by William Walsh | Sep 6, 2022 | 2022
By Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 5 Minutes
The last of our four part series on how to navigate decision making blockers.
If your pipeline is a little clogged right now, you’ve already met the last of the four “blockers” and you probably know them well.
The “Steady” is THE blocker. The “S” in DISC personality assessment is the most difficult to identify, and the most challenging personality to navigate for so many reasons. The word “frustrating” may come to mind.
On the surface they seem engaged, and they are. They read and return your emails and make time on their calendars for a call or meeting. Steadies will also give insight into the organization and the need. You may view them as a “coach” or advocate inside the company.
For marketers, Steadies are present at the beginning of the buyer’s journey. They actively engage with content. In fact, you will probably find (as we have in our research) a large group of them subscribe to your company newsletter.
In general, they’re very nice people, but have two distinct characteristics that make them a challenge.
Steadies are friendly, but they are not your friend.
First, Steadies are comfortable with the status quo. They like working in a calm and stable work environment. Second, they want to be liked and that’s why it is hard to identify them as a “blocker”. You’ll think they’re on your side, but they’re not. They won’t advocate for you, your brand, or your solution. Steadies love being on the “team,” but they’re not going to be the captain.
Steadies are present early in the buying process because they like to stay informed but mostly out of self interest. They like to stay informed. It’s why they hit your content, take your calls, etc. They’re interested in understanding how what you’re offering will impact them or others.
Identifying their personality type is rather easy. If you suspect you’re dealing with a Steady, check their LinkedIn profile. Unlike the Dominants, who are very career driven and build their profiles to attract attention of others, Steadies don’t. Their LinkedIn profile may not be updated, it may show that they’ve had relatively few roles, and may have worked for the same organization for a number of years.
Here’s how to manage the challenge that is the Steady.
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- Don’t try the “end around.” You may be incredibly frustrated with the lack of movement but don’t try going around them. There are a number of reasons why. First, Steadies are the most sensitive of all the blockers. Second, they have a habit of looking at everything and they consult others when a decision is needed. If you try sending something to someone else be warned, there is a very good chance they will catch it, and it may damage the relationship.
- Don’t be inconsistent! Steadies seek order, so give it to them. Set an agenda, stick to it. Give them the “heads up” on things to come, keep them informed. They are not a fan of surprises, so be predictable and reliable. See above…
- Don’t try to close them. You’re not going to like this but don’t try to force a Steady to make a decision. You’ll end up banging your head against a wall. Take things slowly and keep in mind they move when the whole team moves, and that takes time. More on this below.
- Do make the need that your solution/product addresses THE priority. Steadies manage the priorities of others. You will need to use the buying group to move your opportunity. (Target key influencers within the group and create a strong business case for why the need for your solution should be the organizational priority).
- Do use empathy. Because Steadies are sensitive, they feel for others. Try to understand the situation and use language that connects with them emotionally. Talk about the benefits of your product/solution in terms of what it can do to help people on a personal level – improve their confidence, reduce frustrations, eliminate risk, etc. Only selling the rational business benefits of the offering will have absolutely no impact.
- Do make them feel valuable. Although they most likely are not the decision maker or budget owner, they still believe they are an important part of the buying process. And it’s your job to validate it. This may be completely counter to how you feel about them.
When we first began researching Steadies, we believed that they were preliminary motivated by keeping a calm predictable work environment which is true. What we have since learned, is this extends to others, especially team members. Their loyalty lies with their peers, not vendors.
Speaking of teams, with the NFL starting up in a couple of weeks, let’s use a football analogy to summarize the series. On offense, the quarterback is the “Influencer.” His job is to read the offense and distribute the ball to another player who will hopefully advance it down the field.
Those players are most likely the running backs and receivers (the “Dominants”) moving the ball downfield and usually getting the glory of scoring a touchdown.
The steadies well they’re the offensive lineman. They love being on the team and play an important role, but they’re never gonna touch the ball – they’ll try to keep you from the quarterback and running backs.
The only way they advance is when the entire team moves the ball. These “grinders” play a vital role on the team, but are perfectly happy letting others make the call, and watching them get the glory.
