Providing all employees with basic marketing and sales skills can help your B2B firm to grow and succeed. From the front desk to the corner office, “Every Employee a Sales Rep” should be fully ingrained as part of your company’s operating culture.
Many B2B firms – in legal, accounting, technology, financial services and consulting disciplines – employ at least one rainmaker, typically a founding member, who brings in the lion’s share of new business. But that “outside / inside guy” dynamic puts a company at risk, because rainmakers can depart unexpectedly (by choice or by ambulance), and the firm’s growth rate is always limited by their energy, motivation and availability.
More importantly, this business development model fails to leverage your firm’s “inside guys,” whose individual and collective business relationships, skills, experience and credibility should be harnessed to drive consistent revenue growth and to scale the company.
Regardless of their title, job description or capacity to work the room at a social event, every B2B firm employee should be given training, tools and ongoing support that empowers them to:
- Manage Their Personal Brand – Clients hire individuals, rather than a firm, to help them. To showcase their credentials, every client-facing employee should maintain a complete and up-to-date biographical profile on the company’s website and on LinkedIn. To expand their visibility, they should also participate in at least one activity unrelated to employment, whether that’s membership in the local chapter of a professional trade association, their daughter’s soccer team, or a fly fishing club.
- Articulate the Firm’s Value Proposition – Many employees, even at the senior level, do not have a clear understanding of what makes their firm different from the competition, and are at a loss to provide a compelling reason why someone should engage them. Every employee should know their firm’s “elevator pitch,” and be prepared to recite it whenever someone asks, “So…who do you work for?”
- Nurture Their Professional Network – Every employee has a network of current and former clients, associates in other disciplines, friends, relatives, neighbors and individuals they’ve met at conferences or social events. Business contacts are often included in the firm’s CRM system, and may receive quarterly newsletters or other communications issued by the company. But client-facing employees should also maintain direct and regular contact with their entire personal network to nurture and expand those relationships, because referrals are driven by casting a wide net.
- Drive Top-of-Mind Awareness – The marketing challenge for most B2B firms is making the short list of candidates called in for an assignment. To increase the odds of getting that call, your firm must constantly sow seeds with clients, prospects and referral sources, driving top-of-mind awareness regarding its capabilities and credentials. Employees who possess the firm’s intellectual capital should play an active role in generating relevant content that can keep the firm in play.
- Sell Intrinsically – The “inside guys” who deliver services and solutions are best prepared to demonstrate to prospects and clients your firm’s capacity to add value, which is its most powerful sales tactic. Intrinsic (or “consultative”) selling is what converts prospects to clients, and not including those practitioners in the sales process can handicap your firm’s growth potential.
- Seek Cross-Selling Opportunities – The practitioner assigned to an account is the steward of that relationship. As a trusted advisor, your employee has an in-depth understanding of their client’s current needs, as well as insight into what additional services might be of value. Based on that 360° perspective, those employees are in the strongest position to recommend new services or an expansion of existing work. But many practitioners fear this solicitation will compromise their professionalism, or put the client relationship at risk. Those obstacles to increasing account penetration should be addressed with proper tools, training, and coaching.
- Ask for Referrals – This is a tough task for most employees. However, if they’ve nurtured their network, gained confidence by learning how to cross-sell to existing clients, and have rehearsed the referral request process, then they can make this a painless routine.
“Every Employee a Sales Rep” will not be achieved simply by establishing firm-wide mandates. The program must be driven by internal disciplines – consisting of written guidelines, worksheets and in-house training – that provide employees with proper guidance, support, feedback and motivation.
Combined with a senior-level commitment to change the culture, and firm-wide acknowledgement that the transformation will be difficult, your B2B company can harness its sales and marketing potential, and reap the benefits.
Marketing Craftsmanship 