b2bcamp session: engaging your sales team to help drive innovation by kevin sasser
TRANSCRIPT
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“Business has two functions – marketing and innovation”
Peter Drucker
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Q: How do you sell an Eskimo a refrigerator?
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A: Sell on the fact that their food won’t freeze.
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“You are raising quotas for next year? What’s our strategy?”
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“Next year we will need to keep our heads down, work on blocking and tackling, and
throwing elbows…”
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What do you think about these hosted solutions “in the cloud”?
It’s a fad….
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Kevin Sasser
Engaging the Sales Team to Drive InnovationB2BCamp 2015
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Symptoms of a Weak Strategy
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Every Sales Rep Who Has Ever Been Asked the Question “Do We Need This Feature?”
“Yes”
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“that’s in there because we lost a big deal when we didn’t have it”
Mystery Features
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“They are a partner, but we don’t really do much with them.”
Kardashian Marriages
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“But we just pivoted”
Jumping the line between “Innovative Pioneer” and “Being lost as all hell”
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“…we are not going to pidgeon-hole ourselves...”
Doesn’t know target market
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This is a by product of….
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This
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Strategy Canvas
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Defining Your Target Market
Too Small Too Broad
Leaving Revenue on
the TableWeak
Messaging
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Defining Your Target Market
Too Small Too Broad
Leaving Revenue on
the TableWeak
Messaging
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The Goal
TARGET MARKETS
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
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Eliminate These BehaviorsBut First
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Fear of the UnknownEliminate These Behaviors
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Focusing Only on the FeaturesEliminate These Behaviors
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Engaging Only With Those Who Come to YouEliminate These Behaviors
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Defining Your Targets in General TermsEliminate These Behaviors
“The SMB” vs. “Bob”
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Finding Common GroundThe First Step
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Take Product Team on DemosFinding Common Ground
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Build & Validate Customer PersonasFinding Common Ground
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Build a Value Proposition Canvas TogetherFinding Common Ground
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Value Proposition Canvas
Start Here
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Value Proposition Canvas
Work This Way
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Value Proposition Canvas
Mine
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Embracing InnovationStep Two
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MAR
KET
TIME
LOW
MID
HIGH
Sustaining Innovation
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Sustaining Innovation
• Use Prototypes and Smoke Tests to Validate Proposed New Features
• Use Charitable Contributions as Motivators to Engage with Non Customers
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MAR
KET
TIME
LOW
MID
HIGH
Disruptive Innovation
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Disruptive Innovators
• Enter at the low end of the market• Have a lower cost structure and price point• Not taken seriously by competition• Work way up from low to mid to high end of
market
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Disruptive Innovators
• Watch for competitors on low end• Track their wins against you• Run campaigns to gather competitive intel• If you price match you will most likely lose
money with your current cost structure
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Disruptive Innovators
• Consider setting up new division/company with different cost structure to compete