To win, you need to have a playbook and patience. It will be a long game and you’ll have to move the entire team. Companies often abandon the pursuit because of the lack of movement but the key to winning is staying in the game.
by William Walsh | Aug 13, 2022 | 2022
By Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 5 Minutes
The third installment of our four part series on how to navigate decision making blockers.
Nothing sets off lead nurturing scoring system alarms more than the presence of a C-level Influencer hitting content. They’ve got the right title, hit your content, probably more than one and you’re thinking there has got to be intent. But unfortunately that’s not the case, here’s why.
Influencers are information seekers to the extreme. In fact, you probably know one in your personal life. They’re the first to find out about a new restaurant or a new band. They’re your go to when you’re looking for a weekend getaway or vacation spot. And they love to do it. Influencers are motivated by being the first to know and sharing the information with others.
And that’s why there is no real intent. The information that they are consuming or downloaded is going to someone else. Recently we found a C-level Influencer that forwarded an email invitation to a webinar over 30 times! Influencers often are a “false position” – giving off a signal of intent, but the real need or opportunity is with someone else.
Influencers are great MQL’s, but terrible SQL’s
The upside of Influencers is that they are a key channel for introducing new ideas into organizations. Even better, they’re great at selling people on ideas. They consume a tremendous amount of information from a vast amount of sources, online and offline. Marketers this is your number one personality type to target, but they have a unique preference when it comes to content.
Sales, the good news is Influencers keep a loose schedule and enjoy meeting new people, but don’t chase them. Because of their position in the organization (often senior exec), and their personality type they are off to the next thing.
Influencers don’t usually own projects or budgets, their staff does, and that’s who you need, especially a “Champion” personality. The good news is that they often come back into the deal at the end to deal with any resistance from others in the buying group.
Here’s how to get the most out of leveraging Influencers in the account.
- Give them the right assets. Influencers prefer short highly visual content that travels easily. They LOVE short (30 sec or less) animated videos that they can forward. An interactive infographic that they can play around with it like a moth to the flame. Short, visual content pieces that convey information easily work with them. Additionally, opportunities for people to learn about something like events or webinar invitations also travel well as I mentioned.
- Find them in your data. Since they have a habit of forwarding information, it’s easy to spot them in your data. Look for emails that have been opened multiple times over a 2-3 days period. Once you’ve identified them, see if that pattern repeats on other occasions.
- Tag and track them. You can also use PURLS or forms to track where they’re sending information. This is a key insight, sharing (or forwarding) is a much better indicator of interest than a download or click thru. But that comes with a caveat, where the information lands has to resonate or address an issue that person has currently. Unfortunately, because of the Influencers behavior mentioned above they have a tendency to forward information that never gets actioned.
- Sell them on the idea, not the solution. In all of our research over the years we have only found an Influencer being a blocker on one occasion and it provided an interesting insight. Influencers want credit for the idea.
- Give away ideas. One of our most important clients has an Influencer personality and a CMO title, but he’s never signed a contract. Give away free advice. It will usually come back to you in business from others within the organization.
- Use them to remove blockers. Influencers are present at the beginning of the buyers journey, and they will reappear at the end. In particular, to reinforce the value of the idea or solution. Influencers (hence the name) are very good at selling others on the idea, keep them posted on your progress and use them to get past Blockers in the buyer group.
B2B marketing campaigns are often DOA before they even launch. Why? Because of the influence of sales, we often target titles, roles and budget owners. Sounds pretty common, right? And that would be fine if marketing’s job was to sell…but it’s not.
Our goal as marketers is to grab someone’s attention and have them take action (click on this link, download a piece of content, and register for a webinar). Targeting roles or titles alone doesn’t give us the best opportunity to make that happen. Do you know what does?
Targeting Influencers, but know that they love your ideas or solution more than they love you, your company or brand. It’s nothing personal…it’s just the personality. Influencers play an important role for us as marketers. They react and take action. It’s not personal for us either, it’s just the type of personality that gets us the performance we need.
To read the previous installment of the series, 6 Ways to Engage Champion “Blockers” click here.
by William Walsh | Jul 26, 2022 | 2022
By Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 5 Minutes
The second of four part series on how to navigate decision making blockers.
