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Those idiots in sales just don’t get it

Written by: John Jantsch

Article Overview: I’m presenting a workshop this week titled - How to get sales and marketing on the same page.

Those idiots in sales just don’t get it

I’m presenting a workshop this week titled - How to get sales and marketing on the same page.

The point of the discussion is to help the audience, made up of marketers and the sales people for those marketers, understand that while they may indeed perform unique and necessary functions, they have shared objectives.

So, while, as the title of this post suggests, the gap between what sales does and what marketing does in support may seem vast (and perhaps even at odds) there is an absolute need to strike a balance between their independent and interdependent selves.

What you are reading is one part of a two part post - the other, by the way, is titled - Those idiots in marketing just don’t get it. In case you want in on the joke, the body of both posts is the same, only the names have been changed to expose the guilty. So, that’s the real point - to be more effective sales teams should learn how to be more about ideas and relevant conversations (more like marketing), to be more effective marketing should learn how to build better relationships (more like sales).

To further illustrate my point I’d like to offer my definition of marketing: marketing is - getting someone who has a need to know, like and trust you. Now let’s blend in my definition of sales: sales is - taking know, like and trust and converting it to try, buy, repeat and refer.

See, for now marketing owns the conversation, the idea, and sales owns the relationship. Wouldn’t sales and marketing life be grand if organizations learned how to use relevant conversations to build better customer relationships instead of metrics and quotas destined to keep their teams off the same page.

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Article Tags: absolute need, audience, better relationships, conversations, customer relationships, definition of marketing, effective marketing, effective sales, gap, joke, marketers, marketing marketing, metrics, necessary functions, odds, quotas, relationship, sales and marketing



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Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I agree with SHri, it really depends on the target audience and how much service you really need. if you are doing National campaign than you want a firm that has the National contacts. Lots of smaller companies dont have as many resources or connections. Many firms are going to a pay for performance model which I think will do the PR and advertising industry good. no more $5000 retainers for sending out a couple of press releases - no matter how well written or targeted! if they dont get picked up, they dont get paid. J
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Re: A litte help!! - Hi and Congratulations! I agree with all the recommendations already posted but dont forget the whole sales strategy. What benefit is your product giving who in the firehouse is the purchaser? how are you going to reach him/her? what other marketing materials do you have or are you going to need etc.? Let me know if you need help with this...its my area of expertise. Jude
Re: When to give away your product or service for free - Hi David. I have a new product on the market, as I have earlier posted in the sales & marketing forums (called "a new product"), anyway I have been doing some door to door knocking and it seems because my art prints take up so much wall space, it is quite a risk for them to just go ahead, into business with me. So today I started saying to them "ok, why dont I just leave a couple of artworks here for a fortnight & if you get lots of customer interest then we can discuss business further, but if not, then I will simply take them back & you won't here from me again" This new tactic really seems to be working. Instead of saying "well...... Im really not sure if I have the wallspace...." they have started saying "oh... ok.... that sounds like a good idea.... yes, why dont we do that". I am dam sure my products will attract lots of interest, so a foot in the door is all I need. So thanks for the post. Dale Gallagher, New Zealand Artist


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