Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

Marketing to the top is not easy.

CEO marketing requires unrelenting patience and tenacity.  It also forces marketers to be at the top of their game at all times, understanding that powerful executives expect nothing less and often demand more.

I have been in the CEO marketing business for over 20 years now.  I suggest to new prospects and clients of OnTarget’s services that I have learned a lot more from my failures than my successes; the scars on my back enable me to be that much more successful (for them) today!

So, what have I learned about CEO marketing over this time?  Several things that may have an impact on how you approach selling to CEOs in the future:

CEOs are interested in solutions that help their companies become more effective and efficient.  They want to cut costs and increase revenue.  They are required to spend time on strategic initiatives that make the company better in the future.  They are expected to be visionaries and motivators, with great communication abilities and unwavering integrity.

CEOs are paid to make the right decisions quickly.  This does not mean that they do not do their homework; it means that they tend to say “no” much more readily than the average corporate buyer.  They process better.  They know what they need based on experience and talent, and if your offering does not create the value they require, you will be shown the door quickly.

I have written many times about “Demand Discovery” versus “Demand Creation”.  At no place in corporate buying decisions is demand discovery more important than the c-suite.

Therefore, studying and reading prior to marketing to a company CEO is paramount.

If you understand where the leader is looking to take the company, it is much easier to see where your solution fits in that journey.

Google the CEO and the company.  Do an advanced search and see what has been written in the past month.  (Not long ago, we at OnTarget would spend hours reading 10-ks and quarterlies prior to picking up the phone.  Now, information is at our fingertips with a quick online search).  Go to the company website and read the recent press releases.  Read the blog, specifically the “CEO’s Blog” if there is one.  Watch videos and listen to the podcasts produced by the CEO.

What are you looking for while studying and reading?  Trigger events that make your solution attractive to the CEO.

Look for situations, issues, and opportunities that match success stories and case studies for your company’s solutions.  If these exist, you may have just discovered demand.

Build your value proposition to highlight your solution in such a way that the CEO knows immediately the value you can bring to the table.  Maybe start with a dimensional mailing (FedEx works the best).  Send an email to support your phone call, and then coordinate an in-person meeting when it makes sense.  Don’t “sell”, rather, “market”.  Inform, prove and be honest.  The CEO will appreciate your candor and if your offerings match up to his or her vision, you may be on your way to a fabulous, long-term business relationship.

-Ed

Ed Trachier is Founder and CEO of OnTarget Partners, LLC.  He can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com.

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

I am frequently asked, when engaging with a new client, about my advice in running proactive marketing campaigns.  I have been in the marketing industry for going on 20 years now, and I have run thousands of marketing campaigns and projects with my clients.

I think the best advice I can give is this: Focus.

Compelling value propositions tend to be targeted value propositions.  Focused marketing works best.

Targeted marketing enables you to create much better and more persuasive messaging.  It makes your calls to action more powerful.  It connects you better with your prospects.

OnTarget Partners has built a stable and successful business with our targeted marketing efforts.  To learn more, please send me a note here.

Ed

Ed Trachier can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

What do marketers need in these economic times?

How can OnTarget continue to perform well in a struggling environment?

The answer to these questions is the same, and the reason we are in business.

OnTarget, without the space, is all about putting you, the marketer, On Target.

Finding the right prospect, at the right company, in the right vertical or geographic marketplace, is tough.  Qualifying that prospect for need, budget and time-frame for buy is even more difficult.

OnTarget’s responsibility to our clients is to put them On Target.  We use demand generation services and lead generation activities to help your sales team qualify prospects better.  Our successes come when we put you on the right prospect at the right time and you CLOSE BUSINESS.

Find out more by requesting a free consultation here.

-Ed

Ed Trachier can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com

Unfortunately, there are no short-cuts to this process. What is needed is a systematic, repeatable, accurate, and verified process to assure the highest accuracy possible. With so many other responsibilities, and tasks, it is highly unlikely that a company should attempt, or will succeed, in handling this function without outside help. You need a company with experience to assist – allowing your marketing team to think strategically, and freeing-up your sales teams to focus on filling their sales pipeline, and closing the deals “closest to the cash.”

-Ed

Ed Trachier can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

As an insider, I have a unique perspective of outsourced B2B marketing and sales companies.  Competitors of OnTarget Partners generally fall into four categories:

1. Full service boutiques

2. Pay for performance appointment setting firms

3. Onshore/offshore telesales organizations

4. Market and marketing research companies

Generally, the clients we work with have a good grasp of the markets they operate in, and have a robust marketing department with qualified and capable people.  Offshoring is usually not an option, as the typical target contact we develop is in the c-suite or at the VP level.  Also, our clients are not looking for “meetings” or “appointments”, but, rather, true and qualified sales opportunities with the right prospects at the right time.

OnTarget is a full service boutique.  We pride ourselves on offering extreme customer service and excellent results that will consistently produce marketing spend ROI.  When choosing a partner in the outsourced b2b marketing and sales space, OnTarget and our clients believe full service is the only way to go.

