Sales and Marketing - Align, Define and Make Money
Sales and Marketing - Align, Define and Make Money
1. The marketing message doesn’t match the customer’s need.
Sales managers need to ask the marketing department to join their sales teams on daily calls and meetings. Marketing surveys and focus groups are good for research, but meeting with prospects and customers at their place of business is better. “Ride-a-longs,” as we call them in sales, is the best place for identifying needs and gaps in the company’s product/service offering. It’s the day-to-day interaction with prospects and customers that provide real-world data for identifying opportunities, challenges, and trends in the industry.
2. There is a call to action and but no training for the sales team.
The marketing program is working; leads are being generated, the right prospects are calling, and the new product launch looks like a success…until the phone is picked up by the untrained salesperson. The salesperson has received no education in building rapport on the telephone and has no well-crafted value proposition about the new product. The result is a beautiful marketing campaign with less than desirable sales results. Lots of money has been invested on the front-end of the marketing campaign to create opportunities, and zero money has been invested on the back-end to insure that sales can close the opportunity.
3. The marketing message doesn’t reach the real decision maker.
Business changed after 9/11 and the Dot Com Bust. Changes included more people, different people, and a shift in the power of each buying influence. Companies continue to market to old buying influences because the sales team is too busy selling to sit down with marketing to discuss:
Who is buying
Why they are buying
New pain points
Decision criteria
The company is aggressively marketing…to the wrong people. Imagine going duck hunting in New York City…
4. The marketing message doesn’t match the follow-up by the salesperson.
How many of you have received literature on an exclusive resort or high-end product? The marketing program worked until you called to place your order. The salesperson on the telephone line doesn’t sound exclusive, can’t answer basic questions, and frankly, isn’t that enthused about their own product/service. Enthusiasm and confidence is contagious and in this case, the salesperson has driven you to, “I better keep looking.”
Ever experienced this one? Your marketing message promises that your consultants are “professional and knowledgeable,” but marketing and sales have not met to determine what “professional and knowledgeable” looks like on a sales call. For example:
Professional – If the sales meeting requires a leave behind, does the marketing piece coincide with the prices you are charging? If your salesperson is a professional, are they showing up for the appointment five minutes early and in a suit that fits? Yes, I am tired of seeing too short, too tight or too big in the conference room.
Knowledgeable – Has the organization figured out the FAQ’s in your industry? Does the sales team know the answers? What about competitive analysis? Does the salesperson know the gaps in the competition’s service offering so he/she can better position the call?
5. Using email marketing and follow-up by sales.
Email is an inexpensive way to drip market to prospects. Prospects responding to email versus other types of marketing require a different type of follow-up. Traditionally, salespeople immediately pick up the phone to follow up on the lead. The email prospect doesn’t want a phone call and is often turned off by this type of follow-up. The marketing is generating a response; however, the effectiveness of the campaign is diminished because of an ineffective follow-up plan.
6. Good repeat customers are ignored and the focus is on new business development only.
Everyone in business knows it’s more profitable to grow an existing account than to prospect for new business. When working with sales teams on strategic account management, I often hear, “I’m not sure if my customers know about our full service offerings.” That is a sales problem and a marketing problem. Marketing can assist sales by making sure customers are aware of the depth and breadth offered by the organization through articles, special events, newsletters, direct mail, emails, etc. Sales can follow up by setting up business review meetings to discuss other products and services offered by the organization.
Align your sales and marketing organization. Togetherness is not just for romance – it’s a very good way to make money.
Sales and Marketing Align Define and Make Money - To learn more about this author, visit Colleen Stanley's Website.
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The word misalign is defined as, “positioning or arranging something improperly in relation to something else.” Sounds like too many sales and marketing departments in corporate America. Even though the two departments share the same corporate office, the approach to engaging potential clients and existing customers is often disjointed. Here are six key areas of misalignment that cost companies lots of money each year:
1. The marketing message doesn’t match the customer’s need.
Sales managers need to ask the marketing department to join their sales teams on daily calls and meetings. Marketing surveys and focus groups are good for research, but meeting with prospects and customers at their place of business is better. “Ride-a-longs,” as we call them in sales, is the best place for identifying needs and gaps in the company’s product/service offering. It’s the day-to-day interaction with prospects and customers that provide real-world data for identifying opportunities, challenges, and trends in the industry.
2. There is a call to action and but no training for the sales team.
The marketing program is working; leads are being generated, the right prospects are calling, and the new product launch looks like a success…until the phone is picked up by the untrained salesperson. The salesperson has received no education in building rapport on the telephone and has no well-crafted value proposition about the new product. The result is a beautiful marketing campaign with less than desirable sales results. Lots of money has been invested on the front-end of the marketing campaign to create opportunities, and zero money has been invested on the back-end to insure that sales can close the opportunity.
3. The marketing message doesn’t reach the real decision maker.
Business changed after 9/11 and the Dot Com Bust. Changes included more people, different people, and a shift in the power of each buying influence. Companies continue to market to old buying influences because the sales team is too busy selling to sit down with marketing to discuss:
Who is buying
Why they are buying
New pain points
Decision criteria
The company is aggressively marketing…to the wrong people. Imagine going duck hunting in New York City…
4. The marketing message doesn’t match the follow-up by the salesperson.
How many of you have received literature on an exclusive resort or high-end product? The marketing program worked until you called to place your order. The salesperson on the telephone line doesn’t sound exclusive, can’t answer basic questions, and frankly, isn’t that enthused about their own product/service. Enthusiasm and confidence is contagious and in this case, the salesperson has driven you to, “I better keep looking.”
Ever experienced this one? Your marketing message promises that your consultants are “professional and knowledgeable,” but marketing and sales have not met to determine what “professional and knowledgeable” looks like on a sales call. For example:
Professional – If the sales meeting requires a leave behind, does the marketing piece coincide with the prices you are charging? If your salesperson is a professional, are they showing up for the appointment five minutes early and in a suit that fits? Yes, I am tired of seeing too short, too tight or too big in the conference room.
Knowledgeable – Has the organization figured out the FAQ’s in your industry? Does the sales team know the answers? What about competitive analysis? Does the salesperson know the gaps in the competition’s service offering so he/she can better position the call?
5. Using email marketing and follow-up by sales.
Email is an inexpensive way to drip market to prospects. Prospects responding to email versus other types of marketing require a different type of follow-up. Traditionally, salespeople immediately pick up the phone to follow up on the lead. The email prospect doesn’t want a phone call and is often turned off by this type of follow-up. The marketing is generating a response; however, the effectiveness of the campaign is diminished because of an ineffective follow-up plan.
6. Good repeat customers are ignored and the focus is on new business development only.
Everyone in business knows it’s more profitable to grow an existing account than to prospect for new business. When working with sales teams on strategic account management, I often hear, “I’m not sure if my customers know about our full service offerings.” That is a sales problem and a marketing problem. Marketing can assist sales by making sure customers are aware of the depth and breadth offered by the organization through articles, special events, newsletters, direct mail, emails, etc. Sales can follow up by setting up business review meetings to discuss other products and services offered by the organization.
Align your sales and marketing organization. Togetherness is not just for romance – it’s a very good way to make money.
Sales and Marketing Align Define and Make Money - To learn more about this author, visit Colleen Stanley'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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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle'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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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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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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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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