Want to increase win rates? Focus less on sales training—and more on marketing.
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If you're like most sales teams right now:
- Sales cycles have lengthened by 40% since 2020 (Vendr)
- The # of stakeholders in deals increased by 25% YoY in 2023 (Pavillion/Ebsta)
- Avg. deal sizes are down by 22% (Capchase)
Sure, some of this can be explained by economic uncertainty. I have a different take...
✅ Instead of investing in sales training to fix the win rate problem—invest more in marketing.
"But marketing is about brand awareness and lead generation!"
Hear me out...this is coming from a sales trainer. And I'm not blaming win rate challenges on marketing.
There's a big connection between BRAND and WIN RATES.
It's the idea that "no one gets fired for buying IBM." You can't measure the direct impact of brand affinity on win rates, but there's a correlation.
Better Brand = More Trust
👇 Here are a few brand investments that can increase win rates 👇
✅ 1) In-person events
Run in-person events with their prospects:
- Small group dinners with executives in specific cities
- VIP dinners around conferences and events
- More formal fire-side chat events
Key idea: Look for ways to meet prospects & clients in person with your exec team
Bonus points: Use these opportunities to create content
✅ 2) Create content with customers
You aren't able to create case studies with every customer. So start creating content with them. Invite customers onto:
- Your podcast
- Your webinars
- Your published content
- Your marketing guides or white papers
For content, address every stage of the funnel:
- Unaware (problems your prospects should know about)
- Aware (mistakes prospects make when addressing problems)
- Consideration (how to choose the best _______)
- Decision (how your approach is unique)
Key idea: The content needs to be insanely valuable—don't make this a pitchfest
✅ 3) Level up case studies
Most case studies aren't "sales-ready." Take case studies a step further by:
- Speaking to business impact
- Creating short blurbs for sales to use
- Create a customer blurb database for your sales team
Key idea: Make case study content easier to consume and share
✅ 4) Executives sharing thought leadership
Henry Shuck does a great job of this at ZoomInfo. Invest in thought leadership creation with your exec team.
Example: Focus on your CHRO if you sell HR solutions
- Have them co-host a podcast
- Batch create a month's worth of content to repurpose across social
- Have your market team help them create content
- Comp. them for closed/won deals
Key idea: Invest in your exec team's ability to create authentic thought leadership and networking
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Sales training is an attempt to change human behavior. That can be way harder than investing in brand. Agree or disagree?