Untangling the Confusion Between Marketing and Sales Functions
Untangling the Confusion Between Marketing and Sales Functions
I find this particularly true of fast-paced entrepreneurial-type of business owners. Conceptually, they tend to blend the separate functions and tasks of marketing and sales into one big pot that boils over with ineffectiveness, wasted financial resources and poor results in terms of consistently gaining and retaining loyal customers.
Too often I ask leaders a few critical questions to understand where their heads and hearts are before I enter into a coaching or consulting relationship with them. I rarely get clear answers to the questions that follow.
Some examples of marketing functions are newspaper and magazine ads, speaking engagements, news releases, newspaper stories, television ads, and direct mail discount coupons.
Some examples of sales functions are building a marketing to sales bridge, qualifying the decision maker, qualifying the buyer, establishing personal credibility, relationship selling, building interpersonal rapport, understanding benefits, advantages and features of your products and services, identifying the customer's buying gaps, developing relevant benefit statements, overcoming obstacles, and closing a buying agreement.
To accomplish these functions, your marketing and sales people must possess and diligently apply the skill sets associated with each function.
A fundamental focus that needs to be developed company wide is on proactive selling that strategically moves your prospects toward buying your services or products rather than your people selling to them.
If you need help in strengthening marketing and sales within your company, I urge you to gain the assistance and guidance of an independent business coach or other outside adviser. Get one that you can trust to provide solid, independent and valuable guidance to get the right marketing and sales functions and tasks clearly defined, and then achieved, for your particular business.
Yours for gaining and retaining more loyal customers and clients!
Untangling the Confusion Between Marketing and Sales Functions - To learn more about this author, visit Millard MacAdam's Website.
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A problem I find is that too many business owners and professional practice partners are confused about the differences between marketing and sales functions and tasks. You need clarity about these differences if you want to most easily market and sell your services or products.
I find this particularly true of fast-paced entrepreneurial-type of business owners. Conceptually, they tend to blend the separate functions and tasks of marketing and sales into one big pot that boils over with ineffectiveness, wasted financial resources and poor results in terms of consistently gaining and retaining loyal customers.
Too often I ask leaders a few critical questions to understand where their heads and hearts are before I enter into a coaching or consulting relationship with them. I rarely get clear answers to the questions that follow.
- Can you share with me the written vision you have for your business?
- Can you give me a list of your key goals and accompanying objectives that you want to achieve to make your vision a reality?
- What are the things that your prospects, clients and customers need and want from you that you offer them?
- What is the value to your customers and clients from their perspectives of what you offer them?
- Presently, what are the key functions and tasks you and your team carry out to market your products or services?
- Presently, what are the key functions and tasks you and your team carry out to sell your products or services?
- What are the things you do to measure the impact of each of your marketing and sales strategies and tactics?
- How do you and your team demonstrate a commitment to continuously enhancing your marketing and sales functions?
- How do you and your team show commitment to building relationships with your prospective and existing clients and customers in order to gain and maintain loyal, long-term clients and customers?
Some examples of marketing functions are newspaper and magazine ads, speaking engagements, news releases, newspaper stories, television ads, and direct mail discount coupons.
Some examples of sales functions are building a marketing to sales bridge, qualifying the decision maker, qualifying the buyer, establishing personal credibility, relationship selling, building interpersonal rapport, understanding benefits, advantages and features of your products and services, identifying the customer's buying gaps, developing relevant benefit statements, overcoming obstacles, and closing a buying agreement.
To accomplish these functions, your marketing and sales people must possess and diligently apply the skill sets associated with each function.
A fundamental focus that needs to be developed company wide is on proactive selling that strategically moves your prospects toward buying your services or products rather than your people selling to them.
If you need help in strengthening marketing and sales within your company, I urge you to gain the assistance and guidance of an independent business coach or other outside adviser. Get one that you can trust to provide solid, independent and valuable guidance to get the right marketing and sales functions and tasks clearly defined, and then achieved, for your particular business.
Yours for gaining and retaining more loyal customers and clients!
Untangling the Confusion Between Marketing and Sales Functions - To learn more about this author, visit Millard MacAdam's Website.
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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