20141021 - sales pitch & strategy - agency preso

Sharing Experience

Sales Pitch and Sales Strategy

Hello, my name is Gabriel

5 Years ago…

2009

2 Xooglers

SEA

SEO WA

Vision

Semetis: preferred eBusiness partner

4

2

3

1

4

5 6

7

Mar 2009 Semetis set-up

Summer 2009 First clients signed: Touring Assurances, D’Ieteren, Scarlet, Brico, Ixina, RTBF, IKEA, SNCB, …

Apr 2010 Semetis becomes Google Analytics Certified Partner

Jan 2011 Semetis wins the Belgacom-Proximus overall SEA contract

Jan 2011 Internal SEA Technology launched

8

Summer 2011 First Facebook & Bing Campaigns

2012 Strong growth reaching a Turnover of 12.2M€ + team of 14

2013 - 2014 Continuous Growth. Re-positioning + RTB Office Extension (250 m²) & collaboration with other communication agencies. + team of 20

Fast Evolution: from 2009 to 2015

Semetis: Multiple Services

Digital

Advertising

Digital

Business

Intelligence

In-house Technology + SaaS for agencies

A Team of 20 people

A Portfolio of International Clients

Maintain happy clients

while working on the

continuous sales pipe !

AGENDA (part 1)

HELPING YOU TO HAVE BETTER PITCHES - Market analysis, digital trends - Consumer buying behavior + consumers typologies - Competition analysis - Benchmarking - Objectives - Google product mix and the allocation of the budgets - Estimated results - Life time value - Fees - Start date + Next steps + The WoW moment that will surprise the client

AGENDA (part 2)

DISCUSSION ABOUT YOUR SALES STRATEGY - define target market/verticals/type of clients - how to approach potential clients: networking, events, recommendations, PR, advertising etc - how to obtain the pitch - building long term relationships - business model: differentiation, monetization, KPIs

Client acquisition vs Market positioning

vs

Client acquisition

Part1 - Understand • Convince why prospects need an agency • Establish your value proposition • Be prepared to talk about your case studies Part2 – Prepare beforehand • Do your homework about the prospect • Build a tailor-made offer that can’t be refused • Follow-up call and meeting Part3 – Sales Funnel • Close • Deliver • Retention

Sales Process

Specialization & Expertise

Some companies don’t want to deal with the challenge of bringing marketing in-house. With

today’s expanding and fragmented media landscape, it isn’t realistic for them to understand

everything about traditional and digital platforms. Many small businesses do not have the

resources or experience to execute their own advertising campaigns. A good agency can

provide expertise and resources not available within an organization.

Prospective & Ideas

Agencies can offer a fresh perspective on how to approach a client’s products, business, and

target audience. Many agencies will offer creative ad copy or imagery that will increase brand

awareness or sales for the company.

Why do Companies Hire Agencies?

What’s YOUR value proposition?

We’re CERTIFIED

We know this is part of a PLATFORM

We make you STAND OUT

We’re IN THE KNOW

We believe in ANALYTICS & accountability

We’ve DONE THIS BEFORE

YOUR case studies

Semetis Case study on video: YouTube.com/semetis

Do Your Homework: The site

Macaroni & Cheese

Buy Now!

• What are the conversion actions?

• Is it possible / clear / easy to convert?

• Are there landing pages you can use for specific ads or will you need to build

them?

Do Your Homework: Search

• Who’s the competition?

• Are there other advertisers in the space?

• Are there negative keywords you can identify?

Do Your Homework: Keyword planner

• Is there a good search volume?

• What’s the competition like?

• Is there anything you can tell about the industry from the keyword ideas?

Do Your Homework: Google Insights for Search

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Do Your Homework: Google Insights for Search

Looking around the account: Structure

“Campaign #1”

“Ad Group #1”

Hundreds of keywords thrown together

Single generic ad

Little or no targeting!

Do Your Homework: Look at their existing Google Adwords account (if access is granted)

Looking around the account: Landing pages

Oops! Page not found…


Looking around the account: Conversions and Google Analytics


Looking around the account: Change history


Build a tailor-made offer that can’t be refused

Budget $10,000

Avg. Cost Per Click $1.15

Expected Conv. Rate 4.0%

Value Per Conversion $50.00

Total Expected Return

$17,391.30

MY FEES $2,000.00

ROI 45%

$1.45

$1.00

Skills needed for sales

Understanding how you want to sell

Sales caricatures…


…but it’s the oxygen that feeds your business!