Plot twist…in all of our research, we’ve never found Champion personalities to be true blockers. That said, they do exhibit two behavior traits making them appear as if they are blockers.
What is a Champion personality? A Champion is someone who is very driven and career oriented. They make things happen inside organizations. In the book, The Challenger Customer, Champions are referred to as a “Go-Getter Mobilizer” because of their willingness to champion and drive initiatives through the organization. If you’re using DISC segmentation they will be identified as Dominants.
You don’t have to read the book (although you should) or use a personality profiler to identify them. Just go to their LinkedIn page and look at how many different companies and roles they’ve had. If it averages 1 new position or company every year or two, you’ve got one. Champions are very ambitious and climb the corporate ladder quickly, or they will go elsewhere. \
For example, we just finished building an ABM program for a client and found the best example of a Champion we’ve ever seen. He’s been working for 22 years and has had 19 updates (new roles) to his LinkedIn page.
Champions are heads down doers.
Now for the downside, of all the buyers we’ll cover in this series, Champions are the most important to connect with because they drive the buying process. But, they are one of the hardest to engage. Because of their personality, they typically have a lot on their plates and are heads down on delivery.
As a result, you (or someone in the buying group) have to attract their attention by aligning whatever you’re selling against their immediate priorities (in their field of vision), which means you need to know them. Additionally, you have to connect your solution to one of their priorities (fit) and to them personally (motivation).
Here comes the second challenge, because of their career ambitions they are very savvy at reading the organization. If they sense a shift in priorities, or an opportunity to get a greater reward/recognition for another initiative they may drop you like a hot potato. About a third of the “no decision” sales opportunities we evaluated had a Champion shifting priorities.
The game plan for engaging and motivating Champions to stay in the buying process.
- Research their background. I already mentioned what to check for on LinkedIn to identify them. Scan down their profiles and look for certifications and executive education posting. Note what content they are engaging with (Likes and Comments). Look at the groups they belong to and any volunteer experience. You are trying to get a 360 degree view of them as a person, not just a decision maker or budget holder.
- Connect to them personally. Now that you’ve done your homework it’s time to use it. Of the four personality types we’ll cover, the Champion is the one most personally invested in your solution (and brand) and what it can do for them. Personalize your value proposition and DO NOT “BS” this buyer, they will read through it in a second.
- Use relevant examples. Champions like to see themselves in your examples. When pitching them make sure to use case studies or use cases in their industry. Get as close to their situation as possible. Most importantly, connect the results to what it could mean for them professionally and personally.
- Show them off. They are ambitious and looking to advance their career so help them. Feature them as speakers at industry or peer conferences. Highlight their success in case studies, articles and advertising.
- Understand what motivates them. You’re in it for the long haul. If you typically have a buying process longer than a year, your Champion is critical for keeping it moving. They’re your advocate in the buying group, so arm them with the right information that motivates them to continue to fight for your solution.
- Use other people in the buyer group to help sell them. Locate an “Influencer” in the organization and arm them with the information they’ll need to get the Champion excited. They love to “champion” (hence, the descriptor) other people’s ideas, especially Influencers who are “heads up” looking for something new and better.
Unlike Challengers, which skew towards being more male, Champions skew towards being female. Not only do they get things done, they often deliver more than what is expected, which is the reason they climb the ladder so quickly.
Speaking of getting things done, their boss (and the organization) knows they’re good at driving projects forward and over delivering. If the sales process seems to have slowed or stopped, it doesn’t necessarily mean the deal is dead.They may have been asked to take on special projects that are stalled or just a priority for the moment.
As a result, you may find that they may have high engagement early on and then drift off. Stay in contact with them. B2B buying cycles are long, often because of a shift in priorities. If Champions still find a win in your solution they will come back to it.
Finally, if they are successful using your solution or services they will take you with them as they advance to their next position or organization…and then they’ll be your Champion.
To read this first installment of the series, 6 Ways to Get Through and Around Challenger “Blockers” click here.
by William Walsh | Jul 12, 2022 | 2022
As previously published on 7/5/22 in The Drum
By Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 5 Minutes
Somewhere along the way, B2B marketers have been “consumerized.” I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but I do know where to place the blame – MarTech companies.
