1. MathMarketing Pty Ltd
ABN 14 563 955 163
Level 10, 390 St Kilda Road
Melbourne Victoria 3004
Australia
Ph: 61 3 9006 4999
Fx: 61 3 9948 0017
www.mathmarketing.com
The Strategy to Action Gap: How to turn good ideas
into hard sales results
Prepared by MathMarketing
Subject The Strategy to Action Gap - How to turn good ideas into hard sales results

2. There‟s no use formulating a killer strategy if you execute it poorly, or (worse)
fail to execute it at all. Turning your strategy into action is critical, because only
action will bring you hard sales results.
The process of turning strategy into successful business outcomes is one of the
biggest challenges facing today‟s business leaders. A combination of complex
and constantly changing business environments, and hectic personal
schedules, means that many great strategies simply never get executed – let
alone executed well.
In a recent survey of more than four hundred leaders (including general
managers, vice presidents, directors and department heads), OnPoint
Consulting found that:
“Forty-nine percent…perceive a gap between their organisations’
ability to develop <and communicate> sound strategies and their
1
ability to implement those strategies.”
Crucially:
“Sixty-four percent don’t have full confidence that their companies
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will be able to close that gap.”
Business leaders from all sorts of industries are struggling to turn good ideas
into hard sales results – and are failing to see a way forward.
In this white paper, we‟ll explain why. We‟ll also offer three proven steps to
closing the strategy to action gap, and getting real results in the form of
revenue.
Why does the strategy to action gap exist?
We see three common reasons:
1. Strategy is inside-out
2. Tactics are arbitrary
3. Sales and Marketing are not aligned
1. Strategy is inside-out
For many marketers, strategy boils down to answering four basic questions:
 What do you sell?
 To whom to you sell it?
 Through whom do you sell it?
 Who else sells it?
1
Lepsinger, R. 2006, „Surveying the Gap: Study Suggests Nearly Half of All Leaders See a
Disconnect Between Strategy and Execution‟, accessed at
http://www.onpointconsultingllc.com/LepsingerSurveyRel_08-14-06%20_2_final.pdf, (October 31st,
2007).
2
Lepsinger, R. 2006, „Surveying the Gap: Study Suggests Nearly Half of All Leaders See a
Disconnect Between Strategy and Execution‟, accessed at
http://www.onpointconsultingllc.com/LepsingerSurveyRel_08-14-06%20_2_final.pdf, (October 31st,
2007).
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3. But formulating strategy by asking these questions means formulating it around
your business. Essentially, your strategy becomes what you want to do.
Unfortunately – and crucially – this approach fails to take into account your
buyers. And often, your buyers are not affected by your strategy at all.
In a complex business to business buying environment, buyers take a complex
cognitive journey.
They start off untroubled and unaware; essentially, they are complacent.
At some point though, they become troubled. Once they‟ve acknowledged their
problem, they cognitively define what they need to solve that problem – or to
make that pain go away.
They then formulate their preferences, receive proposals and, ultimately, select
a vendor, sign a contract and engage.
But here‟s the key: the stage labelled „acknowledge pain‟ is critical.
Needs versus
problems!
Acknowledging the problem is a critical stage in the buyer’s journey.
Choose the problem that your business solves best, and build your
strategy around that problem.
‘Solutions’ and Most of us are uncomfortable talking about problems. Somehow, it seems
‘needs’ are wrong. We‟re conditioned to look for – and spread – good news.
distractions. Buyers
pay money to solve But here‟s the catch: If your customers can‟t clearly identify the negative
problems. consequences of not buying, they won‟t buy.
And it gets worse.
A buyer with a need will spend time. They‟ll come to your seminar, receive your
solicitations, download your white papers and accept your meeting requests.
Sounds good, right?
A buyer with a problem will spend money. Still sounds OK.
But here‟s the other catch: A buyer with a need – and not a problem – will
spend time, but NOT money.
Your team must understand the problems your business solves. And your
strategy must bring these problems to the forefront of your buyers‟ minds.
To recast your strategy around your buyers, ask:
 Who most has the problem? (Because that‟s who you should be targeting);
 What most fully solves the problem? (Because that‟s what you should be
selling);
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4.  Who best uncovers the problem? (Because that‟s who your channel should
be); and
 Who else solves the problem? (Because that‟s who your real competition
is).
To turn strategy into action, your strategy needs to be turned the right way
around. To do this, understand the problem faced by your buyers‟, and build
your strategy around that problem.
But your strategy doesn‟t translate to action – yet.
2. Tactics are arbitrary
For many businesses, choosing tactics is an arbitrary decision. We‟ve heard:
 “I do what I know.”
 “I copy my competition.”
 “It seemed to work last year.”
 “The old ones were boring.”
But there‟s another – smarter – way to choose tactics.
Think about the buyers‟ journey again. The job of tactics is to progress buyers
through that journey.
