Watch sales people react to any marketing presentation, and the disconnect between the teams is palpable. When the reps’ most mundane smartphone updates are more compelling than the marketer’s plans to facilitate their success, it’s clear that marketing and sales are operating from different playbooks. In this presentation, Adele Revella presents a plan to build a marketing team that provides key insights into the one topic that dominates the agenda of every successful sales person: how and why buyers choose among their options and what you can do to influence that decision. Based on more than 25 years in the trenches as a B2B sales and marketing executive, trainer, and author, Adele reveals the steps that are enabling marketers to conduct buyer interviews and probe for facts about what really motivates their decisions – new insights that the buyer hasn’t yet shared with anyone. You’ll see how to build this new competency as the foundation of credibility and trust with all the marketer’s key audiences, including the sales people and the buyers themselves.

1. Deep Buyer Insights:
Closing the Gap Between Sales
and Marketing
Adele Revella
adele@buyerpersona.com
Twitter @buyerpersona
 SPRING STREET, NO. 200 | FRIDAY HARBOR, WA 98250 | WWW.BUYERPERSONA.COM
685

2. What high performing sales reps know
Influencers How each person will impact the buying decision
Priority That prompted the search for a solution
Success How the buyer defines it
Barriers To purchasing from me
Criteria For required capabilities or features
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 2

3. Sales can present your piece as the perfect fit

4. My focus on buyers started
at Regis McKenna
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 4

5. Sales and Marketing share the same goal
Position your solution as the perfect fit
 2010-11 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 5

6. Sales people have the
opportunity and training
to gain deep insights about their buyers…
Marketers do not.
This needs to change.
 2010-11 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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7. Sales persuades one Marketing persuades
customer at a time different segments of buyers
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 7

8. According to a recent Corporate Executive Board
study, buyers are 57% of the way to a decision before
they talk to your sales people
Poll:
A. Sounds right. For most of our solutions, buyers have narrowed
the field to 2 or 3 options before they contact our sales people.
B. Not true for us. Our sales people are almost always involved at
the earliest stage of the buying decision.
C. Other (enter in chat)
 2010-11 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 8

9. Marketing may need to focus on objections
Increase productivity with
the security software
that won’t slow you
down, get in your way,
or swallow up system
resources.
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 9

10. Marketers need precise insights…
Which type of buyer will respond to lead generation campaigns
 2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 10

11. Marketers need precise insights…
Which type of buyer will respond to lead generation campaigns
What to include in messaging strategy and marketing content
 2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 11

12. Marketers need precise insights…
Which type of buyer will respond to lead generation campaigns
What to include in messaging strategy and marketing content
Where to prioritize marketing investments
 2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 12

13. Marketers need precise insights…
Which type of buyer will respond to lead generation campaigns
What to include in messaging strategy and marketing content
Where to prioritize marketing investments
When sales people and campaigns can engage qualified buyers
 2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 13

14. Marketers need precise insights…
Which type of buyer will respond to lead generation campaigns
What to include in messaging strategy and marketing content
Where to prioritize marketing investments
When sales people and campaigns can engage qualified buyers
How to focus creative and marketing efforts to impact buyer’s choices
 2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 14

15. Marketers need to be buyer experts
Not obvious information............ insights competitors don’t have
Not a customer ………………… someone who might buy from you
Not generic ……………............... in context for decision at hand
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 15

16. Does your value prop persuade the buyer?
Our Assessment Buyer’s perspective
Market leader
Ease-of-use
Scalability
Integration
Pricing
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 16

17. Probe for insight.
The buyer’s first answer
is the one you already know.
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18. Example probing question …
“ What aspect of ease-of-use
was most critical? ,,
 2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 18

19. Five Rings of Insight™ for Buyer Personas
 2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 19

20. Marketers need deep insights about what …
Priority Creates urgency to solve the problem
Process Makes it easy to choose you
Criteria The buyer will use to compare options
Success Or results are expected from this purchase
Barriers Prevents a decision in your favor
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 20

21. Marketers need to speak directly with buyers
1) Buyers don’t reveal the truth
to Sales people.
2) Sales people view each
buyer as unique.
3) Strategies often focus on
new buyers and markets.
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 21

22. What if your next internal launch focused on
WHO • Will agree to meet and how to get that meeting
WHAT • Buyers say about each competitor
• Buyers influence each part of the buying decision
WHICH • Positives to emphasize, objections to overcome
HOW • Campaigns/sales tools target all of the above
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 22

23. Type into chat …
What did you hear today
that you want
to change ASAP?
 2010-11 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
© 23

24. You will need to make two investments
Cultural Skills
Organizational support For marketers to
for marketers to focus conduct unscripted
on buyer expertise interviews with buyers
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 24

25. Resources
www.buyerpersona.com
Free ebooks and blog
Twitter @buyerpersona
Facebook.com/buyerpersona
Online and in-house workshops
to master buyer persona
interviews and messaging
©2012 BUYER PERSONA INSTITUTE INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 25