Episode Summary
During this episode of Tech Qualified, Tristan Pelligrino sits down and chats with Latane Conant, the Chief Marketing Officer at 6Sense. 6Sense is an Account Engagement Platform that allows companies to proactively target the right accounts based on real-time data and behavior. Latane talks about her background before becoming a CMO, discusses the trends in B2B buying and talks about this uncertain time we are operating within right now.
Episode Highlights
- Latane Conant shares her background as a professional and talks about how she graduated with a degree in accounting…and found her way into a sales role.
- Latane discusses the ideal customer profile for 6Sense, which includes B2B sales and marketing teams.
- In a B2B buying cycle, there’s a concept of a “dark funnel” where buyers are conducting a lot of research before making a purchase.
- Only 13% of sales and marketing teams actually have confidence in their CRM data.
- During several virtual coffee talks with CMOs around the country, Latane discovered a few key themes – one being the fact that “putting our heads in the sand is the worst thing we can do.”
- Another key theme discussed with CMOs is around automation and how we shouldn’t be sending anything automated right now…and probably shouldn’t be doing that anyway.
- When operating in this climate, it’s ok to acknowledge what’s going on and empathy is very important.
- Latane mentioned that there is a lot of public shaming on LinkedIn and discusses how coaching can be done privately versus in public forums.
- BDRs have a tough job and it’s even tougher right now. So, their team is focused on educating and learning. Right now, maybe it’s important to put double the amount of time into account research.
- Latane discusses the pros and cons of having BDRs report to marketing versus the sales teams.
- Latane talks about how she works with the leader of the BDR team and they collaboratively set the tone for the week…each week.
- ABM is really about understanding your ideal customers in real-time and identifying those key buying signals.
- ABM is more than just selecting the right accounts, you have to define a business objective up front as well.
- Latane breaks down how their podcast/video series was created and how they use it within their own marketing strategy.
- Latane discusses some projects she would execute if given a $20k budget to just “test” things out.
Key Points
- There’s a saying, measure twice, cut once. I think it’s about educating and learning and maybe doubling the time you normally spend on account research.
- It’s ok to acknowledge that it’s a tough time. And then it’s really about empathizing on what this tough time means.
- Typically in sales, there’s a give-get formula. That’s what the best sellers practice. What we’re practicing here at 6Sense is give-give, pure give.
Resources
- Latane Conant: LinkedIn
- 6Sense: Website
- TalkingSense: Website
- Motion: Ultimate Thought Leadership Course for B2B Tech Companies
