QUIZ: Are You Speeding Up Sales?
Hey B2B marketers! Which word best sums up your ability to accelerate sales: meh, okay or magnificent? While shortening the sales cycle is a key marketing priority, it’s a tricky undertaking that doesn’t happen just by churning out content. Actually, closing deals faster starts long before the sales team starts working the leads you’ve generated. In fact, how fast a deal closes relies heavily on how well you use data to shape your marketing in ways that build strong relationships with prospects.
How well have you mastered the art of data-inspired sales acceleration? Take this quiz and find out!
Select the answer that mostly closely resembles your organization ... and be honest!
QUESTION 1 OF 10
Which statement best describes marketing’s role in sales enablement efforts?
A
Marketing is primarily an order taker, responding to sales requests for content.
B
Marketing pushes standard material to sales and periodically updates existing collateral.
C
Marketing’s focus on sales enablement is highly strategic, with the end goal to improve/enhance sales interactions.
D
Marketing works from a sales enablement plan (co-created with sales) that has a heavy concentration on operations.
QUESTION 2 OF 10
Which statement best describes your marketing team’s working relationship with sales?
A
We’re soul mates. Because we share revenue responsibility, our teams meet and collaborate regularly to improve content, sales tools and processes.
B
We’re better together. We co-define “qualified” leads and work together on post-campaign follow-up processes.
C
Two ships that pass in the night. We rarely collaborate. Marketing makes the “hand-off” to sales, which creates its own material.
D
Totally devoted. We work together to articulate and deliver on service-level commitments to each other.
QUESTION 3 OF 10
How is technology currently supporting your marketing and sales efforts?
A
We don’t have a CRM or marketing automation system. Sales content is distributed primarily through email/intranet/document-sharing software.
B
We have CRM and marketing automation systems and a sales enablement platform. Sales enablement applications could be better integrated.
C
Our CRM, marketing automation and sales enablement technologies are integrated. Enablement applications are mobile-friendly and accessed through one interface.
D
We have CRM and marketing automation systems, although usage level and effectiveness could be improved. Sales content is housed in a portal.
QUESTION 4 OF 10
What’s the primary way your marketing team plans to accelerate sales?
A
Generate more leads.
B
Deliver the right content at the right time through the right channel to the right prospect.
C
Devise more attractive offers for bottom-of-the-funnel leads.
D
Help our sales team do their jobs better by giving them easy access to searchable, usable content—material that fits customer needs and the sales process, etc.
QUESTION 5 OF 10
The sales content marketing has created …
A
Is all in one place and sales knows where it is.
B
Isn’t centralized in one location, but our sales reps know where to find most of it.
C
Is all in one place and well known to sales. It provides guidance not only on what to sell to whom and when—but also on how to use content in sales interactions.
D
Is all in one place, mapped to buyer stages, organized accordingly and sales knows where it is and how to use it.
QUESTION 6 OF 10
How does marketing transfer its customer knowledge (beyond basic lead information) to sales?
A
We don’t.
B
Random acts of email and hallway conversation.
C
A lengthy report that sales needs to wade through.
D
A formalized report with key points summarized.
QUESTION 7 OF 10
Your sales team uses your marketing content like it’s a _________.
A
One-hit wonder; rarely if ever.
B
House of Cards season release; they don’t consistently use it—but when they do, they binge!
C
Favorite Spotify play list; they rely on it every step of the way.
D
Color-by-numbers poster; they have to follow directions.
QUESTION 8 OF 10
Which statement best describes your lead management effectiveness?
A
Our lead qualification capability is spotty; we often don’t have enough information about contacts.
B
Our main focus is on lead generation; we hand leads off to sales without a formal qualification process.
C
We use multiple technologies and tools to qualify (and disqualify) leads.
D
We use marketing automation to score and grade leads based on specific parameters.
QUESTION 9 OF 10
A prospect registers to download one of your white papers. What do you do next?
A
Gather more intelligence about the prospect by cross-checking interaction and engagement data across multiple systems.
B
Place the prospect into a general nurturing program to gather more information.
C
Place the prospect into a persona-based nurturing program.
D
Hand the lead off to sales.
QUESTION 10 OF 10
At its most effective, your marketing content has shortened the sales cycle by _____.
A
I don’t know
B
1–9%
C
10–19%
D
20% or more