This article was written by Ray Kemper, CMO of Televerde and published by American Marketing Association (AMA) in March 2016. The AMA leads an unparalleled discussion on marketing excellence, striving to be the most relevant force and voice shaping marketing around the world.

Interview with Ray Kemper

10 Minutes with Ray Kemper: The Joy of Sales and Marketing Alignment

"Joy" isn't exactly the first word that

comes to mind when discussing

sales-marketing alignment, but

Televerde's Ray Kemper enjoys the

challenge.

While the alignment of sales and

marketing sometimes seems an

ininsurmountable goal, Ray Kemper,

CMO of B-to-B lead generation

agency Televerde, finds joy in the

challenges of bringing together the

two teams.

Over his career, Kemper has worked in

a variety of roles and come to enjoy

the flexibility that comes with his

marmarketing career. He’s worked as the

global director of marketing for Bing

Search at Microsoft, senior director of

channel marketing at AT&T Mobility

and now is the first CMO at Televerde .

“We’ve had directors of marketing and

marketing activities, but as the company

cocontinues to grow and expand globally,

the stronger establishment of the

marketing functions at Televerde was

critical,” he says.

More than anything, Kemper touts

the necessity of common goals

bebetween sales and marketing. It’s

critical, he says, to agree to a

common source of data, a common

goal and a common language.

Marketing News caught up with

Kemper to learn a bit more about

how sales and marketing can

eefficiently and effectively come

tog ether.

10 Minutes with Ray Kemper: The Joy of Sales and Marketing Alignment1

Q: You’ve been in the game for about

20 years. Have you seen the way

sales and marketing work together

change? Has your view of how they

interact changed over time?

A:A: It really has. The traditional silos

are breaking down between sales

and marketing. I think as so many

marketing technology tools have

come aboard, I’ve definitely seen a

lot of change. Marketing technology

allows marketers to be much more

fofocused on the impact and the

results that their activities are having.

The data and the analytics have led

to a really strong focus on alignment

with sales based on what’s driving

the quality sales leads and the ones

in particular that are most likely to

convert.

Q: Q: You said in a blog post, citing

research from Marketo, that aligned

teams are 67% better at closing deals

and 20% better at growth in annual

revenue. This makes aspects like

software integration and

ccommunication seem essential, but

many marketing and sales

departments still aren’t in tune. Why?

A: A: Analytics has made that under-

standing of what the levers of

growth are [stronger], so marketing

is more focused on that now, but I

think there are a lot of key issues in

alignment. At Televerde, we conduct

sales and marketing alignment

wworkshops with our clients as part of

our demand generation and sales

acceleration solutions. Honestly, our

success in contract renewals

depends upon alignment with sales

and marketing. If we are generating a

sales pipeline with our teleservice

sales development agencies and

integrated campaigns, it’s only going

to be successful if that sales person

that catches it converts on that sale

and shows that ROI.

TThere are [a couple of] primary

issues on alignment. One is just

agreeing to a common language.

[What is] a lead to marketing, sales

might not think that’s a lead. The

common language of what a lead is,

what an inquiry is, what a qualified

lelead is, what an accepted lead for

sales is—agreeing on a common

language is definitely a place to start.

It doesn’t have to be complicated. It

needs to be clear, simple and

intuitive. Common language is a big

foundation.

The critical piece is alignment of

goals. Traditionally, sales has a goal

and marketing might have an

inflinfluenced goal, but at the end of the

day if sales misses or marketing

misses, one or the other will have to

make up for it. It’s better to set the

tone at the first of each year to jointly

adopt an overall goal and work

bbackwards to see which channel will

influence which part of this goal.

You’re always focused on the

overall goal versus the different

components.

You can mix up the components of

the channels that are delivering in

order to reach that goal. That’s where

the focus is. It forms the teamwork

instead of saying, “Oh, you didn’t

meet your goal, I’m going to finger

point” as we reach the end of the

yeyear.

Q: So it’s more of a focus on the

process versus the outcome?

A: That alignment on the overall

revenue goals allows you to just focus

on the levers that drive that revenue

and the growth you need. You need a

clear understanding of what’s going

to help you reach that goal.

Q: How did you align the two

dedepartments when you first came to

Televerde? Did they have a good

common language and common

goals?

A: A: That’s one of the very first things I

did when sitting down with the head

of sales; we looked at what the overall

goal and what the levers of driving

that revenue are. I wanted to set the

tone for how we would do it together,

and figure out how to help marketing

as as well as sales drive that goal.

Today, there are so many ways to get

leads and many ways we touch

customers or potential prospects.

10 Minutes with Ray Kemper: The Joy of Sales and Marketing Alignment2

“At Televerde, we conduct sales and marketing alignment workshops with our clients as a part of our demand generation and sales acceleration solutions.”

That alignment between sales and

marketing is even more important

with all the new channels of

information and the way clients

are self-educating along the buyer’s

journey.

Q: Q: Does that kind of environment

mean sales and marketing depart-

ments need to stay flexible and

reassess to figure out new ways to

appeal to consumers?

A: Absolutely. I think the open

communication is key as well as

alignment goals at the first of a fiscal

year, but ongoing meetings between

sales and marketing with the health

of the sales pipeline at the top of the

agenda for discussion is key to the

focus.

WWhen you meet with sales, I’d

recommend that it’s done weekly or

makes a difference.

biweekly, to discuss the health of the

sales pipeline and activities that are

going to drive leads. It really maintains

that communication level. By looking

at the health of the sales pipeline,

you can also look at what may be

bbreaking down and what has been

your traditional conversion rate from

a marketing-qualified lead (MQL) to

a sales-accepted lead (SAL) to a

sales-qualified lead (SQL) to a closed

one. You’re able to see where there

might be some challenges along that

ppipeline.

Q: That makes sense, taking it point by

point to have a full view of the progress.

A: A: That kind of structure is pretty key.

Before the marketing technology was

fully there, for marketing a lead was an

inquiry—a “contact us” form—coming

in. For sales, a lot of times those

would be unqualified leads that were

tire kickers. You need that level of

inside sales support before it gets to

your sales team to qualify and nurture

a lead until it’s ready for your sales

team to act on it. Particularly with all

of the avenues for generating leads

these days, that additional layer really

mmakes a difference.

Find out how to better align your

sales and marketing team.

televerde.com 888-787-2829

10 Minutes with Ray Kemper: The Joy of Sales and Marketing Alignment3

Copyright © 2016 Televerde All rights reserved

Key Takeaways Sales-marketing alignment can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Televerde's Ray Kemper discusses the process and how it can be made better.

So What? Alignment means money, as aligned teams are 67% better at closing deals and 20% at growing their revenue each year.

NNow What? "The critical piece is alignment of goals," Kemper says. "Traditionally, sales has a goal and marketing might have an influenced goal, but at the end of the day if sales misses or marketing misses, one or the other will have to make up for it. It’s better to set the tone at the first of each year to jointly adadopt an overall goal and work backwards to see which channel will influence which part of this goal."