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AM WORKSHOP WORKBOOK

HOW TO BUILD A MARKETING PLAN

THAT MAPS TO YOUR SALES PIPELINE Stephanie Ristow | Director of Marketing, Charter School Capital

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Confirm Your Company Goals

Establish Stage-Level Objectives

Demand Generation vs. Account Based Marketing

Defining the Demand Unit(s)

Outlining Audience Personas

Developing Messaging

Calculating Pipeline-Based Goals

Program Creation/ Prioritization

Tactical Mapping

Review, Revise, Optimize

Glossary

3

4

5

7

9

13

16

18

22

26

28

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INTRODUCTION

uilding a marketing plan that is understood, valued, and approved by both executive leadership and sales is Btougher than it looks.

This workbook will provide a step-by-step how-to on building the elements for an effective, strategic marketing

plan.

Use this guide to prevent strategy tourism among your team, create the flexibility to shift and prioritize quickly

throughout the year, and align marketing and sales departments to a central mission for a predictable pipeline of

sales.

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CONFIRM YOUR COMPANY GOALS

WORKSHEET

This probably seems like a no-brainer, but starting with your company-level goals is important touch in order to

create a touch-stone for the rest of your plan. Too often, marketers jump into the plans without considering the

driving forces behind the business overall first. Not to mention, including these show-cases your higher-level

thinking with the executives, since these are the metrics they care about.

Sales Volume Goal

People Process Product

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ESTABLISH STAGE-LEVEL OBJECTIVES

Objectives Message Themes KPIs

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

CONVERSION

LOYALTY

Ÿ Cultivate brand recognitionŸ Generate new leads

We do (things). Check us out! Ÿ Site trafficŸ Leads (MCLs)

Ÿ Drive engagement with leads and contacts

Ÿ Open doors with influencer audiences

We are a resource for (audience). We know and specialize in this space. Learn more!

Ÿ Lead engagement (MQLs)Ÿ Influencer meetings

Ÿ Support opportunity conversion with value prop/ product-related content and sales support

We (value prop). Purchase with us!

Ÿ Sales accepted leads (SALs)Ÿ Opportunities

Ÿ Drive additional purchases from clients

Ÿ Capture referrals from happy customers

Look how great it is to work with us. Purchase with us again. Refer us to other prospects.

Ÿ Upsell opportunitiesŸ Client referrals

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Objectives Message Themes KPIs

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

CONVERSION

LOYALTY

ESTABLISH STAGE-LEVEL OBJECTIVES

WORKSHEET

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DEMAND GENERATION VS. ACCOUNT BASED MARKETING (ABM)

Demand Generation Account Based Marketing

Traditional, funnel based marketing strategy focused on

persona-based messaging and programs. This strategy works

great if you have a transactional sale and need a large volume

of leads.

(Fishing with a net)

When you are focused on high-value accounts with multiple

decision makers and complex sales cycles, this strategy is

used for a more targeted, proactive approach based on

delivering account-personalized messages and tactics.

(Fishing with a spear)

Both strategy approaches are incredibly valuable. The make-up of these two strategies in your own company should

be based on your product price-point and length of sale. Don’t just follow the trend to ABM. With these two

variables in mind, identify the appropriate proportion of Demand Generation to Account Based Marketing programs

in your overall marketing plan.

EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2

Sales Cycle: 3 months

<$100,000Deal Size:

Sales Cycle: 12 months

$2,000,000Deal Size:

ABMDEMANDGENERATION

DEMANDGENERATION ABM

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WORKSHEET

Both strategy approaches are incredibly valuable. The make-up of these two strategies in your own company should

be based on your product price-point and length of sale. Don’t just follow the trend to ABM. With these two

variables in mind, identify the appropriate proportion of Demand Generation to Account Based Marketing programs

in your overall marketing plan.

DEMAND GENERATION VS. ACCOUNT BASED MARKETING (ABM)

Sales Cycle:

Deal Size:

Other Factors:

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DEFINING THE DEMAND UNIT(S)

Build some context and parameters around the groups you’re reaching out to. Most companies segment sales

organizations by geographic market or industry vertical. Additionally, how and who you message to will likely vary by

product. Some companies may have only one demand unit (but most will have at least two).

This exercise is most important in ABM strategies.

Example:

Demand Unit 1: Financial Services – Automation Software

Market or Industry:(Geographic or industry segmentation)

Financial Services

Demand Unit:Job titles related to this product purchase

1. CMO

2. Marketing Director/ Manager

3. Contributor (Marketing Operations)

4. Influencer (Partner Agency)

5.

6.

