The Insiders wrap up: six B2B insights from season two
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This season of The Insiders Podcast made it clear that today’s decision-makers are expected to be more productive than ever. But, with resources and budgets on a tighter leash, how can leaders navigate the pinch?
This blog shares six B2B insights from each of this season’s guests that will help you do just that.
1. Shoulder your customer’s burdens
The reality is, it’s never been more important to work with partners that can put themselves in your customer’s shoes.
In episode two of this season, Richard makes it clear that a bit of empathy goes a long way, and (in most cases) a lot of talking goes nowhere. Understanding this careful dance between being professional, humble, courteous, and proactive, hungry, ambitious is just one of our ten durhamlane mantras.
Being at the centre of our audience’s world complements another durhamlane mantra: be interested to be interesting. Yes, you want to sell your product or service. But what if there’s more business on the table? By showing genuine interest in customers challenges, we shine a torch in every pocket of opportunity.
Our final mantra that applies here is business fit, business value, long-term relationships. Understanding where solutions fit is pivotal to getting the pitch just right. Customers should think the investment is a no-brainer, and doing all our homework only speeds the process along.
2. Marsales never fails
Karen offered some practical advice in episode one that unleashes plenty of quick win opportunities.
It’s easy when preparing lead capture forms and landing pages to ‘set and forget’, but these are a key wayfinder in your customer journey. Just because something is working well, doesn’t mean it can’t work even better. So, it’s best practice to revisit your call to actions (CTAs), use progressive profiling and, most importantly, test, test and test again.
This ongoing alignment between sales and marketing is a growing topic. That’s because we’ve all moved beyond the view that there is clear distinction between the two, especially in the eyes of our customers. Instead, we take our leads through a carefully curated path that makes the transition seamless.
3. Lights, camera, actionable B2B insights
Insights are good, but those that drive actions are even better.
Zsuzsanna makes it clear that we all need to be focused on the bigger picture, instead of just measuring success in our own area. It’s part of the reason why marketing needs a place at the forecasting meet, since it plays such a great role in getting leads on the table.
It can take a while to get to where Zsuzsanna is saying – a world where everything is measured and reviewed consistently with actionable insights. But there are some great places to begin.
Start by looking at your business blackouts – areas where you’re not getting the data that you need. By identifying those, you can build a better picture of where your business is and create measurable goals.
Listen to Zsuzsanna’s episode >
4. Your people know best
Antti brought forward another marsales topic, but this time offering advice on how to connect the people across your teams, not just your output. Belief in your product or service is built on the understanding of why it’s needed, so your sales team getting insight into your customers and their issues is key.
Workshops are a great way to get wider teams involved in your niche. Nurturing and converting marketing leads into sales opportunities is no simple task, so the more insight that can help your team along the way, the better.
5. What gets measured gets managed
Whilst relationships are fundamental to success, data simply cannot be ignored.
When it comes to business decisions, metrics should be front and centre, with emotions taking a back seat. B2B insights should not only guide your decisions, but also measure how successful they’ve been.
As Paul says – not every move will be a successful one, but if you are going to fail, you want data to tell you you’re failing quickly.
6. Don’t be afraid to outsource
By surrounding yourself with the best, you’ll soon see the benefits. Not only can external partners accelerate your growth, but they can also pass on invaluable B2B insights, and talents, to your own team. In addition, outsourcing puts your business into an outside lens and offers new ways to overcome challenges.
This tip also applies to recruiting. Whilst we all like to focus on the areas we do well, it’s just as important to discover where the knowledge gaps lie so you can build a resilient, diverse team.
This has been a fantastic season diving into the minds of our guest speakers. It’s clear that, although they work in very diverse industries, when it comes to sales and marketing – there are patterns to the challenges.
Understanding your customer, aligning marsales and utilising data are all part of the durhamlane way, which has helped our team grow hundreds of businesses at a rapid, yet scalable pace.
If you find yourself facing one of the above challenges, let’s talk.