Two of my favorite aspects of the #FlipMyFunnel movement are:
- It focuses on developing a great customer experience.
- It brings sales and marketing together.
The CEB Sales and Marketing Summit 2015 in Vegas is interesting to us for the same exact reasons. We wanted to recap our favorite moments of the first day of the 2015 conference for you here on the Terminus blog. So without further ado, here they are:
The day kicked off with Rick DeLisi, Senior Advisor at CEB, welcoming 1,200 attendees to the event.
.@rickdelisi kicks off the #CEBSummit for #B2B marketing & sales leaders in Vegas. Many tweets to follow! pic.twitter.com/fClIN34ZV5
— Richard Hill (@RHsays) October 20, 2015
As you can see, it was a packed house full of professionals ready to challenge the status quo of B2B sales and marketing.
The Great Listen #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/v4qxvTtbC6
— Rob Ferreira (@robferreiraRF) October 20, 2015
Here’s an interesting point that was presented in the opening session that shows we still have a lot to learn about the B2B buyer’s journey.
[live #CEBSummit poll] 50% of #B2B leaders have a somewhat to very imprecise view of their buyers journey. Yikes! pic.twitter.com/WfLuig6Bqw
— Richard Hill (@RHsays) October 20, 2015
To add to the complexity, the buyer is overwhelmed. Jill Rowley puts it nicely:
The modern buyer is digitally driven, socially connected, mobile, empowered, and OVERWHELMED. You're competing for ATTENTION. #CEBSummit
— Jill Rowley (@jill_rowley) October 20, 2015
The first session of the day was The End of Customer Empowerment, which was presented by Brent Adamson from CEB.
Our first key takeaway from this session was the following, which highlights the need for account-based marketing and reaching your buyers on their terms.
On average there are 5.4 DIVERSE individual stakeholders involved in the typical B2B purchase. @brentadamson #CEBSummit
— Jed Morley (@jed_morley) October 20, 2015
Jill Rowley highlighted this fact as well:
The day of the senior decision maker is OVER. Buying happens by committee & requires consensus. Don't be single threaded!! #CEBSummit
— Jill Rowley (@jill_rowley) October 20, 2015
Brent Adamson also challenged us to not only recognize that there are an average of 5.4 people in every buying decision, but also to know who those people are. And we agree! Putting your buyer personas in writing and creating content tailored to each of them is crucial in B2B marketing.
The End of Customer Empowerment #CEBSummit – Brent Adamson. Do you know who your 5.4 are? pic.twitter.com/zrlsmBZMPh
— Challenger (@ChallengerInc_) October 20, 2015
We were also reminded that there is no straight path in the customer journey, which is why the traditional sales and marketing funnel is fundamentally flawed.
The purchase process is not linear. It zigs, it zags, it starts, it stops, it winds around. #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/7IC4cZudpa
— Jill Rowley (@jill_rowley) October 20, 2015
Along this zig-zagged journey, buyers are expecting a lot from sellers, and sellers need to be ready to meet those demands.
In a world of demanding customers, we need to give them what they want. And it's a lot. #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/4kzFpVmHyG
— Daniel Rodriguez (@dlrdaniel) October 20, 2015
After Brent reminded us of the challenges customers are having, he asked the audience to describe their recent purchase decision in real-time. They used words like frustrating, complex, and confusing. Clearly there’s much work to be done in order to improve customer experience.
@brentadamson asks 1200 B2B buyers about their last purchase. Painful and frustrating on top. #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/pMH0WEKLcB
— Mike Derezin (@mikedfresh) October 20, 2015
#CEBSummit …how did you feel during your last buying experience? pic.twitter.com/hsjivfXgjq
— Nicole Bautista (@nicoloquita) October 20, 2015
The fact that buyer’s remorse is higher than ever also highlights the need for excellent customer success programs that can turn those customers into advocates.
"It took us 2X as long to buy this solution than expected!" #CustomerRegret #CEBSummit @BrentAdamson @CEB_Challenger pic.twitter.com/U15dz0RMLr
— Strid Art (@PeterStrid) October 20, 2015
One way for sales reps and marketers to win in this challenging buyer’s world is to make the process easier.
https://twitter.com/WThomasMarks/status/656519754065186817
There are two ways to move forward, according to the presentation: responsive or prescriptive.
@CEB_Challenger: Two Ways Forward. Are You Being Reactive OR Proactive? #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/CxSBMb7Oyr
— Challenger (@ChallengerInc_) October 20, 2015
The right choice was immediately clear to us: a proactive, prescription strategy makes B2B buying easier.
https://twitter.com/HireVueSales/status/656524195359133696
And in case you were wondering what a prescriptive selling approach looks like, here’s a good definition:
Make the buying process easier for your customers with quality recommendations. #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/nHuKS3X2Na
— Mark Fasken (@mfasko) October 20, 2015
While this was definitely the most impactful session for us, we wanted to share a few other favorite Tweets from the day.
What do #B2B reps look for when pursuing a lead? Lots of things, Marketing generated not one of them! #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/XjV6WXLSzk
— Richard Hill (@RHsays) October 20, 2015
Great idea at #CEBSummit Use customer testimonials to talk about buying challenges, landmines and what u learned
— Jill Konrath (@jillkonrath) October 20, 2015
https://twitter.com/WThomasMarks/status/656544385329303552
Good customer relationships don't result in success; they're a by-product of adding value and being relevant to customers #CEBSummit
— David Somers (@dcsomers) October 20, 2015
Why social selling? #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/U4fij3beDH
— LinkedIn for Sales (@linkedinselling) October 20, 2015
The 7 types of #B2B customers. Who do you target? Who should you target? #CEBSummit #ChallengerCustomer pic.twitter.com/UgnPVkY67Z
— Richard Hill (@RHsays) October 20, 2015
Account-Based Selling meets Account-Based Marketing via @peisaacson #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/TJaBxFx1bo
— Jill Rowley (@jill_rowley) October 20, 2015
The ante for CMOs to get a "seat at the table" per @peisaacson at #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/EhWjXbcSPn
— Randy Watson (@rawats61) October 20, 2015
"Measure everything but set goals based on business impact." @peisaacson #CEBSummit pic.twitter.com/dZxUNmN9Dg
— David Somers (@dcsomers) October 20, 2015
Did you attend the CEB Sales and Marketing Summit this year? What was your biggest takeaway from the event? Let us know in the comments!
Plus, if you’d like to learn more about how you can provide a better customer experience using account-based marketing strategies, download our #FlipMyFunnel Guide to Account-Based Marketing
