Spoiler Alert: It’s a process!!! (Please, don’t punch me…)
Seriously, all my clients hate it when I say this.
They all wanted their leads yesterday even though some don’t even have the basic sales and marketing infrastructure in place.
Then, they pepper me with urgent emails, phone calls, zoom meetings, now, Now, NOW!
Listen, I get it.
AND OF COURSE, the point of all sales and marketing is to produce leads.
But this process is a two-way street. We need to work together to bring both sides, marketing AND the sales, into alignment. They need to be in sync.
As I’ve said before, marketing without sales is like having a gorgeous car with no gas.
For all of you MSPs, SaaS companies and IT services firms out there, you need to focus on these five things to make sure your sales and marketing is ready to take on 2022.
- YOU need to work on developing AND maintaining a growth mindset.
- YOU need to be completely honest and transparent about your sales process with your marketing agency/partner.
- YOU must invest in High Value Content (HVC).
- YOU must invest in video.
- YOU must revamp your social media strategy.
Want to learn how?
Commit to a Growth Mindset
Dr. Carol Dweck is a ninja when it comes to mindset research and the psychology of the mind.
She explains the power of a growth mindset in her TED Talk that garnered over 13 MILLION views.
You don’t want to miss this, so go grab a cup of coffee and come back after you watch it.
However, if you have only 2 seconds to spend on this today, then here’s what you need to know: Everything can be summed up in asking yourself, are you a “now” (fixed mindset) thinker or a “yet” (growth mindset) thinker?
If you’re looking for the science that drives growth mindset and take an assessment, click here.
Sales & Marketing Alignment: Hello “smarketing”
Remember the sports car with the empty case tank problem analogy?
Well, here it is again. Developing marketing materials without an effective sales process is like trying to get somewhere when your car is running on empty. It’s just not going to work.
What does sales and marketing alignment mean anyway?
I’m glad you asked.
Overall, it means helping the sales and marketing teams to stay better connected and sharing information, content and insights back and forth.
HubSpot outlines a series of best practices in this article. Here are the ones that really stood out.
- Have the marketing and sales teams meet regularly. It sounds obvious, but this ensures that they’re sharing relevant information back and forth.
- Develop and share a content creation process with the sales team. Ask them for their ideas on how to best gather and use the knowledge and insight they’re gleaning from prospects.
- Brainstorm regularly with the sales team to outline what types of content they’d like to share with prospects.
- Write blog and social media posts for the Sales team using their name. Get their insights on the topic and write it. Since they’ll be interacting one-on-one with prospects, this helps build their credibility and trustworthiness.
High Value Content or Bust
High Value Content gives your prospects a major takeaway that entices them to WANT to do business with your IT services firm.
They learned something they never knew before. They were challenged to think in new and better ways. They now know they have a problem, what to call it, and what the available solutions are.
Whatever your content is, you gave your audience a leg up in a way that made their hour, day, or life better. You SOLVED a problem that was weighing them down. AND you gave it to them for practically nothing.
The only catch is that to get this free, high value, life-changing content, they must give you their name and email, which in the big scheme of things costs them nothing. In fact, by reading your content, they actually gained something. You’re the one in the red. (Not really, but you get my drift.)
High Value Content is an eBook, white paper, checklist, tool, video, research paper, report, or what have you that you offer for FREE. This piece of copy doesn’t even try to sell them your products or services. It only requires that they give you their email. That’s it. The whole point is to get that email so that you can then continue to “drip” more content on them in the form of emails or videos over time. This is called nurturing your lead and helps transform leads into conversions.
The Value of Video
From a practical perspective, it’s one of the fastest and easiest forms of communication. It’s also VERY popular.
According to HubSpot, “87% of video marketers reported that video gives them a positive ROI — a world away from the lowly 33% who felt that way in 2015.”
Yes, video takes more time and costs more money, but you’ll definitely get return on your ROI.
Revamp your Social Media Strategy or Else
Despite the unsettling Facebook in-house research revelations by whistleblower, Frances Haugen, social media is still important for businesses. However, the social game is changing.
Here’s what you need to know for 2022:
- Post less frequently.
- Post MUCH higher quality content.
- Better copywriting.
- More humor.
- Post only on FB, LI, and GMB.
Why Sabri Subry’s Sell Like Crazy process is Pure Genius (and delivers the best Sales & Marketing in 2022)
OKAY. So, Subry is a GOD (his marketing agency is called KING KONG for gods sakes).
His entire process is based on human buying psychology. Think of the StoryBrand process as high-level, 100,000 foot view. StoryBrand is a seven-step framework to creating a compelling message, but Sell Like Crazy takes you down to 10,000 feet and shows you how to execute this clear messaging so that buyers are pounding down your doors to hire your IT firm.
- His Sell Like Crazy process is built off 10 years of experience trying things out, failing, and getting back up again and again. He never gives up.
- He went from earning $2.50 to starting his own $30 million digital marketing empire, (while still showing up as a dad to 2 girls). He focuses on what matters.
- He focuses on solving other people’s problems. He cares about leaving people better than he found them.
- He gets up at 4am to run. He’s disciplined.
- He created, the “Godfather Offer,” and named it “Godfather.” He’s a badass.
- He’s generated $400+ million in sales for him and his clients. He’s a badass.
- He used to make 100 cold calls a DAY. He’s a badass.
Lastly, here’s how we’ll help you accomplish your next big goal with our marketing chops in 2022:
- MORE High Value Content
- MORE Sales & Marketing Alignment
- MORE Video
- AND implementing the 8- Step Sell Like Crazy process
- Understand and Identify Your Dream Buyer.
- Create the Perfect Bait for Your Dream Buyer.
- Capture Leads and get Contact Details.
- The Godfather Strategy: Make them an offer they CAN’T refuse.
- Traffic.
- The Magic Lantern Technique: guide your prospects down a metaphorical path to their desired end state.
- Sales Conversion.
- Automate And Multiply.
If you’re curious and want more info on this process NOW, here’s the abridged version of the book (you’re welcome). Otherwise, stay tuned for more blogs covering Subry’s process.
If you want to learn how to DOMINATE in your sales and marketing results in 2022, then I want YOU to schedule a 30-minute free consult by contacting me here.
Let’s discuss how to change the trajectory of your business together so you can tackle your next BIG thing.
Based in Minneapolis, MN, and Fargo, ND.