Better Sales Leads and Conversion Rates in a 360-Degree World

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1 Growth Services Selling Power: Better Sales Leads and Conversion Rates in a 360-Degree World

2 Better Sales Leads and Conversion Rates in a 360-Degree World THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE: A WEALTH OF DATA Today, buyers are actively engaging online to research products, share referrals, and evaluate purchase decisions. They re also highly active on social networks and leaning heavily on mobile devices to consume content, engage brands, and purchase products. These shifts have had an enormous impact on companies, particularly those that operate in highvolume selling environments. Consider the following trends and statistics: Widespread online activity among consumers has left companies with a wealth of data to sift through and mine for selling opportunities. As of 2013, a full 90 percent of the world s data was generated in 2011 and 2012 alone. 1 Because the customers are entering the buying process via many different touch points (e.g., Website interactions, social media channels, call centers, etc.), companies must be equipped with systems, tools, and processes to collect and intelligently leverage data generated by these interactions. The sales cycle as it existed a decade ago no longer exists, as up to 60 percent of the business-to-business (B2B) sales cycle is complete before prospects talk with a sales representative. 2 This means there is more pressure than ever on marketing teams to create a valuable experience for customers before they talk with sales representatives. Every interaction counts, which means that marketers are getting more sophisticated in the ways they use analytics and programmatic media buying. Industry experts say that social and mobile trends are rising in tandem. Mobile is inherently a digital opportunity, say International Data Corporation (IDC) analysts Melissa O Brien and Peter Marston. Marketers work to optimize messaging for mobile devices. In short, the challenge for sales and marketing leaders in this era is to figure out how to effectively bridge the gaps between marketing, sales, and customer care in order to deliver a cohesive customer experience that meets and exceeds the needs and expectations of today s buyer. THE ROLE OF ANALYTICS AND AUTOMATION Analyst firm IDC says analytics is vital to sales in this new digital age. Effective tools must not only gather and report lead, prospect, and customer data, but also interpret the data and enable execution strategies based on this interpretation. Enterprise companies already have many existing processes and systems that reach across sales and customer life cycles. The question becomes how to tie these elements to marketing and salespeople to create a completely automated experience. Automation has usually been regarded by leaders as an ideal way to establish more productive and efficient systems across sales and marketing organizations. In this era of the digitally empowered buyer, however, automation has become a must. Thanks to the sheer volume of data now available from social media, digital Trends in Social and Mobile The rise of social networks continues to have a major influence on the way B2B buyers consume content and establish relationships with brands. According to a recent study from IDG Connect, 86 percent of information technology buyers use social media today in their purchase decision process. 3 Because it is a prime source of customer sentiment, it allows marketers to measure and quantify their brand s effectiveness in the market. IDC says one practical reason sales is leveraging social is pure, old-fashioned cost cutting. Companies are focusing marketing spending on less expensive, more efficient solutions. Social channels such as Facebook and Twitter provide free marketing, and all digital channels offer much better measures of ROI in marketing campaigns. So less money spent more effectively on marketing enables lower pricing always an attraction for customers. 2

3 marketing, and interaction with the mobile devices customers now use, companies absolutely need to find ways to integrate automated systems into their processes (see sidebar, Trends in Social and Mobile ). Absent cutting-edge, intelligent, and comprehensive automation, all the riches available in the digital age would be more likely to swamp and paralyze organizations than to enhance sales effectiveness. For example, O Brien and Marston have noted that customer feedback and comments are rampant on , social networks, short message service (SMS), and other online forums. According to O Brien and Marston, Companies are starting to see the ability to use this data to their advantage but AQ360 SM will typically improve qualified leads by 20 percent, and sales reps conversion rates will improve by a further 20 percent. are struggling with how to handle the volume. Furthermore, this struggle to intelligently handle huge data volumes is taking place while customer expectations are shifting into high gear. Customers now expect companies to meet them on their own terms but want to communicate easily with a company in a cadence that works for them. The customer also expects the company to know about these communications, understand them, and react intelligently to the questions or points made. If a company can do this, it personalizes and dramatically strengthens its relationship with the customer. But if it cannot, all that extra communication may just lead to frustration and dissatisfaction. Customers also expect personalization and seamless interactions when dealing with a company at any point during the life cycle, O Brien and Marston note. Often, those expectations are not met. MEETING THE NEW EXPECTATIONS OF CUSTOMERS Smart enterprise sales and marketing leaders are investing in tools that help them leverage the rich data of the digital age and turn customer interactions into a tight, seamless circle across the organization. We integrate sales and Growing Companies in a Real-Time World TeleTech s Growth Services division is truly real-time. Both marketing focus and sales tactics reflect all the available, up-to-the-moment data, converted to attract the best leads, determine their interest, and convert them to customers. Its tools have been proven and recognized. Indeed, the average user of its digital demand-generation tools enjoys a 30 percent increase in sales volume and 20 percent boost in ROI. For example, the sales and marketing analytics in AQ360 SM have helped various companies achieve the following results: Lifted the conversion rate of a global delivery service company by 30 percent and increased sales 20 percent year over year. Generated $20 million in additional revenue in the pipeline for a multinational computer technology corporation, with more than 90 percent of passed leads accepted by sales. Generated new leads with 30 to 45 percent conversion rates in various markets for a multinational automobile manufacturer. Generated $300 million in additional sales for a multinational corporation specializing in Internet services and offerings. Accolades have followed achievement: Revana, a part of TeleTech s Growth Services division, has been named Sales Outsourcing Provider of the Year for three consecutive years. It is also one of the 25 fastest growing search agencies in the United States. marketing and provide the technology and data to better segment and get better ROI [return on investment], says Michael Behrens, senior vice president of TeleTech s Growth Services division. For example, AQ360 SM enables firms to enhance high-volume, fast-cycle sales by leveraging the mobile and social interactions of customers. The end-to-end solution helps sales teams harness more than 400 data points including more than 300 from marketing, 15 from live sales contacts, and 150 from sales operations and makes sure sellers and marketers have easy access to intelligence from digital sales interactions, marketing automation, lead nurturing data, and personal sales conversations. 3

