Research Brief Examines Survey of 260 Sales and Marketing Professionals and Uncovers the Need for B2B Companies to Focus on Competitive Differentiation, Message Delivery, and Alignment
INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – October 22, 2013 – Corporate Visions, Inc., the leading sales and marketing messaging company, today announced the availability of a free brief based on Aberdeen Group’s recent research, “Sales Enablement: Fulfilling the Last Frontier of Marketing-Sales Alignment.” Based on survey results of 260 sales and marketing professionals, the purpose of the research was to examine how the best-performing business-to-business (B2B) companies reinvest in their employees, processes, and technologies to maximize the value of marketing and sales alignment, specifically around messaging creation and sales content.
“In the era of the hidden sales cycle and content marketing, the days of marketing and sales working in isolation are long gone,” said Peter Ostrow, vice president, and group director, sales effectiveness, Aberdeen Group. “The integrated demand funnel demands that marketing designs programs and content that shape the buyer’s vision, and that sales understand the context of that buyer’s journey and how to engage it effectively.”
Notable findings from the survey focus on business goals to drive revenue, message creation and delivery, as well as process best practices. Specifically:
When asked what the most important business goals are in driving their organization’s efforts around marketing and sales alignment, respondents cited the following top three goals:
- “Increase top-line revenue” – 68 percent
- “Increase the quality of leads provided by marketing and sales” – 45 percent
- “Improve ability to differentiate from the competition; better articulate value proposition” – 40 percent
Respondents were also asked what the top business pressures are that motivate their company to focus resources on marketing and sales alignment:
- “Improve positioning/differentiation in messaging and sales presentations to tell a better, unique story” – 53 percent
- “Better understanding of which content to use, when to use it, who to target and how to present” – 36 percent
- “Increase marketing’s visibility into sales pipeline and deals closed from marketing-generated leads” – 27 percent
On the topic of process best practices:
- 74 percent of leading companies make a point of “engaging sales in developing marketing campaign themes and sales content,” instead of producing them in silos.
“The results of Aberdeen’s survey acknowledge the pain points of many B2B companies today when it comes to increasing qualified leads and revenue,” said Tim Riesterer, chief strategy, and marketing officer for Corporate Visions. “Marketing and sales teams need to work together to create a more integrated, customer-centric approach to message development and delivery, especially in selling conversations. In other words, only those companies that can effectively tell an engaging and unique story will be successful in capturing the market share
they are looking for to meet their revenue goals.”
About Corporate Visions, Inc.
Corporate Visions, Inc. helps global business-to-business companies create more sales opportunities, win more deals and increase sales profitability by improving the conversations salespeople have with customers. Companies engage Corporate Visions in three key areas:
- Developing differentiation strategies that concentrate on customer needs
- Deploying tools that support critical steps in the buying cycle
- Delivering sales skills training that enables salespeople to create and capture more value
Corporate Visions helps clients such as ADP, Motorola, Philips, and SAP align marketing and sales with a repeatable approach for creating and delivering winning customer conversations. For more information about Corporate Visions visit corporatevisions.com or call 775-831-1322 or 800-360-SELL.