Product:

Automation Software

Target Accounts:Specific parameters for your target accounts (BANT)

Companies with 4-10 person marketing teams, a $10K+,

internal decision making power, a B2B selling environment

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WORKSHEET


Demand Unit 1:



1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Product:


11

WORKSHEET


Demand Unit 2:



1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Product:


12

WORKSHEET


Demand Unit 3:



1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Product:


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OUTLINING AUDIENCE PERSONAS

Use the job title details you outlined in the demand units here in the “role” column. In many cases, the roles will be

consistent across different demand unit types. Unless you see key persona differences in the roles across different

demand units, no need to create different personas for each.

Role Description General MessageWhat are they stressed about? Key Channels

Specific description of this role. Background, demographics, specific interests.

What are the major stresses in their job that your product/ service can solve?

How will you position your product/ information specifically for this role?

LinkedInSlackEmailEtc.

CMO(Janet)

Marketing Director(Stephanie)

Contributor(Brittini)

Influencer(Michael)

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WORKSHEET

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WORKSHEET

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DEVELOPING MESSAGING

Leverage the “general message” you outlined in the personas as the Awareness level message here. Then expand on

that message through the funnel. How would your message change as you’re stage-level objectives shift?

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

CONVERSION

LOYALTY

CMO

Message for C-level executive that doesn’t know about us

Director

Message for decision maker that doesn’t know about us

Contributor

Message for contributor that doesn’t know about us

Influencer

Message for influencer that doesn’t know about us

…has heard of us, but not yet engaged




…has considered us and is looking for a solution




Message for C-level client regarding upsell and referrals

Message for decision maker client regarding upsell and referrals

Message for contributor client regarding upsell and referrals

Message for influencer client regarding upsell and referrals

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DEVELOPING MESSAGING

Leverage the “general message” you outlined in the personas as the Awareness level message here and expand. How

would your message change as you’re stage-level objectives shift? Then, circle the roles/ stage combos that are

highest priority.

AWARENESS

CONSIDERATION

CONVERSION

LOYALTY

WORKSHEET

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CALCULATING PIPELINE-BASED GOALS

We need to establish quantitative performance metrics to identify our budget and resource priorities across

programs for the new business sales volume goal. This is what you’re ultimately driving to:

Key Questions Last Year This Year’s Goals

CONSIDERATION

CONVERSION

How many MQLs? MQL > SAL rate? SAL > Opportunity rate?

250080%1%

444490%1%

AWARENESS

How many leads (MCL)? MCL > marketing qualified (MQL) rate?

5000

50%

8888

50%

How many opportunities?Opportunity to win rate? Value/ won opportunity?New Business VolumeGoal?

2025%$100,000

$500,000

4025%$100,000/ won opportunity

$1,000,000

But let’s back up…

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Last Year’s Numbers (Benchmark)

Notes:

Use this worksheet to establish last year’s numbers first – this

is your benchmark.

This benchmark is important in order to see the delta

between what you have done in the past vs. what’s expected

this year, and what is realistic.

If you’re investment and internal resources are the same, and

the only way to hit your goal is to double MCLs, you’ll need to

speak with leadership.

WORKSHEET

1. New Business Volume : $__________________________

2. Value/ Won Opportunity: $________________________

3. Opportunity Win Rate: ___________________________

4. How Many Opportunities (1÷2÷3) = _________________

5. SAL > Opportunity Rate: __________________________

6. MQL > SAL Rate: _______________________________

7. How Many MQLs (4÷5÷6) = _______________________

8. MCL > MQL Rate: _______________________________

9. How Many MCLs (7÷8) = _________________________

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WORKSHEET

Goal Numbers:

Notes:

Remove any volume expectations that should come from

existing business when you start with item #1 here, as this is

calculating only new business sales volume.

There are likely market-based ceilings to many of these

numbers. When establishing goals for next year, consider the

items that are most fixed first. If the total market is 1000 leads,

getting 1200 MCLs next year isn’t really possible. So you’ll

need to optimize conversion rates instead.

1. New Business Volume : $__________________________

2. Value/ Won Opportunity: $________________________

3. Opportunity Win Rate: ___________________________

4. How Many Opportunities (1÷2÷3) = _________________

5. SAL > Opportunity Rate: __________________________

6. MQL > SAL Rate: _______________________________

7. How Many MQLs (4÷5÷6) = _______________________

8. MCL > MQL Rate: _______________________________

9. How Many MCLs (7÷8) = _________________________

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WORKSHEET

Now that you’ve done the calculations for last year’s conversion benchmarks and this year’s goals, you can clearly

see which programs need to be prioritized to accommodate the metrics you’re setting out to improve.

Worth Noting:

• You should already have leads; not starting from scratch

• If the MQL/ SAL number is too high, you’ll need to optimize conversion rates

• Use these numbers to help prioritize your programs

Key Questions

CONSIDERATION

CONVERSION

How many MQLs? MQL > SAL rate? SAL > Opportunity rate?

