Inbound marketing strategies are now becoming the norm for many companies around the world. We wanted to find out more about how Inbound is changing the world of sales and marketing, so what better than to go straight to the source: HubSpot Sales Director Dan Tyre.
This is HubSpot:
HubSpot is the world’s leading inbound marketing and sales platform. HubSpot is used by over 15,000 customers in more than 90 countries to transform the way they attract, engage, and delight customers.
This is Dan Tyre:
Dan joined HubSpot as a member of the original team in May of 2007, and has led the recruiting, training, and growth of HubSpot’s sales teams. Dan is an authority on inbound marketing and sales and a regular speaker, writer, and coach to those who yearn for inbound success. His favorite topic is the importance of attitude, and he’s been known to bring the house down when speaking on this topic to groups. At HubSpot, Dan has pioneered the concept of alignment between sales and marketing known as ‘Smarketing’ - a core tenet of inbound marketing now followed by thousands of companies around the world.
Hi Dan and thank you for sharing your expertise with our readers!
“Hi Digital Mic Drop! My pleasure!”
If you would ‘elevator pitch’ the concept of Inbound marketing to a traditional Marketing Manager, what would you say?
“Great question. I would say that Inbound marketing is a holistic, data-driven approach that takes total strangers and turns them into great customers by helping them solve their problems.”
Inbound is considered a game changer for both sales and marketing professionals. Why is that, and what can we expect over the next 2-3 years?
“Inbound is a huge game changer because it identifies a key transition in the buying process. Starting in 2007, with the advent of information available via search and social media, a buyer could have as much access to information as a salesperson or account manager, forever altering the fundamental control of the standard sales process.”
“With the buyer in control, the process follows a much different path, which requires modern sales and marketing teams to acknowledge & change their approach to help the customer rather than close the customer.”
“Always Be Closing is dead, Always Be Helping is now essential.”
“Always Be Closing is dead, Always Be Helping is now essential. Over the next 2 years, you will see a dramatic segmentation between ‘Smarketing’ teams (sales + marketing) who work together to help and legacy sales and marketing teams that continue to try to push. The companies who win will work to establish relationships with their prospects in advance of when they are ready to buy.”
In your experience from working with large brands at HubSpot; who is more likely to be thrilled when a company goes Inbound – the Marketing Manager or the Sales Manager?
“Marketing Manager for sure. Inbound gives the marketing team valuable data. Data gives the marketing team insight. Insight gives the marketing team power. For the first time, marketing becomes as important (arguably more important) than sales.”
“Some sales teams embrace this change, as they should, because it makes it easier for them to scale. Some sales teams are less enthusiastic because they don’t see the valuable implications of giving up control in exchange for generating more qualified leads.”
“We do see some sales managers totally embrace the #inboundsales philosophy and have their teams get the inbound sales certifications, practice the inbound sales methodology and embrace the philosophy and those sales teams have a huge competitive advantage.”
Inbound marketing is closely tied to the concept of Personas. Why are Personas important and how can a brand benefit from them?
“Personas are semi- fictional representations of your ideal customer based on real data and some select educated speculation about customer demographics, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. It used to be that you sold to a target market. Today, you need to sell to the segment of one.”
“Everyone wants (and expects) that they will be acknowledged and engaged in an individualized way. Some of this expectation, comes from the technology that you use - your smartphone knows your name, your preferences and you come to expect that the human component should be equally effective. Understanding more than the cursory characteristics of a group and digging down into the emotional implications of a purchase and starting a relationship can make a significant impact on your velocity.”
What, in your opinion, will the biggest positive change be for a marketing team who is transitioning to Inbound?
“More leads, higher quality leads, better data, better ability to service their prospects and customers, the ability to delight their industry, prospects and customers and the ability to figure out the best ROI to continually improve their efficiency.”
On the flip side; what is the biggest challenge?
“Inbound marketing is hard and requires recruiting a qualified staff, execution of the process, constant readjustment based on changes online and consistent trial and error to get right.”
There is a lot of talk about Big Data and analytics in the marketing forums out there. With a shift to an Inbound approach in mind, what’s more important to master; Big Data or more narrow user behavior and analytics?
“That is a trick question! The reality is you should measure everything. The buyer’s journey down to a single user is critically important but also the review of the data in aggregate. Inbound does allow you to measure almost everything and digging deep into those statistics can increase your efficiency in moving prospects from one phase to the next.”
If a brand would like to transition to an Inbound sales and marketing approach, how long does it take to go ‘full-on Inbound’?
“It depends on the company, the sophistication of the teams, the readiness of the company to support true alignment and how diligently they work on it. You can get the basics pretty quickly but usually 12-18 months to really establish the habits and good pattern and to get in a groove.”
Is it expensive for a brand to make this shift?
“No.”
How can HubSpot support a brand that wants to take the leap?
“HubSpot provides free education, insights, research and case studies to help companies make this move.”
What role do social networks like LinkedIn play in the success of an inbound marketer or sales person?
“Social media, especially video, play an important role in inbound because that is where your clients spend their time.”
Dan, thank you very much! We’re sold. Inbound is the future.
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