Sales velocity is a crucial metric reflecting the rate at which accounts travel through the sales funnel, providing a basis for revenue forecasting and sales process optimization.
A sluggish pipeline velocity often signals friction within the sales pathway, necessitating a collaborative remedy from both sales and marketing teams. This velocity is gauged by multiplying the number of fresh opportunities in the pipeline with the conversion/win rate and the Average Contract Value (ACV) and then dividing this product by the sales cycle duration.
Sales velocity = No. of new opportunities x ACV x Win Rate / Length of the sales cycle
For instance, consider a company with 100 new opportunities in its sales pipeline, a win rate of 15%, an ACV of $10,000, and a sales cycle lasting 60 days. The pipeline velocity here would be:
= (100 x 10000 x 15) / 60 = $2500
This implies a sales velocity of $2500 in potential revenue per day.
It’s insightful to evaluate sales velocity across diverse segments such as small, mid-market, and enterprise tiers to grasp how deals progress within each market segment. Similarly, this analysis can extend to various segments of target industries.
The pivotal question is, why is augmenting your sales velocity imperative?
A brisker sales velocity equates to augmented revenue, lesser concerns about competitors snatching deals, reduced resource allocation to close deals over extended durations, and diminished struggles in maintaining momentum, which might otherwise culminate in a “no decision” loss.
Now that the significance of a robust pipeline acceleration program is clear, let’s delve into how Account-Based Marketing (ABM) can be a powerful catalyst in this arena.
1. Identifying and Targeting High-Velocity Segments
Utilizing the data derived from your sales velocity across distinct market segments is instrumental in making informed strategic decisions.
It’s imperative for sales and marketing teams to collaborate to pinpoint the segment boasting the optimum velocity. The goal is to devise strategies using Account-Based Marketing (ABM) to hasten sales and elevate conversion rates within each segment.
Let’s elucidate this with a scenario:
Suppose a SaaS company that provides CRM software predominantly targets mid-market and enterprise accounts across Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Retail, and E-commerce sectors. They analyze the sales velocity across these industries and discover that although the E-commerce sector has a 30% lower sales velocity, it boasts a higher Average Contract Value (ACV). By rallying the sales and marketing teams to enhance the sales velocity in this vertical, they unveil a massive revenue opportunity. Initially, they join forces to identify potential hurdles or objections that could be decelerating the sales cycle. Subsequently, the marketing team crafts a suite of content pieces, advertisements, and direct mail campaigns to tackle the challenges faced by these accounts, thus facilitating their progression along the sales pipeline. The sales team then reinforces this initiative through phone and email outreach to the target accounts, maintaining consistency with the contextual framework laid out by the marketing team in their content initiatives.
In this orchestrated manner, sales and marketing synergy, fueled by ABM, can significantly boost the sales velocity within targeted segments, unlocking lucrative revenue streams.
2. Amplifying Sales Messages for Cohesive Communication
Unlike traditional marketing approaches where marketing efforts halt post-opportunity creation, Account-Based Marketing (ABM) fosters a collaborative continuum between sales and marketing throughout the sales cycle.
Marketing teams need to operate behind the scenes, orchestrating pipeline velocity campaigns to not only elevate brand awareness but also to amplify the messages being relayed by the sales team during their interactions with accounts.
As you strive to engage a broader spectrum of key decision-makers, ABM becomes instrumental in enlightening your key accounts through various stages of the sales funnel. Utilizing an array of content such as case studies, product updates, ebooks, whitepapers, webinars, and battle cards can substantially educate your accounts. This educational endeavor operates in parallel with, yet independently from, the conversations your sales team is having with those same accounts. The objective here is to nurture the accounts in a way that empowers the sales team to foster enriched interactions, thereby leading to elevated engagement and conversion rates.
Let’s delve deeper with an instance involving a B2B SaaS company dealing in CRM software:
The company observed a number of accounts lingering in the sales cycle, expressing a readiness to decide on the purchase yet remained indecisive. Leveraging intent data tools like Bombora, the marketing team monitored the keywords these target accounts were exploring. They discerned that certain accounts were not only researching their brand but also evaluating some of their competitors. In response to this insight, the marketing team initiated a targeted ad campaign elucidating the superiority of their CRM platform over competitors. Concurrently, the sales team echoed this message in their outreach to the decision-makers within those accounts. This harmonized strategy enabled the brand to engage more effectively with their target accounts, accelerating their journey through the conversion funnel.
By ensuring a seamless echo of messages between marketing and sales, organizations can significantly tighten the sales cycle and enhance conversion rates, embodying the full potential of an ABM-driven pipeline acceleration program.
3. Fostering Deeper Account Penetration
In the B2B realm, purchase decisions typically involve a consortium of 5-10 decision-makers. The final contract navigates through various hands or departments before reaching the stage of formal endorsement.
There’s a high likelihood that your sales team might only be conversing with a fraction of the entire buying committee, often limited to one or two contacts from each account.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) emerges as a potent strategy to transcend this limitation, facilitating outreach to multiple decision-makers within your target accounts, thereby achieving deeper account penetration.
ABM’s role-specific targeting enables the launch of campaigns directed towards individuals involved in buying decisions. This tailored approach not only aligns the messaging to the unique concerns and interests of each role but also expands the communication footprint within the account. Moreover, by monitoring anonymous web activity, you can uncover unknown contacts within an account who are exploring relevant topics, opening avenues for initiating fresh lines of communication.
Let’s elucidate this with a simplified scenario:
Consider a scenario where your sales team has established a rapport with only a couple of contacts within a prospective account. However, using ABM strategies, your marketing team identifies and reaches out to other key decision-makers within the same account through targeted campaigns addressing their specific roles and pain points. Meanwhile, by monitoring web activity, they discover an unknown contact within the account researching solutions to challenges your product addresses. They swiftly engage this contact, further broadening the communication spectrum within the account.