Lacking the ability to prove that their technology can actually improve the performance of marketing programs, they have traded on the ability to do more. Their value proposition basically follows the line that in order to reach performance targets you need to go broader and more often…if you’re getting a 3% response rate, you need to reach the largest audience possible.
So let me help remind marketers that in B2B, it’s not always about reaching a broader audience. In fact, most times it’s not. After spending a dozen years in the consulting business analyzing customer revenue, I can safely say that in B2B, the Pareto principle is ALWAYS true, 80% of your revenue is coming from 20% of your customer base.
If you’re in certain industries, like financial services or one that targets the enterprise segment, the 90/10 may be the case. In fact, if you evaluate the “long tail” of customers you will most likely find that the smallest segment of customers (20% or less of your revenue) are most likely unprofitable.
Which begs the question, why do we need a platform to reach our smallest, least profitable customers? You know the answer…because we need the largest list so we can get to hit our numbers.
We are at a crossroads.
We are investing in going another mile wider, rather than going an inch or two deeper. To get the greatest return on our marketing dollars we should be focusing on the largest accounts, but we have acquired tools built for scale.
As a result, any success we have at improving conversion is always met with the same response; “Will it scale?”
Here are some other data points to help us guide ourselves back to the real world of B2B. Eighty-five to ninety percent of your revenue comes from the sales channels. Said differently, only 10-15% of the year’s revenue will have been sourced by marketing.
So what is all this investment in scaling buying us?
It keeps our performance metrics low because of the size and volume. A majority of our content marketing engagement efforts are with non-decision makers, and if we’re lucky enough to snag a buyer in mid-cycle, it only accounts for potentially 10-15% of revenue.
Because sales is smart enough to avoid small customers, we may end up creating a lead in an account that is actually costing the company money. Bottom line, the focus on scale often devalues marketing’s impact to the organization.
What should marketers do?
Marketing should be exploring better ways to motivate targeted audiences to take action. Everything we do as marketers is about getting someone to do something – open an email, register for a webinar, download a report, etc. None of our existing “scaling” tools help us understand how to make that happen.
To do this we have to understand audiences at a deeper level, beyond the “offer” which is most often not aligned to buyer preference. Let’s break this down into simple steps. A response is an action. An action is created by motivation. Motivation varies by individuals, based on their interest, but mostly, their personality.
Knowing a buyer’s motivations and behaviors by understanding their personality type is the key to understanding how to get them to take action. It’s that simple, and it gets even easier when you know that in every industry we assessed (9 so far) there are 1-2 dominant personality types that make up 65-75% of that audience.
Now to bring it all together…for most companies the top 20% of accounts easily represents more than half of the yearly revenue goal. If you are targeting the enterprise segment it will be higher. The top of the customer pyramid is often less than fifty accounts.
Focusing on going deeper into finding ways to connect with 1 or 2 personality types in less than 50 accounts doesn’t require scale, it requires strategy…it’s about being smarter and building a customized ABM plan for each account.
Embracing this approach offers B2B marketers a huge new opportunity to redefine their value to the organization, in particular, sales. Having success in those accounts far outweighs anything that requires scale.
Yes, many of the tools in the MarTech stack are useful, but they are not the answer and unfortunately, we’ve let them influence our behavior, decisions and activities too much.
It’s time to refocus our efforts from all potential contacts, to better understanding buyers in your largest opportunities. And, it’s time to stop resisting and deflecting opportunities that take effort to make real improvements by asking the question, “Will it scale?” Unless of course, if you’re Microsoft or Google targeting the SMB, then it’s perfectly fine to ask.
by William Walsh | Jun 29, 2022 | 2022
By Scott Gillum
Estimated read time: 5 Minutes
This is the first of four part series on how to navigate decision making blockers.
We’ve all experienced them, in our personal and professional lives – people whose first reaction to anything is to say “no.” For me, it was my father. I knew if I wanted to do anything or go anywhere as a teenager, it was going to be a battle.
