Cracking the Code: The Secrets of High-Performance B2B Revenue Engines

British mathematician Alan Turing — widely considered the founder of computer science — served a pivotal role during World War II by using cryptoanalysis to crack intercepted enemy messages and help the Allies defeat the Nazis. His work in codebreaking, computational analysis and artificial intelligence contributed to the development of countless other advancements.

For B2B leaders who lack Turing’s extraordinary skills, cracking the code of organizational high performance remains daunting. At Summit Europe this morning, Meta Karagianni and Phil Harrell kicked off the day’s sessions by giving attendees an invaluable decoder ring: the SiriusDecisions B2B High-Performance Index.

Understanding what drives high performance today is more important than ever before,” Meta said. “But like code messages, everything changes every day. Navigating the changing dynamics and building a high-performance revenue engine that delivers results is a high priority for all of us.”

The B2B High-Performance Index provides 36 data indicators distilled from SiriusDecisions research, including Command Center^® benchmark data, primary research studies conducted in 2018 and 2019, and thousands of inquiries with B2B executives conducted over the past 12 months.

“Every function within the revenue engine must perform at a high level for the organization to meet its potential,” Phil said. “But what’s been difficult until now is looking through a sea of performance data to see which will really help you. What was needed was a way to narrow down that data set.”

Most importantly, the B2B High-Performance Index provides a unified view across functions. Instant polling results conducted during Meta and Phil’s session showed that few Summit Europe attendees had a roll-up view of high performance; a third reported that each function looks at performance individually, and 54 percent look at some — but not all — functions’ performance together.

“Revenue performance is highly interconnected,” Meta noted. “If every function is left on its own to interpret business strategy, the result is misaligned efforts and investments.”

When SiriusDecisions crunched the data to see what the best-performing organizations were doing differently and create the B2B High-Performance Index, several commonalities immediately stood out. Across sales, marketing and product teams, these traits and behaviors help generate more demand, win more deals and meet performance goals. Here’s a quick sampling:

• Sales — invest in training. High-performing B2B organizations invest 16% more than others in their sales and marketing functions overall, but certain investments are particularly impactful. At high-performing organizations, sales training received 27% more investment. “Many people make budget cuts here, but that’s a big mistake,” Phil said. “You need to make sure your reps know how to get in front of customers and make the right pitches.”
• Marketing — use data to read buyers’ signals. High-performing organizations take the time needed — and make the important investments — to develop thorough buyer insights. They’re 40% more likely than other organizations to use market intelligence and 44% more likely to use advanced analytics segmentation. “These organizations are digging deeper, using insights to drive targeted execution,” Meta said. “It’s not just about quantity; it’s about staying in tune with your buyers’ signals.”
• Product — take a systematic value-based approach to pricing and packaging offerings.SiriusDecisions found that nearly all — 95% — of high-performing organizations take a market-based or value-based approach to pricing and packaging, with a dramatic impact on revenue results. Gathering insights about value is a first step that product teams take to break down silos with other functions and ensure that value is captured not only in the pricing model, but also in marketing messaging.

Stay tuned for more blog coverage from Summit Europe, and follow the #SDSummit hashtag on Twitter for instant insights as the conference continues!