Sales has really never been anything more than consistent activity and determination.
So, when we study the mathematics of traditional sales activity, it's important to measure the ways injecting content marketing (blogs, podcasts, vlogs, etc.) adds value to the modern prospecting mix - especially when you consider the rise and success of social media.
Let's consider a set of pipeline requirements for a typical promotional products distributor outside rep using standard success metrics carried forward from the late 1990's:
- 40 contacts per day * 22 sales days per month = 880 interactions
- 10% appointment bookings = 88 appointments
- 25% presentation meetings = 22 presentations
- 25% close rate = 5 sales
- 5 sales @ $15000 = $75,000 monthly sales
- $75,000 sales * 12 months = $900,000 territory revenue (typical quota was: $500,000 - $750,000
Assuming a standard industry commission split of 50/50 and average gross margin of 35%, this formula would produce $157,500 in commissions for the sales rep.
What’s changed in the above equation lives outside these numbers – how many outbound attempts would it take today to achieve 40 contacts, and what would be a more realistic conversion percentage when moving suspects to prospects via appointments? While a healthy debate might break out considering widely accepted numbers, what is certain is that it takes SUBSTANTIALLY higher numbers to achieve the same output now than prior to 9/11. It’s just fact.
The most common attempt to right the numbers back in favor of the sales team have largely been left to the marketing department, in the form of content marketing, meant to fill the top of the funnel with enough prospects to supplement traditional outbound prospecting.
Does content marketing work and can it supplant other methods of outbound sales using a people-centric sales model?
Here’s how our data for the last 4 months stacks up.
Roger’s Personal Social Accounts
- 529 Podcast Listens
- 324 New LinkedIn connections (99% industry-related)
- 55 New Twitter followers
- 89 New Facebook connections (90% industry related)
- 17 New Instagram followers (50% industry related)
Company Social Accounts
- 69 New Facebook Followers
- 49 New Instagram Followers
Aggregating those numbers warrants some discussion. The interactions outlined above total 1,132, but it is certain there is overlap within the consuming audience from platform to platform. Using a confidence factor of 75% unique users, one might assign 849 net interactions in the period, or roughly 25% of the required 880 transactions monthly to assure a healthy pipeline. With some information on the amount of time invested to grow these statistics, one could determine whether content creation and distribution are worthwhile endeavors at this stage of our Company’s growth.
What’s clear from this analysis is the current top of funnel efforts will not produce sufficient opportunities to support the plan – this warrants some additional investigation and discussion.
A prospecting strategy built on content alone is insufficient to support any sales organization. To think it could be is a losing proposition for most, with only the rare exception or well-funded effort.
There’s too little data yet on conversion percentages to understand how our content marketing efforts are translating into revenue, but we are in a better position every day to build the bridges to that data, and we’re paying really close attention to that information to help inform future efforts we measure how this sales methodology compares to the other vehicles we use to advance our message.
While there remains a lot to be told of this story, and much of the result has yet to unfold, the 4 months referenced here have been some of the most fun and interesting times in my professional career and I’m grateful to tell you all about it.
Roger has spent 20+ years making complex concepts more understandable for both buyers and sellers alike, and has devoted the majority of his recent career to writing and executing sales and marketing plans for early and mid-stage businesses. He is a student of organizational behavior and the disciplines successful selling organizations use to achieve the greatest reach, even in instances of scarce resources. He loves the outdoors and seeks memorable experiences whenever possible. Contact Roger at roger@branded-logistics.com or 810-986-5369