FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
A minimum of three people should complete the questionnaire. However, the best results come when five people complete it. When the first person starts the questionnaire, it will ask which number are you? Obviously, you say ‘1’. The system then allows up to four others to then follow on. Make sure you do it sequentially – in order. If you only have three or four people completing the questionnaire you MUST ensure the last person says ‘5th/last’ as this then tells the report back end to start compiling your personalised document.
If five people complete the questionnaire, then we suggest that this is the best mix. An experienced marketing executive. An experienced sales executive. A sales leader. A marketing leader. Someone who is ‘higher up’ in the organisation – Board member, CRO, COO, or CEO/MD. This is the perfect mix. We want input from different levels of the organisation, each of whom has a view on the sales and marketing operations. If it’s less than five, whatever is the best mix you can get!
A great question! First, it is based on Norman and Jim’s work in this area, and we bring over 96 years of combined experience. Second, our mix of sales and marketing leadership experience is allied with data science and mathematics knowledge and capability. Third – the input from over 15 domain experts from around the world. Fourth, two person-years of work in building the questionnaire, report content, and back-end technology. Fifth, this is (to our knowledge) the FIRST two-axis Maturity matrix ever created. This means that the function and dynamics of both sales and marketing are considered. This adds a massive new power to the traditional and proven Maturity Matrix model.
If you want your business to prosper and grow, you are always planning and investing in people, technology, R&D, and delivering customer satisfaction. Specialists will upskill your sales and marketing teams; some vendors will help you manufacture, analyse, deliver and support your products/services and customers. But in the middle of ‘business as usual’, no one will tell you how well structured, organised, managed and prepared your sales and marketing operations are. You could find a consultancy organisation and engage them in a two or three-month process, but this will cost you upwards of $30,000. You can ask your local sales or marketing coach, but they will only truly be experts in either sales or marketing. We deliver the only comprehensive analysis of both organisations and their operational capability combined with ideas and plans for moving to the next step in your organisational development and progress. The report is fast, quite easy to complete and results in a 61-page personalised, bespoke report for you to use.
The report, running to 61 pages, is your roadmap. First, if you do nothing with it, then it is wasted spend. The report explains the analysis process, the measures, the definitions, and finally, provides your own data output and results. It also explains what your world looks like today over every heading that we measure. It then explains in equivalent detail what the next stage would look like across sales and marketing. It gives ideas on how to proceed. It also gives you an analysis of the major, new trends impacting sales and marketing worldwide. Finally, for those who read the report but who are not immersed in the sales and marketing functions, it provides a comprehensive glossary for your use.
Absolutely not. For Norman and Jim, this is the whole process. All of our effort goes into making the report as useful as possible for our customers. When we deliver the report, that is the end of our input. As we researched our plans, we came across ultra-simplistic maturity matrices that vendors appeared to be using to engage you in their buying process. Some even had as few as four simple questions; no matter your answers, you ‘needed’ their product. We are the opposite. This is a science-based, serious analysis designed to help you know where you are and how to move forward.
The report output exists in its own right. However, we appreciate that these situations may arise. Norman and I would not be involved in any follow-up work. However, through the project, we now have relationships with our advisors (featured on the website here), who all operate worldwide. We recommend that you start with the advisor who introduced you to SM3. Speak to them, share your findings and challenges and take their input and advice. Each one of our advisors/partners is known to us, is an acknowledged domain expert, and is highly successful at what they do. If what you need does not fall into the remit of the advisor who introduced you, they will be able to recommend the best-placed expert advisor to help. If you came to us directly, please review our advisors here and contact whichever seems to be your best fit.
No, it is the opposite. ‘The Future’ section will be updated roughly every six months to ensure it continues to deliver the latest research and analysis. The report itself will continue to upgrade and adapt to match changes as they occur.
That is entirely up to you. The one-off report will provide enormous and substantial value to you. However, early adopters have put forward the idea of re-testing every year, and we can see how this would give you a scientific way to measure progress going forward. One note. We will NOT retain your data, so please ensure that you keep a folder of the reports from each year as you go forward.