Why Positioning Does Not Make the Jump From Marketing to Sales

16 snips

Apr 3, 2024

Discover why positioning often fails to transition from marketing to sales, with insights on the disconnect between the two teams, challenges in aligning messaging, the importance of addressing unspoken objections in pitch decks, and customizing pitches for champions in B2B deals.

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INSIGHT

First Call Can't Be Fully Customized

Sales teams often do not integrate marketing positioning, leading to disconnect during sales calls. - A first sales call mostly involves discovery, so full customization of the pitch is unrealistic until later calls.

ADVICE

Involve Sales in Positioning Work

Involve sales in creating positioning to ensure alignment and usability. - Sales involvement increases understanding and adoption of positioning in actual sales calls.

ADVICE

Build Pitch Decks for Sales Needs

Design pitch decks to include discovery and handling unspoken objections. - Address pricing and change management concerns explicitly in the first call pitch deck.

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Welcome to Season 2! In today’s episode, I explore why positioning fails to make the jump from marketing to sales in many companies, and what common misconceptions and mistakes in positioning work should be avoided.

You will learn:

* Why sales teams often lack a deep understanding of positioning and its importance in the sales process.

* Communicating value and positioning product consistently across all sales calls, even for new sales reps.

* What happens when marketing creates positioning without consulting sales, leading to disconnect between the two teams.

* The disconnect between sales teams and marketing teams, as marketing decks often don't account for the need for discovery and objection handling during sales calls.

* Two common unspoken objections in sales pitches: pricing and change management.

* Common challenges in transitioning positioning from marketing to sales, including inadequate decks.

* In enterprise and B2B deals, multiple stakeholders involved in a deal can lead to multiple pitch decks, making the process more complicated.

* Customizing pitch decks for the champion, with a focus on resonating with their needs and concerns, rather than trying to address the objections of other stakeholders in the deal.

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If you want to skip ahead:

(0:01) Positioning in B2B marketing and sales.

(4:25) Sales strategy and customer understanding.

(8:55) Why marketing and sales positioning often doesn't align.

(13:18) Sales pitches and unspoken objections.

(18:00) B2B purchase process and positioning for sales.

(23:24) Customizing sales pitch decks for different personas.

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Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales:

Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact

April’s newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/

April’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/

April’s Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford

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Get April Dunford’s books and audiobooks:

“Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It”

“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win”

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY

Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQ

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The Positioning with April Dunford podcast: Want to make your product stand out in a crowded market? It all starts with great positioning. Using April’s battle-tested methodology, she'll teach you the nitty-gritty of positioning so that you can unlock better marketing and sales performance.

Podcast website: https://www.positioning.show/

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3PFHcWx

Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/4aqyDqI

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@positioningshow

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This episode was produced by Story On Media & Marketing: https://www.SuccessWithStories.com