Marketing Technology and Automation

"Hi. This is Claire calling from ____ company, I was just reaching out to see if you had any questions regarding our product in general. If so, please give me a call at (555)-555-1212. Thank you."

I just got this voicemail from a very well known marketing technology company and could scream! Why did she even call? Did she get any training on not wasting her or my time? Sadly, this is one of many lame cold call voicemails I have received recently.

Everyone is busier than ever these days. The modern marketer, executive, salesperson or prospect does not have time to waste. Cold calling is a grueling and tough part of sales prospecting. In the old days (before the interwebz, caller ID, voicemail) a hard working sales rep or appointment setter could get the attention of a prospect then engage in a discovery call simply based on call volume, aka the numbers game. This was mainly because product information was not easily obtained and sale people were considered a resource. These days, not so much. I am not discounting the value of a sales person; however, the way buyers (B2B & B2C) buy has changed, dramatically. When was the last time you made a business inquiry or significant purchase without Google-ing it first? My next post will focus on the new buyers' journey.

The cold call still has value in modern selling and the current buyer driven sales journey. The cold call does not work like it did 10+ years ago. It can still be a powerful tool/skill in the salesperson's toolkit. The call cold and likely voicemail must be short, concise and meaningful.

Here are some tips to increase your success rate:

Who: Who you are? Who do you work for? "Hello, this is Claire" "I am a marketing expert with ____ company"

What: What value does your company provide? "My company helps B2B executives, increase revenue by _____(insert            service/product/benefit)."

Why: Why should I care? Be specific and relevant. Draw me in. Prove it. "We have worked with _____  company (insert known name in space or competitor) and have achieved _____ results by _____ (doing/using this service/product).

Action/Benefit: Tell me the desired action and how I will benefit or miss out. Make it easy for me to justify spending time with you. Feel free to also tell me you will send an email if it is easier. Tell me you may keep bugging me until I respond because the benefit is so great. Stand out, provide specific details to peak interest, express your personality, be short and concise.

This years Dreamforce had 135,000 registered attendees from 91 countries. The word on the floor rumored the final total was 144,000! More than twice as many as Oracle Open World. Dreamforce is an event unlike any conference. It is a massive experience that takes over San Francisco. Here are my top 5 highlights from this years Dreamforce, aka #DF14.

#1  No No No more Marketing Automation alley

The presence of marketing automation platforms like Eloqua and Marketo was non-existent. Act-Onhad a small booth with a Silver level sponsorship, but I did not notice it or any other marketing automation platform as I walked the Expo floor. Obviously, changes in the marketing automation space, like Oracle’s acquisition of Eloqua (Dec 2012), and Salesforce’s acquisition of Pardot (via ExactTarget 2013) makes it tenuous.

This year, the positioning of Salesforce Pardot and ExactTarget (Salesforce Marketing Cloud) was much stronger and clearer. Last year, everyone was questioning if Pardot would even exist (or be blended in). The clear answer this year is YES.  Salesforce Pardot for B2B. Salesforce Marketing Cloud for B2C. In a nutshell, Salesforce Pardot has the robust nurturing and scoring engine to support extended and complex buyer’s journeys.

  #2  Analytics Analytics Analytics!

Big Data. BI. Salesforce announced its entry into the BI/analytics market with Wave, Salesforce Analytics Cloud platform. 

“There’s going to be 10 times more mobile data by 2020, 19 times more unstructured data, and 50 times more product data by 2020.” -Marc Benioff, CEO Salesforce.com

We should pay attention to what he says.  He is one of the most powerful tech CEO’s and even autocorrect know’s him.  I typed “Benihoff” and got a red line then corrected to “Benioff.” Since I am a child of the 80’s, I may have been thinking of David Hasselhoff from my childhood favorite TV series, Knight Rider. BTW, autocorrect caught both. I am not saying they are equal or alike, just stating for the record. Okay, back to Dreamforce.

Wave is Salesforces entry into a $38B market. Many say it seems a bit late for such an innovative cutting edge company. I would have to agree. Marketers have been clamoring for better ROI analytics and have had to rely on integrating marketing automation and buying MA embedded/white labelled BI tools. Wave does have a clear advantage with being native to Salesforce, but the devil is in the details, yet to be discovered.

Wave promises to be visual and interactive. It must be, it was announced with the Beach Boys playing “Good Vibrations.”

#3  Vertical Vertical Vertical!

For the first time, to my knowledge, Salesforce had an industry specific demo area. It was not highly promoted and even tucked away. Great move as Dreamforce gets bigger and bigger.

  #4  It is still a Party. Party, Party

Dreamforce, unlike any other conference I have attended, makes the attendee feel special. Music and entertainment everywhere. Knowledgeable and friendly service personnel to assist around every corner. More interesting sessions than anyone could possibly attend. Even the food is relatively decent. I have to give bonus points for anyone that can make/store/distribute over 100,000 eatable lunch boxes that are a cut or two above vending machine sandwiches.

    #5  The giving and giving back BIG continues 

Please join me in supporting Hushly by voting in the 2013 Top Sales & Marketing Awards.Hushly's new technology serves both buyers and sellers by optimizing engagement flow based on individual cadence. Buyers get the details they need prior to speaking with Sales. Sales can engage prospects much earlier in the sales process. Truly Revolutionary!