Email threads, phone calls, meetings after meetings, toss in the ever evolving digital landscape and you’ve got the basic hurdles sales teams now face daily. Productivity strategies change like the wind in the effort to help sales teams get the right information they need to close bigger deals faster. After all, time is money.
This is where account-based marketing (ABM) throws revenue teams a life jacket. ABM can help sellers increase productivity and lighten the load through automation. At RollWorks, we’ve created (and implemented) a series of use cases that can help revenue team leads support their sales reps AND get results. We’re here to spill our best-kept secrets.
ABM gives sellers what they need the most: Time.
How much is your productivity worth? The average sales rep spends nearly 65% of their time on non-revenue generating activities. For this reason alone, the time-saving power of an ABM strategy should be a top priority for every sales leader (and their teams, too).
Account-based marketing puts sales teams on track to close high-value accounts—and fast! The alignment ABM brings between marketing and sales results in clearer targets and bigger deals. And how are teams doing this? With predictive account modeling supported by companies that show intent and engagement. Here are just a few other reasons why leveraging account-based marketing is a must for sellers:
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Easier territory planning and account prioritization
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Increased opportunity quality and sales velocity
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Close bigger deal sizes to deliver higher ROI
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Better alignment between marketing and sales teams
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More effective use of GTM resources
*Need stats to show your leadership team to make a case for ABM? Check out our Forrester Report collaboration with all the numbers on revenue growth & buyer engagement.
5 ways to drive sales productivity & revenue growth
It’s clear why ABM is a go-to for sales, but how exactly does ABM drive revenue? Here are 5 ways to drive sales to ultimate levels of productivity with RollWorks in your revenue tech stack.
Play #1: Find right accounts
I’m not sure who needs to hear this but, “Stop wasting time on accounts that are not a fit for your product!” should be your team’s rallying cry. Yes, ABM empowers sellers to get in front of more new business, but the worst thing you can do is close a deal that will end up churning a year. Stay hyper-focused on best-fit (targeted) accounts. When it comes to expanding into a new market or geography, capacity planning is no longer a guessing game. Stakeholders can confidently allocate out how many (and what grade) target accounts should be assigned to each seller.
What you can do:
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Go from large unmanageable target account lists, to lists that are assigned and owned to the right sellers for the best chance to close.
How you do it:
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Account planning and segmentation with RollWorks Machine Learning and Data.
*Score your TAL with a predictive model. Segment and separate your TAL based fit-grade attributes.
Impact:
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On average, ABM strategies result in a 13% lift in pipeline when compared to a non-account based approach.
Play #2: Give the right support
Just as teammates support each other on court or field (you pick the sport) the same goes for how marketing efforts can support sales teams. In an ABM setting, this kind of support translates to brand and product awareness through digital advertising. eMarketer reports that global digital advertising spend is projected to reach as high as $270 billion by 2023—and for good reason. But we aren’t talking just general brand awareness, this is also throughout the full-funnel geared toward the best fit accounts while sellers have coordinated outreach.
What you can do:
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Build brand awareness with RollWorks air-cover digital ads prior and during sales outreach.
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Support sales throughout the full lifecycle with Salesforce data syncs by stage.
How you do it:
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Don’t be limited by your marketing automation’s opt-in list. Reach the entire buying committee whether they are in your database or not. Don't forget to modify retargeting campaigns to keep them relevant for accounts that have previously interacted with your ads.
Impact:
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SDR email effectiveness increases when accounts are targeted with digital ads. On average this can result in a 38% increase in open rate and 2.5x increase in response rate.
Play #3: Reach out at the right time
Prioritizing account outreach has historically been a challenge for sales teams. Timing is everything and the window of opportunity is based on account activity. This turns marketing led activities into sales actions. Sales teams get a front row seat into account spike data and engagement details. This will also help your sales teams surface accounts that are in the market and/or have a meaningful connection with your brand ( responding to SDR emails, clicking on ads, visiting your website etc). Understanding these patterns make for timely outreach with your company’s top-of-mind with prospects.
What you can do:
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Get to know which and how many assigned accounts are spiking in website and content engagement.
How you do it:
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Receive and prioritize outreach with sales alert emails from RollWorks Sales Insights
Impact:
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Accounts with an engagement spike are 2x as likely to result in an opportunity when compared to accounts without a spike. *Spiking accounts have an 80% faster time to close compared to accounts that don’t have a spike before the opportunity is open.
Play #4: Reach out with the right messaging
Timing and messaging are a bit of a tag team. Yes, you want to reach out at the right moment, but messaging is the added secret sauce to boosting ROI. Proper messaging helps to not only make every sales conversation count, but also relevant to the buyer. Not to mention, it helps sales and marketing teams identify content that connects with target accounts based on response rates.
What you can do:
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See what content contacts are viewing to add value to every sales conversation.
How you do it:
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View contact level activity on the account record in SFDC and personalize sales messages with contact-level engagement insights from RollWorks.
Impact:
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Personalized messaging increases sales email responses by up to 50%.
Play #5: Track the right metrics
It always comes down to data doesn’t it? That's because going beyond surface level insights gives sellers a direct view, with the help of marketing, on how accounts are moving along specific stages in the sales cycle. As sellers watch this progression they can click into any given account to see (and learn) what exact account activity (email, outreach, ad, etc.) moved the needle. It's learnings like this that create long term strategies that result in closed won opportunities.
What you can do:
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Understand progression drivers that lead to closed opportunities.
How you do it:
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Track account progress with Journey Stages to figure out what’s working and course correct based on data.
Impact:
- On average businesses can expect to see website engagement and opportunity generation increase by 3X.
A template for success
While these steps help sellers to be more productive in their day to day, it’s important to remember that account journeys look different for every organization. Learn how to progress accounts through YOUR unique journey with our D.I.Y. Account Journey Template.
About the Author
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