert sources in the Marketing world, and substantiated predictions of the way Marketing is evolving. The Ten steps are:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Prepare and Communicate for Success with Both Sales and Marketing Build a Process that Becomes a Demand Generation Engine Establish Targets and Cleans the Data "Score" Incoming Leads Based on Implicit and Explicit Criteria Research, Research, Research Engage the Lead using Qualifying Criteria to Guide the Conversation Route the Lead Around the Qualification Build a Network and Process Around Each Qualified Lead Communicate Results with both Marketing and Sales Continue Working, Monitoring and Improving the Process
The Rules
Before we begin to delve into details, I think its important we set some ground rules and expectations. The best way to tackle any challenge is to focus on one thing at a time. Many of these steps can be broken down into mini-projects, which will allow you to ensure each is done properly, give you the ability to track your progress, and add a continued sense of accomplishment (not to mention providing some metrics for The Powers That Be). An effective Demand Generation process cannot be rolled out overnight, and some more advanced processes can take up to a year to be running efficiently. Every case is different. Some Sales organizations will require higher qualification of leads than another. Some Marketing departments will have more resources on the creative rather than the functional. Information Technology Consulting and Staffing firms will have a more difficult time than say a company offering free money. NOTE: If you should ever run across an organization giving away free money, please email the details to me immediately. My point is that many of these steps will need to be tweaked to fit your particular needs and expectations. Testing will be a big part of building the process, as you learn what does and doesnt work. You can learn more from unsuccessful campaigns than successful ones.
www.dgauthority.com
Are You Ready for Demand Generation?

Demand Generation is the process of converting Raw Marketing Leads into Sales-Ready Qualified Opportunities for the Sales team. It is by no means a slight undertaking. It involves a huge investment of time, money and resources, and a commitment by everyone involved. The investment will pay off over time, and the rewards can, and will, be incredible. There are a number of things to consider before embarking on a full Demand Generation initiative. In addition to determining if the commitment to this is strong enough, Demand Generation must also fit your business model and circumstance. In no particular order, here are a few things to consider before making this decision.
Are you in the right business for this?

Demand Generation is most effective in the B2B space, where the sale is somewhat complex, and the Sales Cycle involves a Sales Rep. The Early Adopters to this line of thinking have typically been in the High-Tech world, such as Software and Hardware companies selling corporate solutions to the business world. Beyond this, the sweet spot has been with Business Services, Travel and Financial, all with a B2B flavour. There has also been success with companies who have a B2C focus, but where the sale is still complex, and involves Sales Reps selling a Big-ticket item. For instance, a company selling box seats for a major league baseball team would do very well with Demand Generation, and a company selling online books would not.
Do you have the resources available?

A Demand Generation initiative will involve a considerable investment, and require people, good people, who are committed to making it happen. At the very least, you should have two or three marketing people available, one of which should be focused solely on Demand Generation. As an initial investment, you should be prepared to have a budget of $25,000 to make the initial transition, and another $25,000 to support this initiative through the first year. Again, these are estimated minimum numbers.
Is everyone open for this?

Demand Generation uses many tactics, strategies and methodologies that are based on basic common sense, and are in line with age-old Sales and Marketing principles. However, there are certain aspects of the process that defy the common way of doing things, such as Email Design, Task Assignment and Prospecting. The commitment to Demand Generation must be made by everyone in the Marketing and Sales departments, and must be approached with an open mind.
Are you suffering?

There is a philosophy I subscribe to that is true for 99% of humanity No one will change unless they are experiencing enough pain. Ive seen it with recovering addicts, with those afraid of success, and with people in business, all the time. In addition, the pain must be severe enough to prolong this willingness to change well into the process. If you are experiencing some (or all) of the following challenges, and these challenges are making your (and your employees) life miserable, Demand Generation will be your Knight in Shining Armor: Your Sales team consistently complains that Marketing is not providing enough Leads, is providing too many Leads or that the Leads are not properly qualified Your Website is not getting enough traffic from the right people, and/or you have no idea who the right people are Your Marketing team is not fully accountable to the success of their Marketing efforts, or the bottom line of the organization Your Marketing and Sales processes are manual, time-consuming endeavours, with little or no automation Your metrics do not fully reflect the success of Marketing or Sales, and these results are not reflected on your Corporate Dashboards Marketing has become a money pit, with no indication on a return on investment. Marketing says they need more, and you are considering giving them less Your Marketing Campaigns are not producing the results you expected Your Marketing Campaigns are disassociated, using fragmented sources to deploy, and are not set up to nurture prospects through multi-phase or multi-channels Your Customers are not buying enough, and you are concerned with the rate of attrition
www.dgauthority.com
About the Author

My name is Gord Mackay, and I am a Demand Generation Evangelist with over ten years experience finding Sales-Ready Qualified Leads in the High-Tech Sector. Much of my experience has been in the Engagement of Prospects, using all of the tools and techniques mentioned in this eBook. Since this has been my lifeline, I have placed a lot of emphasis on the Engagement Step. Everything we do before hand, in the areas of strategic planning and effective Marketing, leads us to eventually Engaging our audience. This vital Step is the Tipping Point of Demand Generation where Marketing meets Sales, comes over for dinner, and if the timing and chemistry is right, stays for breakfast. I have an extensive background in creative Marketing as well, and by no means am I downplaying the importance of using Best Practices in Emails, and other Marketing fundamentals. All of the parts need to be in place and working well for the ride to go smoothly. For the Purposes of this eBook, however, I will focus more on strategy and process, rather than tactics. I am a Canadian (which explains quite a bit) living in Toronto with my family. I have five children, ranging in age from four to twentyone, and am a self-admitted Workaholic, with obsessivecompulsive tendencies. These characteristics make up a true Demand Generation Evangelist.
On the Same Page

Occasionally, you may see something contained in this eBook that you disagree with. There have actually been one or two people in my career that believed my theories were wrong, even after the data supporting them was provided. Though, at the time, I brushed them off as people who should be driving a truck instead of working in Marketing (not slamming Truck Drivers here, just making an example Truck Driving it is a Noble Vocation), it made me realize that, perhaps, there is more than one way to do this. Though I have spent a great deal of time perfecting my craft, it can always be improved. In these rare, but possible, cases, I will ask two things. Please try it my way first. Then, begin to tweak the process where it leads you. Secondly, if you find something in the eBook that could be improved (or for that matter, fails miserably) please Email me the details, or give me a call.
Special Thanks
I would like to throw out a heart felt Thank You to my editor, partner in DG crime, and genuine conscience of things I should do in my life, Celeste Hawco. Celeste is another great Authority on Demand Generation, and her knowledge and expertise, particularly in the execution of Marketing campaigns, has been invaluable. You can reach Celeste at celeste@dgauthority.com
Gord Mackay
Demand Generation Evangelist
DG Authority 416-287-2081 gord@dgauthority.com
www.dgauthority.com
DEVELOP THE SCIENCE OF DEMAND GENERATION
www.dgauthority.com
Chapter Two Step ONE

Prepare and Communicate for Success with Both Sales and Marketing
Communication, specifically internal communication, is both the Key to Success for Effective Demand Generation, and the byproduct of an effective process. This sharing of information begins right away, as we establish the needs of the Sales organization, and the abilities of the Marketing department to fulfill those needs. Once the expectations are established and agreed upon, the process uses this to bring both Sales and Marketing on the same page.
www.dgauthority.com
Marketing
Beyond the human abilities that Marketing possesses, an examination of the current tools used in the Marketing department must take place as well. Examples of the types of questions that need to be asked are: How long does it normally take today to roll out a campaign, and are there any obvious ways this time can be shortened? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Marketing team? Are any of the processes automated, and are these automated solutions tied in to one another? How involved is the Marketing team in the Sales SFA or CRM tool, and are the actions of Marketing logged there? How available are Marketing resources (emails, sales letters) to the Sales team, and how controlled is the corporate communication? How often does the Marketing team meet with the Sales team, and are these meetings at the Executive level or individual level?
Sales
On the Sales side, expectations must meet the ability of Marketing to fill the pipeline I know, I know Salespeople arent going to like that. That is just the way it is, Im afraid. Marketing will be delivering Sales-Ready Leads soon enough, and the numbers should increase as time goes on. I would like to give you a little insight at this point. I have worked with Sales organizations for many years, and I have never met a Top Performer that was short on his quota EVER blame it on Marketing, or use the excuse that he did not have enough quality leads. Furthermore, I have seen a direct coalition between this excuse and an inability to close deals. Just an observation, folks. If the Requirements (not the expectations) of the Company or Sales organization exceeds the Marketings ability, it may be time to become creative with budgets. One of the benefits to Effective Demand Generation is the ability to measure Success, and tie campaign costs to Revenue. While this will definitely help Marketing when asking the CEO for a bigger budget next year, he may also be persuaded with Realistic Forecasts that make sense.
www.dgauthority.com
The Measure of a Man (or Woman)

A reliable method of bringing Sales and Marketing on the same page is to measure them equally. More clearly, they should be measured by Revenue (and compensated as such). Revenue is the only number in company that affects everyone working there, and more importantly, the CEO, Board of Directors and Shareholders. Measuring Marketing on Revenue will create a more credible statistic for the Executives and Shareholders when planning for future Marketing Budgets (and the lifetime of the CMO or Marketing Director with the company).
Cant We Just Talk for a While?

As mentioned, an Effective Demand Generation process takes months to build, and with extended Sales cycles, training and ramp-up time, and testing, results may not be evident for some time. Marketing may even appear (at first) to be generating less Leads, as Sales should only be receiving ones that are Sales Ready. Part of this process is to build a Marketing Window for the Sales department, so that they may see the details of each campaign, and the activity of every contact in the campaign (ready or not). In addition, Marketing will have its own window into Sales, to see the status of Sales-Ready Leads passed, and where certain Demand Generation initiatives can actually help speed up the Sales cycle. Ultimately, the communication between Marketing, Sales and the rest of the organization will become native as Demand Generation takes hold. As this happens, you will be surprised at where new and innovative ideas come from, and how involved and informed your whole organization will be.
Keep a Pencil Handy (with an Eraser)

When preparing, it is best to scope everything out first, writing it down somewhere, prioritizing and figuring out how much resource you have to get started. Obviously, as the focal point, you will want to ensure your Website is up-to-snuff first, then your Email communication leading your Prospects to the Website, and your Communication channel from Marketing to Sales. These are the basic fundamentals that you can begin to grow upon as your DG process matures. The Steps will act as a guide for you. Once you have a plan in place, be prepared to change it A LOT (hence, the eraser). Life has many constants and sureties one is, Nothing ever goes as planned. Demand Generation is also a learning experience, from the testing of Emails to the tweaking of Lead Scoring ratios. Call it trial-and-error. Call it learning more from your mistakes. Dont really care what you call it, just be prepared to learn and change.
www.dgauthority.com
Chapter Three Step TWO

Build a Process that is a Demand Generation Engine
The center-point of a Demand Generation Engine is your Corporate Website. A Website has become more than an information portal for consumers to find out about your product or service. It is now a medium of bi-directional communication between you and your Prospects/Customers. Effective Demand Generation begins here. As you provide your Prospects with current and relative information, your Prospects return information about themselves, directly and indirectly, letting you know who they are, what they are interested in, and when they will be ready to move into the Sales process. To accomplish this, there are certain content, processes, campaigns and technologies that need to be present, including Updated content, including new eBooks, Whitepapers and other resources of interest to your prospects The ability to track visitors activity Forms to capture a visitors identity, with the right balance of required/non-required fields to access resources Email (and other channel) campaigns that refer to the Website as a call-to-action, and are tracked and tied in with your Website Analytics. Lead Scoring on Implicit and Explicit results, and appropriate Lead Routing to keep Prospects in the process
www.dgauthority.com
10
Website Content and Visitor Tracking

