7 Steps for Selling Inbound Marketing to the C-Suite

Early in my career, I thought of myself as a “marketing person.”  Over time and through experience I came to realize that great marketers must also be great sales people.  Even if you’re a marketing person in a corporation, you will have to sell your ideas, your concepts for campaigns, your plans and strategies, and you will never stop having to sell yourself.

As industrial marketers, our positions are not black and white in terms of cost to benefit ratio.  When a production manager asks for funding for a new CNC machine, it is logical to assume that it will pay for itself over time because it increases production capacity.  We marketers can rarely give that kind of assurance when we ask for funding for a new marketing initiative.  For this reason, our ideas are often met with skepticism and even shot down.

So, great sales person: if you’ve wanted to implement an Inbound Marketing program at your company but know you’ll get resistance from your CEO or entire C-Suite, here’s a list of 7 tips that will help prepare you for the big pitch.

1.  Research and educate yourself

You know the saying, “knowledge is power.”  This is especially true when you’re trying to sell the idea of an Inbound Marketing program.  Chances are, your executives know very little about this marketing method.  They are probably not on Facebook, think Twitter is for kids who are stalking celebrities, and don’t want a LinkedIn page because someone told them if they put one up they’d be hounded by headhunters.  You’ll have to dispel a lot of myths and do a lot of educating if you want to convince them that this is a viable marketing strategy.  Learn everything you can: there are books galore and plenty of free information online.  Compile a list of statistics and other information that you think may come in handy for shooting down objections.

2.  Assess your company’s culture

This step is necessary so you can A – think of solutions to problems that will inevitably occur BEFORE they occur and B – find possible influential allies for your program.  Take a good, hard look at the people around you.  Are there people you KNOW will resist the idea?  How many people do you know are already using social media in their personal lives?  Who have you spoken to about Inbound Marketing that already “gets it?” Lobby for their support now, before you say a word to anyone else.  What company policies do you have that may be a stumbling block to an Inbound program?  For instance, does your company ban the use of Facebook or YouTube?  This will be a point of contention when you present your plan, so it’s best to think of a way to deflect it ahead of time.

3. Think of Inbound in terms of “the big picture”

The more teams or departments that can potentially benefit from an Inbound Program, the better.  This will help to diffuse the perceived risk if it is only presented as a marketing plan.  Think about organizational goals outside of marketing that Inbound Marketing can help accomplish faster and less expensively. Does your HR Dept. have a mandate to hire 6 new engineers this year?  Is your Sales Dept. looking for new distributors or manufacturers’ reps?  Is your customer service Dept. having a hard time keeping up with call volume?  These can all be solved through an Inbound Marketing program and you’ll have results faster than any other way you could address them.

4.  Know the personality types of the people you have to sell

There are plenty of resources available to help you determine the personality types of the shareholders you’ll have to convince.  Create a short proposal for each of the personalty types who have a say in whether or not your idea flies.  If the opportunity arises for you to have a one-on-one conversation with them, share your Inbound Marketing vision in the way that will resonate with their personality type.  Prime them in a way that meets their personal emotional needs and they’ll be more receptive when you give the “big” presentation.

5.  Develop your implementation plan

At this point, you might want to bring in a professional.  They can help you develop a strategy and plan that makes sense for your company and the resources you have available. If you anticipate a great deal of opposition, having a professional Inbound Marketing firm give a presentation to your shareholders might carry more weight than if you do it solo.   It’s just human nature for people to give more credence to the statements of a perceived “expert” than someone who is not.

6.  Create your presentation

Depending on your unique situation, this may be an informal discussion with one person or a formal presentation to a room full of executives.  Either way, this is where you must make your case for Inbound Marketing and SELL your plan.  If you’ve done everything listed previously, you will have all the information you need to put together a presentation that will impress, educate, and convince.  Again, keep in mind personality types.  If you have to present to 4 individuals and they’re each a different type, you’ll have to get creative with your presentation.

7.  Remember that timing is everything

Once you have your presentation ready, you’ll be tempted to jump out of the gate ASAP; but be strategic.  Is there a date coming up when a large number of supporters will be at the Home[list style=”circle”][/list] Office for some other event?  You’ll want to have as many supporters in the room as possible when you give your pitch.  Do you know through the grapevine that there will be a significant increase in sales reported at the next executive review meeting?  Immediately after would be a perfect time to present your idea.  Steer clear of dates that fall at times when stress levels will be higher than usual (month end, when everyone is trying to make quotas) or when other stressful meetings are just around the corner.  You won’t have everyone’s undivided attention.  This requires finesse and a bit of sleuthing, but selecting JUST the right time to present your idea could be what wins the day.

Selling a big (or new) idea is always challenging; but if YOU have passion for the idea and you’ve done your homework, your message will be heard loud and clear.  And if you do everything right and you’re still meeting resistance … call in the professionals.  They have to field objections concerning Inbound Marketing on a daily basis!  If they can’t convince your execs, maybe it’s time to look for a more progressive company to work for!

You can jump start your education about Inbound Marketing at the IMRevo Seminar in Houston, 1/31/13.  Industrial and inbound marketing experts will put it all in perspective for you and get you well on your way to launching an Inbound Program in your company.  Register today – space is limited!