PE M&A Activity ↑12.4%│ Industrial EBITDA Multiples 7.2×│ B2B Buyer Trust Index ↓31%│ SEO Click-Through Rate ↓44%│ LMM Deal Volume ↑8.1%│ Sales Hire Failure Rate 67%│ Organic Growth Gap 2.3× plan│ PE Dry Powder $2.59T│ PRESS: Ed Marsh at PE Operating Partners Summit│ DEAL: Midwest controls automation acquired at 7.8×│ PE M&A Activity ↑12.4%│ Industrial EBITDA Multiples 7.2×│ B2B Buyer Trust Index ↓31%│ SEO Click-Through Rate ↓44%│ LMM Deal Volume ↑8.1%│ Sales Hire Failure Rate 67%│ Organic Growth Gap 2.3× plan│ PE Dry Powder $2.59T│ PRESS: Ed Marsh at PE Operating Partners Summit│ DEAL: Midwest controls automation acquired at 7.8×│

Common Sense - The Challenge of Growing Industrial Sales Through Disruption

Disruption in the B2B middle market is undeniable, but there's no clear path to grow industrial sales nevertheless. Join us for as we explore in Common Sense.

Ed Marsh
Ed Marsh
INDUSTRIAL REVENUE GROWTH
5 MIN READ
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Real & Perceived - Change that Impacts

About Common Sense - About John & Ed

john mctigueJohn McTigue recently retired from his role as co-owner of Kuno Creative, one of the preeminent B2B content marketing agencies in the country, and is now the Martech Whisperer. In his new role he's working with companies to navigate the convoluted world of the revenue growth tech stack. John can be reached at: 

        

 

You've met Ed here on the site. 

For many years John and Ed have enjoyed talking about thorny issues around B2B marketing & sales, and recently we've started to record those conversations. We're calling it "Common Sense"  based on our shared love of history, and the perspective we hope we bring. 

You can follow our musings on Common Sense at:

        

Disruption Discussion Synopsis

Is disruption in industrial sales real? Something that middle-market companies need to face head on? Or can they let the change happen and learn from watching big companies?

This episode includes:

  • the nature of middle market disruption and what market and technology trends are driving it
  • which industries are winning and losing
  • where CEOs should focus their attention
  • buyer expectations - root cause and roadmap for success
  • the unsuitability of linear thinking and process to meeting the challenge of industrial sales disruption
  • separating key signal from lots of change "noise"
  • what's next

We dive into each of those and more as part of this conversation about disruption in industrial sales.

Transcript Follows:

Ed Marsh:   Welcome to Common Sense. Thanks for joining us today. I'm Ed and ...

 

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KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • Most complex industrial purchases must clear five separate buying decisions.
  • Decisions 2 and 3 determine whether a purchase happens at all — and most reps don't know they exist.
  • Most big-ticket B2B industrial forecasts are fantasies because they ignore those decisions.
  • Buying teams typically include eight to twelve people.
  • Reps need business acumen — not just product knowledge — to engage decision-makers early.
Ed Marsh
Ed Marsh
Ed was going to be an architect because he loved the nexus of engineering and design. That was before was going to be an engineer; before he graduated from Johns Hopkins; before he was an Army Infantry Officer (Airborne Ranger); before he set B2B industrial sales records; before he was partners with a German capital equipment manufacturer; before he founded a distribution/rep company for industrial products in India; until he decided that managing a business and employees wasn’t what he enjoyed. Now that Ed’s got all of that out of his system he runs a consultancy that helps US manufacturing companies grow by applying process excellence to business development – completing the full circle back to an engineering & design combination. His practice is built on a unique methodology which combines powerful digital marketing methodologies (a HubSpot partner) with his extensive international biz dev experience.
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