Such multi-faceted engagement, powered by ABM, significantly widens your influence within target accounts. It ensures that your value proposition resonates across all echelons of the decision-making hierarchy, dramatically increasing the chances of contract fruition. Through ABM’s deeper account penetration, your organization can better navigate the complex B2B sales landscape, fostering a more comprehensive and informed buying journey for your prospects.
4. Harnessing ABM for Effective Pipeline Acceleration Programs
1. Executing Account-Based Ads
Employing Account-Based Marketing (ABM) enables you to deploy role-specific display ads aimed at placing your brand squarely in front of the decision-makers within your target accounts. Alternatively, by leveraging department-specific targeting, you have the opportunity to engage a broader audience, thereby raising awareness about how your solutions precisely cater to the needs of the target accounts.
Utilizing ABM tools, you can strategically target the decision-makers of these accounts at various stages of the sales cycle. This ensures that your brand remains top-of-mind as they navigate through the decision-making process. The following facets can be incorporated to amplify the efficacy of your account-based ads:
– Customized Messaging: Tailor your ad messages to address the unique challenges and objectives of each role or department within the target accounts. This level of personalization showcases a deeper understanding of their needs, fostering a stronger connection.
– Retargeting: Employ retargeting strategies to maintain engagement with decision-makers who have interacted with your brand, ensuring a consistent delivery of value propositions as they traverse through the buying journey.
– Analytical Tracking: Utilize ABM tools to track the performance and engagement metrics of your ads. This data is invaluable in optimizing your campaigns for better resonance and higher conversion rates.
The implementation of account-based ads is a powerful stride towards accelerating your sales pipeline. By aligning your advertising efforts with the specific dynamics of your target accounts, you’re significantly closer to converting these accounts into loyal customers. Through consistent, targeted exposure, your brand not only becomes a familiar choice but a preferred solution among the decision-makers in your target markets.
2. Monitoring for Intent Surge
Understanding the intent behind your target accounts’ actions and searches is paramount in aligning your sales and marketing strategies to their specific needs and preferences. Intent data provides a wealth of information that can be harnessed to enhance your approach towards engaging and converting these accounts.
Here’s how you can empower your sales and marketing teams with intent data:
-Gathering Valuable Insights: Utilizing intent data, you can monitor and interpret signals that unveil essential insights about your target accounts. This includes understanding:
– Competitor Analysis: Determine which competitors your target accounts are researching, allowing you to better position your offerings in comparison.
– Challenge Identification: Uncover the challenges or pain points your target accounts are facing that your solutions can address.
– Feature and Functionality Interests: Discover the particular features or functionalities they are seeking to overcome their challenges.
3. Informing Your Teams
Share these insights with your sales and marketing teams to equip them with a deeper understanding of the target accounts. This information serves as a robust foundation for crafting personalized messaging, aligning solutions to the account’s challenges, and competitively positioning your offerings against researched competitors.
4. Engagement Strategy
Craft engagement strategies based on the discovered intent. Tailor your communications, advertisements, and content to address the specific interests and challenges of your target accounts. Moreover, these insights can be used to inform product development or enhancements, ensuring your solutions continue to meet the evolving needs of your target market.
5. Closing Deals Effectively
With a more informed perspective, your sales and marketing teams are better positioned to engage in meaningful conversations with the target accounts, addressing their unique needs and concerns, ultimately leading to a more effective deal-closure process.
Monitoring for intent surge is an effective way to stay ahead of your target accounts’ needs, ensuring that your interactions are timely, relevant, and value-driven. By continuously aligning your strategies with the intent data insights, you not only accelerate the pipeline but significantly improve the likelihood of successful conversions.
6. Boost Sales with Collaborative “Smarketing” Efforts
Sales and marketing teams need to collaborate for successful B2B marketing. They should engage key individuals in prospective businesses through knowledge sharing, unique experiences, and credible proof, each tailored to suit different stages of the buying journey.
There’s a difference between interacting with potential leads and potential customers, particularly when you already have some information about the latter.
What data or insights can you utilize to aid your sales team? Or perhaps, what does your sales team know about a certain account that can inform your marketing strategy?
Sales and marketing teams should cooperate to figure out which content and experiences are most valuable to each account, considering the insights they’ve collected.
For opportunities at the initial stage, you may have limited information. Third-party data can guide your strategy until you forge a deeper connection.
For opportunities at later stages, personalization is key. Sales should engage in face-to-face meetings, involve top executives for discussions, or host smaller gatherings post-industry events.
Even a casual meal during a conference can help establish trust and strengthen relationships.
Marketing can support these efforts by developing resources, like attractive invitation cards for post-conference dinners. Other initiatives could include:
– Tailored direct mail campaigns (a book they would like, merch from their favorite sports team, or a type of coffee they love)
– Product-focused ads that emphasize solutions to their challenges
– Customer testimonials who have faced similar issues
– Dedicated landing pages and content experiences specifically designed for that account
In Conclusion
The B2B buying journey has evolved; it’s no longer a straightforward path. Conversations may start, pause, and resume numerous times before a contract is even discussed.
Instead of letting this new B2B sales landscape impede your growth, embrace it. Be proactive and innovative with acceleration campaigns.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) can be your ally in this. It strengthens the message sent by sales, penetrates deeper into accounts, and enlightens key accounts about your product or service. This approach can eliminate hurdles in the sales cycle, enhance productivity, hasten the sales process, and bolster your sales pipeline’s momentum. Additionally, investing time and resources in nurturing account relationships increases your chances of securing bigger deals.
