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Company: Richardson, Philadelphia, PA
Company Description: Richardson (www.richardson.com) is a leading sales training company. We accelerate the productivity of salespeople by ensuring they have the skills, strategies, and processes to achieve their objectives. Utilizing our proprietary customization process and comprehensive sales curriculum, coaching, and consulting, we help develop the critical skills sales organizations need to win.
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Demand Generation Program of the Year

Nomination Title: Selling with Insights

Tell the story about your organization's demand generation program since the beginning of July 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

The Internet has forever changed the dynamics of buyers’ behaviors and the role of sales reps. Buyers now do substantial online research before engaging directly with sales reps, with some estimates placing contact as far as 60% through the process.

To differentiate themselves, companies and their sales reps need to become a source of ideas and insights for customers, adding value while building credibility and awareness of how they can help. Sales teams need to engage prospects, convert them to paying customers, and maintain long-term relationships by sharing relevant ideas that bring customers value and helps drive their business.

Richardson, a leading sales training company, developed Selling with Insights® to change the conversation with customers. This comprehensive training program helps sales reps leverage provocative ideas that challenge the status quo in the customer’s industry, create awareness of unrealized needs, and shape the buyer’s thinking.

Richardson’s challenge was to quickly bring this program to market, leveraging existing clients and converting prospects from targeted Fortune 1000 companies. Hurdles included a limited marketing budget, lack of awareness for “insight selling”, the need to train and on-board the Richardson sales team, and “walking the talk” with Richardson clients.

Jim Brodo and Meghan Steiner led the marketing team’s effort: a comprehensive go-to-market strategy and launch plan to build awareness, build pipeline activity, train the sales team, and drive sales. It kicked off in June 2013 and included:

• V=ID2, or Value = Insight Designed and Delivered. This tagline united the promotional theme, branding, and messaging development. Messaging was segmented for prospects versus customers.

• Market awareness programs included tactical programs to raise the awareness through trade shows, email, website offers, and personalized nurture campaigns with specific insights to mirror best practices from the training instead of automated drip nurturing.

• Salesforce training included weekly online “brunch and learns” and a comprehensive playbook with information on positioning, sales objections, product value, buyer personas, features, benefits, and how to sell against the competition. Promotional giveaways were provided so sales reps had mugs and bags for “leave behinds” after meetings with customers. A sales performance incentive fund, or SPIF, rewarded reps for all new client sales.

• Content Marketing included whitepapers, blogs, and videos.

• Social Marketing included posts, ideas, and links on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

• Search Engine Marketing with Google display ads and re-marketing campaigns.

• Press releases to the media, industry analysts, and blogger gurus.

• Analyst Relations with product briefing overviews for industry analysts

• Special Events included eCoffee Breaks to introduce existing customers to the new product, followed by sending “Selling with Insights” coffee mugs to reinforce the brand.

Campaign success is measured by a demand generation waterfall, consisting of the following metrics :

Demand Generation Waterfall
Program responders – 679
Sales accepted leads for follow-up – 121
Pipeline opportunities created – 25
Pipeline Value Developed - $1.9 million to date
Closed Business Developed – $500k with another $400k in stage 5 proposals
Budget: $35,000
Pipeline created ROI – 5329%
Actual ROI – 1329%

As results show, Richardson’s demand generation program for Selling with Insights has been a great success.

Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that developed and implemented the nominated demand generation program:

Jim Brodo is Senior Vice President of Marketing at Richardson. Jim brings over a decade experience to this position, where he oversees all marketing and communications efforts for the organization including strategic planning, public relations, advertising, lead nurturing, and brand strategy. Jim is currently focused on updating the corporate identity, especially through the use of organic SEO and SEM tactics. He spearheaded the implementation of professional social networking strategies, launch of the new website, updated messaging, and marketing materials. In addition, Jim is credited for creating a content marketing syndication strategy that focuses on adding value to clients and prospects. As the leader of the corporate marketing operations, Jim aims to strengthen Richardson’s brand as the top sales training company in the industry.