Are your sales and marketing messages targeted at budget makers or budget takers? In most complex, high-value sales environments, of course, you need to appeal to both. But the marketing messages you need to use - and the sales conversations you need to have - differ dramatically. Budget makers vs. budget takers Here’s the key difference between the two roles: a budget maker has the power and authority to find the money required for a favoured project, even if a budget does not yet exist. Budget takers, on the other hand, need someone else to have created READ MORE ›

Your company is facing an increasingly strong competitor - yet you won’t find them listed in any Google search of the key players in your marketplace. But this competitor is playing a powerful and often-undefined role in almost every significant B2B buying decision. And it’s the reason why a growing number of your apparently well-qualified opportunities are ending up with the prospect deciding to “do nothing”. Have you recognised the competitor yet? It’s the status quo - and in today’s increasingly risk-averse decision-making climate, where it may be harder than ever before to get approval for discretionary READ MORE ›

We live in a world where customer service and satisfaction is everything. Marketers build programs to reward regular customers and to make them feel special, and invest in satisfaction surveys to measure their success. So why are we saying you should upset your customers? We all know that our salespeople are constantly looking for ways to delight their customers Both the sales department and the marketing experts guard the happiness of the buyer jealously, promoting only positive and uplifting messages. They say: Good news travels fast It takes 100 happy customers to overcome the effect of one READ MORE ›

Many selling organisations are submitting an increasing number of proposals, in the hope that this will lead to an increased number of sales. But, proposals don’t always close. So, how can you fix a low propose to close ratio? Don’t rely on the proposal document Relying on the proposal to do the persuading is inherently flawed. The client has to want your solution before the proposal is submitted. Back to the funnel Our Funnel Management thinking maps buyers at 3 stages in the sales funnel: Defining the problem; Determining available solution types; and Choosing the best supplier. READ MORE ›