AWARENESS

How many leads (MCL)? MCL > marketing qualified (MQL) rate?

How many opportunities?Opportunity to win rate? Value/ won opportunity?New Business VolumeGoal?

Last Year This Year’s Goals

More lead gen activities

More engagementcampaigns

More salessupport materials

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PROGRAM CREATION/ PRIORITIZATION

Wouldn’t it be awesome if we had all the time and all the budget resources we need to do all the necessary tactics

for all the relevant programs, for all the target audiences, at every market/ industry/ product segment we’ve

covered? Well you don’t. So, let’s prioritize what’s going to really move the needle.

Which objective stage metrics are going to require the biggest push next year to hit your pipeline goals? ()

Awareness (Lead Generation Activities)

Consideration (Engagement Activities)

Conversion (Sales Support Activities)

Which audience groups were most important in those funnel areas? (Page 18)

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

Which of your Demand Units are MOST important? (Pages 11-13)

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

What’s your ABM/ Demand Generation split? (Page 9)

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

Which channels are most effective to reach them?

(Pages 15-16)

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

WORKSHEET

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Brainstorm Time! Based on the priorities you developed on the previous page, start sketching out some programs

you think will reach those audiences and the tactics they should include. Specify the key audiences/ messages

associated.

Program 1

Objective: ______________________________________

Audience: ______________________________________

Key Message: ____________________________________

Call to Action: __________________________________

Program Theme/ Summary/ Notes: ___________________

Program 2

Objective: ______________________________________

Audience: ______________________________________

Key Message: ____________________________________

Call to Action: __________________________________


WORKSHEET

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you think will reach those audiences and the tactics they should include.

Program 3

Objective: ______________________________________

Audience: ______________________________________

Key Message: ____________________________________

Call to Action: __________________________________


Program 4

Objective: ______________________________________

Audience: ______________________________________

Key Message: ____________________________________

Call to Action: __________________________________


WORKSHEET

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you think will reach those audiences and the tactics they should include.

Program 5

Objective: ______________________________________

Audience: ______________________________________

Key Message: ____________________________________

Call to Action: __________________________________


Program 6

Objective: ______________________________________

Audience: ______________________________________

Key Message: ____________________________________

Call to Action: __________________________________


WORKSHEET

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TACTICAL MAPPING

Taking note of holidays, seasonality of your business, and resource cadence (budget and human resources), map the

programs you’ll be maintaining this year and adding to the docket. Obviously evergreen programs like drip

campaigns and triggered emails are year-round, but calendar programs should be mapped across the year to

appropriately set sales and executive expectations.

As a starting point, make sure you capture the following on your tactical marketing calendar:

Major Conferences

Holidays

Relevant Industry-Related Activities (Competitor Events, etc.)

Ongoing Programs (Webinars, Monthly Newsletter)

Workback of Customer Lifecycle Ramp to Busy Season

New Program Timelines

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TACTICAL MAPPING

WORKSHEET

January February March April

May June July August

September October November December

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REVIEW, REVISE, OPTIMIZE

Congrats! You’re done with the first draft. Now it’s time to socialize and update and socialize and update all this

marketing goodness. Here are your next steps:

Pull the final versions of the worksheet slides into a comprehensive marketing plan

Your internal marketing department

Your external marketing vendors

Your sales organization

Your leadership team

Update your plan to incorporate feedback and recirculate with stakeholders

Once approved, pull the final programs and calendar into a living document for weekly updates to the

marketing, vendor, sales, and leadership teams – vocalize that this is a living doc and will get updated

regularly

Review your plan quarterly (quarterly reporting analysis is a great time for this) to gut-check progress towards

goals, objectives, and key demand units

Update the plan as necessary, but don’t get stuck in strategy tourism!

Review the plan with the following for feedback:

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GLOSSARY

Ÿ MCL: Marketing Contacted Lead; this is someone who is in your system, but hasn’t yet engaged with your

content in a meaningful way.

Ÿ MQL: Marketing Qualified Lead; this is someone who’s done something meaningful to engage (downloaded an

eBook, filled out an apply now form) that your sales/ marketing teams agree warrants a notification the sales

team. This person is also within the demographic and geographic barriers for a quality lead.

Ÿ SAL: Sales Accepted Lead; this is someone who the sales team has said “yes, this lead is relevant; I will follow

up with them”.

Ÿ ABM: Account Based Marketing; this is a marketing strategy used for a more targeted, proactive approach

based on delivering account-personalized messages and tactics.

Ÿ Opportunity: Sales accepts a lead and creates an “opportunity” with the account, meaning they’re actively

working the lead to convert.

Ÿ KPI: Key Performance Indicator; the metrics that provide an early warning system for weather programs are

working or not.

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