Are You Walking in Circle or Hitting the Mark?
By Leah Gradl, Kent Companies
Scientists proved that people really do walk in circles when lost. A study in “Current Biology” examined the walking trajectories of people who walked for several hours in the Sahara Desert.
The results showed that participants were only able to maintain a straight path when the sun or moon was visible. However, as soon as the sun disappeared behind some clouds, people started to walk in circles without even noticing it. In fact, most people walked in extremely small circles, some with a diameter less than 60 feet.
Without any form of external guides, we lose our way. As in the desert, the same goes for sales.
Most contractors talk about sales: wanting more sales; wanting new customers, wanting to expand territory. And yet so few put a plan in place to build the growth they want to see.
When walking in the desert, you’ll tend to turn in one direction. Repeating old mistakes; relying on gut instinct; letting sales fall to the bottom of the priority list.
External guides are crucial to maintaining your course, especially in unfamiliar territory. The account-based marketing framework will give you and your team the guidelines you need to make real sales progress.
Account-based marketing (ABM) offers small and medium-sized contractors a critical opportunity to pivot from selling to everyone to capturing the right projects with high-value accounts.
With limited resources for business development, ABM is targeted and measurable. Use this guide to start building your account-based marketing plan.
What is Account-Based Marketing?
Account-based marketing (ABM) is a targeted approach to identify high-value clients, customize sales plans to well-defined accounts and measure the results. ABM expands sales thinking beyond the typical metrics: leads, bid volume, sales, hit rate. ABM is built around a target customer profile and the 3-R framework: reputation, relationships and revenue.
How to Start Account-Based Marketing
ABM requires a written plan. You rely less on gut intuition (or a rainmaker’s take on the market). You define where your accounts are today and how you will grow them. A simple, written plan becomes the guidepost that keeps you from walking in circles. It holds the entire team accountable for progress in the right direction.
First, review your account list, including your bid log and sales register. Build a target customer profile, and rank your account list with simple metrics.
- What is your bid volume?
- What are your sales?
- What is your hit rate (based on sales $ / bid volume $)?
- What is your kill rate (based on number of projects bid)?
- What is your sales mix? (small/medium/large jobs)
- What is the ideal gross margin?
- How many projects have they awarded to your firm? (1-2 as a trial user or 3+ as a loyal user)
Next, build your 3-R framework. Benchmark your reputation with your current account list and prospects.
- Who knows your firm in your established markets?
- How do you measure brand awareness and visibility?
- What market position do you hold?
- What is your reputation with targeted accounts?
Next, create a relationship map within each target account, and commit to growing it.
- Who do you know? What is their title?
- What is their level of influence inside their organization?
- What is the strength of your relationship with each contact?
- Are there executive-level relationships in place?
- Beyond business development, who else should hold a relationship? (safety, operations, marketing?)
Finally, measure your revenue with each account through sales metrics.
- What is the value of your pipeline at each time interval?
- What is your growth in sales?
- What is the size of your average contract award? How do you want it to grow?
- What is your sales plan for the year, and how will you target jobs that meet that plan?
ABM doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It’s a map that will guide you where you want to grow. Stop walking in circles, and start marching forward.
Author:
Leah Gradl is the Chief Business Officer for Kent Companies, a top-10 concrete place and finish contractor. She leads national and regional business development initiatives across Kent Companies’ offices in the Midwest, Southeast and Texas.
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