The Science of Scaling
How to Align Your Sales and Marketing w/ Mike Weir (CRO, G2)
Wed Jun 28 2023Description
The episode discusses Mike Weir's career journey, the sales and marketing alignment at G2, the importance of efficiency and focus in go-to-market strategy, targeting specific categories, analyzing closed opportunities, leadership planning, and collaboration between sales and marketing. It emphasizes the need for open communication, clean escalation, accurate attribution, and shared credit to achieve common goals.
Insights
Sales and Marketing Alignment
The sales and marketing alignment at G2 has resulted in improved response time to MQLs, real-time engagement, and increased focus of AEs on representing G2 and providing value to customers.
Efficiency and Focus in Go-to-Market Strategy
Investing in efficiency and focus, rather than solely hiring more AEs, yields higher returns and allows AEs to close more deals per year without sourcing all their pipeline.
Targeting Specific Categories
Focusing on specific categories within software enables companies to create more value and align their messaging with the needs of different customer segments.
Analyzing Closed Opportunities
Analyzing closed one and closed loss data, having ongoing conversations with customers, and coaching sales teams based on insights from closed opportunities help refine the target audience and improve messaging.
Leadership Planning and Collaboration
Regular leadership planning sessions, involvement of cross-functional teams, and open communication between sales and marketing foster transparency, collaboration, and strategic thinking.
Open Communication and Collaboration
Open communication, clean escalation, attribution accuracy, and collaboration between sales and marketing are crucial for addressing problems, improving relationships, optimizing the conversion funnel, and achieving common goals.
Chapters
- Mike Weir's Career and Sales and Marketing Alignment at G2
- Efficiency, Focus, and Ideal Customer Profile in Go-to-Market Strategy
- Targeting Specific Categories and Analyzing Closed Opportunities
- Leadership Planning and Collaboration between Sales and Marketing
- Open Communication, Attribution, and Collaboration between Sales and Marketing
Mike Weir's Career and Sales and Marketing Alignment at G2
00:00 - 07:40
- Mike Weir, CRO of G2, has had a career in both marketing and sales.
- He transitioned from marketing to sales because he wanted more control over customer relationships.
- He realized the challenges of being a salesperson after experiencing it firsthand.
- His time at LinkedIn taught him how to be a great sales leader.
- The most impactful execution piece at G2 is the sales and marketing alignment they have achieved.
- They plan, execute, track, and optimize together.
- Previously, AEs were sourcing over 60% of their pipeline, which was not ideal.
- Now, the marketing and BDR partnership sources over 65% of their AE pipeline.
- This shift has empowered AEs to focus on representing G2 and providing value to customers.
- Their response time to MQLs has significantly improved, with most highly qualified MQLs being engaged within the same business day.
- They aim for real-time engagement using automation to improve conversion rates.
- The decision to change the pipeline distribution was based on the economics of the business and enabling talent to perform effectively.
Efficiency, Focus, and Ideal Customer Profile in Go-to-Market Strategy
07:13 - 14:45
- The economics of the business and helping talent were key factors in the decision to change the go-to-market strategy.
- Investing solely in hiring more AEs would limit investment in product, brand, and customers.
- Efficiency and focus were important for AEs to avoid burnout and engage with prospective customers.
- Measuring the unit economics of different channels is critical for accurate revenue projections.
- Talent-wise, sourcing a large amount of pipeline limited time for strategic activities.
- Doubling the size of the AE team was not a sustainable solution due to financial constraints.
- Increasing efficiency in revenue marketing yielded higher returns compared to investing in incremental AEs.
- By changing the equation, AEs could close more deals per year without sourcing all their pipeline.
- Increasing efficiency bolstered the case for additional investment to accelerate growth.
- Starting with defining the ideal customer profile (ICP) was crucial in executing tactics effectively.
Targeting Specific Categories and Analyzing Closed Opportunities
14:20 - 21:38
- Instead of targeting broad categories like software companies and marketing, it's better to focus on specific categories within software.
- By prioritizing specific categories, companies can create more value and align their messaging with the needs of different customer segments.
- Many venture-backed companies try to sell to everyone in order to prove they have a billion-dollar market, but it's more effective to focus on a narrower target audience.
- To make more specific decisions about target audiences, companies should analyze closed one and closed loss data and have ongoing conversations with customers.
- Coaching sales teams based on insights from closed opportunities can help refine the target audience and improve messaging.
- Having accurate close loss data is important for understanding why deals are lost and how to improve future outcomes.
- Regular planning sessions with leadership teams can provide valuable insights for improving business outcomes.
Leadership Planning and Collaboration between Sales and Marketing
21:08 - 28:31
- Leadership plans are created every six months to evaluate past performance and strategize for the future.
- The plans focus on improving key metrics like ARR target, net retention, and gross retention.
- Cross-functional teams are involved in the planning process to foster transparency and collaboration.
- Sales directors are encouraged to think strategically and consider the overall company experience.
- External educational opportunities and access to a community of revenue organization leaders help develop sales directors' strategic thinking.
- Finger-pointing between sales and marketing is mitigated through open communication and constructive debate.
- Constructive debate allows for sharing feedback, evaluating leads, and addressing issues openly.
Open Communication, Attribution, and Collaboration between Sales and Marketing
28:07 - 35:10
- Constructive debate requires open communication and sharing of information.
- Clean escalation is important to address problems and improve relationships.
- Attribution in marketing can be challenging, but a strong formula is necessary for accurate measurement.
- Reinforcing the wrong side can hinder long-term partnerships and success.
- Marketing and sales should work together to optimize the conversion funnel.
- Shared credit and collaboration between teams are essential for achieving common goals.