The content on your Website has always been important, and the idea of keeping your content current is as old as the Geocities free site. It is partially because of this fundamental that the concept is so crucial today, and that engaging Prospects is more Scientific now. Todays Customer (Prospect, Buyer, whatever you choose to call them) is more learned (that is LUR-NID) about you, your product or service, and the market than ever before. Before most people enter the Buying Cycle, they have researched their purchase on the Internet; from your Website to your competitors Websites; from technical and news resources to industry-specific Blogs written by their peers. This is why it is so important to understand what they know (or what they think they know) before even attempting to engage them in a conversation. Obviously, information on Product Releases and other major changes within your organization should be front and center, on your Home Page, with a link to the information your customer needs. Major stuff like this needs to be accompanied by MultiChannel Marketing campaigns as well, driving visitors to your Website. The latest craze (ok, maybe its been around for a while, but certainly growing more popular) is to offer access to eBooks (like the one you are reading), Webinars (and archived recordings), and Podcasts, to name a few. The most successful of these campaigns, especially to urge visitors to return for more, include materials that are more Educational than promotional. If a Prospect believes they are going to learn something as well as be sold something (and by the way, Prospects always know you will try to sell them something, stop patronizing them with promises you wont), they will click through on your Email promoting your new eBook, Eleven Sure-Fire Ways to Save Money on Your Employees Coffee and Donut Expenditures.
YourWebsite.com Your Webinar Monday June 2nd 10:00 AM EST Topic: How to Register for a Webinar Complete this Form to Register. First Name
Last Name
Company
Title
Email (mandatory)
Top Challenge
Remembering Name
How did you hear?
Friend Google
www.dgauthority.com
11
Forms
Tied in with Content, this topic deserves its own title (perhaps even own chapter). One of the top challenges I have discussed with Marketing folks across North America is in identifying their Website Visitors. One of the best ways to do this is by urging them to fill out a form, indicating who they are and where their interest lies. One of the biggest challenges is deciding whether completing fields, or certain fields, should be mandatory. Some people are unwilling to complete these Forms, citing privacy, security, SPAM and FOSP issues (Fear Of Sales People). Mandatory fields will deter the FOSP and otherwise concerned visitors, and ultimately reduce the number of Forms that are submitted. There are technologies that can help you identify visitors through their IP address, but many times, this is pure guesswork. You may only get you the Company Name (which is a start). In choosing which fields should be required, Name and Email Address are likely at the top of the list. You may also want to include Company, Title and Phone Number, though this information can easily be found online if you know where to go. Regardless of your decision to make fields required, Forms are a necessity in an Effective Demand Generation process.
Fields of Prospects
The information you collect on a form is used to gain a better insight into which your prospect is, and will be invaluable in targeting these prospects with the right information, and engaging them with the right offer. Your Form should include: Optional or Mandatory Name Title Company Telephone Number Email Address Usually Optional Authority / Role Top Challenges (three is good) Current Solutions Other Interests How did You Hear About Us?
www.dgauthority.com
12
Your Bogus Adventure

Your HOT Prospects, and most of your PRETTY WARM ones, will fill out most of the information voluntarily on your form. Obviously, with a genuine interest in your product or service, they are counting on you sending them more information, and giving them a call. Your LUKE WARM and COLD Prospects will leave many fields blank, but should complete the Email Address correctly as they anticipate a potential need down the road, and want to keep in touch. They may, however, use a personal or generic Email Address, like prospect@hotmail.com or buyer@comcast.net. This will be to avoid associating their interest with their Company. Keep these folks in your database you will eventually get the information you need from them. You will also get some BOGUS entries that want to see your information, but do not want to be identified. They will use single letters in the fields, or the name of a famous person (George W Bush has downloaded more eBooks than any other single person in the world). Nine times out of ten, these will be independent consultants, job seekers, or students. Give them the eBook, and delete them from the database. Dont lose a minutes sleep over it they would never buy anything anyway. Consultants recommend, job seekers apply and students graduate and get jobs, so your eBook may take on a viral benefit or have future potential.
Quick Note on Lead Scoring and Lead Routing

As Prospects enter your system, filling out Forms and such, you will want to assign them a Score, rating their value, and ensure the Lead is Routed to the right person or program. While Lead Scoring should be a big part of your preparation, I will cover Lead Scoring and Routing in great detail later in the eBook. For now, suffice it to say that, as Leads come in, the practice of rating these Leads with a defined Score will help prioritize them for you and your Sales team, and allow you to keep Prospects in the Marketing system when a Sales rep doesnt have the time or inkling to call them. Based on this Score, and other criteria such as Industry and Location, you can automatically route leads into a Sales reps Inbox and CRM, an extended Lead Nurture campaign, or a Channel Partner list. This process can be a manual one, but most Marketing Automation solutions can do this for you (or help your CRM to do it). Proper Lead Routing solves a lot of efficiency issues, but it also ensures Prospects do not fall through the cracks. With the right conditions created in the process, Marketing can know what Prospects have been called, and ensure those that are not called are continuously communicated with.
www.dgauthority.com
13
Trackable Marketing Campaigns

My copy of MS Word is telling me trackable is not a word. Interesting. Something that can be read is readable. Something that can be taught is teachable (as is the copious student with the sponge of his mind in baited anticipation). Yet, it appears that the English Scholars at Microsoft believe people cannot be tracked. Or perhaps, and just perhaps, it is what they want us to believe (I will stop there, risking this eBook becoming another Michael Moore segment, targeting Big Brother). Emails can be tracked using a number of technology solutions. I am by no means a techno-geek, and not an expert on this particular subject in any way, but I do pay some attention when the developers are presenting product information, and have gained some understanding on how this works. The email you send a prospect plants cookies on a persons computer (similar to the way websites are tracked) by including graphics that are stored in the computers temp files. Every time an email is opened, this graphic file is accessed on the server of the host site and transferred to the computer. A record of this exchange is recorded, and references the Email Address as the unique identifier. All subsequent activity following this process (like clicking through, visiting the Website) is tracked and recorded as well. When tied in with Website Analytics (or tracking), you can see exactly where a prospect has visited on your site, and since they visited your site through an email you sent, you can identify them without ever having to worry about them filling out a form. Other Marketing channels can be tracked in a similar way. Many Marketing Automation solutions now include the ability to track visitors from search engines like Google and Yahoo, as well as capturing information from corporate Blogs. Direct Mail and Print advertisements can reference Landing Pages and track specific recipients and the sources of Leads. You will want to eventually tie ALL of your Marketing efforts into the Demand Generation process. All of this technology and methodology can mean the difference between calling a guy you dont know, who doesnt know you, (or even worse, having the CEO of YourNextDeal Inc. online looking for a solution like yours, and getting a phone call from your competition the next day), and knowing that a Decision Maker at a target Company looked at three different Product Pages on your Website last night, and after your Marketing Automation sent him relevant, content specific information with the Thanks for Visiting Email, your Sales dude sent him an Industry Update on a topic related to his interest when confirming the Discovery Call with the Prospect on Friday. Every time I hear the words We actually just purchased a solution last month after an extensive search, I just bow my head and cry.
Gords Marketing Dictionary

trackable (adjective) - Pronunciation: trak- -b l - Etymology: Hyperspace origin - Date: 2008 1. describing a piece of, or completeness of, a Marketing campaign where the action or actions, reaction or reactions, of the intended audience are monitored and reported back to the Marketer, empowering the Marketer to act or react in order to convert the recipient into a Sales-Ready Qualified Lead. a necessary condition of all Marketing pieces or campaigns (or parts thereof) for Effective Demand Generation describes Emails, Print (Direct) Mail, Websites, Ad-word and any other Marketing campaign
2. 3.
www.dgauthority.com
14
Email, Nurture Campaigns and Best Practices

Email is, by far, a preferred method of communication for Marketing to communicate their message to their intended audience. There are certain requirements and restrictions companies need to comply with, lest they be blacklisted, and unable to communicate to the market. Every country has its own compliance criteria, but in general, you should get someones permission before Emailing them something that is intended for a mass audience. You need to also include the option for recipients to remove themselves from receiving this type of Email from you. Once you have a compliant Email, you need to do everything in your power to ensure your Email gets to the Inbox of the person you intended it for, and not into a corporate SPAM filter. Several companies out there than can help with deliverability, through testing, ensuring your content, hyperlinks and graphics are in order and your subject line does not contain words or phrases caught by filters. A freebie bit of advice here: using the subject line Out solution will raise your profits like a teenager on Viagra will NOT help your chances of the Email being delivered. Trust me; SPAM filters will always catch the word teenager. There are many Best Practices for writing Email content that gets results, and even more personal preferences. Using some of the age-old Marketing rules such as having a compelling Subject Line and opening, and having a clear Call to Action, will likely never change. Strategically placing two or three Hyperlinks throughout the text (beginning, middle and end), linking to personalized Landing Pages, and providing text-only links for Blackberry users are all examples of Best Practices to help drive more response. Although this falls under communication, its worth mentioning here. The Sales department needs to have full access to all current Marketing materials, and should not only have the ability to send Emails through templates created by the Marketing department; they should be mandated to do so. In addition to being an efficient and effective resource for Sales to communicate with their Prospects, this will feed the consistency of your Messaging and Branding. Nurture campaigns are an effective way of maintaining active communication with your Prospects when the Sales process has not started, or has been deferred to a later date (as opposed to non-active ways, like sending remarket campaigns like invites to Webinars and Press Releases, which everyone gets). Nurture campaigns can include different types of channels, such as Print or Dimensional (though I have not had great success with Dimensional pieces in the past, with one exception), but for the sake of simplicity, lets refer to Nurture campaigns as Email-only for the purpose of this description. Nurture campaigns are most effective when they are topic specific, and should include a frequency of touches that keeps the series fresh in your Prospects mind without becoming an annoyance (Once a week is a good start, and remember to exclude them from receiving your general emails while they are in the program). You should build a variety of Nurture campaigns, each focused on specific target markets or pains. You should also have campaigns of different durations: a two-week-four-Email campaign for new Raw Leads, a four-to-six-week campaign for Prospects who have not responded to Engagement attempts (or said, Call me back in three months), and an extended Nurture campaign for Prospects on-hold.
www.dgauthority.com
15
Technology
Part of the preparation for an Effective Demand Generation process is having the right technology in place. Most importantly, organizations need to adopt a CRM (Customer Relationship Management also referred to as SFA Sales Force Automation) solution for their Sales team that lends itself to the Demand Generation process. While many CRM solutions include Marketing components, a full Marketing Automation solution should also be implemented. There are many solutions out there to address specific needs, but for our sake, the most crucial Demand Gen feature is that the CRM must bi-directionally communicate with the Marketing Automation solution. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of Marketing Automation solutions in the market to help you accomplish your tasks. Most of them cost money, and some, a lot of money. There are Web-Trackers, Email-Blasters, and fully integrated Marketing Automation solutions that incorporate everything, and bi-directionally share this information with most CRM solutions. The secret is not (as the vendors may lead you to believe) finding the one that is right for you, but finding the one that will give you the biggest bang for the bucks you have today, and will scale to a more Feature-Rich solution as your need (and bank account) grows.
Shortfalls of Technology
As with all business endeavors, Technology comes at a price, and with its own set of problems. You may not be able to implement everything at once, and while Technology is a crucial factor in the Demand Generation process, you can still deploy other Effective DG initiatives without it. As you roll out a more complete Demand Generation Engine, you will notice a drastic increase in response rates, a greater number Qualified Opportunities in the pipeline and a significant shortening of your Sales Cycle. Technology itself is not foolproof. I have had occasions where, using data from one of the top-rated Marketing Automation solutions, I called into Prospects who had never heard of me, let alone visited my Website or taken a bite from an Email promotion. As it tuned out in one instance, the Assistant to the VP received a copy of the Email that was sent, and she forwarded it to a Director. He looked at it for five seconds, and forwarded it to one of his Managers, who clicked through one of the links and looked at 29 pages on our Website. The cookie was associated with the VP, so every time this Manager went to the website, it appeared as if the VP did. Email-Opens are tracked by imbedded graphics. When an Email is opened, the encoded graphic is downloaded, and this information is recorded (notifying you the Email was opened). Most Email clients now block graphics from opening by default, and ask the user to decide whether or not to download them. Unfortunately, someone viewing and immediately deleting an email from a preview pane counts as an open. Computers are identified by IP address, and Marketing Automation solutions place cookies on computers to identify them. Some individuals (and even companies) refuse to allow cookies to sit on their computers, which will make any future visits to your Website appear as new (and unknown) visitors. As Marketing Automation companies strive to overcome these loopholes, I am positive there are other Watch Dog companies who are creating Technology to circumvent required Form submissions, mask IP addresses and create multiple alias Email addresses to prevent Marketing Automation from doing what it is supposed to do.
www.dgauthority.com
16
Marketing Automation Solution Selection of a Marketing Automation solution is just as important. There are literally hundreds of solutions out there, at varying costs, depending upon your needs. At minimum, your Marketing Automation solution should: Be scalable to more advanced solutions, as your needs (and budget) grow Have a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) Email and Forms create and editing function Monitor and Report on visitors to your Website Track and Report on all of your campaigns Synchronize with your CRM / SFA When considering Scalability, you should have an idea of which direction you want to go, and choose a solution you can grow into. Examples of the more advanced features you will eventually need are Personal Landing Pages, Automatic Activity-Driven Content insertion, and Multi-Channel Nurture campaign management.
CRM (SFA) Solution CRM solutions have been helping Sales teams for decades, and I am always amazed at how many companies are still working from Excel spreadsheets. Outdated On Premise solutions are an affordable option, but with Marketing Automation in mind, the SaaS model (Software as a Service) is what you should consider. The features and benefits list is endless, as is the availability of add-ons and plug-ins. Your primary concerns are: The ability to capture and store the necessary information at a Contact level A Sales Opportunity recording and tracking section An Account level view, which relates all contacts and opportunities Customization capabilities to create an extensive and efficient interface for users, based on your specific needs Ease of use Customizable Reports Synchronization with your Marketing Automation solution
www.dgauthority.com
17
Follow-up
Turning the Tip is the key to everything. At the center of Demand Generation is the point, the Tipping Point, if you will, where the Raw Marketing Lead becomes something else. I refer to this as Demand Generation Engagement. With proper Lead Scoring and Routing in place, most of your Raw Leads will not see this stage immediately, if at all. Dependant upon your Scoring criteria, an Administrative Clerk at NotYourTarget Ltd. will come into the funnel, immediately be placed into the two-week Nurture campaign without response, and left in the general database to receive Webinar invites and other general Marketing, until such time they click through something, or get promoted to Vice President. I will go into great detail of what the specific process and techniques are the Engagement chapter is, by far, the longest one in this eBook and even who should be hired to fill this key position. For now, just keep in mind that in the Demand Generation Process, the Engagement is absolutely the most critical part.
Continuous Contact
Demand Generation does not stop after a Lead becomes an Opportunity in fact, it has only actually begun. Here are a few initiatives and benefits Effective Demand Generation entails after you have Turned the Tip: Obtain other key individuals at the organization, through referrals and research, and get them into nurture campaigns Continue to inform your Hot Prospect of Benefits to shorten the Sales Cycle Customer Marketing to promote upselling and cross-selling, and reduce attrition Personalized and specific invitations to your Events Customers and Hot Prospects ask the best questions at the Q&A portion of your Webinars. Regular analysis of Customers and Hot Prospects, and what campaigns were successful in helping obtain them, is essential for planning future campaigns and showing your CEO the Return on Investment
www.dgauthority.com
18
Chapter Four Step THREE

