Positioning with April Dunford

A Marketers Guide To Using The Sales Pitch

Nov 16, 2023

Learn how to have consistent positioning and messaging across sales and marketing. Explore the importance of aligning storytelling between marketing and sales. Discover the significance of the homepage and buyers guide in communicating value. Find out how graphics can effectively communicate complex information. Understand the intricacies of Salesforce's platform and the role of research and books.

23:28

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Quick takeaways

Aligning marketing storytelling with sales needs ensures consistency and avoids customer confusion.

The sales narrative structure can be applied to various marketing materials, such as Buyer's Guides, explainer videos, graphics, and conference talks.

Deep dives

Using a Sales Narrative for Effective Marketing

A senior marketing executive shared his experience transitioning from a low price point product with no sales team to an enterprise product with a sales-driven approach. He realized the importance of aligning marketing storytelling with the needs of the sales team. Instead of starting with marketing stories and hoping sales can adapt, it is more effective to begin with a sales pitch that communicates the company's point of view on the market, highlights alternative solutions, and emphasizes differentiated value. This sales narrative can then be used as a foundation for marketing efforts, ensuring consistency and avoiding confusion for customers.

The Importance of a Buyers Guide in Helping Customers Make Informed Decisions

00:44

Consulting Services for Tech Companies

00:53

Using Graphics to Communicate Marketing Messages

02:18

Introduction

2min

Aligning Storytelling Between Marketing and Sales

4min

The Importance of the Homepage and Buyers Guide in Communicating Value

8min

Using Graphics in Marketing

4min

Understanding Salesforce's Platform and the Role of Research and Books

4min

Today, I’m going to discuss how to have consistent positioning and messaging across sales and marketing using tactics from my book Sales Pitch. You will learn:

Why marketers at B2B companies should start with the sales pitch first
An overview of buyer’s guides and the components of the best ones
How to create an explainer video using the sales pitch structure
Why all content should target the proper persona
Examples of graphics used to educate buyers
Other types of content that can be structured around the sales pitch

You'll also hear that this is the final episode of Season 1, as I'm excited to take a break from podcasting for the rest of the year. Thanks for listening and supporting the podcast, and I look forward to recording more content next year!

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If You Want To Skip Ahead:

(00:21) An overview of my consulting work and season 1 finale

(01:11) Why marketing should center their storytelling on what works for sales

(05:30) How and why to use a buyer’s guide with customers

(09:13) How to incorporate the Sales Pitch structure into explainer videos

(10:20) Other places pieces of the sales narrative may work well

(11:07) The significance of different personas

(12:10) Leveraging the sales narrative set up phase for conference talks

(13:30) How graphics can enhance understanding of differentiated value

(14:09) The graphics Postman created to illustrate its features and capabilities

(16:20) Gitlab’s infinity graphic