About the guest Josh is currently a partner at CH Consulting after spending the last three decades in global leadership roles at Dell, Avaya, Palo Alto Networks, Datto, and Netrix Global. CH Consulting is a team of experts with relevant expertise in Sales, Marketing, Transformation, Strategy, Growth, Operational Excellence, Legal, and more. Connect with Joshua Hoffman Key takeaways Focus on the partnership between sales and marketing, not finger-pointing Establish shared metrics and common language across teams Use data and analytics throughout the entire sales process Involve marketing in forecasting meetings and pipeline discussions Create a culture of collaboration and mutual support Leverage customer success teams to build stronger partnerships Break down silos to drive better business outcomes Quotes “This is supposed to be a partnership. When sales and marketing get at odds, which happens in a lot of organizations, there has to be a way to bring people back to square.” -Joshua Hoffman Highlights from this episode What are some common challenges companies face when trying to align sales and marketing? According to Joshua Hoffman, some common challenges companies face when aligning sales and marketing include: Getting too focused on who does what and who’s to blame, rather than on shared outcomes Disagreements over attribution and how to measure success Using different language and metrics between teams Lack of empathy and understanding between sales and marketing roles Treating lead handoffs as a one-time event rather than an ongoing collaboration Not having a shared vision or set of goals to work towards together Overcoming these challenges requires shifting to a partnership mindset, establishing a common language and metrics, and focusing on co-creating and co-delivering results as a team. How can companies start to align metrics and move away from the attribution fight? Companies can start to align metrics and move away from attribution fights by: Finding a common language that aligns with their CRM system Establishing key metrics that both teams deliver together and co-create Focusing on different funnels and how to measure them Looking for opportunities to improve conversion rates at each stage Having collaborative discussions about how to improve metrics, rather than blaming each other Creating shared processes where both teams brainstorm ideas to drive better results Ensuring both sales and marketing understand each other’s processes through experiential learning The key is to shift from finger-pointing to collaborative problem-solving focused on shared outcomes and improvement opportunities. What role should data and behavioral insights play in improving the sales and marketing process? According to Joshua Hoffman, data and behavioral insights should play a continuous and evolving role in improving the sales and marketing process: Data should be used throughout the entire sales cycle, not just at the beginning AI and analytics tools can provide constantly updated information about customers Both sales and marketing teams should stay current on new data coming in Insights can be used to prepare customers better for sales conversations Data can help identify opportunities to improve conversion rates at different funnel stages Analytics can drive more targeted and effective communications with prospects Behavioral insights can help teams understand and address the entire customer journey The key is using data collaboratively to drive better outcomes at every stage, rather than just for initial lead scoring or prioritization. How is the focus on accounts and buying groups helping sales and marketing better align? The focus on accounts and buying groups is helping sales and marketing align better in several ways: Creating a more connected environment for dialogue between teams Enabling better collaboration opportunities around shared metrics and accountability Leading to the development of better, more holistic metrics beyond just leads Allowing for more sophisticated predictive analytics across the entire pipeline Encouraging teams that weren’t previously connected to work more closely together Increasing the effectiveness of well-connected teams by providing a more comprehensive view of accounts Reducing finger-pointing by emphasizing shared responsibility for account success Overall, this account-focused approach is fostering a more unified, data-driven strategy that benefits both sales and marketing teams. What advice do you have for better-connecting sales and marketing teams? Joshua Hoffman offers several pieces of advice for better-connecting sales and marketing teams: Create a partnership mindset and shared accountability for outcomes Involve marketing in forecast meetings to align on pipeline and goals Encourage cross-functional collaboration on customer engagements Develop a customer-centric approach where both teams work together to solve customer problems Integrate customer success teams into the sales and marketing process Foster a culture of mutual support and shared success Use data and insights collaboratively throughout the entire sales cycle Encourage teams to understand each other’s roles through experiential learning Focus on co-creating and co-delivering results rather than working in silos The key is to break down barriers between teams and create a unified approach to driving business growth. Resource recommendations Books –The One Minute Manager –Atomic Habits –Everybody Writes Shout-outs –Mark Anderson, President of Revenue, Cloudflare –Russell P Reeder, High-Tech CEO | Public & Private Board Member
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