Account-based marketing has created quite a buzz in recent years. Many businesses and organizations have implemented it, or plan to because it is proving itself as a successful marketing strategy that encourages alignment between marketing and sales.
A survey conducted by Sirius Decisions tells us that, “93 percent of respondents… consider ABM “extremely” or “very” important to their organizational success.”
The growing popularity of a strategy that encourages a tighter relationship between marketing and sales makes sense, especially for B2B lead generation. Recent research from Forrester reveals that 89.5% of B2B sales are still completed by a person.
It’s clear that sales representatives continue to be an integral part of the B2B sales process; successful ABM requires that they have expert skills and business acumen.
What is Account-Based Marketing And Why Are Businesses Striving to Achieve It?
Hubspot defines ABM as “a highly focused business strategy in which a marketing team treats an individual prospect or customer like its very own market… This practice is typically done by enterprise-level sales organizations, and is most beneficial to business-to-business (B2B) efforts.”
At its core, ABM is a targeted, more personalized approach to sales and marketing than the typical prospecting method of casting a wide net and hoping to catch a lead. The reason this is a priority for many businesses is likely because they have discovered that this approach works.
Digital marketing has become a powerful tool and allows customers to do much of their research and gathering of pertinent information online. The result is the need for a sales process that is better, more focused, and adds value to the customer experience.
How Outsourcing Can Support Account-Based Marketing
Successful account-based marketing requires sales efforts that are targeted and personal. Choosing to outsource B2B sales and lead generation to a team of experts ensures that these two crucial elements are a part of your sales campaign. Here’s why.
Targeted Calling Efforts
An outsourced team is able to focus 100% of their time and effort on targeting the right prospects and making the multiple calls necessary to connect and engage with them.
The intention of an internal sales team might be to focus all energy and efforts on making the necessary calls, but our clients’ experience tells us differently. There are demands and commitments for an internal sales team that inevitably chip away at their time, and the focus on making the calls diminishes.
ABM relies on prospects feeling that they are a top priority; if a rep is being pulled in too many directions, the relationship with a new prospect can suffer and what could have resulted in a quality lead will be left for the competition to scoop up.
Experienced Callers Create Meaningful Interactions
Qualified outsourced teams will provide callers with the necessary sales and business experience to create meaningful interactions that are integral to successful account-based marketing.
The goal of an experienced caller will be to solve customer problems rather than simply promote a product, service, or solution. Experience enables them to engage in a peer-to-peer conversation that helps the prospect reveal business pains and builds necessary trust at the beginning of the sales cycle.
Additionally, an experienced outsourced caller will take the time to understand the industry of the prospect they are calling, and can personalize the message – i.e. “I’m calling you because we have helped other businesses in your industry with this solution, and I think it might be helpful for you too.”
With permission, they can also name those businesses or companies that are successfully using the solution or product. This creates a meaningful interaction because it is personal, helpful, and provides credibility.
Account-based marketing is successful because it is targeted and personal. You cannot make targeted, personalized sales work with inexperienced callers relying on a script.
Outsourced B2B Sales and Account-Based Marketing
Account-based marketing depends on quality calls made by experienced representatives with complex sales experience, something we have always believed to be the cornerstone of successful B2B sales.
If you don’t have an internal sales team that can support these types of efforts, outsourcing to the experts can help you move closer to achieving your goals.
John
