Past
Marketing handed sales a deck, and each seller edited it alone.
ACADEMY · DRONICS · MAKE THE MARKET AND YOUR PARTNERS SELL YOU
Learn DRONICS-S: Sales enablement
Give every seller the few assets that make the first three calls easier.
Motion: Sales enablement (assets that help reps, partners and system integrators sell you) · Owner: your CMO and channel head
Four steps: read the letter, read the lenses, take the self-assessment, then pick one or two gaps. All learning paths.
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Make marketing make selling easier: case studies, comparisons and battle cards that serve both…
Talk to reps and partner sellers directly and learn what they need in the first three calls.
Statements are from this letter's self-assessment. Nothing is pre-filled and nothing is stored.
PAST AND FUTURE
DRONICS-S: the story in two lines
Marketers will work differently with agents. This is what changes for this letter, and what stays with a person.
Present to future
Sellers, partners and integrators need a few assets for the first three calls, all tied to the same story spine. Claims are the same everywhere because they come from one register.
What the agent does
Drafts battlecards, one-pagers and talk tracks marked draft from the register and the proof, flags any claim without a source, and keeps versions in step.
What the marketer or CMO decides
What sellers may say, what is promised to buyers, and when an asset is retired.
Shifts used here: S4 From a content calendar to a story spine; S9 From feature lists to the customer’s real alternatives. Read the full framework and sources.
1. What the agent does
Agents check, draft, map and record. A person approves anything that leaves the company.
- Collect the questions and objections that reps, partners and practice leads actually raise.
- Draft the few assets that answer them, using only verified proof.
- Check each asset against the buyer's real alternatives, including doing nothing.
- Package a brief for the strategist: who gets which asset, and who presents it.
- After human action, record which assets were used and the outcomes, and update the maturity position.
Where a person approves
- The strategist decides, presents and owns every relationship; agents never contact reps, partners or practices without approval.
- Approval of every asset, comparison and claim before it is shared.
- Competitor claims are checked against public facts; nothing is shared that cannot be verified.
- Named companies are examples of a type only; never imply a relationship with them.
Maturity scale (DRONICS): Unaware, Reactive, Targeted, Orchestrated, Demand engine. Full letter page
2. The leader lens
How other well-regarded B2B marketing leaders would approach this letter, each named with a source. These are their opinions, not evidence about any company, and none of them has a relationship with Foundronics.
How to apply
- L2 (Dunford): Write every comparison from the buyer's view of the alternatives, including the status quo, and keep value to a few themes the buyer understands.
- L14 (Verna): Know why we win: cheaper, more efficient or more effective. If the answer is speed over manual work, check whether that still holds.
- L11 (Walker): After a win, call the buyer and record why they chose us; use that as the evidence behind the next asset.
A person decides: the strategist approves which leader-lens suggestions are used; agents draft and check only.
Sources for this lens
- L2. Include the status quo among the alternatives, keep the value specific, and prove the value the prospect understands. Only the free part of the post was read. Source
- L14. Know why you win: cheaper, more efficient or more effective. When capability is common, trust becomes the moat. Source
- L11. Add self-reported attribution (“how did you hear about us?”), win-analysis calls and market surveys to software attribution. Source
3. The CMO lens
What a good B2B CMO would do for this letter. The lens follows the public writing of Dave Gerhardt. It is our reading, not his endorsement of Foundronics.
What a great CMO would do
- Make marketing make selling easier: case studies, comparisons and battle cards that serve both sellers and buyers.
- Talk to reps and partner sellers directly and learn what they need in the first three calls.
- Keep language simple and direct, and measure use and outcomes, not downloads.
A weekly rhythm
- Mon: refresh asset status and the objections list.
- Tue: draft one rep-ready asset (`draft`).
- Wed: list the questions sellers asked.
- Thu: strategist runs the seller conversation.
- Fri: record which assets were used and what came back.
An example
Hypothetical (a security-software vendor, illustration only): the agent drafts a one-page guide for a system-integrator practice lead: who to speak to, what to say, which proof to show. The strategist presents it live.
What to avoid
- Do not send a whole catalogue of material.
- Do not claim a win or a comparison we cannot verify.
- Do not ask for sales effort before giving something useful.
A person decides: Which assets to make and who gets them. Agents draft and check; the strategist decides.
Sources for this lens
- P4. Marketing should make selling easier. Case studies, comparisons and research help both sales and buyers. Source
- P3. Do things that do not scale. Talk to customers directly, one by one. Source
- P7. Keep to the fundamentals: know your customer, use simple direct language, give value before asking, be transparent, measure what matters, and earn word of mouth. Source
4. The partner marketing lens
What good partner marketing looks like for the partners this letter works with. It draws on public Partnership Leaders articles. Foundronics has no relationship with them.
What to do
- Be clear on goals, roles and expectations with each seller, and agree how use will be measured (PM6).
- Agree one narrow joint message sellers can carry, not a generic catalogue (PM3).
- Review leading indicators with the partner: joint calls held, meetings and pipeline that came back (PM7).
A weekly rhythm
- Mon: review which practices and partner teams are active and which assets were used.
- Tue: draft the joint message and a short brief with named owners.
- Wed: list seller questions heard.
- Thu: strategist reviews the brief with the practice lead.
- Fri: record meetings and pipeline that came back.
An example
Hypothetical (a software vendor and a system-integrator practice, illustration only): the agent drafts a one-page brief for the practice: one buyer question, what each side brings, who owns each asset, and which two numbers will be reviewed in 30 days. The strategist decides whether to send it.
What to avoid
- Do not promise reach or leads nobody controls.
- Do not push the same kit on every practice.
- Do not imply the practice has agreed.
A person decides: Which practices and partner teams get enablement effort and what the company funds. Agents draft and check; the strategist decides.
Sources for this lens
- PM6. Be clear on goals, roles and expectations. Use a partner scorecard, tailor incentives, and map partners across the customer journey. Source is an excerpt. Source (from a third party’s summary; check before quoting)
- PM3. Start from a joint value proposition. The template contents were not read; only the summary. Source
- PM7. Track leading indicators such as joint campaigns, joint events, pipeline and deals, and review quarterly. Source (from a third party’s summary; check before quoting)
5. Check yourself
A free self-assessment for DRONICS-S. It takes a few minutes and needs no sign-in.
Take the DRONICS-S self-assessment
The examples on this page are hypothetical illustrations. A named company is an example of a type, never a customer or partner of Foundronics.
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