Who actually likes sales?


The most important tool in your sales tool kit

Listen > Talk

Then

ASK QUESTIONS

Principle #1 – Commit to the Practice of Listening


Principle #2 – Practice Radical Honesty


Radical Honesty requires guts

Hi ______, We have carefully reviewed all the documentation and information in your RFP. I regret to inform you that we have decided not to submit a proposal and will not be bidding on the project in its current form at this time. While we believe that we have the skills, experience, language fluency and capacity to develop a comprehensive global solution for _____, our concerns center around expectations of timing, scope, alignment and costs. A key issue is reconciling the project scope with the estimated time frame. Our experience is that this requires at least double the anticipated time frame, which of course has a significant impact on costs. In the meantime, we wish you success with your initiative. Regards,


Principle #3 - Practice Knowing Thyself

REVENUE!! Let’s go for it…

RISK!! This is too much of a stretch…


Know thyself

Don’t get “too far over your skis”…

Key question: if we take this, will it distract us from our core work? Will it create legacy risk? Will it demoralize staff? Is it a bad idea?


Principle #4: You need a story

• Work is not procured

• Sustainable processes, unique services that are market driven, high touch, high value & create competitive advantage for clients

Top tier

(compete on knowledge)

• Margins squeezed by lower tier; cash flow will limit operational flexibility; endless contract cycle

Mid-tier

(do a lot of stuff and compete on price!)

• Commoditized services: low dollar, low margin, non-repeatable business

Single shops (we do PPC! We do it cheap! We do it

fast!)

The “squeeze” zone


The story is important

SEM


The story is important

What will you compete on? • Price • Quality • Service • Skill • Experience • Outcomes


Principle #5 – Practice Hunting Mammoths


Practice Hunting Mammoths – and NOT rabbits !

Low dollar projects (rabbits) take a lot of resources to manage, leave no room for error and don’t create relationships with people who will continue to purchase your services going forward

…AND clients that spend $10K with you are often more of a pain and difficult to manage than those that spend $100K.


Principle #6 - People buy people

Consultant

• Especially in SME’s • Human side of the “deal” • Trust & transparency

“I hired [name of person], not [name of company]”

- Customer


Principle #7 – Be fearless (have chutzpah!)


Principle #7 – Be fearless (don’t fear rejection)

40% is an AWESOME close rate… … and it means you are being rejected 60% of the time


Principle #8 – Be responsive

Reply to inquiries quickly

Suggested response times when someone reaches out to you by:

• Website contact form: within 4 hours • Phone or email: within 2 hours • Social media: within 1 hour (particularly if public)


Say what you are going to do, by when you’ll get it done, and then do it

Deliverable Contract

Principle #9 – Follow-through


- Never be judgmental about why prospects don’t follow-through

- Never be shy to use all the tools at your disposal to reach them

Principle #10 – Follow-up


BONUS! Principle #11 – Seek Alignment

If it doesn’t work for you, it won’t work for me. If it doesn’t for me, it won’t work for you. When our interests are aligned, good things will flow The key to this is Emotional Honesty Alignment comes about through discussion, clarification, transparency, documentation and regular, scheduled check-ins


If you get all the principles aligned, you have a chance of becoming The Trusted Advisor

Different industries, different needs !

Revenue Transactions (volume)

ROI Margins

eCommerce

Buying cycle

Leads

Sales

RoPo (Geo)

Retail

Retention

Revenue

Travel

Idem as retail

+ Upsell (other products) => retention

Finance

customer lifetime-value

= new clients (+upsell/retention) - churn

Telecom

Brand awareness

Indirect sales

Brand recall

FMCG

Viewership/Audience

Pageviews

Advertising revenue

Publishing

Awareness + Lead + RoPo

Automotive

Prospection funnel

Understanding How You Want To Sell

Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close

The sales cycle: process outline


Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close

The sales cycle: relationship to marketing

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Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close Prospect

First step of the sales cycle: prospecting


Prospecting is the process of identifying, qualifying, and prioritizing organizations and individuals that have the need for and potential to purchase the

salesperson’s market offering of products and services

The sales cycle: prospecting


When prospecting, think: “Must. Hunt. Mammoths.“

The sales cycle: prospecting

People, Partnerships & Systems: Keys to Long-Term Success

• Track contacts • Categorize / prioritize • Manage sales funnel • Reminders • Reports • Resource allocation • History / relationship

