Defining and implementing an integrated Sales and Marketing funnel is not always an easy feat, but it could be one of the greatest accomplishments of a company. I won’t sugar coat it - the journey has a lot of hurdles. It requires aligning with cross-functional stakeholders, getting executive buy-in, overhauling processes, and updating systems.
But the business impact of defining your organization’s funnel can be significant, laden with numerous benefits: greater Sales and Marketing alignment, better reporting and accountability, faster lead-to-revenue conversion, and clearly identified roles for both teams in generating business.
Bobette Turco and I had the great opportunity to host a PowerHour with Stephen Macatuno, Director of Marketing Operations at Cvent, and Jenna Lynch, Sr. Program Developer, Sales Enablement at ADP. They talked about how they defined and implemented integrated Sales and Marketing funnels, and imparted the wisdom they learned by going through this important business change. These two companies also happen to be Markie award winners and finalists multiple times.
The Wake-Up Call
Sometimes companies need a wake-up call before taking a determined look at their Sales and Marketing funnels. Typically it happens due to broken processes that negatively impact the business, resulting in lost leads, delayed follow-ups, poor pipeline visibility, miscommunication, and a myriad of other implications.
“For our company, we were seeing breaks in our system. We estimated that one in five leads was being neglected. So we knew that we had to rethink the lead management process,” said Lynch from ADP. “With that, we knew we would be able to hone in on where to invest our time and money so that we could find the best quality leads and get them to Sales.”
“When we introduced a marketing automation platform and process at Cvent is the same time we started looking at lead stages,” said Macatuno from Cvent. “It really started with lead scoring. We wanted a way to validate that the Sales team was finding quality leads in what Marketing considered qualified at the time. As we tested out new campaigns that were different than what we had done in the past, we realized that all those leads were not equal. It was a good way to get that feedback directly from the Sales team.”
Don’t Go It Alone
It’s called the Sales and Marketing funnel – meaning that both Sales and Marketing must collectively own the process. And if it’s going to be successful, you have to get an executive to champion your cause.
For both ADP and Cvent, the funnel definition initiative started in Marketing. “The Marketing and Automation teams led the charge together. We had to get Sales onboard and they were a big part in giving us a better understating of what the leads, process, and quality looked like,” explained Lynch. “ADP has multiple business units with both Field and Inside Sales. Executive buy-in was a must. We were focusing so much effort, time, and money on this. Without executive sponsorship it would have failed.”
Macatuno related; “Marketing built the initial set of requirements and then worked with the Sales team to better understand their process. We got Sales management to validate what they were looking for and then worked with Sales Operations to implement it in our CRM. It was really crucial to get buy-in from our VPs, both Sales and Marketing, because we were investing so much into this. We had been doing the same process for six to eight years at the time, so it was very important for everyone to be brought in and help support the initiative across the company.”
Define Your Stages and Process
The SiriusDecisions demand waterfall was the model both Cvent and ADP used for their funnel, but both companies used their own customized versions.
“ADP definitely leveraged the SiriusDecisions model and we layered in what we thought our buyer’s journey was, which is Awareness, Education, Evaluation, and Selection,” explained Lynch. Each of ADP’s stages are well defined in terms of owners, SLAs, and passback mechanisms.
Cvent also looked to the SiriusDecisions demand waterfall for their model, but with a twist and a new focus on when exactly an opportunity is created. “Towards the end of the funnel, one thing that is important to us is the introduction of opportunities. We are working on getting Sales to create opportunities much earlier in the funnel so we can quantify, even to a dollar amount, the quality of leads. We introduced the concept of a one percent opportunity so we can put it into forecast, and it’s a great way for Direct Sales reps to provide feedback to Marketing that there is some potential with the prospect,” said Macatuno.
Alignment: It Really Can Happen to You!
When you collaborate and communicate consistently, you build trust, which makes alignment achievable. Just as marketers are taking a more humanized approach to their content, you can also take a more humanized approach in fostering professional relationships with your Sales counterparts. You are all in this together!