Establish Targets and Cleans the Data
Your Databases are another vital element of Marketing, Sales and Demand Generation. It is important that the data be clean, accurate, consistent and constantly maintained. During this process, it is just as important to identify what you have and what you need. In order to accomplish this, you need to define who your Perfect Prospect is.
www.dgauthority.com
19
Time for a bit of Spring Cleaning Marketing should house a separate database to Sales, as there will be a considerable number of records that have no business clogging up the Sales database (until such time as they show a response or appear on a target list of accounts). However, it is important that these two databases are in sync in regards to the records they share. Information on Prospects Marketing activities should be passed to the CRM, at least once a day. The first thing to address is the condition of your database. One of the most frequent complaints I have heard from Sales is the poor condition of the database. Data is entered and imported from various sources, and as a result, different information in different formats is uploaded. Often, each User has had a different concept on how to enter the information, or what information to enter. Mistakes can often occur, and go unnoticed until such time as it is difficult or impossible to rectify. Common examples of data corruption include: Records missing vital information such as Email Address, Phone Number or physical Address Information in fields with the wrong format (for instance, Industry imported as Technology instead of Computer Software Information in the wrong fields Contacts related to the wrong Accounts (either by mistake or as a result of them moving on) Chronic outdated records (I once called a guy who had died ten years earlier we were still emailing him) Duplicate records scattered throughout the database, with the aforementioned data quality issues hindering the de-dupe process
The Long and Winding Road I wont lie to you. This process can be tedious, manual and slow, at times. With the proper training and supervision behind it, the initiative will be invaluable, and should only require minimal maintenance, saving a heap of time down the road. Once you are comfortable with the condition of your database, it would make sense to start appending data, and completing information that is missing. Corporate Hierarchies (both at the company and organizational level) should be built, divisions established, and Industries and Markets entered. Data building should also be a mandate of the Demand Generation Engagement team, and they should be accountable and measured by Implicit and Explicit scores within their assigned territories. The focus of this should be to obtain the Email Address and Opt-in Permission from Contacts, research to identify new influential Contacts from new and existing Accounts (and Opt-in these Contacts to Nurture campaigns), and to execute targeted MiniCampaigns to build Implicit activity. Although the Revenue results from this initiative will be long term, you should notice a considerable increase in Contacts that appear Sales-Ready within a couple of months, filling the Demand Generation Engagement pipeline (resulting in more Opportunities at a higher acceptance rate). As mentioned, the Marketing results should be constantly pumped into your CRM. While the Demand Generation Engagement team should also work in the Marketing Automation solution, they should work primarily in the CRM, and have immediate access to information to speed up the preparation time. A database that is clean, consistent, complete, regularly maintained and fortified with new influential Prospects will be a Demand Generation Engine on its own. It will also affect the other Demand Generation initiatives you execute, and ultimately drive more Revenue into the organization.
www.dgauthority.com
20
Quick Tip on Data Cleansing

A common form of duplicates involves companies with The starting their name (such as The Keith Bagg Group). Someone, at some point, looked for a company called Keith Bagg, and when one was not found, they entered it as a duplicate. Then, someone did not set up the de-dup process correctly, and imported a third instance of the company as Keith Bagg Group, The. Besides the obvious problem of having contacts two and three times in the database, it I impossible to get a clear picture of the organization when there are so many places where the information is stored.
Elements of Clean Data

No database will be perfect, but there are several initiatives that can be execute to minimize corruption. Standardization A Standard Data Practice needs to be established, and then implemented. This standard includes what information ALWAYS needs to be present, what format it should take, and specifically where this information needs to be entered or imported. Validation The Data Validation process could also start here, using a Call Center or in-house Telemarketing resource to validate contacts, obtain opt-in Email permission, or even conduct a high-level survey. Data Champion One individual should be empowered and responsible for the database, and upon executing this initiative, it should be their sole purpose. Segmentation Data should be Segmented into buckets of quality. Then, as it is cleansed, it can be moved to the Completed bucket a little at a time. Training A Training Initiative should be launched to ensure everyone understands database procedures and formats, and be accountable to correct misinformation on-the-fly. The Demand Generation Engagement Team is well suited to be powerperformers of this initiative, as they live in the database.
www.dgauthority.com
21
Who is The Perfect Prospect?

Somewhere out there, there is a person who works at a company that is perfect fit for your product or service. This company has a huge need for what you are offering they are experiencing pain in some form - and the hole within their business process is causing them to lose oodles of money. (Oodles is defined as more money than you or I will ever see in a lifetime). The company just happens to be in the same business as many of your current Customers, and is relatively the same size in Employees and Annual Revenue. This person has the same Title, or very similar, as the last three people who bought from you. They can make decisions, and have a keen understanding of what you are offering (at least, at a functional level). They have started to tell you they are ready to buy you just havent been listening until now. The fact is, there are several of these Perfect Prospects out there, and believe it or not, finding them is not all that difficult. There are a number of initiatives you can undertake to uncover, communicate to and engage with these entities, which will be covered throughout this eBook. The first thing is to define who your Perfect Prospect is.
Finding The Perfect Prospect

While you are trudging through the mounds of data you have collected over the years, you will embark on a mission of discovery. You will see many commonalities, like, for instance, all of the leads from a former Sales rep were lemons (thus the status for former). You will also see common traits on those Prospects who showed potential, like Title, Size of Company, and Source. You should collect and analyze this type of information so you can build a profile for the Perfect Prospect. The specific criteria from past success - analyzing current Customers and how they came to be customers - will be your most valuable resource initially. Beyond your own data, Market and Industry information can also be a contributing factor. Your sources for this are limitless, and as you continue to refine and perfect the Demand Generation Process, describing the Perfect Prospect should always be included in this capacity for change. These are the conduits through which you will identify the Company Conditions, Contact Expos and Buying Indicators. This profile goes beyond targeted Marketing, and can be used throughout the Demand Generation Process. In addition to ensuring the right people get your Marketing materials, the Engagement Team can even use the criteria in Qualifying the Prospect, and many points you come up with will aid in the creation of your Lead Scoring Program. The Perfect Prospect is out there you just need to know what to look for.
www.dgauthority.com
22
The Perfect Prospect Criteria

The Perfect Prospect is, for all intents and purposes, an early Lead Scoring assessment of potential Customers. The difference between the Perfect Prospect and Lead Scoring is mainly that the information on the Perfect Prospect is gathered (or predicted) BEFORE they enter your system. To identify the Perfect Prospect, there are three main categories of criteria used. They are: Company Conditions Contact Expos Buying Indicators Keep in mind, however, that your Perfect Prospect is an Ideal, intended on guiding you in a possible direction. Customers will come from many directions as you discover new Company Conditions, Contact Exposs, and Buying Indicators, growing the potential for Perfect Prospects.
Ideal Customer Profile

In the Marketing Industry, the term I.C.P. (Ideal Customer Profile) is used in this context. The Perfect Prospect is designed in the same manner, but goes a few steps further to help prioritize and target your efforts. If you understand the concept of the I.C.P. you are one step closer to identifying the Perfect Prospect.
Company Conditions
Basic Company criteria include: Industry What Industries are your Customers from? What Industries are on your list to penetrate? Revenue (or Employees) Based on a range, how big (or small) is your target company? Pains Are there specific challenges your solution addresses and what types of companies would experience this challenge? Age Has the company been around long enough to have the challenges you can solve?
Contact Expos
Basic Contact Criteria includes: Title Does the contact have the same title as the Decision Maker of your customer (or a target title)? Authority Are they a Decision Maker (usually Director or VP)? Reachability How many sales calls would they typically get every week? Will they answer the phone? Pains Will this contact experience the challenges you can solve?
Buying Indicators
Some Buying Indicators you might include are: Past Has the company or contact been active in the past? Was there an opportunity? Present Are they currently active on your website (or engaged with a partner)? Money Have they received any funding, or gone IPO? New Hires Have they recently hired someone influential, or had a change in leadership?
www.dgauthority.com
23
Chapter Five Step FOUR