The most important of all process tools - CRM

Process – tools to aid prospecting



$ $$$

Process – tools to aid prospecting / marketing automation


Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close Pre-

Approach

Second step of the sales cycle: pre-approach


Second step of the sales cycle: pre-approach

Do your research Develop your plan of approach


Process – tools to aid pre-approach research


Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close Approach

Third step of the sales cycle: approach


Third step of the sales cycle: approach

Third step of the sales cycle: approach (and rejection)

Be FEARLESS


Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close Needs

Analysis

Fourth step of the sales cycle: needs analysis



• Ask questions • Assume this is your

only meeting • Work to uncover the

full potential scope of work



Practice listening Have a great story


Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close Proposal

Fifth step of the sales cycle: the proposal


Fifth step of the sales cycle: the proposal

1. You need an NDA

2. Get “under the hood” • What is scope? (affects time & costs)

3. Qualify before sending full proposal • Gut check and ensure alignment

4. Send proposal appropriate to the engagement • Short form: highly aligned &

appropriate

• Long form: if to be shared widely


Prospect Pre-

Approach Approach

Needs Analysis

Proposal Close Close

Sixth step of the sales cycle: the close



You can agree on terms…


The contract: ensuring that what you agree to and what you agree to do are one and the same

1. Take the time to get it right

2. Be prepared to walk away if you can’t get it right

• Painful as that may be…

…But you want to get it in writing

A process can be instrumented and measured…

A process can be instrumented and measured…

Some of the key metrics that you need to think about tracking for sales include:

a. Number of new opportunities (month over month)

b. Number of proposal issued (month over month)

c. Number of closed deals (month over month)

d. Days to close (from opportunity; from proposal)

e. Opportunity size; proposal size; close size

f. Deals lost at close

Semetis examples

1. A presentation 2. A proposal following this presentation 3. Another proposal to a existing client

Market positioning

Two broad types of leads & different approaches

Inb

ou

nd

From leads to prospects: building prospects

• Phone call • Inquiry • Referral • Friend • Network

Inbound leads - the sweetest of leads


Outbound leads: result of directly reaching a prospect (demand generation)


Cost of outbound vs. inbound lead generation

Source: State of Inbound Marketing, Hubspot, 2012


Inbound leads are result of a tremendous amount of hard work, much of which goes unseen…


Get the basics taken care of first…

Pay attention to your SERP! All aspects of your SERP (don’t be the cobblers child)

Check your website:

forms


Content generation drives leads…

Source: Hubspot, state of Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Report, 2010


Generating leads: outbound

conferences

advertising

mail

calling

networking

Co

sts

RO

I/R

OE

… more costs & effort & “exposure” – but more control


Client research – the foundation of good lead generation

DO DON’T • Look at the website • “Light Internet stalking” • Review search profile • Review competitive landscape

• “Save money” by not investing in the right tools • Chase clients that can’t afford it • Think that a prospect might be too big for you to work with


Generating leads: calling


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANMbuUxW2CE

Cold calling, meh. Warm calling – yeah!

• You should never be making “cold calls” • Reach out only to well qualified prospects, and treat the call as

an opportunity to learn

• Think about the call

• Have your script and story ready, be transparent about why you are calling, and emotionally honest throughout

• Listen carefully, ask questions and take notes

• Work to qualify the prospect

• Good fit now? Get the meeting. Make the ask. Don’t accept a “maybe” – re-qualify and commit to a future touch point.

• Good fit later? Put them on active contact • Not a good fit? Move on – don’t waste time.


Do’s and don’ts of calls

• Don’t ask “how are you doing” • Skip this nicety as it doesn’t really apply, implies a familiarity which

you don’t share, and may lead in a direction that you don’t want or cannot easily follow

• Do thank them for taking your call • Reciprocity at work: your thanks motivates them to stay

• Do ask if they are free, within your opening statement • Ask “If you have a moment, I’d like to discuss with you how you are

spending & managing your paid search” • Asking “do you have a moment” may lead to a no. If this happens,

respond with a “when would be better time to connect” Listen carefully, ask questions and take notes

• Do ask if they control budget • Are they the right person to talk to? If so, continue the discussion. If

not, ask who is prior to moving on


Calling – important points

• You are NOT wasting the time of the person you are calling: you are sharing with them a potential service that could be worth money to them. • Be fearless and have confidence in what you

are saying. Nervousness will lead to disengagement


Ok. I have leads. Now what?... …Qualify them!!

