New Book from Marketo CEO Phil Fernandez Challenges Outdated Sales and Marketing Practices, Ignites a Revenue Revolution

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Growth is the number-one challenge facing corporations and their management teams worldwide. Yet revenue creation – arguably the most important thing any business does to facilitate growth – remains one of its most expensive and inefficient processes.

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"Companies today must undertake a fundamental change in the way they create, manage, and generate revenue," warns Phil Fernandez, CEO of Marketo, in his new book, REVENUE DISRUPTION: Game-Changing Sales And Marketing Strategies To Accelerate Growth (Wiley, May 2012). "Most organizations will likely spend 20 to 30 percent of their total revenue on marketing and sales to create more revenue. This means that even a small improvement in the productivity and effectiveness of these processes can boost any company's competitiveness, growth, and profitability," he continues.

In REVENUE DISRUPTION, Fernandez shows readers how to enhance productivity by discarding obsolete sales and marketing models, and replacing them with Revenue Performance Management, or RPM. This groundbreaking process is based on the cold truth that when it comes to sales, the power has forever shifted from seller to buyer. With the help of the Internet and related technologies, today's buyers can easily research companies and products, determine their own brand preferences, ask friends about vendor qualifications, learn about pricing, and consent to talk to a salesperson only when they want to.

Therefore, instead of searching for customers, businesses now need to make it easy for customers to find them. This means that the marketing and sales functions must become so aligned that they're able to engage together with the buyer – on his or her own terms. According to Fernandez, "Every sale starts with the marketing department, only later does it find its way over to the sales team. A salesperson might think they've initiated a sales cycle by placing a cold call; however, the buyer has almost certainly been primed to take the call as a result of his or her earlier interaction with a website, an ad, or some other marketing-sponsored activity."

By implementing RPM, companies not only transform the way their marketing and sales teams function, but they are able to monitor each step in the revenue process. This starts when a prospective buyer is just learning about a brand or product, and continues to the moment when a salesperson earns the deal, and even beyond that, through the full customer lifecycle.

Although in concept, a company can implement RPM without using technology, Fernandez reminds readers of the beloved I Love Lucy episode when Lucy and Ethel get jobs working in a candy factory. As the assembly line speeds up, they are overwhelmed and the process breaks down. The same is true with RPM. "While it's theoretically possible to manage marketing leads and programs manually, the Internet-driven acceleration and the volume of lead data require help from automation," Fernandez explains. Moreover, with the proper technology, RPM becomes a complete business process with defined, repeatable steps that affect the entire revenue cycle.

Throughout REVENUE DISRUPTION, Fernandez concentrates on the human side of implementing RPM, recognizing that it can seem like a daunting and overwhelming task. He provides reassurance for both marketing and sales professionals, showing how the process will enhance their capabilities, emphasizing that the arts of branding, creating great content, and selling are still very much alive. No amount of technology will take these away. REVENUE DISRUPTION explains why these skills must be supported by a new process and technology framework.

Fernandez also calls on CEOs and other C-level executives to lead the RPM journey, suggesting that companies appoint a Chief Revenue Officer, or CRO. That person would be responsible for overall revenue performance, from meeting prospective buyers, through creating awareness and nurturing leads, on to closing the sale and beyond – to managing the full life cycle of customer retention and renewals.

REVENUE DISRUPTION is the complete guide to breaking through the last frontier of outdated business processes, and fundamentally transforming the way corporations create, manage, and accelerate their revenues. As Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of salesforce.com, says, "A social revolution is underway. Companies must change the way they market to leverage the increased importance of search and social engagement. In REVENUE DISRUPTION, Phil opens the door for the next generation of global leaders as he explains how to harness this revolution to transform businesses."

To learn more about REVENUE DISRUPTION or to order a copy please visit: http://www.revenuedisruption.com/.

REVENUE DISRUPTION Webinar

Today at 10:00am PT, Fernandez will also host a webinar about REVENUE DISRUPTION as part of Marketo's popular Spring 2012 Revenue Masters Webinar Series. He will discuss how the rise of the Internet and the ability to accurately track and measure customer behaviors has made it possible to organizations to dramatically increase their revenue, as well as how business leaders can seize the opportunities created to drive growth.

To register, please visit http://pages2.marketo.com/revenue-disruption.html.

About Marketo

Marketo is the fastest growing provider in Revenue Performance Management. Marketo's powerful yet easy-to-use marketing automation and sales effectiveness solutions transform how marketing and sales teams of all sizes work — and work together — to drive dramatically increased revenue performance and fuel business growth. The company's proven technology, comprehensive services and expert guidance are helping more than 1,800 enterprise and mid-market companies around the world to turn marketing from a cost center to a business-building revenue driver. Marketo also offers Spark by Marketo™, a new brand of marketing automation tailored specifically for small businesses – the fastest-growing and largest segment of today's economy.

Marketo was recently named one of "America's Most Promising Companies" by Forbes Magazine, the fastest-growing private company of 2011 by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, and the "2011 CRM Market Leaders Awards Winner for Marketing Solutions" by CRM Magazine. For more information, visit www.marketo.com, or subscribe to Marketo's award-winning blogs at blog.marketo.com.

Marketo, Spark by Marketo and the respective logos are trademarks of Marketo, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Phil Fernandez

Phil Fernandez is the cofounder, president and CEO of Marketo, a global leader in Revenue Performance Management solutions, recently named one of "America's Most Promising Companies" by Forbes. A Silicon Valley veteran, Phil has more than 30 years of experience in building and managing breakout technology companies. Prior to Marketo, Phil was president and COO of Epiphany, a public enterprise software company known for its visionary marketing products. For each of the last three years, the Sales Lead Management Association named him one of the "50 Most Influential People in Sales Lead Management."

SOURCE Marketo