Pitching a new marketing idea to your boss can be intimidating, especially when it involves implementing a new software platform in your company’s current marketing strategy. We know how nerve-wracking it can be, which is why we have come up with 5 tips that will help you ace your presentation and sell the decision makers of your company on all the benefits that marketing automation has to offer.
Tip 1: Outline “How” Marketing Automation Will Make a Difference
While it is always important to highlight the features and functions of marketing automation, focusing on how automation will grow and change your company will make a bigger impact. For example, I could tell you that our marketing automation platform has a robust toolbox, or I could show you how using our Visitor ID feature, which identifies who is visiting your website, what pages they are looking at, and how long they were looking at them.
Tip 2: Place Emphasis on the “Why”
The “how” and the “why” go hand in hand. All pitch meetings loosely follow the same format, a company/product/service is presented, some background is given and the meat of the meeting, or the “what” is discussed. Explaining what marketing automation is easy, but explaining why marketing automation is the best choice is the better sell. But why is it better? Focusing on the “why” helps to create a bigger picture. The functionality of the platform is not the only thing that is important, the internal and external support offered is key too.
Tip 3: Provide a Demonstration
Demoing a product is one of the most important aspects of a pitch meeting and can be a real make it or break it moment. When it comes to marketing automation, a platform with an easy to navigate interface is a must. The platform that we use here at Marketing Armor is incredibly user-friendly, and all of its robust features are easily accessed from the main dashboard. A little trick to assess if something is user-friendly- ask yourself if your most non-technical coworker would be able to navigate it. A platform that is easy to navigate and has a loaded toolbox is worth its weight in gold!
Tip 4: Always Have Proof
Showing proof of success seems like a no-brainer, but it is one of the most crucial points when selling a new marketing platform. Why? Because it has the potential to marry logic and emotion. It is human nature for an individual to want to see the success of something before they personally invest more time and energy in it, especially if they are responsible for the outcome. Luckily, marketing automation makes it easy to give proof, with data available for every action conducted within the platform. Providing a case study as an example is also a very powerful way to give a face and a name to logic.
Tip 5: Use Emotions to Help Influence
The 5th and final tip to help sell your boss on the implementation of marketing automation is playing on the emotions of your decision maker. Most of the other tips mentioned in this blog have emotional aspects, the final tip is to end the presentation with an emotional punch. This can be done in a variety of ways, but one of the most successful is creating a shared vision. While this sounds like it might lean towards overly emotional, it doesn’t have to. Creating a shared vision can refer to envisioning how marketing automation can help increase ROI and ultimately grow your company.
If you have any questions about integrating marketing automation into your current marketing strategy, click on the banner below to schedule your free 30-minute consultation with us today.