Lead source Qualifying requirement

Email / contact form • Respond ASAP. If they provide a number, call. • Thank for reaching out • Offer times for a call

1st call • Establish rapport, but do not pander • Try to establish requirement, urgency and budget. • If budget is not forthcoming, share your minimums • if it’s too high for them, find this out early!

Goal of qualification = alignment


Leads - Inbound


Pricing and negotiation: a winter’s tale…

The Tough Part: Closing Deals


How do you price…

Pricing – Two types of revenue streams (services)


Project Recurring • Audit • Account setup • Analytics install • Website launch • Landing page design • other…

• Account management

• Analysis & reporting • Account optimization • Landing page & ad

testing • Other…

…understand your costs!

To work at a profit…

The simple equation


Cost + Margin

= Price

Your first task…

The tough part: closing deals

“To price your services, you must

first know your true hourly rate cost to deliver your services”

….You may be very surprised by what you find out

Calculating your true cost hourly rate

1. Start with: annual wages • Add payroll taxes (employment insurance; federal social benefits; etc.)

2. Add: cost of benefits • Health care; life insurance; LTD; bonus; retirement; gym/wellness; etc.

3. Add: technology costs • Software licenses; computers; OE leases; IT support; mobile phone

4. Add: business costs (apportioned amount) • Rent; admin costs (HR, legal, accounting, admin assistants, sales, etc.)

consumables (paper; coffee; toner; etc.)

5. Add: other costs • Training; conferences/events; jury/maternity/legal contingencies;

6. Divide total costs by total productive (billable) working days • Total potential billable days = total potential days of work LESS (holidays; sick

days; vacation; learning time; wasted time)


Understanding costs – let’s do it together… https://docs.google.com/a/cardinalpath.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Am0vOTQ66qzwdGF2bUtGOFRNdXZacE1DSmJCUWFqY2c&usp=sharing


“You may be very surprised…”

Your second task…


“To price a proposal, you must first know the true cost to deliver the

proposed services”

….You may be very surprised by what you find out

Costs: factors to consider in the actual job


Resources • Who will do it (how many, what

level and what level of commitment)?

• Is external assistance required (for skills or resourcing)?

Scope • How complex is the work? • Are others involved / what are the

dependencies / span of control?

Time • How long to do the work? • Is this a “rush job”? • Will staff need to work overtime?

Intangibles • Is the client high profile? • Is recurring business an

option? • Is there a prior relationship?

Other • Is there a request of

exclusivity? • Can you leverage this for PR or

a case study? • Resource & time commitments • Software licenses / costs

Pricing: an age old truth


You can only pick TWO…

TEXT

PICTURE

SHAPE

TEXT

PICTURE

SHAPE

FA S T

C H E A P G O O D

An important truth about pricing…


“You must understand and protect

your margins”

….If you don’t, you’ll end up working for free


Service pricing models – Time & materials

Service pricing models - Performance


?

? ?

Warning: Be careful of things you don’t control!

?

Service pricing models – Profit Sharing


?

? ?

Warning: Be careful of things you don’t control!

?

The psychology of pricing: Optionality


People prefer choices • If no options are available, they will want to have

some

• However, if too many, these a “barrier” against

decision making • Theory of choice – too much is debilitating and involves too

much cognitive effort

• Intuitively, they seek guidance

• “Recommended”; “Best Value”; “Most Popular” etc.



Example as applied to service offerings

Standard Enhanced Comprehensive

10% of spend 12% of spend 15% of spend

Account management & optimization



Bi-weekly reporting Bi-weekly reporting Weekly reporting

Competitive research or post-click analysis

Competitive research or post-click analysis

8 hours ad-hoc support

The psychology of pricing: Anchoring


€40,000 €10,000 €2,000



80% 20%

€1,69 €2.49



€0,99 €1,69 €2.49

20% 80% 0%



€3,99 €1,69 €2.49

70% 10% 20%

The psychology of pricing: Power of 9


Research conclusively demonstrates

Is a powerful number in pricing

Putting it all together – Negotiation


ne-go-ti-a-tion (noun): a formal discussion between two or more parties, with the intent of coming to a mutually agreed solution, because each party has something the other wants.

