Cut bickering between Sales and Marketing with these tips
Cut bickering between Sales and Marketing with these tips
“All Sales does is complain about our brochures” counters Ms. Marketing.
In many businesses there’s a growing rift between Sales and Marketing. Sales sees Marketing as ivory-tower, know-it-alls who stay away from the real action, while Marketing sees Sales as demanding egomaniacs that are never satisfied with the tools they provide.
The two resemble bickering Siamese twins; joined at the hip yet arguing incessantly.
I think the two can get along better if they first understand where the other is coming from, and then take some simple steps
Extroverts v. introverts
There’s no question that sales and marketing folks are wired differently. By and large, sales people are extroverts who feed off the energy of meeting new people and persuading them to buy. No other person in a company is as motivated to meet and befriend strangers.
Marketing people, on the other hand, are more analytical and reflective. They happily spend time on solitary duties like analyzing data, reviewing copy or generating budgets. A bigger part of their day involves being by themselves.
Field work v. office work
Most sales people I know hate sitting at their desks. Their lifeblood activities—making sales calls and entertaining customers—happen outside their office. Have you ever watched a sales person in a day long meeting? It isn’t pretty.
Conversely, marketers must spend large blocks of time in their offices. Their lifeblood activities—gathering and analyzing information, and coordinating projects—necessitates making an office the hub of their daily activities.
Sales thinks in days; Marketing in years
Ask any marketer how far out they plan and they’re liable to answer “Three years”. Ask a sales person the same question and they’ll answer “Thirty days”.
Because Marketing grapples with strategic tasks like developing new products and finding new markets, its time horizon by necessity is longer. Sales though, with its monthly quotas, cares little about events 30 days from now.
Marketing’s view is 30,000 feet; Sales’ is 3 feet
Because a marketer concerns herself with groups of customers (segments), she is obliged to view the business from a 30,000 foot perspective. But Sales views the business from just 3 feet—the distance between them and a prospect.
This sets the two departments up for ongoing conflict. For example, a salesperson in the Midwest region sees nothing wrong with requesting a special, one-time-only promotion for a preferred customer.
But the marketer, from her 30,000 foot perspective, sees this request as creating an imbalance that could potentially anger customers, prospects and sales personnel in all other regions.
How Marketing can get along better with Sales
1. Visit sales offices
Whether you’re presenting Marketing’s newest initiatives or just listening to sales feedback, nothing builds bridges faster with Sales than visiting their turf.
2. Schedule ride-alongs
If you’re wondering how customers view your latest initiatives, schedule a ride-along with a sales rep. You’ll hear firsthand from your customers and get some valuable feedback from your sales rep at the same time.
3. Bring Sales in early
Marketers too often bring Sales in at the end of the strategic planning process, expecting their rubber stamp of approval. Marketing, you’ll save lots of time if you incorporate Sales’ opinions right from the start.
4. Respect their processes
Sales organizations already have their own structures and processes in place. Respect them. Before contacting a sales rep, OK it with the sales manager. Pay attention also to a sales team’s peak periods. The end of a month, quarter, or year are particularly dicey times for Sales, so leave them alone then.
5. Leave room for customization
Sales will tell you that every customer is unique, and they’re right. Unfortunately Marketing can’t design programs for every single account, but we can leave room for account customization in sales tools we develop. One Fortune 500 company client of mine designs collateral materials with standardized text, and then leaves sections of the collateral blank. The local sales rep can then “crash imprint” customized information into these blank spaces to address an account’s unique situation.
How Sales can get along better with Marketing
1. Provide feedback
Since you’re on the front lines, and Marketing isn’t, you’re a vital information source for them. On a regular basis, give Marketing feedback (both negative and positive). And if you preface your comments with “I was just with one of our customers and he said…”, I guarantee Marketing will listen.
2. Recognize that all your feedback will not be acted upon
A good marketer constantly asks questions of sales people, then listens to the answers. But Sales shouldn’t mistake this as a subtle promise by Marketing to act on everything you say.
3. Let Marketing develop the messaging
The folks in marketing must consider all customers when developing a new product or service. They therefore are best suited to craft messages that appeal to the broadest array of customers and prospects. Let Marketing develop:
Positioning statements
Elevator pitches
Brochure copy
Sales should provide initial feedback into these efforts, but then back away and let Marketing finalize them.
