Frequently Asked Questions

About Partnering with Ascend Business Growth

HubSpot Gold Partner

 

1. What do you do?

We help sales and marketing leaders build the systems and processes required for growth and create essential assets and campaigns that attract and engage potential customers.


2. What is your approach?

Evaluate and audit your current approach, develop the plan, build the tech stack, define the processes, create content and campaigns, analyze results, and continually improve.


3. What is the benefit of working with you?

Sales and marketing leaders can get more done with better results using an experienced outsourced provider.


4. What kind of results should I expect?

The ultimate goal is a strong sales pipeline and a steady flow of net new customers. With the right systems and processes in place, we can measure the success of our content and campaigns to continually improve outcomes.


5. What if I already have other internal or outsourced resources?

Great! We can fill gaps and add skill sets to round out your team and will work in collaboration with your other partners.


6. How much does it cost?

We don't list standard packages or pricing because every company is different. In general, though, the investment needed to implement all the components of a holistic sales and marketing strategy usually ranges between $3000 and $10,000+ per month.

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7. How much should I spend?

Studies show that companies that want to maintain their current level of growth will invest about 5% of their total sales in marketing, and companies that want to grow aggressively will invest 10-20% of their total sales. Our goal is to make sure that the sales you generate significantly exceed your marketing spend.

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8. What if I don't get results?

Marketing is a science of human behavior. You make and test a hypothesis. When something is working, you do more of it. When it's not working, you try something else. If we're not getting results, we stop, do a detailed analysis of what is going on, and restructure your plan. The key is to ensure you have clearly defined goals and systems in place to measure your progress.

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9. When can I expect a return on my investment?

If you have a strong marketing foundation and all the technology and processes in place, you could start getting qualified sales leads in the first month. How long it takes for those leads to turn into sales depends on your sales cycle. Some companies get customers immediately, some take 18 months to turn a lead into a sale.

There's usually some developmental work that needs to be completed before you start getting results. For example, if you want to engage in email marketing, you need to make sure you have a validated email list, segmentation criteria, the right message and strategy, an email template, and a publishing calendar in place before you can begin. If you have a database of 100,000 people it could take a lot longer to get that ready than a database of 1,000 people. The key is to look at your goals and your marketing plan and decide what is a realistic time frame to get a return based on your unique situation.

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10. What will my time investment be?

If you're like most business owners, you're already swamped. You don't have time to do anything more than what's already on your plate. However, as a business leader, your main job is to grow your company. Growth doesn't just happen by itself. It takes effort, thought, and time. If you want to be more hands-on, it will take more of your time. If you want to focus on other areas of the business that are more aligned with your skills, then you'll have to hire someone to spend the necessary time to bring your ideas to fruition (which requires you to let go of the vine). Your time investment could be a little or a lot, depending on your budget and what you are willing to delegate.


11. How long do we need to work together?

What it comes down to is, whom are you going to work with to help manage your marketing efforts? If you have enough resources internally and feel confident they have the skills to get results for you, then you don't need to partner with an external resource. It definitely takes a team to implement sales and marketing campaigns - strategist, programmer, graphic designer, social media specialist, email marketer, blogger, etc. Most small businesses can't afford to have such a large and specialized team. Therefore, an outsourced partner that can bring all of those skills to the table makes sense. If you already have some of the required skills but have some gaps, an outsourced partner can coordinate with your internal resources to help you develop a well-rounded team.

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12. Will I need additional technology?

Sales and marketing require a variety of technological capabilities: websites, CRM, blogging, email marketing, social media, etc. You can either hodge-podge these technologies together, or consider purchasing an all-in-one marketing system for cohesiveness. There's a big difference between a stand-alone website and technology to help you drive marketing results.

Every marketer has the "tools" they know and like to use. The most important thing is to pick the person you trust to work with the most first. People first, then process. Once you have your person, let them use the tools they use most effectively. If you try to force a person or team you like to use tools they are unfamiliar with, you'll have a reduced ROI. Our tool of choice is HubSpot, an all-in-one marketing tool.

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13. How can I learn more?

To learn more about how we can help you overcome your marketing challenges, contact us, and we'll get back with you right away.