“Blockers” come in all shapes and sizes. Most are born that way, others react to a situation or information, while others are of our own making. After studying how buyers behave in the purchase decision making process for the last three years, here’s what we’ve learned about how to make progress with Challenger personality types.
Challengers are skeptics
My dad is a Challenger. After saying no, he would follow up with asking why I needed or wanted to do something or go somewhere. Eventually, I figured out how to make a convincing case for myself through many frustrating years of trial and error.
I eventually realized that if I want the car to do something on the weekend, I’d have to start on Monday. Expecting a “no,” I’d come back with an argument (that would benefit him) on Wednesday, then involve my Mom on Thursday, and then by Saturday I’d be in the car on my way to the mall.
Much like my father to me, challengers are the scariest and most difficult buyers for young and inexperienced reps, for a number of reasons.
First, they don’t realize the “objections” they’re hearing are actually the Challenger’s way of gathering information. If they are actively engaging in a back and forth discussion, that is progress. When they stop challenging you, then you’ve lost them.
Second, reps have a tendency to give up mainly because they’ve run out of answers. You need to prepare for a duel, and arm yourself with the facts. Their goal is to exhaust you.
If you are currently blocked by a Challenger, you most likely haven’t convinced them of one or more of the following; 1) there is a valid need; 2) your solution is credible and best fits the need, and/or 3) the investment (including time) is worth the return/effort.
Here’s what you need to do next
- Your homework. Credibility is everything when wrestling with a Challenger. if you have not done your research on the company’s issues/needs and the Challenger, you need to do that immediately. Without it, you’re in a knife fight without a weapon.
- Do not use the words “new,” “innovative” or make claims that you cannot support with data or research. Again, this relates to your credibility. Give them an “anchor” reference. Instead of saying this will “revolutionize the way you do…” instead say “this is an evolution of the existing XXX but improves its functionality in these areas” and be specific. If you cannot solidly state or source evidence that it improves those areas…then don’t mention it. Also, have references of clients that have experienced those improvements ready to go.
- Talk moderate downside improvement vs large upside potential. One of the things that immediately shoots sales people in the foot is to make a claim that is too bold (improve productivity by 40%, increase profits by 100%, ROI’s of 400%) Being born skeptics, Challengers immediately will try to match your claim with their own beliefs and experience. Not only will they challenge your claim, they’ll pick apart, and it will go downhill from here. This is a sport for them. Instead, talk about risk reduction and/or cost savings. Buyers are much more open to believing the value and credibility of smaller claims related to risk reduction rather than large returns on investment or time.
- Never offer an opinion, instead lean in on making a logical argument. Your opinion doesn’t matter to them unless you’re credible (one of the reasons why they’re a challenger for young and inexperienced reps). Your response to their first question will determine whether you’re worth their time. Know that, and be ready. Lay out a logical argument that is relatable and believable. “Dad, I need to be at an event on Friday night, if I don’t have the car, then you’ll have to drive me.” Give them the opportunity, through options, to answer, or make the decision for themselves. (After a long work week, does my Dad really want to have to drive me across town at 7:30 pm on a Friday?)
- Prepare for a journey. Challengers are often the last hurdle to overcome, don’t let them stand the way of your deal. As I mentioned earlier, their goal is to outduel you. Do a dry run internally and anticipate where they will attack, get armed with data, research, use cases and references.
- Use other people in the buyer group to help sell them. Locate an “influencer” in the organization and arm them with the information they’ll need to advocate for your solution. Influencers enjoy the dance as much as the Challenger, but they are better at selling ideas than the Challenger is at rejecting them.
Are they really worth the trouble? Yes, Interestingly enough, once convinced these natural born skeptics will be one of your best advocates, and are the most powerful movers of the buyer group.
Why? Other members of the buying group are keenly aware of their skepticism, and as a result, they default to them as sort of a “due diligence officer.” Once the Challenger is convinced, the others fail in line.
Lastly, if you are in certain sectors of technology, finance and life science industries know that every other person you speak with may be one of these personality types. There are no easy wins. Do your homework, stay persistent and win these people over because if you do – they’ll also be your most loyal customer.
