Case study: best practices in account-based marketing
Earlier this year, a Fortune 100 company presented us with a challenge: deliver in-depth profiles 100 customer executives across 10 accounts that would help them do three things: develop closer executive-to-executive relationships, uncover new sales triggers with key accounts, and create more targeted and engaging marketing programs.
Account teams were skeptical at first. How, they asked, could Boardroom Insiders possibly tell them something they did not know about their own accounts? The results were surprising. By profiling multiple executives in-depth, Boardroom Insiders helped account teams get a more holistic view of their accounts’ major initiatives, many of which aligned well with what they were selling. They also gained insight into the multiple players who were influencing the decision making process. Insight into personal interests and affiliations also caused them to rethink their executive sponsorship strategy. For example, accounts with a high concentration of ex-military officers should be sponsored by an executive with a strong military or government background. Likewise, they started to look at common employment history and strong connections to alma maters when assigning executive sponsors. Now the company is looking at how it can leverage personal interests–such as an affinity for golf, tennis, aviation or other sports–to create networking events that will appeal to their target audiences.
Every day, more enterprise sales organizations are seeing the benefit of using Boardroom Insiders as their “secret weapon” to shorten the sales cycle with must-win accounts. If you are interested in starting an account-based marketing program, leave the research to us. To learn more, contact Boardroom Insiders today.
Posted September 7th, 2010 in- Uncategorized
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New IBM CEO Study
On site at SapphireNow, I was briefed today on a brand new CEO study from IBM. The company interviewed more than 1500 CEOs worldwide. Among the key learnings: CEOs say creativity is the most important quality they look for in leaders; companies that enjoy long-term success have done so by turning complexity into financial advantage; success also comes from co-creating products and services with customers. PLUS one key quote from the executive summary is very relevant to our ongoing discussion about executive engagement: “In a massively interconnected world, CEOs prioritize customer intimacy as never before. Globalization, combined with dramatic increases in the availability of information has exponentially expanded customers’ options.” Access the full report here.
Posted May 18th, 2010 inParticipate in our new study
Who are the most innovative and transformational CXOs–and why? What are some characteristics of a transformational corporate leader? If you have any opinions on this topic, we would love to hear from you. We are working on an ongoing series on executive leadership and will be sharing the results with our community. To give your input on this topic, please email me at sharon@boardroominsiders.com.
Posted March 18th, 2010 inJoin “Discussions About CXO Engagement”
Join the Boardroom Insiders LinkedIn Group and see what your peers have to say about reaching executive decision makers.
Posted March 18th, 2010 inIndustry Gems: Great B2B Sales Resource
I had coffee with Silvia Quintanilla last week. She is a seasoned sales pro and an expert when it comes to identifying “triggers” at Fortune 500 companies that present opportunities for vendors of all kinds. She creates amazingly concise, yet in-depth company reports that are completely customized for her clients. Of course she does not do this for free–but what you can get for free is her monthly newsletter highlighting current sales triggers at Fortune 500 companies. As you know, timing and relevance are everything when it comes to making a sale. Industry Gems’ monthly report is a great way to keep up to date on these opportunities.
Posted February 16th, 2010 inMarc Benioff on “Connecting the Dots”
I have been enjoying Marc Benioff’s book, Behind the Cloud, which Santa left for me under the tree last month. Benioff is the CEO and Founder of Salesforce.com. Of particular interest to those of us in the business of CXO strategy, is a story he tells on pp. 92-93, called “Connect the Dots:”
“Don’t dial for dollars! Never cold-call; always call with a plan. Learn about the company and use your network to find the right individual(s) to approach. Our sales team uses our network the same way people use the business networking Web site LinkedIn, constantly reaching out to our contacts (our executive team and board of directors) to find connections. With the reach of our executives, customers and partners, it is almost impossible not to be able somehow to connect the dots before engaging with a prospect. When we were trying to win lender CIT as a customer, for example, we realized that Gary Butler, the CEO of ADP, a customer of ours, was on the board of CIT. I reached out to Gary, who recommended us to CIT. The first meeting we had at CIT was with its CEO and chairman, Jeffrey Peek. By connecting the dots, we won the unlikely opportunity to get to the “C” level on an initial sales call. This ultimately resulted in a multithousand-user deal and an extremely short sales cycle.”
This is what we have been preaching for years! We can help you pull together the information you need about your prospects and customers, so you can take a similar approach. And if you haven’t checked out Behind the Cloud, you should. It’s a great read for entrepreneurs and salespeople.
Happy New Year,
Sharon Gillenwater
Founder, Boardroom Insiders
sharon@boardroominsiders.com
Posted January 11th, 2010 inLearn from the expert on selling to big companies
I have been following sales guru, author and speaker Jill Konrath for quite some time, and have used her advice and resources to help break into big enterprise accounts. If you are in the position of selling to big companies, check out her website and learn why Fortune calls her book, Selling to Big Companies, a “must read” for salespeople. Jill’s email newsletter is also a great resource and she is offering a free sales call planning guide to subscribers.
Posted December 16th, 2009 inWebinar Recording Now Available
On Nov. 3rd, Boardroom Insiders founder Sharon Gillenwater was the guest speaker at a Netprospex webinar on Best Practices in CXO Marketing. You can access a recording of the webinar here.
Posted November 3rd, 2009 inFree Webinar on CXO Marketing
Join NetProspex and Sharon Gillenwater, founder of Boardroom Insiders, as she shares best practices on targeting senior enterprise executives and increasing the effectiveness of account-based marketing efforts. You will learn:
- What CXOs expect from vendors who want their business
- How to ‘move the needle’ with executive-level customers and prospects
- How to customize communications and programs for individual CXOs
- How other companies have successfully reached and engaged CXOs
Don’t miss this opportunity to learn tips and best practices for targeting, connecting, and achieving success with senior enterprise executives.
Register for November 3rd webinar at 9:30 PDT
Register for November 4th webinar at 9:30 PDT
All attendees will receive a free one-month subscription to Boardroom Insiders.
Posted October 23rd, 2009 inJoin our LinkedIn Group about CXO engagement
There are plenty of forums out there about general sales and marketing–but I haven’t yet found a good one that focuses on the special challenge of selling and marketing to senior executives and CXOs. So I started a new forum on LinkedIn on just this topic. It is sponsored and moderated by Boardroom Insiders, but you don’t have to be a customer to join–everyone is welcome! Appropriate questions and discussion topics include:
- research on CXO careabouts
- how to increase the effectiveness of account-based marketing efforts
- what CXOs expect from vendors who want their business
- best practices in CXO engagement
- how to “move the needle” with executive-level customers and prospects
- how to customize marketing communications and programs for individual CXOs
- how other companies have successfully reached and engaged CXOs
- how to pitch new ideas to CXOs within your own organization
To join, just go to LinkedIn, click on “Groups Directory” and search for: “Boardroom Insiders”
Look forward to seeing you there!
Sharon
Posted August 17th, 2009 in
