“Go Play With Marketing...They Won't Bite”
“They won’t bite…”
Not that you asked for this, but remember when you were six?I sure do -- at least, I remember the particularly intense moments, whether they be steeped in absolute joy or absolute trauma.
Speaking of the latter of those two options: I bet, if you were anything like me, your social interactions at six were, more often than not, an arranged marriage of sorts. Rather than making a conscious decision to hangout with a friend based off of compatibility and real desire, your parents probably set you up with one of the following:
The cousin who eats his boogers
The kid in your class who stabbed you with a pencil
The kid on your soccer team that only kicked grass (shoutout Beyonson)
Beyonson himself
Pretty sucky, eh? Well, at least those days are over, right?
If you’re a seller (BDR, AE, etc.)...not so fast.
Though not via a social construct, you’re probably still participating in professionally arranged interactions without your consent daily: your playdates with Marketing!
As a former BDR-turned-Marketer, I can commiserate with how painful these playdates can often feel. Whether it be being told you actually were given great leads; whether it be the MQL that came in from a student in India who accidentally accepted cookies on your company’s site; whether it be the pages and pages of documentation, training, etc. needed to understand a program; whether it be the lack of any documentation, period…the list goes on.
However, as a former BDR-turned-Marketer, I can also assure y’all sellers that Marketing doesn’t bite (if so, call HR). In fact, Marketing has every intention to play nicely and strike up a lifelong, professional friendship with you.
The problem? Oftentimes, Sales & Marketing aren’t speaking the same language. Oftentimes, they don’t ever try to learn, too.
In this blog, as someone who’s been on both sides of the fence, allow me to be your translator…sellers, here are three ways you can utilize and/or understand Marketing better to “speak our language” and smash your quota.
(And if you’re one of those reps whose ego is cultivated on being an Outbounding Savage...wake up and smell the low-hanging roses, please!)
#1: Learn the points of contact
“Who do you know here?”-- random fraternity John Doe/sorority Jane Doe to unassuming 18 (or 16, depending on whether or not you have an older sibling) you.
“Uhhh…Jack?” -- you say, totally convincingly
“Sorry, bud,” John/Jane says. “Jack graduated last year.”
BUSTED!
The Doorman for Hell
Granted, while comparing the Marketing org to Greek life is a bit of a reach, the same principle of knowing who to turn to when asking for favors, access, etc. applies. Just like Greek life access is contingent upon network and the correct point-of-contact, so is accessing information from Marketing in an expedient, direct, and benevolent way; just like those affiliated with Greek life rarely bridge the gap to “commoners” like you and I to assist, so, too, do Marketers rarely reach across the aisle to help Sales folk get “in…”
…except for one (or maybe two) people.
Who are these people, you may now be asking? And how do I find them, you may also be asking?
The “who,” while somewhat org-dependent, often encompasses members of the Demand Generation team -- AKA, folks with goals most closely aligned, and with campaign most directly attributed to, Sales. To take it one step further (incoming bias warning), if your org is so lucky to have an Account Based Marketing team or individual, find them and don’t let go, as they’re primarily responsible for linking the two orgs.
As for how to find them, open up that org chart and you’re off!
#2: Salesforce fluency
Raise your hand if you work in tech sales and are happy to be in the workforce this-side of 2000?
Hopefully all of you find yourselves with palms to the sky (unless you’re currently retired or, of course, not in tech sales at the moment). If not, enjoy flipping through yellow pages and calling people with no rhyme, reason, or plan.
Whereas sales reps (like my dad in the 90s) faced the burden of a lack of prospecting info when outbounding pre-2000s, reps today face the “problem” of having too much information to sift through when prospecting.
The quotations surrounding that second “problem” probably already indicated my sentiment towards reps who feel inconvenienced by data, but let me state my absolute confusion and disappointment in this strawman army one more time: why?!?
Time and again, the top-performing BDRs & AEs in orgs, irrespective of org size + industry, prospect like their detectives on a case, with Salesforce’s marketing data as one of their evidence-collecting mechanisms.So, if you’re a rep who currently doesn’t “drill down” (pun-intended for my SFDC-heads) on Salesforce’s marketing entry points, here is a non-exhaustive list of what marketing value + info you can extract on prospects + accounts from SFDC:
1. Email opens, clicks, and interesting interactions from prospects on Marketing email programs
2. Marketing campaigns contacts are in -- as well as their statuses
3. Intent data (explained in a future blog) like website visits, keywords searched for online, the total number of execs at XYZ Inc. who’ve interacted with you before, etc.
4. Downloaded web content, clicked ads, etc.
Armed with this information, you’ll not only get a better pulse on the Marketing org at your company, but exponentially-increased tools in your belt when prospecting!
#3: Document assembly…get your library card!
** accepting that I lost half of my readers (all one of you) with that library insert but please try and bear with me **
We explored why and how the Marketing org is often somewhat of a black box for Sales from an interpersonal standpoint, but it’s also often a black -- or messy -- box when it comes for information access.
Whether the Marketing org at your company houses info in 500 Google Drives that you don’t have access to; in 5000 Notion/Wiki pages that you’re either uninvited to or forgot the names of; or in their heads (hopefully not), it’s often challenging, if not impossible, to find up-to-date and consistent info on Marketing programs.
If you were a rep satisfied with coming in at 60-80% of your number quarter-over-quarter, no big deal, eh? For the rest of you striving to make more off commission than I make in salary, however, you see the dilemma here, right? Missing out on Marketing info = missing out on leads. Missing out on leads = missing out on pipeline.
You chasing down Notion docs
Despite this, keep your head up Mr./Mrs. Rep -- nothing worthwhile is easy to achieve…but achievable finding Marketing documentation is!An example workflow to plug-and-play at your org to do so could go as follows:
Use that entry-point person we discussed in Point #1 and ask them for the source of Marketing updates (if it’s not already apparent)
Find and bookmark/collect all documents
Check them once per week as info changes often
Hit quota!
“Mom, can Marketing comeover and play this afternoon?”
Well, would you look at that…turns out that Marketing doesn’t bite after all! In fact, they might be a bit too affectionate now that we’ve gotten to know them.
In all seriousness, while Marketing often feels like 1) a world away to reps, 2) unempathetic, and 3) unhelpful, this couldn’t be further from the truth. They just need to be understood, first!If you’re a rep looking to enhance your understanding of your Marketing org, hopefully the above three tips will help :D