Score Incoming Leads Based on Implicit and Explicit Information sCORE
Lead Scoring is nothing new - Sales reps have been instinctively doing it instinctively for years. A lead comes in to his lap, and the first thing he will do is check where it came from (the Source). Did one of his Customers refer him, or did the prospect drop off his business card at a tradeshow to win an MP3 player (or 8-track this has been going on for years!)? The next thing a Sales rep does is ask a very involved question, Who is this person?
www.dgauthority.com
24
Explicit Scoring Turning your 8-track into a CD

What is their title (does it sound like they make decisions)? What is their department (is it the same as the people I normally deal with)? What about the company they work for (what is their annual revenue and profit, are they in a target industry)? All of these questions, and many more, can lead to an Explicit Lead Score, based on factual information. The difference from the 8Track days and today is this process can be automated. There is another huge difference. The sales rep in the 8-Track days would call this Prospect, and perhaps meet them in person, and gauge their interest and response by their behavior, body language and questions they asked. They would then transfer this gutfeeling to their sales report, estimating the probability of closing.
Implicit Scoring Then along comes the iPod

Today, with the ability to track online behavior, you can incorporate Implicit information into your Lead Score, and have a better picture of your Prospect and their potential before they are ever called (or Nurtured). With a Marketing Automation solution in place (or a group of Best of Breed solutions) you can see which Emails were opened more than once (once just may mean they viewed and deleted the Email), which were clicked through, when an how long they visited your Website, what pages they visited, and a host of other online activities. Just as an old-school-crackerjack Sales rep would read the body language of a prospect while the pitch was cast, you can read their online behavior in the same way, calculate their interest, and route them to the appropriate person or Marketing campaign. By rating this activity with a Score, you can also set follow-up priority for the Sales and Engagement teams
www.dgauthority.com
25
An Example Lead Scoring Program

I have outlined a simple Lead Scoring format below, which could be used as a starting point. As I mentioned, each situation will be different, and the weights of specific activities will vary by your Industry, Market Status, and Product/Service offering. This Lead Scoring program is based on a two-part score, separating the Explicit from the Implicit. This will allow your Demand Generation Engagement team to focus on Decision Makers and Influencers first, and provide you with a segmented, measurable source of information on how well you are reaching your target audience.
Explicit
A Company is within your target Industry and Revenue criteria, and the Contact is at the right level and department to make a decision about your product (based on matching keywords such as Director AND Accounting) B Company is out of your target Industry or Revenue criteria, but the Contact criteria from A has been met C Company is in your target Industry and Revenue criteria, and the contact is in a position that would be influential to the buying process (say, an Executive, or someone in the right department based on matching Keywords such as President or Accounting) D Company is out of your target, but the Contact is an Influencer. E Neither the Company nor the Contact meets the criteria F (Optional) Key data in the Contact record is missing or problematic, identifying a need for you to cleans/complete the record (and of course, run it through Lead Scoring again). Other criteria can be included, depending upon your objectives, such as matching Named Target Companies.
Implicit
10 points - Contact opens an Email you have sent more than once - Contact attends an Outside Trade Show your company is represented at 25 points - Contact clicks through an Email you have sent - Contact visits your Website - Contact registers for one of your Events - Contact visits your booth, or attends your presentation, at an Outside Trade Show your company is represented at 50 points nd - Contact visits your Website a 2 time in 30 days - Contact visits a specific Product/Services Page - Contact downloads information (completing a Form) - Contact attends one of your Events 100 points - Contact requests a call/response from a Sales rep minus 25 points - Contact visits the Careers Page on your Website 10 to100 points - Contact comes from specific Sources (such as through a Google search or Partner site), with the weighting determined from past success of the particular Source
www.dgauthority.com
26
Lead Scoring is a Journey, with Many Destinations

Lead Scoring also involves appropriate Routing at the initial stages (not to be confused with the Routing that takes place at the Qualification stage). As you contact database grows, it will become increasingly difficult to attempt to engage everyone. Lead Scoring ensures that the contacts that should be called are called. You avoid sending Leads to Sales that are not Sales-Ready, yet ensure they are not completely ignored either. One of the biggest challenges in Lead Generation is the ones that got away. Leads were passed to sales and never contacted, due to time constraints or gut feelings. Three months later, the prospect buys a solution from another company (your competitor). Lead Scoring can decide where the Lead initially is sent to Sales or into an extended Marketing Nurture program. Either way, communication with the Prospect is never broken. When the Prospect does begin to show buying signals, continuous Scoring will flag them to be contacted. Lead Scoring is a very involved process that takes time to perfect. There are several methods of rating Leads as the come into the pipeline (should the Score be in two parts, Implicit and Explicit, or should they be inclusive?), and the weightings for each criterion will change as you roll Lead Scoring out. Not only is each situation unique, but also changing trends will cause a change in the way you interpret the data. The example of a Lead Scoring program on the previous page shows that the Implicit Score ratings are a little trickier, and take longer to perfect the right balance. Separating them from the Explicit information will at least allow a more targeted response, and as you refine the Implicit scoring process, the results will be more dependable.
Putting It Into Action

When you have established your rankings, your Demand Generation Engagement team will play a huge role in measuring how accurate and dependable they are. They will also develop an idea of the threshold to be followed, and where Leads should be routed as the program continues. Once your Lead Scoring Program becomes more dependable, you can add more complicated algorithms to the mix. For instance, you can add 50% of the earned score of one Contact at a specific Account to another contact in the same Account, based on the possibility that if one person is interested, others may be as well (especially if they are considering a purchase). You might deduct points from a Contact who has undergone an Engagement process (such as three voicemails) and not responded. You can also initiate triggers to flag Contacts based on Implicit activity, such as automatically rating a contact F in Explicit score when an Email bounce-back is received. There are no limits on how you can Score leads in the system, and it is important that Scoring programs be rerun on the database regularly. Contacts get promoted to new positions (or perhaps Titles are guessed initially and later discovered), a Frequent Visitor may stop visiting as often or there may be no activity for a few months, etc.). Depending on your database size, a scheduled run on everyone may not be feasible, but triggers, manual program procedures and frequent runs on buckets can be initiated to keep your Lead Scores current and relevant.
www.dgauthority.com
27
Chapter Six Step FIVE

Research, Research, Research
The world has changed. Information, both good and bad, is more available than ever. This changes the Sales process considerably on both sides of the fence (the Prospects and yours). You can be assured that, before your Prospect chooses a product or service to purchase (perhaps even before you know they are looking) they will do their research. The will know who the big players are (your competition, and perhaps you) in the market. They will understand the common value they all offer. They will know about features, benefits, approximate pricing, and a host of other things without ever having to contact a Sales rep to find these things out. You need to know the information that they know not only the stuff you have put out there, but also the information you didnt. Since your prospect knows you like a brother (OK, maybe that eccentric uncle that ran away with the Stewardess in 1989, and now lives somewhere in the Florida Keys) you need to become familiar with them as well. Thus, the point of Demand Generation: The more you know about your prospect, the easier it will be to make them your customer.
www.dgauthority.com
28
Sifting through the Garbage The Research on You

As important as knowing all about your Prospect, it is vital to know yourself first. More specifically, you need to walk in your Prospects shoes as you visit your own website, find information on you from search results, and identify what the market (and perhaps your competition) is saying about you. Your Prospect will have information about you that isnt true, or at least, isnt the whole truth. As much as there is valuable information on the Internet, theres crap. There are many sites that allow people to offer their opinion or unique experience about products and services, which can often be written when these folks are still seething over the company taking them to court for refusing to pay. A former employee may be still upset their boss fired them for arriving at work drunk for the seventh time. A sleazy sales reps idea of viral marketing may be to write a bad review on their competitor. Not all of this stuff is crap: there is valuable information contained on Blogs and other sources, written by honest and intelligent Customers sharing their experience and describing benefits and concerns. Being in the industry, you will likely be very good at determining what is good and what is the stuff you hear ten minutes before last call at the local watering hole from the guy who orders six shots of Jack Daniels. Trouble is, youre Prospect may not be as learned. It is important that you know what information is out there, good and bad, so you can be prepared to answer your Prospects questions, and guide them to the right information.
The Pursuit of Knowledge The Research on Your Prospect

All of the research about YOU can be done at night while sitting on your couch watching reruns of House M.D., and while its important, your day-to-day research involves gathering knowledge about your Prospect before you attempt to engage them. At this point in the process, you have a general idea of who your Prospect is. The incoming Lead has passed through your Scoring criteria, and is rated high enough to merit a phone call. Explicitly, he is a Decision Maker, Executive or Influencer working for an organization within your target market, and comes from a reliable Lead Source. Implicitly, he has shown some signs of interest at least. So what more do you need to know about him? It has always been important to prepare for the call, but in todays world of information overload, prospects who are showing buying signals have usually researched the life out of you (finding both good and not-so-good information). Beyond knowing what they likely found, you need to have something to offer them they dont know, and understanding them will help you have this something ready. We need to find as much information on them as we can without spending an hour researching the life out of them (unlike them, we havent got the time). Five minutes should do, and the process can be expedited using trusted sources and technology (for example, your CRM may allow you to build links to information portals and populate the search criteria from your database.)
www.dgauthority.com
29
On a Need to Know Basis

What valuable information is on their Website? If it looks professional, your dealing with a company that feels a successful image is important. If it appears to have recent information, this is a company who is focused on growth, with money to invest in their success. If their hiring people in R&D or Sales, this is another indication of growth (if, on the other hand, they are looking for a CFO, they may be in a bit of trouble). Whats new with the company on their Press Release Page? What is their Corporate Culture, Values and Mission Statement, and what does the President have to say? Who are their partners (you are often judged by the company you keep). What do you really know about the company? Adding to the information you find on their Website, there are other great sources of information available, both free and through paid subscriptions. If they are a Public company, there will be financial information available, but some Private organizations reveal certain things, like receiving new Venture Funding. Subscription sites are fairly accurate reporting the estimated Revenue of all companies. What do you really know about your prospect? There may be information out there that can tell you more about youre Prospects interests, values and personality. Searching their name may bring up some key beliefs within your market you can use when you call. It would be really valuable if you knew, for instance, that your Prospect has only worked for this company for three months, and that previously, a current Customer of yours employed him. As you incorporate this practice into your daily routine, you will become increasingly better at it. You may start out taking 30 minutes per Prospect (or more), though it may only seem like five minutes. Stay focused on what you are looking for, and move onto the call as soon as you have found it.
Perfect Prospect in Action

It is at this point where your description of the Perfect Prospect starts to come into play. You have already identified what key factors are present for a Lead to be a Prospect, and as you conduct your routine research, you can begin to discover and uncover this information. This will not only help you target your campaigns better, but also aid in the Engagement and Qualification of the Prospect later in the Demand Generation process. What is equally as important as the information you gather is the ease of capturing this information and populating your database.
www.dgauthority.com
30
R U LinkedIn?
One of my favorite resources is a site called LinkedIn, which acts as a networking tool. Its free for basic use, and offers additional features and access with a subscription. The free access allows you to view Virtual Resumes including job descriptions, previous employers, and associations of professionals you are linked to, which are linked to the folks you are linked to, and that are linked to them (three levels away). The more connections you make, the bigger youre network, and adding one person can grow your network by thousands.
To Pay or Not To Pay

