Episode Summary

In this episode of Sunny Side Up, host Randy Ilas interviews Gregory Callahan, Partner and Founder of Bain & Company. This episode explores the ways that companies are adapting to the new digital landscape due to COVID-19. It looks at how businesses can leverage their digital capabilities to personalize their offering and deliver leads faster. Additionally, it touches on the importance of understanding customer needs and creating an ideal customer profile, as well as providing bite-sized trials of products before purchase and leveraging independent third-party reviews to create a better customer experience. Finally, it covers how sales and marketing teams must work together to execute successful ABM strategies.

About the Guest

Greg Callahan is a Partner at Bain & Company. He works with tech-enabled businesses to help them accelerate top and bottom-line performance. Greg is also the founder and product leader for Coro Account Planning (Bain's digital account planning tool) and leads Bain's Account Planning and RevOps practices globally. In his work with Bain’s clients, Greg has developed a blueprint for getting the most yield out of your customers that have the most potential.

Connect with Gregory Callahan

Key Takeaways

 - The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a significant pivot towards B2B marketing, with a focus on building digital capabilities.

- Traditional in-person interactions were replaced by virtual meetings and digital outreach.

- The acceleration in B2B marketing resulted in a merging of B2C marketing practices into the B2B realm.

- The importance of personalized and tailored marketing campaigns for different industries and customer segments.

- The concept of virtual sales emerged, allowing for specialized industry and product expertise to be present in customer interactions.

- Virtual selling has shown higher win rates, enabling more efficient and effective sales conversations.

- The challenge of determining the right balance between field-based and virtual sales resources.

- The significance of maintaining a positive and selling-oriented culture within organizations.

- The need for sales and marketing to work together as a cohesive system, driven by aligned incentives and open dialogue.

- The importance of focusing on high-quality leads and confronting "zombie pipe" to maximize efficiency.

- The shift towards agile sales and marketing plays is supported by a system that enables reps and teams to deliver results.

- The role of leadership involvement in bridging the gap between sales and marketing teams.

- Staying informed about the economy, industry trends, and competitor performance to better engage with customers.

- Seeking insights and perspectives from peers and industry forums to expand knowledge and test theories.

- The value of building a sales and marketing system that streamlines processes and allows for effective collaboration.

Quote

“Trust is earned, it's not just awarded. It does take time.”  – Gregory Callahan

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