STATE OF ACCOUNT-BASED SALES DEVELOPMENT REPORT HOW DIGITAL AND SOCIAL ACCELERATE ABSD

Transcription

1 STATE OF ACCOUNT-BASED SALES HOW DIGITAL AND SOCIAL ACCELERATE ABSD

2 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 WELCOME 4 SURVEY STATISTICS 7 SECTION 1: OUTCOMES & SATISFACTION 9 SECTION 2: SOCIAL AT THE CORE OF MODERN ABSD 13 SECTION 3: TOP CHANNELS & TOOLS 17 GET STARTED WITH ABSD AND SOCIAL 21 2

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY DESPITE INDUSTRY AND COMPANY SIZE, THE RESULTS OF ABSD ARE SIMILAR: Beyond traditional tactics, social is the most employed channel for ABSD. Companies with no formal programs are not satisfied with the effectiveness of their ABSD efforts. Companies with formal programs in place are more inclined to invest in ABSD in the next 12 months. TOP 3 REASONS FOR DEPLOYING ABSD STRATEGIES AND TACTICS: TOP 3 OUTCOMES EXPERIENCED WITH ABSD STRATEGIES AND TACTICS: Higher quality leads Increased pipeline Increased revenue / bookings Increased revenue Increased pipeline Higher quality leads 3

4 WELCOME The industry is starting to realize that Account Based strategies are not about just marketing. Marketing is typically responsible for orchestrating interactions at every stage of the customer journey, but the entire company including Sales and Customer Success is involved in interacting with target accounts. That s why we think Account Based Marketing (ABM) is too limited a name, and it s why instead we use the term Account Based Sales Development (ABSD). It s not a one-off tactic, it s not a single-department strategy, and it s not a technology category. Account Based Sales Development is a business strategy that must be embraced by the entire organization. However, all this is easier said than done. To succeed, you must put in place the foundation for account-based sales development success. Most companies are bought into the concept of ABSD, but have a tough time defining what it means for them and how to implement it. That s why we ve surveyed hundreds of companies of all shapes and sizes, distilled our findings, and packaged them up in this State of ABSD Report. Jamie Shanks CEO, Sales for Life Jon Miller CEO, Engagio If you want to find big returns on your ABSD efforts, you must embrace this mindset. It s a way of running your revenue team like a machine. The focus moves from leads to accounts. The silos break down. Your team rallies around the customer. This is for teams looking to get up and running with basic ABSD as well as for teams who need to take their efforts to the next level. We go far beyond the basics of account selection and sending s. We dive into orchestrating highly relevant plays leveraging multiple channels across multiple departments. That s how you win with ABSD. 4

5 SURVEY STATISTICS DEPARTMENT CLASSIFICATION 30.78% Sales (Account Executives, Account Managers) 22.20% Marketing 18.10% Sales (Development) 16.60% Executive (CEOs, Founders, Owners) 7.65% Sales Enablement / Sales Operations 4.67% Other ROLE CLASSIFICATION 26.12% Manager 22.76% Director 21.08% Individual Contributor 16.23% C-Level 13.80% VP / SVP HIGHLIGHTS Sales for Life and Engagio surveyed 536 individuals online. Of them, 31% identified as sales leadership (Account Executives, Account Managers) and 72% belonged to small companies (250 employees or less). The majority (65%) resided in the United States of America, and 21% and 17% were part of the software and IT Services, respectively. 5

6 SURVEY STATISTICS SIZE OF COMPANY (BY EMPLOYEES) (Small) 71.75% (Medium) 10.40% (Major) 11.90% (Enterprise) 5.95% WHO DOES YOUR COMPANY SELL TO?* Business to Business 93.28% *Multiple responses permitted Consumers 13.62% Non-profit / Government 11.75% 6

7 SURVEY STATISTICS 50% INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION 40% 30% 21.27% 17.72% 20% 14.37% 9.14% 6.90% 6.16% 3.54% 3.17% 2.80% 2.61% 2.61% 2.61% 2.43% 1.87% 1.12% 0.97% 0.37% 0.37% Sports and Recreation Research Security Staffing and Recruitment Consumer Products Telecommunications Ecommerce Financial Services Travel and Tourism Education Media and Publishing Healthcare and Medical Industrial and Manufacturing Marketing Agencies Other Consulting / Professional Information Technology Software 7