The Internet is full of valuable information about you and about your Prospect (by valuable, I mean the stuff that is true). Some of this information can be obtained for FREE, though diligent research on trusted sites. The problem with this is the time it usually takes to find the information you need greatly outweighs the value of the information you find. It may take you half an hour to find a Contacts Email Address and direct Telephone number, which could have been found in minutes on Jigsaw, and cost you a dollar. Subscription sites offer quick access to information on people and companies for nominal fees, and may even interact with your CRM to quickly and easily capture this information. When considering the decision to pay or not to pay, I keep the following five clichs in mind. You get what you pay for NOTHING is for Free Always look at the Source Time is a valuable commodity A banana in your hand is better than a monkey in your closet OK, four. The last one is true, nonetheless.
www.dgauthority.com
31
Chapter Seven Step SIX

Engage the Lead Using Qualifying Criteria to Guide the Conversation
The Engagement Step is the most important stage of the entire Demand Generation process. Ironically, in my experience, it is the one that is most often ignored, or done incorrectly. There are a variety of reasons this happens. This is the longest chapter in this eBook, in part due to the significance of the stage, the apparent inability of many to implement this properly, but likely the biggest reason I am spending so much time on this is my over 10 years of experience prospecting. It is my passion my blood boils as I dial the number to a guy who has visited the Website. My trembling fingers cause my feverish notes to become almost illegible chicken-scrawl as my Prospect tells me where his woes lie. Through-out this phase of heightened sensitivity and near euphoria, my voice is calm, clear and convincing, as I respond every so often with things like Man, do I ever relate to that and Thank God we have solutions like ours today, throwing in the odd humorous anecdote here and there. I also lay awake at night thinking about how to be better at it tomorrow. With my extensive background in Sales and Marketing, you might say this passion make me the perfect Demand Generation Engagement Rep or, you might say, I am an Obsessive Compulsive Workaholic who should be seeking therapy. You would be right on both counts.
www.dgauthority.com
32
Demand Generation is a Marketing Function

A lot of companies screw this up, and like I said, there are a lot of things they do, or dont do, that inevitably results in them putting the Engagement process on the chopping block when they have two bad quarters in a row. The prospecting function falls to the sales reps, and things just go from bad to worse. The number one reason a Demand Generation Engagement initiative fails to meet their objective is accountability most companies still put this function under the Sales umbrella (or even worse, Operations). This is a Marketing function. While there is obviously a need for Sales-Savvy skills in Engagement, the process is nothing like the way a good Sales department runs. However, although the Numbers Game applies to Marketing campaigns, it does not apply to Engagement. Heres why> Prospect Engagement needs to be passive, intelligent, and based on Online Behavior rather than manipulation. Results are not always immediate, and there is an element of patience that needs to me maintained while looking at the Big Picture of growth. Cold-Calling is not an efficient nor effective means of attracting new business. I will share a short story and case study on this controversial topic later in this Chapter. Lets move on, and for the sake of continuing your transition to an effective Engagement process, lets assume that you are running this function under the direction of Marketing.
Engaging the Contact

You have identified a company as being a target that has some potential need for your product or service. You have identified someone in that organization who would be involved with your product or service, and hopefully, will have decision-making power or a strong influence in the organization. You have also discovered some background information on the Account and Contact that will help identify specific needs or buying cycles. The Contact has already been sent some information about your offer (within the past week or so) and theres a good chance when you mention it, they will remember. It is now time! Prepare yourself, stare confidently at the record in your CRM, and recite Captain Picards infamous command, Engage! Whenever I start a new project, I get hold of every script available, take from them anything I think is relevant, and then throw them away. (I hate scripts). I create a one-or-two-page cheat sheet with all my notes. As preparation, you may want to develop a cheat sheet of your own.
www.dgauthority.com
33
Do NOT Clear Your Head

While your fingers are dialing, you want to keep these things in mind: This is your first personal contact with your Prospect, and first impressions last. Chances are, unless you have arranged a time before hand, you will likely hit their voicemail on the first few attempts. Keep your message brief, but make it interesting. Know exactly what you want from the call, and get it. You need to Qualify and set up the next step (like an appointment with Sales). Have your Qualifying Questions prioritized there should be four or five (at most) that need to be asked. Answer the important ones first, and if the Prospect keeps talking, ask the want to be asked. Try to incorporate the Qualifying questions into a conversation with the Prospect focused on them. When looking for their needs, try asking Im curious, John. What brought you to our Website yesterday? Without scaring the Prospect, try to wow them. Nothing in my experience is more effective in generating new Sales Leads than the Wow-Factor. When I hear a Prospect say You really do that? I know they are ready. Use your personality. I tend to use humor to gain a Prospects trust (which can backfire on occasion). Remember that, at this point, you are not selling your product or service on this call, or even the appointment; you are selling You first. Dont play your trump card in this hand. I like to use the Zoom Method when giving out information. I explain early on that I can give them a 50,000-foot view of my companys offering, and that the next step would be to talk with someone who will Zoom In a bit closer. If you answer everything they need to know in the first call, there will be no reason for a second call.
www.dgauthority.com
34
Yes, But Will they Answer the Phone? Reaching the Contact is critical (of course), but depending upon who this Contact is, reaching them can be the most difficult challenge to overcome. Voicemail and caller-ID have replaced the common courtesy of actually answering the phone. If you are targeting Marketing, Sales or Human Resource Directors, your chances are better. If you are hoping to speak with a Vice President, count on NOT doing that 90% of the time. If your only resort is to chat with an IT Manager or Director, your fingers will get tired of dialing long before you lose your voice. My Mom is the Assistant to an IT Director at a large manufacturing company she gets, on a daily average, 20 messages from Recruiters, 10 messages from Software and Hardware vendors, and occasionally a message from someone pretending to be his best friend from college. Every couple of hours she clears his voicemail by listening to Hi, this is John from People-R-Us and BEEEEEP Your message has been deleted. Voicemail is not totally useless its like that clock that has stopped working twice a day, it tells the right time. When leaving a message, try to make it a little different from the others. This may not increase your call back rate, but may make you more memorable when you do connect with this person. The old-school idea of Calling at different times still works. Executives and other busy people usually come in early and stay late, and are more likely to be at their desk outside of normal hours. They may even be expecting a call from the Mrs., or their stock portfolio guy. Since you are only calling folks that have shown some sort of interest in you (through their Implicit behavior), your chances of a call back and meaningful engagement are 100 times better. Still, you will likely encounter resistance. Stay focused, lead with something relevant, interesting and memorable, and get them to at least consider calling you back.
Leave a Message at the Tone

I once asked an Executive friend of mine what Sales voicemails he responds to. He replied that, the message should be unique, memorable and apply to him. My style has always been to inflict humor into a conversation. I often said, If I get them to laugh, they are mine. Here a couple of memorable voicemails I have left for folks with better than average results. Hey John. Its Gord Mackay calling again. When you didnt return my last call, I decided you must have tripped in your office, and got trapped under a file cabinet, unable to reach the phone. I have called 911, and they should be there momentarily. When you are feeling better, please give me a call at 416-6179667. Thanks. Hey John. Its Gord Mackay calling again. This is the 15th voicemail I have dialed in a row, and I am somewhat concerned that aliens have wiped out the entire human race. Maybe its just the movie I watched last night, but could you please give me a call at 416-6179667. The world may depend on it!
www.dgauthority.com
35
A Five-Touch Process
For most prospects, I will try a five-touch process. I will initially call, and if I reach their voicemail, I leave a very short message telling them who I am (Name, Company, Telephone), why I am calling (specific subject of their Implicit interest), that I am looking to chat for five minutes, and I repeat my phone number. I then send them a short email, basically saying the same thing. In two days, I try back, but I dont leave a message. The third day, I leave another message, with a touch more urgency, and I add something memorable and valuable. If, for instance, they were interested in marketing ROI, I mention I came across this report on the subject, and am emailing a link to them. I email them, indicating I still need to chat with them. The fifth day, I call back, and dont leave a message. This time, I send another short email with a different tone. Using the subject line Having trouble reaching you, I empathize with their busy schedule, and suggest that perhaps they are not the right person. In either case, I ask them if someone else in the organization would be more willing to accept my call. At this point, I give them a week. Seven days later, I leave another voicemail and email, stating I have abandoned the hope of speaking with them. I explain that I am placing them in an extended nurture campaign, and will try them again in a couple of months.
The Really Hot Ones

There will be a few prospects where you will want to do more. The company may be on your Sales reps Top50 list, the contact may have filled in a Contact-Us Form, or you may have learned they just received $5 million in funding, and the CEO has marked half of this to growing the area of the company your solution addresses. Whatever the reason, there are a number of things you can do to increase your chances. Try them several times a day. Without leaving messages, try calling them every two hours for a few days. This takes 15 to 20 seconds if you reach voicemail. Build a relationship with their assistant. Many assistants are not only privy to their boss calendar, they know a lot about what they do. They can suggest good times to call, refer you to the right people, or even set up a call for you if they believe you are offering something of value. You may find one thats not-so-helpful (Oh, he wouldnt be interested. Thank You!) but remember to remain professional and courteous. Do not argue with them by saying something like Well, thanks for nothing or Well, if its all the same, I think I would like to hear that from him and not his annoying secretary with a Community degree in Steno. Dont burn your bridges. Call a bit higher, then call a bit lower. If you have someone else in the company, preferably someone who has also shown some Implicit activity, call them. If you engage them, you can answer some of the qualifying questions, and mentioned that you having trouble reaching the Decision Maker. They can often facilitate access, especially if they are a level above.
www.dgauthority.com
36
Cold Calling and Other Heavy Appliances

A Short Story by Gord Mackay 2008 When I was in my 20s, some brilliant store manage at a large retail chain I worked at decided I was hardworking, intelligent and mature enough to take on the job as Manager of the Shipping Department. Either that, or there was no one else who wanted the job. Being an upscale and diverse business, a large part of the store was dedicated to selling large appliances at a ridiculously high price, with attractive credit repayment terms at ridiculously high interest rates, to ridiculously stupid customers who had nothing better to do than throw their money away. A match made in Heaven, you might say. We sold a lot of Refrigerators, and thus, we were shipped a lot of fridges. Some were in boxes, and some were Clearance models shipped from other stores, with scratches, dents and broken wheels. There is a two-wheeled upright device with a strap that is appropriately called a Fridge Cart. The strap pulls out on both sides of this device to wrap around the fridge. There is a four-inch lip at the bottom to support the fridge, and the two ends of the strap have connectors, which are joined. The strap is connected to little springs that keep it taut, and once the connection is established around the fridge, there is a locking device to hold the straps in place when you tip the fridge towards you, and use the two wheels to guide the fridge to its destination. There was likely some physics in mind when this was invented, because once the fridge is tipped, its really not that heavy or difficult to move. Some models of these fridge carts actually have an additional two-wheeled extension at the back, so the device and fridge can remain tipped if you need to answer the phone. What is completely amazing about this detailed description on the practical use of a Fridge Cart is I never used one in the two years I worked there. I would just drag the fridge, grunt and groan as I lifted it over bumps and crack the floor, and use every muscle I had to get the fridge to where it needed to be. In moving them this way, I almost always broke whatever little wheels remained on the on the fridge, I would strain my back at least once a week, and I would occasionally drop a fridge or two in the course of my day, causing the price to go down a little more. In addition, if I ever caught one of my staff using a fridge cart, I would compare them to a little girl or some other insult not worth mentioning. So why, you ask, did you not use a Fridge cart? In my post-adolescent mind, I deduced: 1234going to the bother of strapping the fridge was a pain in the ass finding the fridge cart was a pain in the ass leaving the fridge cart on while it was being taken to the appliance department, and not being able to move another fridge until it was returned was a pain in the ass. Moving a fridge by grunting made it look like you were working really hard, and were very, very cool, and it was hard to make fun of anyone who used it when you were using it so, yes, I was a pain in the ass.
So by now, you must be wondering, What the hell does any of this have to do with cold-calling? Believe it or not, beyond the valuable insight you now have should you ever have to move an appliance, there is a wonderful metaphor evolving here, right before your eyes. Cold calling is like moving a fridge without a Fridge Cart. 1 its a harder way of prospecting 2 its a much less efficient and effective way of prospecting 3 Often, you hurt the chances of engaging by interrupting someones day 4 The only good reason for cold calling is to show off Any Sales Manager who demands their team make cold calls is doing this so they look like they are working hard, and is no better than that 20-something pain-in-the-ass Shipping Manager that would brow beat his subordinates for taking the easy way out.
www.dgauthority.com
37
Chapter Seven (b) Supplemental

