Winning Isn't Tidy
This is an interview I did with our Marketing partner Inverta. If you like what you read please do sign up for an Account Based Revenue webinar we are doing together on June 8th - link at the bottom of this post.
I got a chance to catch up with Trish Bertuzzi, a fellow Massachusetts native and renowned sales development expert. Trish’s book, The Sales Development Playbook, is the bible for high performing SDR organizations. Trish’s practical advice, zero tolerance for BS, and sterling reputation has amassed a substantive cult following on both Twitter and LinkedIn, and she spends her days dolling out tough love to organizations who want more productive sales development and inside sales teams.
[Ashley] How has the popularity and of account-based marketing, or what you refer to as “Account-based Revenue” changed the types of questions you are getting asked by your clients?
[Trish] My introduction of the term “ABR” was very intentional. I wanted to move the conversation away from account based marketing. We were talking silo city with that term. I wanted our clients to understand that to execute an account based strategy not only does marketing have to change what they do but sales has to change the way they sell too. I think bringing term Revenue into the conversation accomplishes that task.
What got me thinking about this was hearing less of “How do I get more productivity out of my teams?” and more “I can’t get the market to respond to me anymore. What has happened?”
I will tell you what has happened: organizations are realizing that they’ve bored the ever-loving crap out of their buyers with banal messaging and vapid emails so much so that their buyers have put up a wall.
So, it’s not always the team itself that is the problem. I’m seeing more that the process and message is the problem. Organizations know they need to change but they often don’t know where to begin.
[Ashley] Circling back to the term “Account-based Revenue.” How did you come up with that term and why did you feel there was a need for that term?
[Trish] Well, I’m a sales person at heart, right? I’m a sales development rep and I’m an inside sales person – no two ways about it. So-my-focus-is-and-always-will-be: REVENUE.
When I heard people talking about account-based marketing, or account-based everything, or account-based sales development I thought, “Okay, well those words are … interesting. But if all paths don’t lead to revenue, it doesn’t matter what type of account-based strategy you execute.”
So by naming it Account-based Revenue – it puts the visual picture of dollar signs in everybody’s head, and so every conversation needs to lead there.
[Ashley] You’ve obviously worked with lots of organizations trying to get this ABR strategy off the ground. What would you say are some of the most common pitfalls?
[Trish] The first pitfall is thinking that it’s a silver bullet for every single company out there. It’s not. Much as I love ABR, not everybody needs it.
You have to sit back and look at your market. If you’re selling to the SMB, you don’t need an account based strategy. Just do a fabulous job of getting more interesting and relevant with your buyers, and that’s going to uptick your productivity.
If you’re selling to the mid-market, and you’re selling a commodity product or a well-understood product or a product with a lower price point – you don’t need ABR. Just get smarter about what you’re doing.
But if you’re selling to the enterprise, and your deal size is over 50K (that’s an arbitrary number that I selected), or you have a complex solution – you might want to consider ABR. Having said that, I’m seeing a lot of companies that need multiple strategies – because these companies sell into all of those markets! So you may need a traditional demand generation strategy AND you need an ABR strategy.
But because ABR is a buzz word, everybody is picking up all their eggs and putting them in that one basket because it’s nice and tidy.
Well guess what: winning isn’t tidy. Winning is hard so we all need to be smart about our unique market requirements.
Well said!
Sales Development Representative at Tenfold
7 年Winning truly isn't tidy. It takes a lot of hurdles to overcome a sale. Companies are all geared towards increasing their revenue and I think this is the reason why they are discovering different strategies to address unique requirements. ABR seems to be an exciting new topic that may be heard more in the sales world. Great article, Trish!
Marketplace Enablement | ISV Secret Weapon | Cloud Innovation | Software Development | MSP Marketplaces
7 年Well said, Trish! I think most people don't really understand what ABR is the way that you talk about it, though. They seem to think it's the same old - call on a bunch of people in the organizations they want to do business with - strategy. And, it is messy! ABR seems to require an entire culture shift. Can't wait to hear more as you explore this emerging topic. And, if it doesn't lead to revenue, then why bother?
CEO / Co-Founder @ ABL Technology Group |GTM Consulting
7 年ABM has been part of the strategic toolbox in Enterprise sales since I was selling into Global F500 in the 80's. I am still at a loss as to why people think this is new? I think sales leaders should start teaching up and comers that business won't come to you, that no matter how great your technology solution or product if it's not solving a problem, making an improving, saving money or is not a priority to the organization, you are not going to sell it! Very simple and very good advice if you want to sell,.My first multi-million dollar sale was hard and it changed the way I saw sales as a profession. Never take anything for granted, the human element is essential, if everyone is writing emails, write a letter and a letter. Learn from those who have achieved in the profession, not those who crowned themselves experts. You are not an expert at 26, no matter what you think. Sales is not about Winning, it's about helping your customer win!