8 DIVING DEEPER INTO ACCOUNT BASED SALES DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL SELLING READ NOW ENHANCING ACCOUNT BASED SALES DEVELOPMENT WITH SOCIAL STRATEGIES A Comprehensive Overview for Sales Leaders READ NOW THE CLEAR & COMPLETE GUIDE TO ACCOUNT-BASED SALES DEVELOPMENT Your guide to smart prospecting in an Account Based Everything World 8

9 OUTCOMES & SATISFACTION 9

10 OUTCOMES & SATISFACTION TOP THREE OUTCOMES FROM ABSD* TOP THREE REASONS FOR USING ABSD* *Multiple responses permitted *Multiple responses permitted 1. Increased revenue 6 1. Higher quality leads Increased pipeline 6 2. Increased pipeline 9 3. Higher quality leads 6 3. Increased revenue 9 4. Increased conversion rates 5 4. Better engagement with target accounts 9 5. Shorter sales cycles 5 5. More efficient demand creation 9 6. Higher volume of leads 5 6. Increased conversion rates 8 7. Reduced customer acquisition cost 4 7. Better identification of target accounts More cross-sell or upsell demand 8 9. Tighter sales and marketing alignment Support for change in sales strategy Improved customer relationships 6 Respondents were asked to rank the top three reasons for deploying ABSD strategies and tactics, as well as the outcomes they have experienced. These results are a weighted average of the entire sample. 12. Improved customer engagement

11 OUTCOMES & SATISFACTION The majority of companies with full ABSD programs in place rated their satisfaction extremely or fairly higher by 54% than those who didn t have formal ABSD programs in place. SATISFACTION WITH ABSD EFFORTS (Full Sample) 40.89% 31.97% 21.19% 5.95% Individuals who had their account-based sales development program in place for more than a year were significantly more satisfied, ranking 23% more fairly satisfied and 15% more extremely satisfied than the entire sample. Conversely, those who only experimented with ABSD but did not have a formal program in place rated themselves 12% less fairly satisfied and 3% less extremely satisfied than the entire sample. ABSD programs take time to implement, execute and measure. Those who invest in the long-term are able to see value more clearly, evident by the high satisfaction rates, than those who haven t initiated a formal program beyond random acts of account-based sales development. SATISFACTION WITH ABSD EFFORTS (Full Program In Place For More Than One Year) SATISFACTION WITH ABSD EFFORTS (Some Individuals Experimenting But No Formal Program In Place) 55.36% 48.24% 21.43% 29.02% 16.07% 20.39% 7.14% 2.35% Extremely satisfied Fairly satisfied Somewhat satisfied Not satisfied 11

12 OUTCOMES & SATISFACTION We asked respondents if they were planning to invest in tools, technology or services for ABSD tactics or strategies in the next 12 months. ABSD tactics or strategies include sales and/or marketing initiatives. INVESTMENT IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS (Full Sample) 37.92% 14.12% 47.96% Those who have a pilot or full program in place are more certain about their investment, while the entire sample s uncertainty could be for various reasons outside the scope of this survey such as lack of budget, lack of buy-in or lack of ROI from scattered efforts among the team. INVESTMENT IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS (Pilot or Full Program In Place) 46.67% 38.33% 15.00% Yes No I m not sure 12

13 SOCIAL AT THE CORE OF MODERN ABSD 13

14 SOCIAL AT THE CORE OF MODERN ABSD WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF YOUR ABSD EFFORTS? Some individuals have begun experimenting but we don t have a formal program in place % Pilot or test program in place for less than six months % Full program (i.e. not a test or pilot program) in place for more than one year % Account based sales development is a strategy to orchestrate personalized marketing, sales and success efforts to land and expand named accounts. ABSD efforts are cross-departmental, encompassing both sales and marketing. Full program in place for less one year. 9.51% We don t have a program in place. 7.84% The majority of respondents (47%) identified the extent of their account-based sales development efforts as some individuals have begun experimenting but we do not have a formal program in place. Pilot or test program in place for more than six months. 6.34% 14