What to Look For in a Demand Generation Engagement Rep
I am assuming that not everyone who downloads this eBook will be the one actually making the calls (though after reading it, you may want to let these people in on it). Quite possibly, you may be someone who is directly or indirectly responsible for hiring, training and managing these folks. Ive been doing this for a long time. I have worked on the bottom, generating new business while blasting futile arguments to the Powers-That-Be that there is a better way, and I have interviewed, hired, trained and managed people to do it. First of all, lets talk about the Title, Demand Generation Engagement Specialist. Not the longest I have seen, but it is quite a mouthful. I have seen Lead Generation Specialist, Market Intelligence Manager, Business Development Representative, Phone Guy and about a hundred other Titles to describe the same position. I use the DGE, simply because it describes exactly what the primary function of the role is, and includes the Marketing process behind it. Whatever you choose to call it, please dont use Telemarketer. Remember that if you have hired the Cream of the Crop, they are going to have Pride and Ego. These two Deadly Sins make them good at their job, so call them something that will stroke their ego and feed their sense of passion for the job.
www.dgauthority.com
38
Sales Skills
Yes, a DGE is a Marketer, but unlike the young lady who excels at writing Press Releases, the DGE needs to have Sales-Savvy. They do not need to have the closing or negotiation expertise your field reps require, but they do need to have the gift of earning someones trust in a matter of seconds. Stereotypically, I believe the industry puts a little too much emphasis on Sales Skills for this role. Perhaps this is why most DGE departments fall incorrectly under the Sales umbrella, and why the typical career path is towards and outside Sales role. There are some consultative abilities required, but limited to asking the required questions in a conversational tone, and using the same method to lead the call towards the next step. Pushy seldom works, as the primary purpose of Demand Generation is to move Sales-Ready Leads to Opportunities, not Sales-Forced ones.
Marketing Skills
Your candidate does not need an MBA in Business, with a focus on Marketing (like that would really help anyway). They should, however, have a grasp of Marketing concepts, a flair for creativity, and an understanding of the Best Practices of Demand Generation. Besides the creativity part, they can learn the rest, and part of their weekly routine should be to meet with your Marketing team to discuss these things. It might also be a good idea to include them in any Marketing courses you are sending people to. Make them a full part of your Marketing team.
Technical Skills
I think it goes without saying that most people who work in some sort of office environment need to be fairly adept at using Word Processing, Spreadsheet and Email software (the most popular of course being Microsoft Office Suite), and its almost a standard that presentation software like MS PowerPoint be included. Beyond this, they should have the aptitude to learn how to use your Marketing Automation or Email Creation solution. Not only will this increase the Marketing abilities if they use it every day, it will lessen the burden on your dedicated Marketing team (who are always under a burden, even when they are not Violins please!). Your candidate must also be, or become quickly, a MASTER of your CRM application. They will live, eat and breathe in the CRM, and beyond the daily logging, entry and scheduling, they are best positioned to be the ones who pull lists, run reports and discover Best Practice efficiencies and optimizations that are unique to your organization.
www.dgauthority.com
39
Phone Skills
(more than just good dialing fingers) I once had a VP hire me on the spot after I answered one question What did you want to be when you were in High School? My answer was, An Actor. His theory was that, to be successful at prospecting, you require the skills that could potentially earn you a nomination for an Academy Award. You often have to pretend to be somewhat you are not, and often my calls remind me of my Improv days in Drama101. You are role-playing every time someone answers the phone. Your candidate needs to know how to use the phone. Since you have already determined through the Intelligence criteria that they can figure out how the phone operates, I am obviously referring to how they communicate on the phone. Speaking is certainly part of the equation. Not only should they be able to articulate benefits and features in ways anyone can understand, but they also need to be able to make stuff up on the fly, and appear confident enough that the Prospect has no idea they are clueless about what they just said. Listening is just as important. Before you answer the Prospects question, you need to ensure you write down everything the guy said word-for-word, so the Sales rep doesnt go in blind, and has a chance to consult an engineer or technician prior to his appointment. Beyond these two obvious phone skills, there is another skill that is less talked about: the ability to read someones phone language (body language on the phone), and react accordingly. They dont teach this in school, and is learned through experience. I can usually tell what kind of day the person is having by the way they answer the phone. Having a researched background of who they are, who they work for and what their online activity is, I can tell by their reaction (not answer) to my qualifying questions how ready they are to enter the buying cycle. Tire Kickers are easy to identify they ask the most questions, the weirdest questions, and more often then not, will ask the same question in different ways.
www.dgauthority.com
40
Personality Youre Looking for a Bit of a Weirdo here

A scan through various job postings from this line of work will uncover hundreds of personality traits required for the candidates. Common ones include Outgoing and Tenacious, as well as the ones that are rhetorical, such as Hard Working (still looking for the posting that asks for a Lazy Couch Potato) and a Team Player (often with the addition that the individual can work on his own, which could lead you to believe they are looking for someone with a Multiple Personality Disorder). Some are more unique, such as Resilient, Thirsty and my personal favorite, Master of Ambiguity (and if this means they need an expert at not making sense, then I am your man!) You may not want to advertise the following requirements. I have found the best DGE folks I have supervised and/or worked with to have a fairly big Ego, which needs to be stroked from time to time. An acute Sense of Humor is going to be a Big Plus, as they will need to fall back on that from time to time. Socially, your candidate is the type that can stop by someones desk to ask a question, and have an hour go by. People generally like them. Above all, the most successful of the bunch are the ones that are passionate about their job, about the company, but mostly, about themselves. To give you one more perspective, as a very successful DGE representative, I once had a motivational sign at my desk that read, The only problem with always being right is you are surrounded by idiots that are always wrong. If this offends you, you are likely one of the idiots. If you are inspired by this, welcome to my team.
Intelligence This guy is NOT an Idiot

You need to have someone with a firm grasp on the obvious. I have worked with people who have had trouble locating the on-switch on their computer (OK, so that may fall under technical skills as well), and have had the pleasure of sitting beside someone who spoke four languages and studied metabolic physics as a hobby. When I speak of intelligence, I am referring to common sense, business acumen, and the abilities to speak and learn. This job is all about being able to convey the right message, and understand what the Prospect needs. I find that you cant really measure this, but you can certainly get an idea from speaking with the individual.
Note on Education
The on-switch guys had BA degrees I would rather see someone with a Grade 8 education and a Degree from The School of Hard Knocks, majoring in Bad Breaks and Misunderstandings. I have yet to see any consistent relationship between intelligence and the graduation from some institution, but I guess they look nice on the wall.
www.dgauthority.com
41
Top Ten Reasons Salespeople do NOT Make Good DGE Reps

1. Good Salespeople are not necessarily good with Marketing or Analytics 2. Good Salespeople focus on closing opportunities, not opening doors 3. Good Salespeople live in the now rather than the later 4. Good Salespeople are very strapped for time 5. Good Salespeople sound like Good Salespeople 6. Good DGEs are Marketers with a flair for Sales, guiding and informing rather than selling 7. Good DGEs understand the Prospecting Cycle before the Sales Cycle 8. Good DGEs are focused 100% on opening doors 9. Good DGEs take Best Practices from various Salespeople and incorporate them abroad 10. Good DGEs are measured both on Sales and Marketing achievements (tied, of course, to Revenue), allowing the balance of each to drive their success Metaphorically, I like to consider Salespeople as the Concierge at a fancy Hotel, and the DGE people as the Bellhops. The DGEs greet the guests first, opening the doors, carrying the baggage, and guiding the guest to the Salespeople. The Salespeople dont have time to do any these things, as their primary function is to complete the transaction, answer the tough questions, and act as the Human contact with the Hotel itself, choosing the best room for each guest based on their needs and suggesting solutions like restaurants upon request. They all work as a team to ensure the guest has an enjoyable stay, and depend on each other to make this happen.
www.dgauthority.com
42
Americas Got Talent

How do you compare the guy who can juggle 15 flaming torches with his feet, and the impressionist who sings in 200 distinct and identifiable voices? This next thought may represent a management style to some, but in this industry, I think this is a more important tactic than ever. Everyone on your team will have talent in different areas, and it is vital to exploit (bad word, but I know no other) these talents individually for the betterment of the team. For example, you may have someone whose voice is naturally capturing, and when she introduces herself, prospects seem to be hypnotized into listening to what she is saying. You may also have someone who is the dictionary definition of research, and can extrapolate names, systems and financial information in minutes instead of hours. There are a number of ways I have done this. One way is to make the objectives team based, and combining individual bonus with a shared bonus, but this is never popular with management (they seem to think an employee is only motivated by selfish gain). More acceptable has been to partner two individuals, combining their territories, and let them do their magic. You can also assign projects to each person, based on their particular talent, to be completed during those non-calling times. What is important is that you measure individual success, with achievable goals and associated remuneration, based on their talents.
Chapter Seven Wrap-Up Finally!

Just so we are clear, and to ensure I could never be accused of sugarcoating my opinion on this, anyone who believes that cold calling is the best way to generate new business is WRONG to the Nth degree. So to succinctly review this incredibly long chapter, the Demand Generation Engagement Team is the most important element for the success of your DG process. They are the ones who will be converting your Leads to Opportunities. They need to understand your Marketing process, and be a part of that team. They need to have Sales-Savvy, advanced research and analytic skills, creativity, and super-fantastic communication skills internally and externally. Above all, they need to have the proper Rules of Engagement in place to do their job.
www.dgauthority.com
43
Chapter Eight Step SEVEN

Route the Lead Around the Qualification
This is the step that truly separates Demand Generation from old-school Lead Generation from a Sales perspective. As part of your Qualification process, you will have established a level, or series of levels, which will place the Prospect in Marketing buckets. Obviously, those who have answered the Qualifying Questions, and indicated there is a real Opportunity, need to be passed to the Sales team. Usually, B.A.N.T. is the method of identifying these Prospects as Opportunities. You will also call upon your Perfect Prospect criteria to help with the qualification, and in turn, reflect upon these criteria any new ideas, markets or attributes you have discovered. For the Prospects that fall short of your Qualification for Sales, you need to route them to Marketing buckets that will receive continuous communication from your various campaigns. The most effective way is through Nurture campaigns that are target specific, even incorporating advanced methods such as Activity Driven Content. (content that is placed in certain areas of an Email that reflects the Prospects interests). The Lead Routing process should be completely automated, and easy for the Engagement team to carry out.
www.dgauthority.com
44
B.A.N.T.
B.A.N.T. stands for Budget, Need, Authority and Timeframe, and while each situation is different as to what answers are considered Qualified, generally speaking, Sales reps want leads that have: BUDGET set aside for this project, or Money Tolerance, such as when the ROI is considered. Money Tolerance can also be used when money can be transferred from another project, a related department, etc. NEED or necessity for the product or service. This can also include having a challenge (or Pain) that your product or service can solve. AUTHORITY to move the sales cycle forward. This usually means that the Contact is the decision maker, reports directly to the decision maker, or was tasked by the decision maker to investigate solutions. Often speaking (and selling) to someone above this Decision Maker, to the VP or C-level, will increase your chances TIMEFRAME for the purchase within the next year. Occasionally, the Timeframe may have to be within six months, within the calendar year, or even within the quarter (though this is rare).
www.dgauthority.com
45
It keeps going and going and going

