Jeff Hoffman discusses how to bridge the communication gap between marketing and sales to accelerate deals through the pipeline. Exit Criteria is specific, measurable actions by the prospect that indicate they may be willing to "cross the chasm" from lead to sales opportunity.

1. Exit Criteria: Activities That Predict Buyer
Behavior
M. Jeffrey Hoffman
President and CEO
MJ Hoffman and Associates
@mjhoffman
@mjhoffman
#EE13

2. Agenda
• MQL’s vs “good” sales leads….
• Language Redefined
• The role of Exit Criteria
@mjhoffman
#EE13

3. MQL’s vs “good” leads
• Marketing frustrated by Sales not following up on their
hard-won MQL’s
• Sales complaints about a lack of “good” or “qualified”
leads
@mjhoffman
#EE13

4. Language Redefined
• MQLs often “scored” by
– “Who is our target audience?”
– “How can we stimulate their interest?”
– “What can we give them? What will they take?”
• Sales leads are often valued by
– “Who is our target account?
– “How can I leverage them for an intro to power?”
– “What can they give me? What can I ask for?”
@mjhoffman
#EE13

5. Language Redefined
@mjhoffman
#EE13

6. Exit Criteria Defined
• Marketing = Traditional Lead Scoring based on ENGAGEMENT
• Sales = Sales Stage Definition based on ACTIVITY
• The Missing Link…..
Exit Criteria: Specific, measurable actions by the prospect
that indicate they may be willing to “cross the chasm” from
lead to sales opportunity
@mjhoffman
#EE13

7. Exit Criteria Defined
Marketing
• Lead Health = Various activities are assigned levels of
engagement and become the requirement to “exit” the
previous stage
– ie: Webinar participation v Seminar attendance
– ie: Twitter follower v Comments on Blog posts
• Marketing designs campaigns that inspire specific
behavior mapped to sales requirements
@mjhoffman
#EE13

8. Exit Criteria Defined
Sales
• Leads with momentum are acted on with more urgency
• MQLs now enter the reps pipeline in a pre-determined
sales stage
• Action is always the goal: Rep continues relationship
with higher series of closes
@mjhoffman
#EE13

9. The Result
• Marketing focuses on the close
– Faster measurement of campaign success
– True ROI is measured within the Funnel
• Sales leverages activity to continue closing process
– Removes subjective nature from their pipeline
– Exposes gaps in sales commitment to use lead gen efforts
• Both sides enjoy a common language – collaborate on
activities with the greatest success rates
@mjhoffman
#EE13

10. Action items
• Pilot with “low-hanging fruit”
• Share lead scoring values and sales stage definitions
• Keep desire activity closes constant
• Compare success of MQL oppts v Sales generated oppts
@mjhoffman
#EE13

11. Thank You
M. Jeffrey Hoffman
President and CEO
MJ Hoffman and Associates
www.mjhoffman.com
Q&A
@mjhoffman
#EE13