"How to Use Buyer Persona Research to Close More Deals" presented by Jen Spencer at the 2018 #FlipMyFunnel B2B Marketing and Sales Conference. To learn more about #FlipMyFunnel, visit flipmyfunnel.com.

1. How to Use Buyer Persona Research to
Close More Deals
JEN SPENCER

2. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
INTRODUCTION
JEN SPENCER
VP, Sales and Marketing
SmartBug Media
Terminus + HubSpot Partner
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

3. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
WHAT IS A BUYER PERSONA?
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

4. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
A buyer persona is
a representation of your target
customer
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

5. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference @jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel
A persona is a picture you paint based on research and
interviews with actual customers

6. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
Buyer personas go beyond
basic demographics to include
the intangible elements that
make a person tick.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

7. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference @jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel
Personas help answer these questions:
➔ What type of content is most likely to generate a response
from a particular type of customer?
➔ How does your future customer prefer to engage in the
sales process?
➔ What problems do customers need to solve, and how does
your business help them?

8. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
A buyer persona is not defined solely by
HR Director
Finance
Executive
100-250
Employees
$5M-$50M in
Annual Revenue
Healthcare
Service Provider
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel
Role or Title Company Size Vertical

9. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
Persona development provides
a deeper level of understanding
that enables you to truly speak
to your target customer.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

10. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
An effective persona interview may tell you
1
2
3
4
5
She doesn’t own a car, so the ability to
make online purchases is important to her
She has disposable income but still likes
getting a good deal
She uses her smartphone more than her
laptop
She would rather interact by email than by
phone
She uses social media to stay current on
trends
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

11. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
While demographics include the
basic information about a
person, personas dig deeper
and provide insight into the
personality of a buyer.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

12. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
HOW TO USE PERSONA
RESEARCH IN THE SALES
PROCESS
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

13. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference @jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel
What are his
or her pains?
How does he or
she measure
success?
What does
he or she
value?
Sales can use personas to gain a general idea of what’s
important to a person before having a live conversation

14. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference @jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel
Text
Messages
Phone Calls Long,
Detailed
Emails
Persona development enables sales teams to tailor their
communication efforts based on an individual’s preferences

15. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
Negative personas save
organizations time and money
by identifying archetypes of
whom you don’t want to sell to.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

16. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
The benefits of negative personas
1
2
3
Customers who won’t work well with your
business will end up costing you far more
time and money than they would have
given you.
You’ll segment out the “bad apples” by
proactively identifying which types of
prospects are a potential drain on
resources.
Successfully segmenting negative
personas can result in a lower CAC and
higher sales productivity.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

17. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
PRO TIPS FOR PRACTICAL
APPLICATION
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

18. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
Buyer persona pro tips for sales effectiveness
Build buyer persona
overviews, or battle
cards, that outline
the best ways to
communicate with
each type of
individual.
As the marketing
team develops
content for
campaigns, create
standalone talking
points just for sales
that are organized by
persona.
Develop one-page
overviews for
each major
content offer or
campaign to help
guide your sales
team.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

19. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
Utilize your martech stack to
segment lists based on
personas.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

20. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
Buyer persona pro tips for sales effectiveness
Have the sales
team carve out
time to focus their
engagements and
interactions by
persona.
Look for trends in
the digital footprint
of each person and
build internal
notifications based
on persona-specific
interactions
Customize online
chat prompts by
persona.
Integrate online
chat with your
marketing lists to
show
persona-based
prompts to known
visitors.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

21. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
NOW WHAT?
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

22. #FlipMyFunnel 2018 B2B Sales and Marketing Conference
What to do next
Work with
Marketing to
build buyer
personas —
make sure
Sales has
input.
Segment your
database by
personas. This
may require
adapting your
form fields.
Launch a pilot
group within
sales
development
to test
persona-based
selling
effectiveness.
@jenspencer #FlipMyFunnel

23. THANK YOU!
@jenspencer