Hugh Macfarlane, Author at align.me

How measurement can align Marketing and Sales

According to our benchmark study of 1,400 businesses, one in three of them places alignment between the sales department and the marketing department as the No. 1 priority. Measurement makes a surprising contribution. The study, conducted by align.me in co-operation with United States-based online publishing company MarketingProfs.com, showed that those businesses which had achieved marketing-sales alignment were significantly more successful than their competitors. Those businesses with the greatest degree of alignment were: Growing 5.4 per cent faster than their less-aligned counterparts when compared with businesses within the same industry. Closing 38 per cent more proposals than non-aligned READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Velocity|

How to understand buyers

Nothing is more frustrating for a salesperson than a potential buyer who, after acknowledging they need your product or service, decides not to buy. Why do they do this, and what can you do about it? Remember that businesses buy products and services, in essence, to solve problems. They may have too much of something that is undesirable, or too little of something that is good. In sales training, instructors stress the importance of not just discussing the features of an offering, but also its advantages and benefits. The mnemonic F.A.B. - features, advantages, benefits - is READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Sales|

How to size your resource load

If a face-to-face sales call is the most effective tactic to progress buyers from one stage in their journey to the next, should you simply load up the top of your funnel to ensure your sales force is fully occupied? It's not quite that simple. This method is resource-intensive, and you will need to work out your likely outcome before committing your forces. There are two issues to consider in sizing the resource load: A face-to-face sales call is the preferred and most successful method of making a sale. But because it is also the most expensive READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics|

Funnel Management Goals: new business, not revenue

For years, B2B Marketing has been goaled on soft measures like awareness and more-recently leads. While neither have a role in contemporary B2B funnel management, measuring Marketing on revenue isn't the answer either. This isn't my 'prettiest' video blog, but this story was bubbling away and after a lengthy flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Poznan, Poland and I just had to let it out as soon as I landed. Your thoughts?

By Hugh Macfarlane|Velocity|

How to measure lead effectiveness

Some businesses change their tactics with the same amount of science as they used to choose them in the first place - none. Others get themselves into such a state about how to decide whether to change or not, that they analyse themselves to death. So what makes sense to measure - and why? The answers lie in the detail - but only a little way in. Measure interest: What percentage of those who you first invited to act, took the first step? This first step is a great indicator of whether the topic holds interest READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Tactics, Velocity|

How to include buyers in your strategy

Some companies defy convention to become great. Stories abound of businesses that excel through innovative solutions that meet needs buyers did not even know existed. Think Microsoft or the Sony Walkman, for example. There are, of course, ways to assess buyers' needs. Market research and reviews are a formal means of teasing out buyers on their requirements, while everyday sales dialogue serves as an informal source. Perhaps surprisingly, however, the answer to developing a strategy to incorporate the needs of buyers rests not with them but in something that happens before they have this need. In advance READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

How to decide where to play

Strategic decisions involve choice: deciding what to do and, importantly, what not to do. This leaves businesses facing a conundrum. CEOs and managers understand the power and importance of focus, but what should they focus on, and what should they ignore? You may have heard about cash cows. The Boston Consulting Group created a business analysis model in 1970 known as the Growth-Share Matrix. The model invites us to map products against market share and market growth. It slots businesses into four categories: cash cows (high market share in a slow-growing market), dogs (low share in a READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

How can B2B marketers get a seat at the table?

First and foremost, we have to understand that this is not a game of musical chairs. Those with seats do not want to give up theirs, and they are unwilling to let just anyone pull up a new chair next to them. They sit comfortably, entrenched by the common language they share and the accepted value they bring to the business as vital operational elements. Marketing loiters – hopeful for an invitation to sit but, believing its functionality to be discretionary, the table is unmoved. Desperate to have its value acknowledged, Marketing performs for the table like READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

How to make money from failure

Sales and marketing teams are geared towards success, but it's how they handle failure that will make them rich. Let's look at what happens when a salesperson returns from making a sale - or when a colleague from marketing hauls in loads of qualified leads. There are high-fives all around - and even the customer gets a look-in: They get a letter from the head of the company or division congratulating them on their fine decision. But what do we do with the prospective customers who don't proceed? Those who leak from our funnel? The answer is READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Velocity|

How to align your sales process to your buyer’s journey

The buyer's journey describes the process a typical business buyer takes as they move through the sales funnel. It's their process, not yours. The journey is not an administrative process, but a cognitive one. The buyer moves from being complacent to troubled, then becomes clear about needs and viable options, before deciding on preferences and opening the way for an acceptable contract. But the selling process does not - and cannot - precisely follow this path. There are steps the seller must take that are important for the seller that are not part of the buyer's READ MORE ›

By Hugh Macfarlane|Strategy|

About Hugh Macfarlane