Your tactics need to help your buyers:
1. Position you in the category;
2. Accept they have the problem;
3. Establish your credentials;
4. Define a clear need;
5. Accept your solution as valid;
6. Choose you as their preference;
7. Be willing to contract; and
8. Be ready to grow.
Your tactics must be designed to successfully progress buyers from each stage
to the next.
But what about progressing your own team? More specifically, what about
alignment?
3. Sales and Marketing are not aligned
Sales and Marketing should be aligned; but to what?
In partnership with MarketProfs.com, we conducted a comprehensive study into
Sales and Marketing alignment.
We found that businesses which enjoy strong alignment are:
 Outgrowing their competitors by 5.4%
 38% better at closing proposals
 Churning 36% fewer customers each year
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5. Source: MathMarketing alignment benchmark study
2004/2005 : 1400 professionals : 84 countries
So alignment is good; but what should you align to?
It‟s not about aligning Sales to Marketing or the other way around, but aligning
both to the same things.
Sales and Marketing must align to shared objectives, strategy, tactics and
measures. Ultimately, alignment calls for a singular plan built by Sales
and Marketing together.
Organising the execution of Sales and Marketing activities is a challenge.
Notably, businesses:
“…that lack a plan…produce fragmented and incremental
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activities.”
Only a singular plan that aligns Sales and Marketing to shared objectives,
strategy, tactics and measures will translate strategy into action; and produce
real results.
Three proven steps to turn good ideas into hard sales results
Step 1 – Lock Don‟t make the mistake of building your strategy on your own, and then telling
everyone in a room your team all about it.
Why?
Because then it will be your strategy, not your extended teams. As a
consequence, you‟ll lack stakeholder buy-in and struggle to get your team to
execute with passion and precision.
Instead, bring your team together and build your strategy in concert. If you do
this efficiently, it can be done in just three days – and you‟ll reap the short-term
and long-term benefits.
Step 2 – Build a The problem is where you and your buyer connect, and where you‟ll profit most.
strategy and choose Build your strategy around this problem, and hone in on the prospects who
tactics around the really have it – not those who only have a need.
buyer
Next, capitalise on your strategy by choosing tactics that progress your buyers
through each stage of the journey. Careful and considered choice of tactics is
mandatory – copying your competitor or choosing tactics because they‟re „cool‟
just won‟t get you the results you‟re chasing.
Step 3 – Don’t do it Building your strategy as a team is much smarter than building it by yourself.
by yourself But being too close to the content is dangerous. Because your team deals daily
with the ins and outs of your business, this is a likely occurrence.
3
Yukl, G. & Lepsinger, R. 2007, „Getting It Done: Four Ways to Translate Strategy into Results”,
accessed at http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/publications/lia/lia27_2Getting.pdf, (October 31st,
2007), p.4.
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6. Being too close to the content means objective decision making is near-
impossible. You‟re also likely to experience internal conflict if you lack external
management adequately equipped to control the process.
Get help, and get it right – the first time.
Page 6 The Strategy to Action Gap - How to turn good ideas into hard sales results

7. About MathMarketing
In Australia, Asia, North America and Europe, MathMarketing has served many
leading and aspiring businesses who seek to align Sales and Marketing and
pursue growth.
These include AAPT, AXA, CA, Canon, Colonial, Ernst & Young, GE, IBM,
NEC, Nokia, Optus, Oracle, Perpetual, SAP, Sony, Telstra, Vodafone and
World Vision.
These businesses have been wrestling with at least one of a number of
common problems:
 They lack a clear plan for growth;
 Their team has gaps in their B2B marketing skills;
 Members of their team just don‟t „get it‟; or
 Sales and Marketing are not aligned.
In addressing these common problems, MathMarketing created Funnel Logic™.
Developed as a unique approach to sales and marketing, Funnel Logic unlocks
the keys to B2B growth by:
 Understanding the buying process (we call it the Buyer‟s Journey);
 Knowing how many buyers need to take each step and over what time;
 Selecting tactics capable of moving buyers through these steps; and
 Measuring the actual results and continuously improving.
The methodology has been brought to life through:
 A facilitated planning program that aligns leaders from Sales, Marketing and
other functions around a highly-actionable plan;
 Grounded marketing training for B2B professionals, helping marketers earn
a seat at the table with advanced skills in setting strategy, sizing markets,
building campaigns, and selecting tactics;
 Comprehensive business coaching which focuses the strategic direction of
your business, and assists you in developing your own blisteringly clear,
highly actionable plan for growth;
 An executive simulation game to help the broader team to understand the
funnel, and how to progress buyers through it;
 A series of thought-leadership articles delivered as sharp, punchy insights
into managing your sales and marketing funnel published globally; and
 A popular business novel praised by business leaders for its true-to-life
description of the challenges faced by growth businesses, and its powerful
lessons for large and small businesses alike.
Next?
To learn more about these problems and how MathMarketing solves them,
visit www.mathmarketing.com or phone +61 3 9006 4999.
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