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AUGUST 2008
Effective Demand Generation
How does a sales person create business where none seems to exist? With sales down and less marketing money available to stimulate sales, optimizing every opportunity is crucial. Budget cuts and fears of declining economic conditions have put a strain on sales forecasts. Many manufacturers and ISVs tell me that their sales numbers are not where they need to be, which in turn puts more stringent controls on demand generation support that would be available to their partners. At the same time, resellers have reported similar lackluster results in some markets.
In last month’s letter we addressed strategies for acquiring more marketing funding. In this issue, I will address some of the factors that make demand generation events successful.
"Stelzl's program has been an enlightening experience" ....Scott Addeo , MCPC
"The Asset Focused Selling workshop gave me the confidence I needed to call higher in the accounts I sell to " ....Glenn Thompson , Singlepath
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Target Audience
Every seat counts when it comes to setting up events. A decade ago we spent money on all kinds of offerings, from golf outings to internal employee appreciation excursions. It seemed like JMF dollars where unlimited and the results of the monetary outlay didn’t really matter much to anyone.
In today’s market conditions, quotas are up, expenses are watched, and executives are tired of being invited to “lunch-and-learns” where monotone engineers read esoteric bullets from the Infocus screen. Most of these so-called “demand generation events” are now being attended by IT custodians looking for new product insights, free golf shirts, and good food. If executives accepted every invitation, they would rarely be in the office and would be wasting time in an arena where little actual business value is delivered.
If these events are going to work, they must be redesigned from the ground up to interest the buyers of the organizations you court. You cannot simply blast emails out to a few hundred people and expect buyers to show up. In addition, you cannot afford to put on expensive shows for the general IT masses. It is important to focus on the people who create the budgets, and then, once they are interested, give your time to their technical people.
Content that Matters
Product demonstrations, vans that sport all of the latest technology gadgets, and T-shirts will not draw the right audience. Leave that to the manufacturers and simply focus on business issues that matter. Risk management, business intelligence, compliance, and ideas concerning how to truly transform today’s business are all valuable. You will find that vertically focused material is often more appealing than generic presentations.
Having set up dozens of these events over the past year, I have found that executives not only laud good content, but appreciate the networking opportunity when they know their peers will be in attendance. Their time for collaboration is limited, so proffering the chance to attend a lunch meeting with peers of like businesses presents a unique opportunity for idea exchange. Plan your event to facilitate this type of interaction and you are sure to capitalize from it.
Delivery is also an important factor. Manufacturers often provide sponsorship for these events, and if you can get one of their senior experts to present, you have a recipe for success. But don’t confuse this with local SEs or product demonstrations. Neither makes for an interesting lunch program. Outside experts, independent of product, are also a good choice. They come in many flavors, from authors and industry experts, to people who have served in interesting roles such as FBI Cybercrime retirees, department of defense figures, or an industry analyst from Gartner. Leave the sports figures to motivational talks at corporate events.
The Venue
Your office is not the venue. I get asked about this option all the time. The manufacturer’s free meeting room is also a bad choice, unless you have access to one of their high profile, executive briefing centers. Executives expect to be treated well. Whether you do this as a lunch meeting at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse or a late afternoon encounter preceding an event such as a race or ballgame, quality is vital. The number of attendees is of less importance than quality, so whittle down your numbers and spend your dollars to make this an excellent event. The rest should be obvious .
The Follow-Up Program
Second only to getting the right people to attend is your follow up program. With IT custodians you might get away with saying, “Thanks, we’ll give you a call.” However, with executives you have a short window of opportunity. Assuming your message delivers value and offers some compelling call to action, you have their attention. It’s at this moment that you must have a call to action. In my book, The House & the Cloud, I recommend having some form of executive level assessment. With this approach, you are guaranteed two more meetings; one to interview them and one to follow up with results. Not everyone is going to buy, so have an alternative plan ready to go. Follow up marketing with ideas, frequent communications, and future events that will continue to exhibit your business acumen as it relates to the technology solutions you offer. Again, I refer you to the idea letters described in The House & the Cloud. Use them; you will find they work.
Please pass this on to anyone you know who is working to build a profitable solutions business today. Consider having David Stelzl speak at your next quarterly meeting or customer event. Create a value proposition that positions you as the expert and attracts new clients. Consider hiring a professional coach to accelerate the process.
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