Because the Prospect has been through the process of Demand Generation, the Sales-Ready Leads are going to be of higher quality. The process has allowed you to focus in on their specific interest, and discover more useful information. The process has also filtered the best Leads to the top, resulting in more Qualified Leads with a better chance of becoming customers. Contrary to popular theories, however, the process does not stop there. In my next chapter, I will briefly touch on the importance of building networks around your Leads, but it should also be noted here. Once you have identified someone interested in your solution, chances are others in their company and network will be interested as well. Start building this pipeline. Your Marketing department should also have a variety of Nurture campaigns available, perhaps even topic specific. Ensure your Qualified Prospect is receiving the right information (but not overburdened with it.) Some prospects will fall short of your Qualification, and its important to keep in touch with these folks as well. If it is a matter of Budget, there is always next year. If the company size is too small, some companies have been known to grow by leaps and bounds in short periods of time.
Lets Keep in Touch

People in todays economy and business world trend to change jobs now and then (and then). A frustrated Manager with no budget may jump to a company on your Top 50 list (a list of your top 50 target Prospects) as the Director of Innovative Solutions. You know this when your Nurture Email bounces, so you try calling to find out they left, and you look on LinkedIn, and see where they have moved to. Whatever your Qualification, its important to have a process in place to keep everyone in your pipeline. The routing need not be complicated three or four buckets works just fine. Sales reps that lose touch of their Prospects lose deals. My worst nightmare happens when I call someone back three months after a scheduled reminder, and hear them say the fateful expression We just bought something last month, and are starting implementation.
Incorporating the Perfect Prospect

As you can tell, much of the information contained in B.A.N.T. is the same as the criteria for the Perfect Prospect. In fact, if you have targeted properly, with all the information asked and answered, your actual Qualification can almost mirror your original criteria. Other steps can also lend themselves to this Qualification. Often, a lot of the criteria are forgotten during the Engagement process, and important questions are not asked. If a prospect is not quite ready, this is a great way to open a new conversation in a month or so, but an immediate call back or an Email with a bunch of questions may give your Prospect cause for concern. Through research and creative campaigns, you can gather this information yourself to ensure the Prospect is routed appropriately, and the Sales rep has the information they need. With the proper Perfect Prospect process in place, you may already know a lot of this information before you even call.
www.dgauthority.com
46
Now That I Have Your Attention

Based on a solution sell (such as Enterprise Software) here are a number of questions that should be asked during a Discovery Call with someone who has shown activity. Obviously, you may have more based on your specific offer and Qualification criteria. How did you hear about us? What was your main interest? What do you do in your organization? What are your three biggest challenges? What resources do you currently have to address these challenges? How do these challenges affect you, in the areas of productivity, efficiency and the way you are measured? Is there a Budget in place for this, or money available somewhere? Will you be the one making the decision to purchase? Who else is involved in the decision to purchase a solution? When do you see this happening? What is the buying process? What would you like to see happen as a next step? What other information do you need at this time?
www.dgauthority.com
47
Chapter Nine Step EIGHT

Build a Network and Process Around Each Qualified Lead
Once the Lead has been qualified and passed to the Sales team, the objective of Demand Generation changes. Instead of trying to identify pains, needs and interest, you now need to shorten the Sales Cycle. There are several things Sales will do to make this happen, such as creative pricing at the end of the quarter, and introductions to reference-able Customers, but what can Demand Generation do to help these deals close quicker? One way is to expand your reach within an organization by adding influential people to the mix. A complex solution sell, particularly one that has a significant price tag, will seldom rest on one persons shoulders. Before the Users and Executives are brought into the process, get them into your pipeline. You have the advantage of knowing what their pains and needs are beforehand, so your communication can be targeted. Beyond this, your contact may have connections in Industry Associations and Groups. Try identifying others within these groups, and target them as well. You also need to design a process that will help your Prospect through the Sales Cycle. This can be in the form of Nurture campaigns, special events or introductions to influential people.
www.dgauthority.com
48
The Network is Out There

As a Demand Generation Engagement rep, once I found a Qualified Lead, I would start feeding this Opportunity with new people, first concentrating on the Account itself. I would be interested in: Any people mentioned in my conversation My Contacts boss (and his boss) Any people who work directly for my Contact The VP over my Contacts area
I would enter these new Contacts into my CRM, and put them through the Opt-in process to get them into a Nurture campaign. I would then do some research into my Contact, and what other folks (besides the ones he works with) he is associated with. For instance, LinkedIn may provide me with people my Contact has recommended, people who have recommended my Contact, and folks who are part of the same communities and groups. As a sign-off to the networking part, I would email my contact a thank-you note, with a Refer-a-friend form imbedded in the email.
Its Time to Automate

Lets face it with the technology of today, EVERYTHING can be automated. Marketing Automation and CRM solutions can help with some of this. Here is a typical process for a Prospect who has just become a Qualified Lead: Email: Thank You from Regional Account Manager (RAM) Task: Research Network - DG Engagement (DGE) Campaign: Standard Nurture (3 months) Reminder: Update (1 month) auto-reschedule 1 month upon completion of any call Request VP Sales for Introduction Meeting Auto-request Meeting to CEO when Sales meeting completed Add to Customer Newsletter list Add to Preferred Webinar Invite list
www.dgauthority.com
49
Building your Prospects Network

After you spend your day introducing yourself to everyone your contact knows, its time to return the favor. There are people he should get to know, who can validate your claims and evangelize your offering. Your CEO should have some availability to speak with a prospective customer, and can usually offer them more information on the company that you can. This introduction is also Your reference-able customers are also important people your prospect should get to know (unless they are direct competitors). They should immediately hit it off as they will usually have similar jobs and have much in common. You may also know experts in the industry who know and stand by your solution. The more people in your Prospects network that will champion your cause, the better chance they will learn the right things about you.
Treat your Prospect as a Customer

Customers are usually privy to more information that John Q. Public. In addition to contact with a Customer Service or Support team, there are (or should be) specific information and events they can access to enhance the way they use your offering, and establish the grounds for buying more of it. I am not going to cover Customer Marketing in the eBook you will have to either wait until I write another one, or go onto the Internet and find another. I will simply say that you should include your Prospects who have Real Opportunities in your Customer Marketing programs. Invite them to your Customer Events, give them access to your Customer Blog and email them the latest upgrade notifications. This will bring your Prospect into your Customers Circle (heightening their sense of belonging), and make the transition from Prospect to Customer that much easier.
Continuing the Sales Cycle

In the Big Picture, increasing Revenue is the ultimate goal of Demand Generation, but application wise, creating more Qualified Sales-Ready Leads does this. Its like a manufacturer of the latest processors. Ultimately, their goal is to make computers run faster, but in retrospect, their product is the processor. Since Leads are your product, your need to treat them with care and respect. It takes a great deal of effort to attract new Opportunities, and absolutely no effort to let them slip away. Build a specific process around new Qualified Leads. Beyond the networking opportunities, there are many ways to help speed up the sales cycle, such as identifying other areas in the company your offer would be of interest and value. Be creative. This process must also include your nurture campaigns, and internal reminders to update. Lets face it, people move on, and your Sales Rep may move to another company, leaving his qualified leads behind for the next guy (who may not be hired for a few months). Automated nurture campaigns will ensure communication with your Prospect is not interrupted, and reminder alerts to you or the head of Sales will ensure the Prospect is called when expected. Your competition is a short phone call away to earning their business.
www.dgauthority.com
50
Chapter Ten Step NINE

Communicate Results with Both Marketing and Sales
As I mentioned before, Communication is the Key to the entire Demand Generation process. The sharing of information between Marketing and Sales, and between Customer/Prospect and you, is what this is all about. This is the second time I have used the word Communicate in a step referring to both the Sales and Marketing teams, and for good reason. In Step One, we communicate what WE need, and now, we communicate what THEY need. Results! Though the other steps have different words, if you have been paying attention, you will see that communication touches pretty much everything you do. Communication is a two way street otherwise, we would just call it preaching (not unlike what you are hearing right now).
www.dgauthority.com
51
What Do We Know?
At this point in the process, you have collected a lot of data. Your Marketing department has collected open and click-through results on Email campaigns, monitored results of the Events, and analyzed where visitors have gone on the Website. Sales now understand who their Prospects are, what their pains and needs are, and where these Qualified Opportunities came from. Your Demand Generation Engagement Team should be able to connect the dots here, and put this data to good use. They will also be the best source to analyze several parts of the process, such as Lead Routing, Lead Scoring and your CRM integration.
Get the Information First Hand

When we were kids (which was about three weeks ago for me) most of us, at one time or another, played a game we called Broken Telephone. It is formally known as Chinese Whispers, and also known as Pass it Down the Line and a host of other descriptive titles. You must remember? A group of people sits in a line (or circle). One person whispers a phrase in the ear of another, and they in turn, whisper what they heard to the person beside them. The message is passed through everyone, and when the last person is informed, they announce to everyone the phrase they heard. As you may remember (or surmise, if you lived on the planet Vulcan and spent your childhood melding minds with classmates instead of playing Broken Telephone), through misunderstanding, and interpretation, the final phrase is usually a completely different one than the original. This game was meant to teach us something, but I am often amazed at how many people take second and third accounts as fact. When communicating between Marketing and Sales, make sure the communication is first hand. Hold weekly or (at least) monthly meetings where both teams can all sit in the same room for an hour. If you hear that a Sales Guy is upset with Marketing, get the scoop directly from them. If a request comes in through the Vice President, reply to him clarifying the request, and copy the person who originally made it. Communication is only as good as the information that is exchanged.
www.dgauthority.com
52
The Measure of Many

There is an added deliverable to effective Demand Generation called measurable results. In the past, Marketing has based their success on the effectiveness of specific campaigns to generate response. Sales, on the other hand, have labeled the sole success factor to be Revenue. The result of this one-dimensional approach is a disassociated company that is not measuring the right things in the right way, and thus, makes bad business decisions. Marketers who are measured on campaign success alone are not being rewarded for their contribution to Revenue. Conversely, the Sales rep that blows away his quota may have completely exhausted his pipeline through creative cherry-picking, and wonders why he is looking for a job in three months. By effectively communicating between the departments, and tying together the results of Marketing with the results of the Sales team, you are closing the loop. By measuring everyone on the same basis, you are sealing the connection of this loop. Marketing will now be more accountable for the Quality of Leads they generate, and have a better chance of increasing their Marketing budgets when they can show precisely how much Revenue they contribute to. Sales will be more responsible for the Leads they are provided as well (particularly ensuring they are followed up). Their feedback to Marketing, coupled with their keen ability of attributing Sources, etc, will allow Marketing to better target the market and specific Prospects. Many of the major Marketing Automation and CRM tools will provide adequate means to bring this data together, but nothing works better than old-fashioned communication.
Thinking Away-From-The-Box
There are a number of initiatives you can use to increase communication within your Marketing and Sales organizations. The first thing you need to do is find any type of suggestion box that may be lying around. It will be real easy to spot it will be on the wall somewhere, usually square, have a four inch opening at the top, and will contain three pieces of paper (all written by the same person, who likely got fired last week). Remove the box from the wall Smash it into tiny pieces Throw it out or burn in Tell everyone to just talk to each other!
After you have dealt with this archaic 80s improvement initiative, you might also try these to build a better communication environment. Shadowing Have each person in Marketing assigned a Sales counterpart, and once per month, have these two work by the others side. Half the day in Sales, half the day in Marketing Weekly Meetings At least monthly (preferably weekly), your Sales and Marketing teams should all meet for an hour to discuss successes, challenges and upcoming Events (etc.). Depending on the size of the team, you may want to make the meeting longer. Team Assigning Assign Sales and Marketing reps to teams, based on Territory or Target, and encourage them to work together to build their pipeline. Contests are fine, as long as a suggestion box is not involved
www.dgauthority.com
53
Chapter Eleven Step TEN

Continue Working, Monitoring and Improving the Process
One thing is for sure your Demand Generation Process will never be perfect. You will always find ways to improve it as you go along. The minute you find you have completed all the steps necessary to build an efficient process, a new technology will appear, and you will have to incorporate it into DG. As I said from the very beginning, you need to be open to change. The reporting and communication in the previous step is not only used to measure your success, but to understand your process better.
www.dgauthority.com
54
You are Special

Barney the Dinosaur caused hundreds of children to suffer lifelong pain and anxiety associated with Narcissism by telling them all they were extremely special. He also did his part to sending their parents to therapy. But in some ways, the old purple Tyrannosaurus was right. Each of us has unique traits, and every Demand Generation Process has its own challenges, success factors and goals. What works for a software vendor may not work for a travel agency. The challenges of an IBM consulting company are completely different to a company selling semiconductors. The nature of your target is a key factor. IT Managers are tougher to reach than HR Managers, and typically get more Email and calls (promoting something). Your place in the market is another. How long you have been around, how big you are, and how well your name is recognized will dictate your approach, your message and your expected results. Discover what works for you LONG TERM and make it part of your process. Oh yeah one more thing. What works today may not work tomorrow, so always be prepared to take your great idea and drop it. Dont worry, there is no shortage of good ideas in the world another will come along soon.
Are You Feeling Lucky, Punk?

