You have heard the terms blurred together before - sales and marketing. It’s as if someone magically pronounced that they are almost the same thing and should just live happily ever after together. Maybe not so much…
While on the surface, they may have similar objectives, like to create more sales, it’s important to clearly see the differences. A misalignment of these resources can waste time, waste money, and result in loss of opportunities.
Where has marketing often missed the mark?
Before we start throwing stones, please continue with the understanding that these are broad-stroke statements…
So, with limited time and often limited budget, the marketing team often solves challenges with a single solution. For instance, a video they make may be geared toward the specifier or owner of a product or service, when, the sales team needed the message to resonate with the user of the system.
What if feedback from customers never makes its way back to the marketing team? How do videos get tweaked in their messaging? How do website edits occur to fix confusion or frustration if they do not hear about it?
Fortunately, if the mark is totally missed, most sales teams have no trouble speaking up about the failure of the internal systems that are supposed to enable sales.
Now, let’s see where the sales team can adjust to improve the ecosystem.
If management isn’t keen on relying on word of mouth and anecdotal stories, then there are software solutions for sales enablement. For example, many leaders use CRM systems in a variety of ways such as product procurement planning, prospecting, lead nurturing, sales forecasting and marketing improvement!
Planning is another aspect that should be evaluated. Are the marketing campaigns and sales initiatives timed properly such that product is in stock, solutions are desired by buyers, and the messaging is correctly aligned? Or as happens often, is the marketing team cruising down the road not realizing that key products are out of stock or that the seasons have shifted and now buyers are hungry for solutions other than what marketing is pushing?
And when it comes to working smarter and not harder, the sales team could get input on how to draft optimal prospecting emails. No better person to create the rough outline for a sales email than the marketing team. Consider having the marketing team draft a handful of messages that can be copied and pasted by the sales team to save time and provide better messaging to customers.
How to fix sales and marketing misalignment.
The answer to the misalignment challenge is more direct communication, more often.
Why not ask both teams to challenge themselves to see how they can identify a communication gap and find a way to fill it in the simplest way possible. Now that teams are working more remotely than ever this may be difficult, however the wide adoption of video conferencing platforms enables us to see and hear each other, like we are in the office together. Pull up a chair, login and commit to talking once a week. This will solve issues between marketing and sales.
Need help?
Sometimes you need an outsider to mediate the problem. Starting the re-alignment process of these powerful teams can be the hardest challenge. Let Vector Firm help break down the barriers your teams are up against. Step by step, month by month you will see progress.
Contact Vector Firm today to discuss optimizing your sales initiatives and marketing campaigns.