ADP puts a focused effort on ongoing training. “In the past we had too many different definitions of leads and it was very confusing for our associates. Because we built the funnel together and simplified things, Sales has done a great job owning the results,” said Lynch. “We work closely with Sales to make sure associates are trained and we keep training a constant. Today, we can happily say that about 95% of our leads are engaged with Sales.”
Cvent is working on a revised version of their funnel and processes, also with more emphasis on including Sales. “Sales is now taking ownership of the process on their side because they have a desire for more accurate forecasting. At the end of the day, we all agree that it is important to have a process in place and heavily rely on the conversion statistics across all stages of the funnel. We are working together on defining and agreeing on what each stage means internally, and also from the perspective of the customer buying stages,” said Macatuno.
Perceptions Really Can Change
Both ADP and Cvent remarked on the improved perception of Marketing from their Sales counterparts. This isn’t something that can happen overnight - it takes a while to turn the proverbial ship around. But it can be done!
Lynch says, “Our lead quality stunk before implementing the funnel. Sales didn’t take us seriously. We would send emails for feedback on lead quality and would get no responses. Today we have done a 180. We worked together with Sales to build out a strategy. We assist Sales with training, and our partnership has come a very long way.”
“Before we defined the funnel at Cvent, Sales viewed us as a lead machine,” said Macatuno. “They would deal with low volume, bad quality leads. Now, we have a lot more responsibility, ownership, and visibility into the entire funnel. And now that we have a better sense of funnel health, we are seen more as business partners with Sales.”
Making an Impact
Since both ADP and Cvent introduced their funnels and new lead management processes, they have achieved some remarkable results and greatly improved their nurturing capabilities.
ADP improved lead follow-up time. “Our leads are now touched within minutes versus days. Adoption of the new process is good - 95 percent of leads are getting touched by Sales. Conversion and win rates are up. Everything is trending in the right direction. It was definitely not an easy process, but we are happy we got here,” said Lynch.
Cvent is enjoying improved reporting and insights into Marketing’s performance. “I think the biggest benefit for marketing is being able to evaluate marketing programs. We aren’t just looking at responses, but measuring their movement through the funnel, and that has helped us to better react when testing new things. We can make smarter investments now,” explained Macatuno.
Both companies also note that they have been able to improve lead nurturing. Cvent says that nurture programs represent the highest impact. “It has been great to get the feedback from Sales, and then we can follow up with very tailored messaging to prospects. Also, the ability to adapt our marketing process and programs based on the feedback we are getting is a really big benefit for us,” said Macatuno.
“ADP has developed nurturing programs based on our data. We have some long term nurturing for people that are not quite ready to buy, but are interested in what we have to say. We have recycled nurturing for rejected leads or closed-lost opportunities. We are starting to influence the stalled leads that have been sitting in a stage for more than 90 days to help move them through the process,” said Lynch.
Words of Wisdom
Both companies have some sage advice for others embarking on this journey. ADP says, “Start by doing your research and building a plan. You have to be collaborative and bring in all stakeholders so that every group can own the process. And train, train, train your people - constantly!”
Cvent advises to involve Sales from the start and keep it simple. “Definitely involve the Sales team in the process and give them ownership of their part of funnel. Also, keep it very simple and consistent across the entire organization,” said Macatuno. “For us, going through this process was information overload and we wanted to make the process really fancy and complex. Don’t over complicate the project. As long as you have a consistent process in place, you will be able to understand the different areas you need to address or where you need to fix things. And you can always build from there.”
If you want to hear more (and yes, there is a lot more these two had to share!), watch the full PowerHour.
Sign Up for a Facilitated Discussion!
If you are just getting started with defining your integrated funnel, or want to develop it further, request to have the Funnel Stage Definition Facilitated Discussion with a Marketing Advisor today! Also, see our full menu of Facilitated Discussions that are available at no cost to Oracle Marketing Cloud customers.
