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Tips on How Marketing Can Help Create a Sense of Urgency in Sales
With apologies to Glengarry Glen Ross (“always be closing”), the days of the marketing hard sell are over. These days, relationship-focused customer engagement is the name of the game, with companies placing top priority on exploring and addressing their customers’ needs instead of simply giving them a laundry list of product capabilities and leaving it at that. But does that mean creating a sense of urgency is also a thing of the past? Can we expect longer close times and slower sales velocity to be the norm?
Well, not exactly.
To discuss how to maintain urgency with prospects and customers in the age of customer-focused sales, Aventi Group COO and Co-Founder Sridhar Ramanathan hosted an #AventiLive Chat with Aventi Consultant Sasha Mostofi-Jorgensen and Robby Halford, former Senior Director of Sales Readiness, Malwarebytes.
Read on for their thoughts, or download a free eBook on the subject here:
Download a free eBook on maintaining urgency
Eliminating roadblocks enhances a sense of urgency
To increase sales urgency, make sure you reduce any friction or obstacles the buyer may encounter along their journey. In particular, equip your sales team with the messaging materials they will need to boost sales velocity and address any objections a customer may bring up.
For example, elevator pitches help sales position your product or technology quickly, before the prospect can lose interest. Battlecards, on the other hand, provide your salespeople with a more comprehensive overview of your positioning, making sure they stay on message and in step with marketing.
Use cases are especially helpful for both teams to have on hand
Use cases can be used to address a prospects’ objections by demonstrating that your product has already worked well for others.
Whatever it is, decide what pieces of content sales needs to have in the moment to close an opportunity faster. (If a playbook is more your style, please refer to our earlier blog post for tips on keeping your content fresh and dynamic.)
Ride the wave
Both speakers agreed that it’s essential for companies to create a sense of urgency by staying in front of relevant current events that might affect your customers. Is there a technology offering you haven’t actively been pushing that might address a new need in the market? Or perhaps there was a data breach or similar event that is relevant to your sector and therefore important to respond to? Robby gave the example of how Malwarebytes responded to the Marriott data breach in 2018 by posting a blog informing readers about the reasons behind the breach and how they could protect their data moving forward.
Be empathetic, not opportunistic
Robby paraphrased Brené Brown by emphasizing the need to show prospective customers that they are not alone. So instead of saying, “Hey, you had a data breach, we could’ve helped with that,” ask your sellers to help customers make an informed decision as to how they can prevent similar issues in the future.
Create urgency by educating, not selling
On a similar note, make sure your messaging is aimed at being helpful, not just trying to position your product. When prospects have access to meaningful, relevant content, they will come to their own conclusions about how your product or technology can address their needs, making a hard sell from your end unnecessary––and possibly even off-putting.
An important thing to keep in mind
Converting these educated prospects into sales depends not just on your messaging, but on the effectiveness of tactical items like your calls-to-action, or CTAs. Keep an eye on those stats, and, if you have a content management system, also check out what content your salespeople are downloading most often. They’re the ones on the ground using what you’re creating, so their feedback is essential.
Quote: “To create a sense of urgency with your prospects, look at your CTAs––across your site and all of your activities––and make sure they’re optimized for click-through rates.” –Sasha Mostofi-Jorgensen, Aventi Partner
Eat what’s on your plate
The importance of nurturing and educating prospects doesn’t stop when they convert to sales. Robby suggested setting frequent touchpoints to check in with existing customers––for example, by sending a thank you note, organizing a user conference (in-person or virtual), or setting up a leadership council.
Checking in, getting feedback, and continuing your customers’ education are all great ways to create a sense of urgency
In addition, touch base with your customers to see what maybe isn’t working as well. If, for example, you see that a customer is only 10% deployed and it’s already six months into their agreement, that might become a problem in another six months. If the customer hasn’t realized the value you promised when they purchased, it could affect their decision to renew or buy future products. Taking proactive steps before that problem arises can mean the difference between losing a customer and retaining them.
Stat: 79% of marketing leads never convert due to a failure to nurture consumer connections. (HubSpot)
Maintain urgency through authentic connections
In the end, all three speakers agreed that minimizing friction while maintaining customer education and engagement is the key to creating urgency in your sales process. Taking this more sustained, customer-centric approach to closing a deal will ultimately lead to faster closing, higher customer retention rates, and more focused, value-added messaging materials across the board.
Get more details on maintaining urgency by downloading this free eBook. You can also check out the #AventiLive Chat below. We hope you enjoy it.
