Featuring:
Isabel Montesdeoca, VP, Group Director, Phil Harrell, VP, Group Director, and Meta Karagianni, VP, Research Director
Show Notes:
The plans that marketing and sales leaders had at the outset of 2020 came apart with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many leaders in Europe and beyond, the initial, frenzied adjustment to new ways of working gave way to a period of reflection that may ultimately put them in a better position once “normalcy” returns. In this week’s podcast episode, we hear from Vice Presidents Isabel Montesdeoca, Phil Harrell, and Meta Karagianni on the lessons sales and marketing leaders should carry into 2021.
For sales leaders, an emphasis on hypergrowth in late 2019 and early 2020 quickly shifted to a greater focus on serving current customers and helping sales reps stay motivated and productive in a virtual environment. “[The pandemic] has required sales leaders to step back and reinvent the way they’re doing business, in terms of their organizational structure, the investments they make, and where they decide to invest going into 2021, in verticals that have been successful,” says Harrell.
For many B2B CMOs, the pandemic exposed gaps within the marketing organization — in skills, process, and technology — that they are now working to address. With the timeline to recovery still uncertain, the pandemic has also driven marketing leaders to prioritize agility and resilience in their future planning.
The greatest opportunity the pandemic has offered sales and marketing leaders, Harrell and Karagianni say, is to reimagine their processes to be truly customer- and buyer-centric. Those organizations that successfully reorient their customer’s and buyer’s journey will emerge as winners, Harrell says.
For a deeper dive, join Isabel Montesdeoca, Phil Harrell, Meta Karagianni, and other Forrester B2B marketing, sales, and product analysts at Summit EMEA October 6-7, 2020. Learn more about this virtual event.