Negotiation – Fisher & Urey: BATNA


B A T N A

est lternative o A egotiated greement


Negotiations – the hardest thing to do is walking away

Negotiations - Should you ever “buy business”?


Generally “no”, unless they are a marquee client, will work with you on a case study or can use them to promote your

business (e.g. testimonial)

Pricing & negotiation – Quick recap


1. You must earn enough to reinvest in yourself

Build better hunting tools


2. Don’t be afraid to lose business on price



3. Make clients happy to pay your invoices

…and be the first one to tell them if that’s not going to be possible.


Advertising agencies & fee$$$

5 Types of Advertising agency

130

Full Service

• plan, create, produce ads

• Media buying

• marketing research

• selecting media

• strategic market planning

• direct market promotion programs

• interactive marketing

• web site design

• public relations

• …

Creative & Digital Creative

• Ad creation

• Branding

• Online video production

• Photo shoots

• Campaign websites

• Campaign mobile Apps

Media

• Media planning

• Media buying

• Media research

Digital

• Web design / development

• Internet advertising

• Search engine marketing

• E-business consulting

• Digital media planning

• Social media

• Digital PR

Specialized

• Copy-writing

• Direct marketing / Email marketing

• Public relation

• Communication

• Search engine marketing

• Search engine optimization

• Social media

• Online reputation management

• Web agency

• Affiliatiation

The evolving agency commission model

Hybrid Agency

Commission

Fee-

Based/Retainer

Performance-

based

Varies greatly

depending on scale

of spend.

Usually based upon

costing out

provision of

resource &

overheads + profit

increment

All agency

commission is

returned to the client

and remuneration is

based solely upon

specified

performance metrics

e.g. click volume

targets, sales

achieved

A combination of

any of the three

standard mechanics

e.g. commission +

fee, fee + bounty

per sale achieved

Many agencies

started to give a

percentage of their

15% agency

commission back

to the client.

The portion of the

15% commission

that the agency

actually keeps

ranges from

0 -15%

Percent of Spend

Most common billing model

Negotiate % of spend

on a client by client basis

Agency incentivized to grow book of business as much as

possible

Mostly acquire clients with

large existing AdWords spend (not eligible for our channel)

Flat Fee

Client pays flat fee on

monthly basis

Fee is typically determined by client investment (tiered)

Agency incentivized to onboard lots of SMBs

Attractive for small business

in our model

Agency may not be

incentivized to increase AdWords spend

No contracts can lead to high

churn

Performance

Based

Paid per lead/sale generated by online

marketing efforts

Mostly volume-based

Simple ROI calculation for the client to determine

profitability

Agency incentivized to significantly increase spend

once profitable

Trying to upsell clients into display due to contract

restrictions.

Hard to discuss brand and engagement

Revenue Share

Paid a % of revenue the client makes off of their

online marketing efforts with the agency.

Appeals to ROI driven clients

Hard to upsell into branding or engagement initiatives

Focus on brand and not long tail keywords because better

ROI.

Billing Model Overview Pros Cons

Market positioning = managing a business

Competition Look around the room…

How do you stand out?

Managing Day-to-Day

Sales

Bringing in the business

Managing Day-to-Day

• Your website !!!

• Building sales decks & collateral

• Responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

• Proposal and contract writing

• Using Master Service Agreements (MSAs)

• Legal business considerations

• How should I bill my clients?

Staffing

Who’s going to do all of this?

Managing Day-to-Day

• When do we need to hire?

• How should a team be structured?

• When should we outsource?

• How do we train and onboard new employees?

Creative

Who’s building the ads?

Managing Day-to-Day

• Copy writing is tough – AdWords ads can be tougher!

• Graphic designers for display formats?

• Programmers for display formats?

• Client approval / feeback process?

Reporting

Managing Day-to-Day

• What formats are actually USEFUL to clients?

• How often do we do it?

• Meeting with clients to review reports & discuss action items

• Using 3rd party reporting & dashboarding tools

• Allocating time and resources to reporting – a line on the invoice?

Scaling up & growing

Managing Day-to-Day

• Putting processes in place

• Adding people to a growing organization

• Using technology (bid management) to gain efficiencies

• Putting in place a business infrastructure

Final tips

ONE2ONE SESSIONS – Share experience

20141021 - sales pitch & strategy - agency preso

Documents

experience sales pitch

happy clients

potential clients

clients products

sales strategy hello

continuous sales pipe

semetis setup summer

communication agencies