Marketing Expensive Service Contracts to SMBs

Doug Ziewacz Director of Marketing Monday, November 13, 2006

More data on this topic available from:: © 2006 MarketingSherpa, Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.

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Who Am I?

 Doug Z (Marketing Guy) Everon Technology Services  Former professional cyclist with 7UP with an advanced degree in Physiology  Naturally, marketing IT services to SMBs makes sense, considering my background  You’re probably wondering what you can learn from a professional cyclist about B to B marketing and why you should listen to me  I’ve got a really great story www.everonit.com

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The Everon Challenge



Who we sell to

 Small and medium size businesses 10-200 employees  Professional services industries  IT decision makers (C-Level, President, Vice-President, and IT Director 

What we’re up against

 Technology is an ugly word – viewed as an expense not an investment  Most decision makers don’t understand technology and don’t want to  Building long-term relationships  Arguably, IT is NOT cool or sexy, but necessary www.everonit.com

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Marketing to SMBs

 Traditionally very difficult  Decreased individual buying power  Unique needs across industries  Diverse market  Difficult to aggregate  Very few large businesses have been successful marketing exclusively to SMBs

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www.everonit.com

They Say It Can’t be Done

 We sell recurring monthly service contracts  Our average deal generates ~ $40k-75k/year  Some deals exceed $100k+/year  Proven ability to close deals remotely without sending a salesperson  Majority of new business generated through marketing programs vs. referrals and word of mouth www.everonit.com

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Where We Began

 Ask and watch the experts (marketing consultants & market leaders)  Get a blueprint, follow and execute  80% is always better than 0%  “Don’t pull up the tree to see if the roots are growing” www.everonit.com

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You Need a Blueprint

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Newsletter Breakfast Seminar Invite Process -Direct Mail (4 wks) -Phone Call (2 wks) -Email (1 wk) -Email (1 day) Breakfast Seminar Breakfast Seminar Follow Up Process Breakfast Seminar Invite Process -Direct Mail (4 wks) -Phone Call (2 wks) -Email (1 wk) -Email (1 day) Breakfast Seminar Breakfast Seminar Follow Up Process Breakfast Seminar Invite Process -Direct Mail (4 wks) -Phone Call (2 wks) -Email (1 wk) -Email (1 day) Breakfast Seminar Breakfast Seminar Follow Up Process Breakfast Seminar Invite Process -Direct Mail (4 wks) -Phone Call (2 wks) -Email (1 wk) -Email (1 day) Breakfast Seminar Breakfast Seminar Follow Up Process Webinar Email Invite Webinar Direct Mail Invite Webinar Webinar Follow Up Process Webinar Email Invite Webinar Direct Mail Invite Webinar Webinar Follow Up Process Webinar Email Invite Webinar Direct Mail Invite Webinar Webinar Follow Up Process Webinar Email Invite Webinar Direct Mail Invite Webinar Webinar Follow Up Process

Touch Plan Touch Plan Touch Plan Touch Plan

SEO & Paid Search

www.everonit.com

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Our Lead Generation Strategy

www.everonit.com

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Key Lead Generation Points

 Utilize multiple channels: balance and consistency counts  Classic direct marketing and online marketing mix  Local vs. national penetration  Length of sales cycle  At Everon, everything has to support the proper relationship  The three R’s – critical to the success of building long-term relationships  Right customer, Right experience, Right solution  The right tone inspires trust and confidence  Simple and easy to understand language  It must be worth the spend www.everonit.com

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New Lead

Our Sales Cycle

Customer

$$

Customer

$$

Customer

$$ www.everonit.com

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Sales & Marketing are One

 Yes, I’m serious we never fight  Marketing supports sales  Truly integrated approach  Very unique in our space  Marketing has provided sales with a simple sales presentation process  Templated sales emails  Templated and customizable sales proposal <20 minutes  Key information available on website  Standardized and easily scaled

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www.everonit.com

Pipeline Milestone

Lead Open

Sales Process

Phase 1: Qualify Lead Process

The Life of a Lead

Lead Qualified Prospect Qualified Opportunity New Client Phase 2: Qualify Prospect Process Phase 3: Identify Opportunity Process Phase 4: Close the Deal Process Phase 5: Enroll Client Process Active Client

General Activity

7 Step Call/Email Plan 180 Follow Up

Docs & Correspondence

Phone Scripts Inside Sales Questionnaire Inside Sales Hand Off Confirmation Email (to Lead Qualified and to Sales) Newsletter

