Sales and marketing aligning to define their perfect prospect is one way of improving lead generation and getting more from marketing investments, according to CSO Insights 2010 Sales Performance Optimization Survey of more than 2800 companies.

A key finding in the Sales and Marketing Alignment Analysis Section is that "marketing is still seen as underperforming in providing reps with quality and quantity of leads."

The evidence of this is that only 30% of the 2800 companies surveyed, rated the quality and quantity of leads generated by marketing as meeting or exceeding their expectations. Further evidence of a problem lies in the fact that last year only 38% of reps progressed from an initial meeting to a presentation. This could also be a contributing factor in sales attitude toward marketing lead quality. 2009 was an exceptionally difficult year as the survey showed, however we believe this is an important priority for companies wanting to invest marketing funds more effectively in 2010.

One approach to improving the quality of leads that CSO Insights reports is working, is for sales and marketing to work together to target their perfect prospect. We will share our own perfect prospect criteria and at the same time, would be delighted to hear from anyone who fits our profile.

Industry:

B2B Technology
Segments: Software, Wireless, Internet, Cloud Infrastructure, Cloud Applications

Ideal Company Attributes

• Revenue >$US 5Million, <$US 100Million
• >5 sales people, direct or channel
• Have a great product/service
• Have funding and cash
• Want to accelerate revenue growth and profitability
• Competent marketing and sales leadership
• Company willing to invest in technology/process for competitive advantage

 Problems the Company wants to Solve

• Not enough leads
• Lack of mind-share/awareness in the market
• Weak pipeline
• Weak messaging
• Sales team underachieving revenue goals
• Company under-achieving potential

 Stakeholder to champion a project:

CEO, Owner/Investor, VP Sales and Marketing, VP Marketing (strong)

Prerequisites

• Using CRM
• Using external PR firm, marketing budget >$US 100K

 Geographies

UK, Europe, Israel, US East Coast

Our Value Proposition for our Ideal Prospect

1. We help B2B technology companies to create clarity in marketing messaging, making it easy for potential customers to understand the value in using their product/service.
2. We use the messaging to drive lead generation using HubSpot's Inbound Marketing platform and through creating valuable content to create mindshare and build brand over time.
3. We help sales teams increase quota achievement and exploit increased lead-flow through improving selling skills and creating sales tools that align seller and buyer at each transition in the buying process.

http://www.csoinsights.com