-Ed

Ed Trachier can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

No doubt, establishing a good market penetration strategy is a complex task.  Whether you are entering a new vertical or a new geographic market, building a solid foundation in the form of a strategic plan is extremely important.

When I advise my clients regarding market penetration, I tell them three things: Research; research; research.

Start with market research and begin to understand where it is you will be going.  If secondary research information is available and adequate, use that.  If you have an internal market research department, get them involved early and often.  If you need outside help, talk to someone like OnTarget.

Next, you will need to understand your targets from both a company and contact perspective.  Who will be buying, and why?  What will motivate them?  Who has the budget?  Where is the pain?  Exploring all of these factors will take some serious time and energy, but will be worth it in the end.

Finally, as you begin to roll out your marketing program, be watchful and fluid.  If you see that something is working, do more of it.  If not, stop.

Research is the key when you are establishing a market penetration strategy.  As Dr. Carl Sagan is known to have said: “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known”.

-Ed

Ed Trachier can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com.

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

If your world is like mine, you sometimes get lost in the hustle and bustle of day to day business.  It is in these times that I have to remind myself of the power of pipeline lead nurturing.

Sometimes a lead isn’t converted into a client or customer shortly after first contact due to deal flow (time to close) or some other unique circumstances.  It is imperative for each of us to focus on three areas: capturing the lead information, creating a lead pipeline, and nurturing the lead through our (closing) process.  We as marketers need to focus on each of these areas, and, as a result, we can transform a nurtured lead into a client.

It’s always great to get a referral, phone call or email with an inquiry from a qualified prospect, and a few days later have a signed fee agreement— but it usually doesn’t happen that way.

This doesn’t mean the lead should be dropped or discarded; rather, with the right care, feeding and patience, your lead has the potential to become a valuable future client.  The key is for the marketer to remain on the lead’s radar and follow up with the lead as agreed.

First, capture the leads contact information in your CRM.  Put in good notes about your conversation and what next steps are.

Second, do what you said you would do!  If you promised a whitepaper or case study, send away.  If you said you would call back in six weeks, make the call.  Drip campaigns are useful to building solid nurturing pipelines.

A solid sales pipeline requires a powerful nurturing for a lead pipeline.  If you don’t have a pipeline nurturing plan in place, OnTarget can help.  Visit http://www.ontargetpartners.com/freeconsultation.html.

-Ed

Ed Trachier can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com.

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

Every marketer and salesperson has the requirement of mapping accounts.  By mapping accounts, we understand the decision makers, champions, and influencers that can motivate and purchase from us.

Account mapping services allow the clear delineation of the “who” in the purchasing decision:  Who is involved in making things happen with regard to the solution I am marketing and /or selling? 

Most effective marketers realize that account mapping is the crucial first step of the proactive marketing process.  By understanding the who in the equation, one can target the right contact with the right market message. 

Salespeople generally rely on marketing to map accounts, but in cases where this support is not available, good sales people map the accounts themselves. 

The terminology of account mapping may be different from company to company.  Some organizations call it contact research, prospect research, contact discovery or target research.  Regardless of what it is called, it is a critical step used to maximize success of sales and marketing programs.  As Phil Knight is known to have said, “Just do it!” 

-Ed Trachier

Ed can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com.

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

Companies with complex distribution models continually look for ways to expand and improve channel development.  Whether you are interested in determining new partner organizations, introducing new solutions to partners, or improving your existing partners’ conversion rates through training and education, time, energy and money spent on channel development services should be looked at as an investment, not an expense.

The idea of a channel development program is new to some marketers.  The concept behind the program is to reach, engage and fully educate prospective or actual channel partners and sellers.

By helping your account managers and business development professionals in your channel be more productive, you accomplish your major goal of closing more deals!

The net, net result is growth in your bottom line created by increasing awareness of your offerings and fully building out your distribution model with educated partners.  These partners can reach markets quickly because they tend to have the people and the relationships to be proactive, move quickly, and close.  They are distributed geographically, and can accomplish in a rather short time what would take a long time for you to do without them.

Trusting your channel partners is important.  Giving them the tools to be successful is critical.

-Ed Trachier

Ed can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com.

Ed Trachier, Founder and CEO
OnTarget Partners

When it comes right down to it, asking the right questions is one of the most important things we as salespeople can do. Experienced and successful salespeople tend to be very good questioners, because they know that good questions qualify prospects better:

• Does the person I am dealing with have budget authority?
• Who else will be involved in the buying decision?
• What does the competition look like?
• How quickly will the decision to buy happen?

Talk to your prospects, and push them to move forward with good questions. Questionable selling will work for you, and lead to increasing sales effectiveness.

-Ed

Ed Trachier is Founder and CEO of OnTarget Partners.  He can be reached at 469-200-4901, or via email at trachier@ontargetpartners.com.