With the continual introduction of new digital channels the means of growing revenue have expanded dramatically our options have expanded. Accordingly, go-to-market planning is no longer just an art, it’s a science. In 2022, we have to take the guesswork out of sales and marketing to effectively pursue closeable revenue. To do so and to respond to increasingly imbalanced markets, businesses must optimize systems mathematically to get a leg up. 

Revenue By Design – The 6 Step Process to Closeable Revenue 

The business landscape of 2022 is messier than it’s ever been. On the SME side, there’s such a multitude of competition, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Conversely, the enterprise space is being steadily dominated by monopolies like Amazon, Apple and Meta. How then, can we look to compete in these highly competitive and changeable business conditions? 

For Marge Breya – Chief Marketing Officer for Leadspace – the answer lies with mathematics and its effect on business processes. Of particular note, Marge laid out the 6 step process that she uses to level the revenue generation playing field: 

1. Get Your Data House In Order. 
2. Identify your Ideal Buyer and TAM 
3. Create a Buyer Model 
4. Know your Odds 
5. Put the Buyer Model to Work 
6. Align Marketing & Sales 

Some outlets estimate that around 70% of companies have at least one failed project in in recent years and it is for this reason that we often avoid changing something that needs fixing. As Marge put it, “this doesn’t have to be a long process, it doesn’t have to be something that’s only for the folks with armies and teams of data scientists. Any company of a decent size can go and achieve all of this”. 

1. Get Your Data House in Order

As Marge identified, the first step in this new revenue journey is about getting your buyer data house in order. “The first question I ask is where’s your database? Do you have a customer data platform and who’s in charge of it? More often than not, you’ll be met with a blank stare,” says Marge. We need to ask these questions 

We cannot think or operate mathematically if we don’t have the data to support us. For this reason, “it all starts with getting your data right. You can make it such that you have a foundation that can keep improving and forms out the basis from which you can create additional models to improve your odds.” Data-driven companies are 58% more likely to beat revenue goals as a result. 

Companies that get their data house in order see the following results: 

• 13.5% Capacity Improvement 

• Better lead-to-account matching 
• Better contacts per account 

2. Identify your Ideal Buyer and TAM

Once our data house is in order, “the next step is all about identifying your ideal buyer and your total addressable market”. As Marge established, “it is possible and actually normal now for people to use math to define your addressable market and to identify by persona, company specialty etc., who that ideal buyer is. It doesn’t have to be guesswork anymore.” Adding that, “we can make things far more informed from a math model standpoint”. 

Marge added, “the question is, is your ideal buyer and your total addressable market actually in somebody’s head or is it literally a model? How do you know who he or she is?” Addressing these types of questions will be critical to success. 

Companies that identify their ideal buyer and total addressable market see the following results: 

• 2.5X lift for focused (ABM) accounts 
• Lookalike discovery for repeatable scale 
• Optimized media spend   

3. Create a Buyer Model

When it comes to creating a new buyer model, “the real question is how can you figure out the 25% of your leads that will yield 60-90% of your business? You want to do this throughout the lead creation to opportunity creation funnel.”  

Companies that create a buyer model see the following results:  

• 5.7X life for account conversion 
• Focus, 25% of the leads are 70% of business 
• Aligned marketing and sales campaigns 

4. Know your Odds

Next, we need to know what we’re up against. As Marge put it, “the fourth step is really about knowing your odds and looking at how the buying team change and evolve in every stage of progression, particularly in evolving buyer and buying team combinations.” 

This will separate the leaders from the laggards, as the “ability to know when and how to engage and focus will give you a better front-end ROI”. 

Companies that know their odds see the following results: 

• Fact-based territory and account planning 
• Reps are trained to recognize best customers 

• Fit scores prioritize efforts, intent shows company interest 

5. Put the Buyer Model to Work

Once we’ve got an idea of what our buyer model looks like and once we know our odds, we can put our buyer model to work. As Marge put it, “the fifth area is about putting your model to the test and operationalizing scoring. Every step of the way we need to update salesforce, make sure that our account models and object are updated with information down to the person level. We need to ensure that our marketing automation system can classify, score and update for real-time information.” 

Companies that do so will see the following results: 

• Understand account and people results 
• A/B testing to formulate GTM campaigns 

• Discover next investment territory or vertical based on data 

6. Align Marketing & Sales

Once this is all in place, “the final step is aligning marketing and sales”. We need to really ask ourselves “how aligned can we look, down to the rep, territory, regional or global level.” When it comes down to it, “the bottom line is if marketing can be completely on the same page as sales and vice versa then we’re all giving opportunity and leads and signals that are worth our salespeople’s time.” This is something that we can’t afford to ignore as, according to Marketo, aligning sales and marketing can help companies become 67% better at closing deals. 

Companies that align sales and marketing see the following results: 

• Aligned Marketing Campaigns 
• Aligned Sales Campaigns 

• Aligned Business Outcomes 

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