In a B2B technology sales context, the ISR (inside sales representative) is a highly specialized role tasked with sourcing prospects and converting them into sales appointments for outside sales. ISRs are not telesales or telemarketing people. That is, ISRs do not actually sell anything over the phone or online. There is no transaction or order processing. The ISR function is a critical one for startups but it is often a disappointment. In this post, I will discuss the reasons why this function is sub-optimal for most startups.
The Lean Marketing Org
Product Category Creation
Losing Sleep Over B2B Tech Conversion Rates
Ask any VP of Sales or CEO to explain their pipeline conversion rates. Often, they will jump right to the win rate: “We win at least 50 percent of the opportunities we get!” Not so fast. We want to know the conversion rates (plural).
Many of the qualified opportunities that turn into closed deals quickly come from referrals. These, by definition, are very late stage opportunities in the pipeline. Your conversion rate for these types of opportunities probably needs to be at least 50 percent - otherwise, you do not have a scalable business.
Your Product is Amazing, BUT Your B2B Marketing Sucks
Glad I got your attention. Marketing does not suck. But, it can suck and that is what we should all try to avoid.
Marketing will suck if it is not a critical component of driving the overall go-to-market (GTM) strategy. If your marketing is merely supporting the GTM, I would say that you will continue to have low expectations from marketing.
In this post, I will address the topic of how you can make sure that your marketing drives the GTM. For that, let us begin with the person for the job.