Back in the days before any of this stuff made sense to people, I worked for a Data Warehousing consulting company. Using a combination of an Excel spreadsheet, and single instances of an on-premise CRM, I cold-called DW and IT Managers, trying to find projects. On my third day, an IT Manager at a major television network answered, and halfway through my pitch, he asked if his boss had asked me to call. He just came from a meeting where he was asked to look into building a Data Warehouse. Two months later, the company signed a deal. Sometimes you get lucky, which is what cold calling is all about. I spent the next month and a half getting hung up on. My point is, sometimes things that dont follow these Ten Steps work, and these remote successes may urge you to try them as full-fledged initiatives. Always keep in mind that Demand Generation is designed for long term success building a process and methodology that will maintain constant growth. Its like playing the lottery. Never underestimate the chances of getting lucky. Just remember the odds are against you.
www.dgauthority.com
55
What the Hell just Happened?

Contingently, anything can happen. Murphys Law certainly applies to Demand Generation. Im not about to go into a detailed account of how to deal with the day-to-day (lest I put in another Chapter, longer then number Seven). I have noted a couple of things you might run into. Your Lead Scoring initiative may turn out to be a Royal pain in the butt! Keep at it Keep refining Keep getting feedback. Eventually you will develop the right formula. The Sales team (or some of them) may change their interpretation of what a Qualified Lead is to them halfway through. Dont change it right away find out why they want it changed. It may very well be that something blatant was forgotten, or it could just be a crappy sales rep that wants Opportunities handed to him on a platter. The number one excuse bad Sales reps use is not enough Qualified Leads. In this case, dont change anything. Soon, he will move on. Your Boss (your Manager, the Executives, the Purse-String Guy, the Board of Directors or Investors) will become impatient, and wonder why you havent created income after a whole week at doing this. Ive been told that I dont handle this one very well, so I would urge you NOT to simply call them idiots. If you have been charting your progress, build a report with lots of pie charts and squiggly lines. Investors LOVE pie charts and squiggly lines. Your Marketing team will become very strapped, and may not be able to hold their Friday afternoon YouTube sessions. Cant really help you with this one, other than to ask why they got into the Marketing business in the first place. I always tell the stories of licking the envelopes for a direct mail campaign in 1989 until 10:00 PM on a Friday night. You will get frustrated. When this happens, I have a motivational thought I turn to. A few years ago, they announced a new breakthrough in the early detection of colon cancer and other related diseases. They could now do a preliminary test on, well, the OUTPUT. They will send you a card with an SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope), and upon your next bowel movement, you would smear some onto this card and send it to them. Somewhere out there, there is a guy whose job it is to open up these envelopes all day. No matter what, my job could never be that bad.
Dont be Afraid to Screw Up

I believe the best way to learn is by making mistakes, and taking the lessons learned and applying them. Not an original philosophy, nor a very unique one in the Marketing world. The best campaigns are a result of a battery of testing to see what is most effective. You see, you never quite finish doing the Steps they are the pursuit of an Ideal you maintain a vigilant effort on. You can never do any of them 100%, leaving loads of room for improvements. There are so many factors that will be unique to your industry, your needs and your company, that these Steps will simply act as a guide. When followed, you will see what works for you and what doesnt. Your success rests on the Revenue you help generate, which is not something you can measure right away. Patience and persistence are keys to getting there. People are also a contributing factor, of course, and ensuring you have competent folks all working on the same page will almost guarantee you will achieve you goals. Its important that these people all understand this Step as well, as they are the ones who will first see when things need to be improved.
www.dgauthority.com
56
Chapter Twelve Conclusion
I would personally like to thank you for downloading and reading this eBook, putting up with my often over-the-edge humorous banter, and above all, considering these improvements to your current way of doing things. I promise this will not be an easy endeavor; however, this will most certainly drive more Revenue Opportunities into your pipeline, and solve dozens of other issues you may be facing. As I mentioned numerous times, the building of a Demand Generation process can be tedious, frustrating and slow in recognizing real results. Part of this is the trial-and-error way that successful Marketing campaigns are built. Another part simply clings to the clich Rome wasnt built in a day. Be patient. Listen, learn and be open-minded to change. Work very, very hard, with persistence and tenacity. When it all comes together, the results will be staggering.
www.dgauthority.com
57
Why Are You Reading This?

I have no idea. Perhaps the topic seemed intriguing. Maybe you are right in the middle on implementing a Demand Generation program and are stuck. You might be just really, really bored, or are one of my old friends who are curious about what I have been up to. Theres a chance you could be Stephen King, searching for you next protg to mentor and mould into the next best-selling author. One thing is certain you are reading this because I wrote this. I wrote this eBook for a number of reasons. I enjoy writing, and am passionate about this topic. I enjoy helping others and making people laugh (hopefully you did once or twice). Of course, I am also hoping that someone who reads this may decide they want some help, either refining their current process or building one from scratch.
There Are Some Resources to Follow

For the most part, I have tried to remain impartial regarding specific solutions and resources used to help create a Demand Generation Process. The ones I have mentioned, like LinkedIn and Jigsaw, stand out from the rest and deserve to be mentioned. The outline of this process would not be complete without at least mentioning a few of the ones I have used successfully in the past (or have discussed with someone at some point, and learned of advantages). I have included these in an appendix following this Conclusion. You can also visit my Website, www.dgauthority.com, from time to time. I have been neglectful as of late in updating content due to the fact I have spent most of my time writing this eBook (its actually a lot harder than it seems at first), but I will return to it shortly.
The Next Step is to Get Some HELP!

Now you have all the information you need to get started. You have determined that Demand Generation is a great fit for your needs, and you are anxious to get under way. What should you do now? You need to ask for some help. I dont necessarily mean hiring someone like me to analyze your situation, put a plan in place, and guide you through the process (though I could do that if you want). I mean within your organization. You obviously need to convince the people with the pursestrings that this will work, and will provide a Return on Investment. You need to get your Marketing team onboard, and get them involved in the planning steps to create a Demand Generation process. You need to get the Sales team onboard as well, showing them what Demand Generation will give them, and what will be expected of them to make this happen. Start building the lines of communication, and ask them to help you. Then Ready, Set, Go!
www.dgauthority.com
58
The Authority on Demand Generation

The Demand Generation Authority (www.dgauthority.com) is a company devoted to the process of Demand Generation. Made up of DG Evangelists, we excel at planning, creating, executing and improving the Process of Effective Demand Generation, increasing the number of Raw Leads, the Quality and Quantity of Sales-Ready Opportunities, and the Bottom Line Revenue of forward thinking organizations across North America. From a Demand Generation Assessment to helping you roll out a Multi-Phase/Multi-Touch Campaign, the DG Authority can help you realize your objectives.
DG Authority
Some of our Services include: Demand Generation Assessment CRM and Database Optimization Marketing Automation Deployment and Optimization Demand Generation Engagement Consulting Marketing Campaign Creation Training, Coaching and Recruitment Speaking services
Call us Today
to discuss your Demand Generation needs.
You can also visit us online,

complete a Contact Us Form, and we will call you.
Gord Mackay
Demand Generation Evangelist
DG Authority
416-287-2081
gord@dgauthority.com
www.dgauthority.com
DEVELOP THE SCIENCE OF DEMAND GENERATION
www.dgauthority.com
59
Appendix Some Demand Generation Resources
Theres a lot of helpful stuff out there, but here is a list of ones I would consider my favorites. I am by no means endorsing them, nor suggesting there is not better ones out there somewhere. Im merely stating that I use most of them every day.
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com Reference to LinkedIn seems to have dominated this eBook I dont think I need to say any more.
MarketingSherpa www.marketingsherpa.com Lots of stuff here for free, including advice, articles, job postings, jobs wanted, Whitepapers, case studies the list goes on.
Jigsaw www.jigsaw.com If you need to find anyone try Jigsaw. Updated by users every second, it works on a point system (contacts cost points, updating or uploading contacts earns points). You can purchase points at reasonable rates, and all contacts include name, address, phone and email.
MarketingProfs www.marketingprofs.com Another great resource, not as much for free, but their Premium member price is reasonable.
Google www.google.com As search engines go, Google stands out. In addition to helping you find what you need to find on the web, it offers dozens of free applications to generally make your life easier and more fulfilled.
SiriusDecisions www.siriusdecisions.com Arguably one of the best associations to partner with for help with Marketing and Demand Generation. They provide a host of information and events for their members, but unfortunately, dont offer much for free
Hoovers www.hoovers.com What I would consider the best resource for finding corporate information. You dont get much for free (can look at 10 basic records per day) and the price tag is big, but if you have the money, its well worth it. They are owned by Dunn and Bradstreet, and corporate subscriptions have access to D&B.
Innovative Marketer www.theinnovativemarketer.com Steve Gershik is, in my humble opinion, the most intelligent and innovative marketer on the planet, and has been a mentor of mine for a while now. His website is filled with information and resources in a Blog format.
InsideView www.insideview.com This service provides in-depth research into organizations through certain CRM solutions.
10
DG Authority www.dgauthority.com This is my website, which in all likelihood led you to this eBook in some way. I would be remiss if I didnt include it.
www.dgauthority.com
60

10 Steps To Effective DG - Dgauthority

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

10 Steps To Effective DG - Dgauthority

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The

Demand Generation Authority

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Index Table of Contents

Step SEVEN Route the Lead Around the Qualification

Step NINE Communicate Results with both Marketing and Sales

Step TEN Continue Working and Improving the Process

Some Demand Generation Resources

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Chapter One - Introduction

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

The Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Are You Ready for Demand Generation?

Are you in the right business for this?

Do you have the resources available?

Is everyone open for this?

Are you suffering?

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

About the Author

On the Same Page

DG Authority 416-287-2081 gord@dgauthority.com

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Chapter Two Step ONE

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

The Measure of a Man (or Woman)

Cant We Just Talk for a While?

Keep a Pencil Handy (with an Eraser)

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Chapter Three Step TWO

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Website Content and Visitor Tracking

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Your Bogus Adventure

Quick Note on Lead Scoring and Lead Routing

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Trackable Marketing Campaigns

Gords Marketing Dictionary

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Email, Nurture Campaigns and Best Practices

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation

DG Authority www.dgauthority.com (416) 287-2081

Ten Steps to Effective Demand Generation