New York - May 12, 2020 - Sales CRM Pipedrive has developed a Sales and Marketing Message Matrix, a tool that guides sales and marketing professionals on message development, taking into account the urgency of a customer’s needs and the company’s relationship to the prospect.
According to Matt Heinz, one of theTop 50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management, this chart is especially useful in the present environment, as it gives broad guidance to the kind of communication sales and marketing professionals can have with different customers. “If you have never talked to the customer before, calling and asking how their family is, sounds disingenuous. If it is a cold prospect, bring value by offering something that solves an immediate need. Come with insights about issues facing their industry and open a conversation on the issues they are struggling with. If you can, offer free resources to help them at this time. It is a way to show people that you are generous and value focused for them.”
Conversely, Heinz noted that if sales and marketing professionals already have a relationship with a prospect or customer, then they can open a conversation with “how is the family and business?”. “When you really know a person, there is also some compassion and urgency. Very few of us will get through this downturn by waiting it out – we have to be part of the solution.”
The context of how to approach customers underscores the balance between sales and marketing. According to Raul Perdigão, global head of sales at Pipedrive, the discussions with global sales teams indicates that about half of them are struggling with what to say to customers, and about three quarters have changed or modified their offering to meet customers changing needs. It underscores the value of guidance of how to approach customers at this time.
For more guidance on how to approach customers and prospects, Pipedrive has established the Pipedrive Sales Community where thousands of sales and marketing professionals can exchange ideas and get insights from sales experts. To hear more advice and tips on selling with empathy and compassionate urgency, listen to the webinar here.
Sales and Marketing Message Matrix
- Call - Immediate Need
Recommendation: Lead with product-value and benefit to prospect.
Example: A seller of a technology platform that allows restaurants to enable online orders/delivery is cold calling prospects with an offer that can help make this necessary shift during shelter-in-place orders.
- Cold Call - No Immediate Need
Recommendation: Do not engage until you have an offering that meets their needs.
Example: A seller of a new accounting service is cold calling prospects, focusing more on checking in than pushing product-based messaging for a service that is not immediately necessary for a business to function.
- Engaged Customer - Immediate Need
Recommendation: Lead with empathy and product-value to prospect.
Example: A realtor has a past client who is looking to move again, knows of an open house that meets their criteria, and offers a virtual tour.
- Engaged Customer - No Immediate Need
Recommendation: Communicate with empathy - check in to see how they’re doing and any problems they are looking to fix at this time.
Example: You’ve noticed a current client of your software company could benefit from an upgrade, but know that budgets are limited at this time. Call to check in, see how things are going, and offer a free 90-day trial so they can see the benefits in real time.
About Pipedrive Inc.
Founded in 2010, Pipedrive is the first CRM platform developed from the salesperson's point of view. Today, Pipedrive is used by sales teams at more than 90,000 companies worldwide. Pipedrive is the top-rated CRM and has offices in Dublin; Lisbon; London; New York; Prague; Riga, Latvia; Tampa/St. Pete; and Tallinn and Tartu, Estonia. Learn more at Pipedrive.com.
Press contacts
Mariliis Beger
[email protected]
(+372) 520 5279
