Innovative Tactics for Effective B2B Marketing and Sales with Camela Thompson, #232

Subscribe to Modern Selling on the app of your choice!

B2B marketing and sales can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be that way. By understanding the friction between these two departments and taking innovative approaches to sales enablement, sales engineering, and data analytics, companies can grow their business and achieve their goals. In this Modern Selling Podcast episode, we will explore some tactics for effective B2B marketing and sales.

In this episode I, your host and CEO & founder of Vengreso, and co creator of FlyMSG.io,  sit down with the amazing Camela Thompson to explore Innovative Tactics for Effective B2B Marketing and Sales.

Camela is an expert in sales and marketing strategy with over 20 years of experience. She shares her insights with me on how to stand out in a crowded market and connect with your ideal customers. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting out, you’ll learn actionable tactics that you can implement right away to drive more leads, close more deals, and grow your business.

So sit back, relax, and get ready to take your sales and marketing game to the next level!

Why is there so much friction between Marketing and Sales?

Camela believes that the heart of the friction between marketing and sales when it comes to B2B is a mix of psychological and practical factors. While both departments are working towards the same goal of generating revenue, they often have different goals and approaches. Sales is focused on short-term plays to achieve quota, while marketing is focused on long-term plays to create brand awareness and generate leads.

Traditionally, B2B has been a sales-lead growth model, relying on brute force to reach out to potential customers, you can read more about this in our B2B sales guide. However, customers today want a more self-approach, where they can discover and learn about products on their own. This approach is known as product-led growth, and it requires a different mindset and approach from traditional sales-lead growth.

One of the biggest challenges in B2B marketing, according to Camela, is attribution. While digital marketing allows for trackable data, there is no one item that can be attributed to a sale. Instead, it’s a culmination of many things that a company does. Bringing in traffic is one thing, but measuring actual conversions can be difficult due to the many ways it can be done. Sales leaders are often linear thinkers, but marketing is more about the big picture and word of mouth.

Marketing also struggles with KPIs because of the messy buyer journeys in B2B. Comparing tools and productivity with actual results and timelines can be challenging. Marketers need to be comfortable with ambiguity and focus less on initiatives and certifications about data.

Sales and Marketing

When asked about the relationship between sales and marketing, Camela says that it is crucial for the success of a company. Both departments must hold each other accountable for their actions, and communication is key. Sales must pay attention to pipelines and bookings, while marketing must focus on conversion rates and what’s working at each stage of the sales process.

One way to improve the relationship between sales and marketing is to collaborate in the sales process. Marketers can listen to recordings and understand objections from clients, which can help them create better content and messaging. Empathy is also essential, as short-term tactics and long-term plays must work together for success.

Another challenge in the relationship between sales and marketing, Camela notes, is that marketers’ pay is often misaligned with their contributions to revenue. Companies must find ways to incentivize marketers for their contribution to the bottom line.

Watch the video version for this episode, directly below 👇

How can Marketing prepare for a Board Meeting?

Preparing for a board meeting in a down quarter can be stressful, but it’s essential to show trends from quarter to quarter, Camela adds. Reporting on engagement, lead volume, pipeline, and bookings can help companies understand where they need to improve and what’s working well.

How do Revenue Enablement and Sales Enablement fit into all of this?

Revenue enablement and sales enablement are also critical to bringing all teams together. By aligning sales, marketing, and customer success around a common framework, companies can improve their revenue performance and drive growth.

In conclusion, B2B marketing and sales are challenging, but by understanding the friction between departments and taking innovative approaches to sales enablement, data analytics, and product development, companies can achieve their goals and drive growth. Effective communication, collaboration, and empathy are key to success.

This episode of the Modern Selling Podcast is brought to you by Korn Ferry. Korn Ferry transforms sales teams using their world-class Miller Heiman, methodology, employee assessments, benchmarking and talent advisor capabilities to increase win rates and quota attainment. Korn Ferry offers Korn Ferry Sell, a sales effectiveness app available in App Exchange and app source that helps your sales team develop and replicate powerful sales strategies that help sellers win more deals and crush their quotas.  Learn more at kornferry.com/saleseffectiveness.

Send DataSend Data