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Chapter 1 The Biggest Challenges Facing Marketing and Sales (Plus What Happens When You Crack The Conversion Code)

Do you want the good news or the bad news? I always like the bad news first so let's start there.

Here's the harsh reality of what marketing and sales are up against:

 Nearly 90% of people won't answer the phone anymore.¹

 Across every generation, people are 3–8× more likely to prefer a text from you than to talk to you.²

 More than 40% of people between the ages of 30 and 50 are “almost constantly” online.³

 Only 3% of people trust marketers and salespeople (Figure 1.1).⁴

 25% of companies have absolutely no idea if their social media advertising is working.⁵

 More than 50% of companies do not have a documented social media strategy.

 90% of sales and marketing professionals say they are misaligned across strategy, process, content, and culture.⁶

 Only 12% of marketers are very satisfied with their lead conversion rate (Figure 1.2).⁷

Do any of those pain points resonate with you?

I spend most of my time researching and teaching lead conversion. When it comes to successfully converting leads into customers, the most significant challenges companies face right now are (in order) not collecting enough data on the leads, following up with leads quickly, making initial contact with the leads, maintaining contact with leads, filtering leads, and setting appointments with leads (Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.1 Most and Least Trusted Professions

Are any of those challenges your challenges?

Now the good news. You bought the right book.

So, what exactly is The Conversion Code? Conversion happens at the intersection of marketing, sales, and technology. It's what happens when those three things are firing on all cylinders and working in harmony (Figure 1.4). And what happens when you crack the code and get this right is pretty special.

But don't take it from me: 85% of companies say that sales and marketing alignment is the largest opportunity for improving business performance today.⁸

Figure 1.2 Overall Satisfaction with Lead-to-Sales Conversion Rate

Here's how elite companies (those who report “very good” or “world-class” ability) compare to average companies when asked about their lead conversion capabilities⁹ (Figure 1.5):

 Can you accurately target prospects?47% of the best companies can, but only 27% of average companies can.

 Can you properly qualify leads?57% of the best companies can, but only 27% of average companies can.

 Can your salespeople effectively present features and benefits?79% of the best companies can, but only 27% of average companies can.

 Can you sell value and avoid excessive discounting?73% of the best companies can, but only 30% of average companies can.

Figure 1.3 The Biggest Challenges to Successful Lead Conversion

Overall, companies that have implemented a managed lead-to-revenue process experience 50% higher revenue growth than those that haven't.¹⁰

The gap between amazing and average is wide. I wrote this book to help you bridge that gap. To help you face these challenges. To help you solve these problems.

The Conversion Code is a step-by-step guide to marketing and sales that will improve your lead conversion rate, increase your ROI, and help you grow your business faster.

There are three circles in my Venn diagram defining lead conversion. I also use three circles to make it clear just how big the opportunity is that is right in front of you. I call it “the opportunity circle” (Figure 1.6).

At the center of the opportunity circle, the smallest circle, are the people who hire you. The middle circle represents the people who know about you but don't hire you. The outer circle, the largest circle, comprises the people who don't know you exist.

Figure 1.4 Conversion Happens at the Intersection of Marketing, Sales, and Technology

Figure 1.5 Elite Companies' Lead Conversion Capabilities

Figure 1.6 The Opportunity Circle

This book takes the people who don't know you exist and moves them into the do know you circle. It takes the people who do know you but didn't hire you and moves them into the inner circle of people who hire you.

The circles of people who don't know you and know you but don't hire you are a lot larger than your inner circle. They are where the greatest opportunity lies.

NOTES

1 1. Zipwhip. “Why Your Customers Don't Answer the Phone Anymore.” June 2019. https://www.zipwhip.com/resource/ebook/why-customers-dont-answer-the-phone/.

2 2. Twilio. “Global Mobile Messaging Consumer Report.” September 12, 2016. https://www.twilio.com/press/releases/twilio-study-finds-that-9-out-of-10-consumers-globally-want-to-message-with-brands.

3 3. Perrin, Andrew, and Sara Atske. “About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Say They Are ‘Almost Constantly’ Online.” Pew Research Center. March 26, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/26/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-say-they-are-almost-constantly-online/.

4 4. Frost, Aja. “Only 3% of People Think Salespeople Posses This Crucial Character Trait.” Hubspot. April 29, 2016. https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/salespeople-perception-problem.

5 5. Buffer. “State of Social 2019.” 2019. https://buffer.com/state-of-social-2019.

6 6. LinkedIn. “Moments of Trust.” 2020. https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/marketing-solutions/cx/2020/images/pdfs/moments-of-trust-v4.pdf.

7 7. Verse. “The State of Lead Conversion in Marketing and Sales.” September 30, 2020. https://verse.io/the-state-of-lead-conversion-in-marketing-and-sales/.

8 8. Salesforce. “5th Edition State of Marketing.” September 23, 2018. https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/assets/pdf/datasheets/salesforce-research-fifth-edition-state-of-marketing.pdf . HubSpot. “2021 Marketing Statistics, Trends & Data.” 2021. https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics.

9 9. Trailer, Barry, and Jim Dickie. “Understanding What Your Sales Manager Is Up Against.” Harvard Business Review. August 2006. https://hbr.org/2006/07/understanding-what-your-sales-manager-is-up-against.

10 10. Wizdo, Lori. “Optimize Revenue Results with an L2RM Business System.” Forrester. August 30, 2018. https://www.forrester.com/report/Navigate-The-Milestones-On-The-L2RM-Journey/RES95302.