A lot of B2B businesses have standardized metrics based on their demand generation funnel, but account-based funnels can actually improve how sales and marketing work together?
We’ve seen it a million times as B2B revenue leaders. The pipeline and booking numbers for the quarter are proving to be disappointing. The CRM says X, sales says Y, and marketing says Z. Finger-pointing ensues across teams and suddenly there’s a toxic environment. The easiest conclusion to jump to is that the sales or marketing team dropped the ball, but what if it’s about the funnel that is in place?
Learn more about how to align marketing and sales through demand generation funnels with our B2B Funnel eBook below.
What to Expect in the B2B Funnel eBook
Here is a general overview of what to expect in our B2B funnel ebook:
- Using Funnels to Diagnose Misalignment: We discuss determining whether marketing and sales alignment is strong, you’ll need to look at various metrics.
- When Do I Know I Have a Problem?: Learning about the specific benchmarks to hit by industry is important in finding out if your company is above or below average. Then we’ll learn how to fix it.
- Common Causes of Misalignment: Poorly instrumented systems will lead to misalignment. We discuss in depth each common cause of misalignment.
- Common Missteps in System Design: We give you a rundown of common issues we see with funnel designs so you can better understand where your potential mistakes are.
- WebMD For Funnels: Diagnosing issues through each stage of the funnel process will help pinpoint conversion rates for each point in the funnel journey (and of course, help fix these issues).
- Designing Reports to Optimize Funnel Performance: Knowing what valuable indicators to focus on will help improve the efficiency of your reports.
Check out the comprehensive ebook information by hitting the download button below.
Note: This eBook assumes that you have implemented a demand generation or net new account funnel at your company. Check out our Playbook for tips on designing and implementing a funnel if you don’t already have one in place.
Identify Where the Sales & Marketing Alignment Problem Lies
When a B2B business’ benchmarks for funnel conversion rates aren’t reaching or exceeding industry averages, it might be a people problem, but it’s more likely to be an issue of poor alignment either on process or definition across sales and marketing that can be seen in the funnel.
It may be relatively easy to build a B2B funnel, but it is incredibly challenging to build one that works perfectly for the teams that rely on it. Especially if views of how it “should” work differ. These different points of view are as much of a signal of the problem as the disappointing KPIs themselves.
Funnel stage definitions within the funnel need to be the same for both sales and marketing teams, stage triggers also need to be aligned, and technology needs to be well integrated across the sales and marketing tech stack. The good news is that there are several places where you can identify misalignment issues and create an improvement plan.
The Data Doesn’t Lie
Whether a funnel is brand new or has been part of the business for a while, if conversion rates have everyone scratching their heads, it’s time to dig into the current funnel stages and identify where the wheels may be falling off. There may be a lack of agreement between teams on lead or stage definitions, or perhaps automated flags aren’t triggering correctly.
Alternatively, if the process is too hard to follow or requires too much manual input by sales teams, processes can break down. A great funnel considers how prospects come in from various sources, whether it is from a marketing or a sales activity, at a variety of points in the funnel, and if the funnel isn’t set up to account for this, it’s a recipe for misalignment and inaccurate forecasting.
Put a stop to the bickering and lack of clarity. Learn how to create alignment and improve success rates by building a demand generation funnel.