Relationship Building

Establish Relationship Sales Meeting Needs Analysis Meeting Company Facts and Description Questions for Lead Qualified Sales Meeting Confirmation Email Newsletter Continued Meetings and Follow Ups More Company Information, Details, and Pricing Follow Up Scripts for Calls/Emails Newsletter Building Long-Term Relationship 10% - Dollar Amount Assigned 30% - IT Movement Timeline 50% - Proposal Creation & Discussion 70% - Verbal Accept & Scheduled Start 90% - Signed Contract 10% - Email 30% - Email 50% - Proposal & Email, Terms of Service, Enrollment Timeline 70% - Enrollment Calendar & Enrollment Forms 90% - Receive signed Enrollment Forms and Terms of Service Newsletter Welcome Site Audit & Invoice Intro call & Kick-Off Activation Checklist: Welcome Email, New Customer Internal Email, Schedule Audit, Initial Technology Assessment, Information Share meeting w/AM, Intro Call w/CTO, Kick-off Meeting Newsletter Continued Relationship Building -Work to Achieve Business Goals

Proposed Timeline

2-3 weeks 1 month 3 months – 1 year 90 days (3 months) 7-10 business days Day 0 Duration 6 – 9 months www.everonit.com

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Sales Readiness

 Sales readiness is a function of marketing preparedness  They’re ready when they’re ready, make sure you’re in front when they are  There are no tricks, Dave has tried them all  They call when there’s a need, which generally means things aren’t good  Coming in hot, hurry up and wait  Increased sales cycle = increased cost per acquisition

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www.everonit.com

Online Marketing

 When they are ready, they look online  SMB decision makers doing their own research before meeting with a sales person  Websites are becoming sales agents, make a good first impression  Decreased sales cycle & decreased cost per acquisition  Many channels exist, start with the ones you can measure performance on a regular basis and get the most for your marketing spend  Stay dedicated to the effort

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www.everonit.com

Paid Search

 Fish where the fish are biting  Your competitors are  Anybody can do it  Follow Best Practices  Be descriptive  Choose who finds you  Tell them what to do and where to go   Determine the cost for obtaining a customer and target budget Manageable and predictable budgeting and immediate impact www.everonit.com

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Make It a Smooth Landing

~2%

of the traffic coming to this page contacts us Our sales team converts

15% -20%

of this traffic to customers $$$ www.everonit.com

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Building Trust Remotely

 Simplicity  Make it easy to understand, people are already insecure about their understanding of IT  Transparency  We don’t lead with pricing, but we are very up front and simple  Credibility – Customer Quotes  That’s great, but let’s see what he/she has to say  Deliver Value  Content is everything  Educational and resource selling  Position as a trusted industry resource  Benefits  How will this make my life better and business more successful www.everonit.com

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Building Trust Remotely

 Demystify the pricing  Big customer pain point  Still controversial  Show credibility  Customer quotes  Avoid hollow promises www.everonit.com

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Building Trust Remotely

 Market the difference & the value  Technically we’re an IT company, but…..

 The value of a premium service  Make the shift from focusing on technology management to focusing on strategic business issues  It all begins with a solid foundation www.everonit.com

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What We’ve Learned So Far…

 Value will build long-term relationships  You can build trust, security and credibility online  Marketing is a part of the greater service delivery cycle  The tone of the relationship is established in the original marketing & sales process  Sell & market the value, do not diminish it from the beginning

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www.everonit.com

What We’ve Achieved

 Breakthrough in selling recurring 6 figure service contracts remotely 

500%

revenue growth since 2004  Predictability in the sales & marketing of SMB IT services  Average cost per acquisition that is less than

10%

of the annual contract  Platform for continued national expansion 

460%

increase newsletter subscribers since 2005 

1000%

increase unique website visits since 2005 

400%

increase inbound leads since 2005 

500%

increase pay per click derived sales 2005-2006  Pay per click average sales cycle of

2

months www.everonit.com

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Take Aways

 Make sure your results are measurable and marketing is consistent  It’s not one thing it’s all a mix  Build value & trust early on “You never get a second chance at a first impression”  Patience…. The hard work starts when the lead comes in the door  Online marketing changing the way service companies are reaching broader audiences www.everonit.com

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Acknowledgements

 Michael Cooch, CEO [email protected]

 David Liniado, President [email protected]

 Josh Clifford, CTO  Chris Mackin, Sales Manager  Chris Burns, Web Development www.fortpointdesign.com

www.everonit.com

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Thank You Doug Ziewacz Director of Marketing Everon Technology Services [email protected]

available from::

888-244-1748

© 2006 MarketingSherpa, Inc. This presentation is not for distribution. Thank you.

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