15 SOCIAL AT THE CORE OF MODERN ABSD TOP ABM METHOD 38.29% 34.20% 33.46% 27.32% 26.39% 15.99% 2.60% (select all that apply) Named account ABM We re doing very little to none ABM Vertical (industry) account ABM Segment (e.g role based) account ABM Largeaccount ABM Customer lifecycle segmented ABM Other TOP ABSD METHOD 48.23% 37.24% 33.46% 30.35% 25.33% 16.95% 2.79% (select all that apply) Named ABSD Vertical (industry) ABSD Large-ABSD Segment (e.g role based) ABSD We re doing very little to none ABSD Customer lifecycle segmented ABSD Other Which type of account-based sales development tactics and strategies are companies using today? 48% identified named account sales development as their primary method, while 37% identified vertical account sales development as the primary method. These two methods are not mutually exclusive; respondents checked all options that applied. In terms of accounts, teams seem to be aligned on their ABSD and ABM efforts. 15

16 SOCIAL AT THE CORE OF MODERN ABSD WHAT IS THE CURRENT ROLE SOCIAL PLAYS IN YOUR ABSD PROGRAM? We don t have an ABSD program in place % Crucial. Social strategies are at the core of ABSD % Not at all. We don t need social for ABSD. 8.36% Not very. Social strategies aren t very useful to ABSD % Fairly. Social strategies inform many integral processes, but are not crucial % Somewhat. Social strategies are a useful add-on to ABSD % Modern buyers are digitally driven and socially connected. Clearly, respondents recognized that, reinforcing how social strategies play an essential role their ABSD efforts. The majority of respondents (64%) think social strategies and tactics are essential, integral or a useful addition to their account-based sales development plays. 16

17 TOP CHANNELS AND TOOLS 17

18 TOP CHANNELS AND TOOLS RANK YOUR TOP THREE CHANNELS IN TERMS OF EFFECTIVENESS FOR YOUR ABSD EFFORTS 1 1 Numbers are given out of 10 Phone Beyond traditional tactics, social is the most employed channel for ABSD. 2 2 A combination of everything mentioned Social Strategies It was a close call between and the phone, however barely came out on top among the top three channels for ABSD as a weighted average. It was also a close tie between a combination of all the channels and social strategies. However, as a weighted average, respondents ranked social as slightly more effective Advertising Direct Mail Voic 18

19 TOP CHANNELS AND TOOLS RANK YOUR TOP THREE TOOLS YOU CONSIDER ESSENTIAL FOR YOUR ABSD EFFORTS Sales Intelligence CRM Lead Sourcing Outbound Sales Platform Marketing Automation Digital Marketing Scheduling Conferencing A modern sales professional s toolkit plays a vital role in success. Account-based reps consider a variety of digital tools essential to their success. Not surprisingly, CRM (Salesforce, SugarCRM, HubSpot, etc.) was ranked as the most effective. In second was sales intelligence tools (Sales Navigator, Datanyze, etc.) and in third, lead sourcing tools (Zoom Info, Lead411, etc.)

20 LAST LOOK KEYS TO SUCCESS FOR COMPANIES LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT ABSD PROGRAMS 1. Social And Digital At The Core of Modern ABSD To succeed, companies must lay the foundation for ABSD success. That means integrating social and digital strategies into already existing traditional methodologies. Most respondents agreed that social strategies are either essential, integral or highly complimentary to ABSD plays. 2. Implement Full Programs To See Results Like any formal initiative, appropriate implementation, execution and support leads to greater results and increased satisfaction overall. The majority of companies with full ABSD programs in place said they were 54% more extremely or fairly satisfied than those who just did random acts of ABSD. If companies want to take their account-based plays to the next level, they need to make the investment. 3. Programs Lead To Greater Certainty In Future Investment Pilot or test programs are worth the investment. Companies with these programs in place are more inclined to further invest in ABSD. They were on average 10% more certain about their investment in the tools, technology and services for ABSD in the next 12 months. 20

21 GET STARTED WITH ABSD AND SOCIAL Sales for Life is known as the global leader in building, scaling and managing social selling programs. We have built social selling programs for over 300 clients in nearly every industry, ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations. Learn how digital and social can help you or your sales team accelerate their ABSD efforts. Enable them to break into new accounts and expand existing ones with digital tactics. Engagio s account-based platform complements existing CRM solutions like Salesforce and marketing automation software like Marketo with account-centric analytics and the ability to orchestrate outbound interactions across departments and channels. Engagio customers are leading the way in Account Based Marketing and Account Based Sales Development. CHAT WITH OUR EXPERTS REGISTER FOR A DEMO 21