Magnus Marketing Blog

So, who should run lead generation? Sales or Marketing. I agree with the perspective of the author, neither - it should have its own VP and be a separate group. The Customer Collective post discusses where an inside sales, sales support/research, type group should report. It found that 74% report to sales, the remainder to marketing, and in some cases - had a dedicated Director or VP.

Structuring a lead generation group as an inside sales and market development (ISMD) organization, with researchers, responsible for field marketing support is exactly the right structure. In fact, this is exactly what my role and team was comprised of at Hexaware Technologies. My group ran the North American marketing activities, supported the U.S/Canadian field sales force, and managed all the leads centrally. It was a great mechanism that worked well.

Marketing is a discipline focused on branding, awareness, and basic or what I term, unqualified lead generation. Leads or more aptly - inquries of interest are generated here. I believe Marketing should actually report to the "lead generation" group Director - as this group has all the information to drive more customer focused messaging and understands what an actual LEAD is.

Sales focuses on closing the business, managing the customers, and making the deals. No sales guy should be spending his time doing massive amounts of prospect research, cold calling (while ignoring or not building leads to close), or ignoring client needs. The ISMD group is the one charged with field sales support and core lead nurturing.

If an ISMD group has to report to marketing, either the Marketing Director has to have some type of actual phone or new business development experience OR the products/services need to be: 1) easily understood, 2) short sales process, 3) able to be quickly qualified, or 4) consist mostly of inbound response activity or your typical "telemarketing". If the ISMD group has to report to sales, then 1) the sales cycle should be longer with a lot of team selling or back and forth, 2) they are a real sales support organization, and 3) consist of mostly outbound prospecting activity.

As I said before, this type of group should sit directly in-between: drive marketing activity - from messaging to what type of sales support material is needed and support sales in advancing the leads to close and providing nuturing and providing sales intelligence to drive company strategy. If I were to be hired or really engaged by a client, my role would be exactly that: VP Inside Sales or VP Marketing/Business Development. More firms really should consider creating an integrative and more consultative role within their companies, in fact, this is a nice new path for all those MBA's shut out of the financial industry - business analysis, sales skills, and leadership....definitely a moneymaker.

This is to motivate all of you hard-working people who are considering starting companies, who are the revenue catalysts for your firms, and who are looking for work.

There is still opportunity out there. In January, one client had five demos, another had one meeting set up, one had a major meeting that could be a huge opportunity, another had four people say that when the time came they would try out a brand new service, and another had two meetings including a five figure proposal. Yes Virginia, there is business out there. Sometimes the opportunity is immediate, sometimes it is off in the distance, but it is there. You have to be smart and know where to look and how to handle it. Keep looking, don't drive by numbers.

This is an economy and a situation where out-of-the box thinking is needed. Even President Obama is trying something very interesting, he is investing in "other" areas in an effort to shore up the losses and maintain economic spending. I believe those projects are designed to "shore up" and allow the capitalist economy to heal which means incubation of new companies, realignment of the global markets, and an adjustment to a new reality. Again, I emphasize that we need more AlphaPoint Technologies and 3X type companies, small innovative makers and manufacturers of interesting solutions. WE MUST SUPPORT ALL OF THESE COMPANIES - they are the future of America.

To the people who demanded huge salaries, entitlements, and jumped for the next monetary offer, I wish them a stretch of unemployment that will teach some humility. To those who turn their noses up at the horrendous thought of working at Wal-Mart or Kohls, hey man - I am working and collecting a paycheck - while you wait for your unemployment which hopefully will be paid on time. Maybe a stretch at Wal-Mart will teach you to respect all people. To those office politicians and brownnosers, I hope the S***T hits the fan, particularly when your colleagues are not there to cover for your incompetence. To the unethical and theives, when the veil is lifted the truth comes out. Nothing like some good unemployment to bring people off the high horse. To the people running side businesses inside corporations and hiring your friends, may the gravy train end and end quickly. Yes, now is the time when the marginal performers, jerks, deadwood, overpaid entry level people, untalented, and no-value-to-the-company will finally get their due. Believe me, there are more of those being terminated than real contributers.

To those people who lost their job because it was outsourced, obsolete, or obliterated, my heart goes out to you. There is opportunity out there, examine your skills - try something else, find your way. To those with ideas who felt they could do it better than the boss, scrapped together an invention or a new software product, or felt constrained - take the chance - make your way...there are buyers and people who will support you. I will, others will - we will help you succeed. To those who didn't have the political capital, played by the rules, and did the right thing - there will be something for you...try a new career. A very intelligent cashier at Kohl's who just graduated from college found his opportunity severely limited - he is a good worker, very smart, nice person. He asked and the managers supported his application to the management program. He will enroll. My guess is in 3 to 5 years, he will make over 80K as a store manager in a new path that he didn't expect to take. Don't be arrogant, don't demand, you could work for a lower salary and contribute to a company that will succeed and quickly pay you more than you dreamed of. Think possibility, not reality all the time.

Be open, be flexible, look outside the box - listen to the market, do what it takes...you will make it to another day.