4 Pricing Models for AQ360 SM The solutions and the stunning improvements they can bring to organizations are available on attractive terms. Revana has two pricing models for AQ360 SM. The first is a combination of a percentage of online media managed plus a fee for professional sales services. The second is performance in accordance with such performance metrics as delivery of digital demand generated, qualified leads, sales conversions and/or revenue all of which TeleTech s Growth Services division is completely responsible for and controls. In today s digital environment, this kind of solution bridges the gaps between marketing management, online visits and content, salespeople, and sales management. The tool has a tremendous capacity to influence business strategy and leadership decisions. Consider the insight AQ360 SM provides; it tracks the amount of the sale, how long the entire cycle took, geographic location of the prospect, what kinds of content the prospect has consumed on your Website, Website interactions, how many conversations with the prospect were required, and how long each conversation took. The product also relates these variables to characteristics such as mobile device used by the prospect, keyword to which the prospect responded, and even time of day. All of this rich prospect data is not simply tracked, analyzed, and reported. It is constantly translated into adjustments in both digital marketing and personal sales tactics. This is highly valuable insight for sales and marketing leaders and essential to their ability to succeed at the ground level. For example, the data rolled up by AQ360 SM determines the priorities of digital leads, to which sales rep a lead is routed, which offer is made to the prospect, and the sales script the rep uses (see sidebar, Growing Companies in a Real-Time World ). All the while, leads, prospects, and even current customers are being contacted and treated the way they want to be contacted and treated, even if they have not said so explicitly. We provide dynamic optimization, says Behrens, the right script to the right rep to make the right offer. No one else does it as dynamically as we do. AQ360 SM detects prospect preferences from their behavior, not a survey. This instant adjustment of sales strategy to preferences can make a huge difference. For example, AQ360 SM found that people who contacted a financial-services company using a smartphone had not done much research, unlike those who used a laptop. By changing the script to reflect this difference, mobile sales increased 221 percent year over year and conversions went up 1,064 percent, according to Jonathan Gray, marketing vice president of TeleTech s Growth Services Division. The dynamic capabilities of AQ360 SM are constantly sifting those 400-plus data points, looking for just these kinds of improvements. The big discoveries about how prospects prefer to be sold come quickly, but new insight steadily emerges as AQ360 SM obtains more data and can segment leads by more variables and combinations of variables. These unique capabilities thus work best for high volumes of digital inquiries and contacts, and they are most effective for sales with relatively short cycles, for example in the insurance, health, or financial industries. Prospects do a lot of research online for these products, and purchasing decisions can be made in as little as 15 minutes of a sales call. In these kinds of markets, Gray estimates that AQ360 SM will typically improve the efficiency of marketing spend in generating qualified leads by 20 percent, and sales reps conversion rates will improve by a further 20 percent (see sidebar, Pricing Models for AQ360 SM ). Comprehensive, dynamic, detailed, and digital, AQ360 SM is a combination of automation and smart professional services that leading analysts have been calling for, and it is gaining recognition for truly impressive sales results. 4

5 ABOUT TELETECH TeleTech, founded in 1982, is a leading global provider of analytics-driven, technology-enabled customer experience business solutions. The Company offers an integrated platform that combines consulting, technology, care and growth services to simplify and personalize interactions that build deep engagement between people and brands. This holistic, multichannel approach improves customer satisfaction, increases customer loyalty and drives long-term profitability and growth. From strategic consulting to operational execution, TeleTech s over 40,000 employees speaking over 50 languages deliver results for Global 1000 clients in the automotive, communications and media, financial services, government, healthcare, technology, transportation and retail industries. Through the TeleTech Community Foundation, the Company leverages its innovative leadership to ensure that students in underserved communities around the globe have access to the tools and support they need to maximize their educational outcomes. For additional information, please visit teletech.com. ABOUT SELLING POWER In addition to Selling Power magazine, the leading periodical for sales managers and sales VPs since 1981, Selling Power Inc. produces the Sales Management Digest and Daily Boost of Positivity online newsletters, as well as a five-minute-video series featuring interviews with top executives. Selling Power is a regular media sponsor of the Sales 2.0 Conference. 1 SINTEF. Big Data, for better or worse: 90% of world s data generated over last two years. ScienceDaily. 2 Scott Gillum. The Disappearing Sales Process. Forbes. 3 Alex Kantrowitz. Social Media Increasingly Important for B-to-B Marketers: Study. Advertising Age /14