Aligned to Achieve

Оглавление

Eiler Tracy. Aligned to Achieve

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

CHAPTER 1. WHY ALIGN?

CHAPTER 2. GET THOSE CULTURAL OBSTACLES OUT OF YOUR WAY

CHAPTER 3. BUILD ALIGNMENT INTO EVERY PROCESS

CHAPTER 4. AN ALIGNED ORGANIZATION REQUIRES A DIFFERENT KIND OF LEADER

CHAPTER 5. DATA IS THE GREAT EQUALIZER OF ALIGNMENT

CHAPTER 6. PUSH ALIGNMENT BEYOND SALES AND MARKETING AND INTO THE CIO'S OFFICE

CHAPTER 7. CRACKING THE CODE OF ALIGNMENT

CHAPTER 8. LEADING-EDGE CONCEPTS FOR REACHING COMPLETE ALIGNMENT

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INDEX

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Отрывок из книги

Alignment should be the number-one operational issue for every business-to-business company. The era of fostering tension between sales and marketing is over. Businesses achieve more success and operate at a higher level – meaning more growth, more profits, and more productivity – when the teams interacting with the customer are tightly aligned. That extends from alignment on defining who the customer is, to what the customer sees and hears, to how that customer is approached, engaged with, and ultimately won.

We are in the midst of a long and unprecedented period of rapid, technology-fueled business transformation. Markets have become more competitive, products more commoditized, new business channels and methods are appearing, and technology has become ubiquitous and affordable by even the smallest companies. What that means is any company of any size can effectively compete against rivals and everyone has a harder time standing out from the growing noise in every market. Even more, buyers and buying cycles have transformed because buyers have more power and more information, which enables them to be independent of, disconnected from, and less reliant on you as a seller.

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Leaders must align their teams to focus on company growth, not departmental success. Gone are the days when sales could focus only on closing deals, marketing could focus only on generating leads, and every other department could look at their own achievements. When teams are aligned and aimed at common goals, they work better together and they win more often. But alignment is not just necessary for growth, it is necessary for survival because buyers are no longer responding to traditional and disjointed outreaches. Instead, companies must coordinate across all touchpoints where buyers are engaged, regardless of who initiates that contact or how. Buyers do not see sales and marketing; they see your brand and your company, your website and your booth at a show. Alignment enables a thoughtful, coordinated engagement with customers, and they will respond favorably.

Alignment is required, but it is not enough. It needs to be guided by a go-to-market strategy. I am starting to see a clear trend among leading companies of adopting a modern and tech-centric approach to market targeting. These companies – brands you would recognize as the most forward-thinking and innovative companies in their segments – shy away from the traditional volume approaches of outbound calls and emails. Instead they aim for quality and pinpoint targeting with the right outreach to the right person at the right time. They have learned that the old model of spray-and-pray is no longer working, so they have adopted a more focused and strategic approach.

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