4. Stop making Marketing the scapegoat
When sales slow down, don’t train your guns on Marketing. It’s easy to fall back on the tired refrain “We’re not advertising enough”. But ask yourself first “Am I doing all I can to reactivate dormant leads, sell more to current customers and jumpstart stalled prospects?”
Come together
Sales and Marketing are members of the same team. Neither works for the other; you both work together. The executive staff should work hard to identify goals that both will pursue. Then they should incent both groups on the same measures, to ensure cohesion. Finally, they should ensure the lines of communication remain open between both groups.
After all, the bottom line of your company is at stake
Cut bickering between Sales and Marketing with these tips - To learn more about this author, visit Jay Lipe's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“All Marketing does is produce useless brochures” complains Mr. Sales.
“All Sales does is complain about our brochures” counters Ms. Marketing.
In many businesses there’s a growing rift between Sales and Marketing. Sales sees Marketing as ivory-tower, know-it-alls who stay away from the real action, while Marketing sees Sales as demanding egomaniacs that are never satisfied with the tools they provide.
The two resemble bickering Siamese twins; joined at the hip yet arguing incessantly.
I think the two can get along better if they first understand where the other is coming from, and then take some simple steps
Extroverts v. introverts
There’s no question that sales and marketing folks are wired differently. By and large, sales people are extroverts who feed off the energy of meeting new people and persuading them to buy. No other person in a company is as motivated to meet and befriend strangers.
Marketing people, on the other hand, are more analytical and reflective. They happily spend time on solitary duties like analyzing data, reviewing copy or generating budgets. A bigger part of their day involves being by themselves.
Field work v. office work
Most sales people I know hate sitting at their desks. Their lifeblood activities—making sales calls and entertaining customers—happen outside their office. Have you ever watched a sales person in a day long meeting? It isn’t pretty.
Conversely, marketers must spend large blocks of time in their offices. Their lifeblood activities—gathering and analyzing information, and coordinating projects—necessitates making an office the hub of their daily activities.
Sales thinks in days; Marketing in years
Ask any marketer how far out they plan and they’re liable to answer “Three years”. Ask a sales person the same question and they’ll answer “Thirty days”.
Because Marketing grapples with strategic tasks like developing new products and finding new markets, its time horizon by necessity is longer. Sales though, with its monthly quotas, cares little about events 30 days from now.
Marketing’s view is 30,000 feet; Sales’ is 3 feet
Because a marketer concerns herself with groups of customers (segments), she is obliged to view the business from a 30,000 foot perspective. But Sales views the business from just 3 feet—the distance between them and a prospect.
This sets the two departments up for ongoing conflict. For example, a salesperson in the Midwest region sees nothing wrong with requesting a special, one-time-only promotion for a preferred customer.
But the marketer, from her 30,000 foot perspective, sees this request as creating an imbalance that could potentially anger customers, prospects and sales personnel in all other regions.
How Marketing can get along better with Sales
1. Visit sales offices
Whether you’re presenting Marketing’s newest initiatives or just listening to sales feedback, nothing builds bridges faster with Sales than visiting their turf.
2. Schedule ride-alongs
If you’re wondering how customers view your latest initiatives, schedule a ride-along with a sales rep. You’ll hear firsthand from your customers and get some valuable feedback from your sales rep at the same time.
3. Bring Sales in early
Marketers too often bring Sales in at the end of the strategic planning process, expecting their rubber stamp of approval. Marketing, you’ll save lots of time if you incorporate Sales’ opinions right from the start.
4. Respect their processes
Sales organizations already have their own structures and processes in place. Respect them. Before contacting a sales rep, OK it with the sales manager. Pay attention also to a sales team’s peak periods. The end of a month, quarter, or year are particularly dicey times for Sales, so leave them alone then.
5. Leave room for customization
Sales will tell you that every customer is unique, and they’re right. Unfortunately Marketing can’t design programs for every single account, but we can leave room for account customization in sales tools we develop. One Fortune 500 company client of mine designs collateral materials with standardized text, and then leaves sections of the collateral blank. The local sales rep can then “crash imprint” customized information into these blank spaces to address an account’s unique situation.
How Sales can get along better with Marketing
1. Provide feedback
Since you’re on the front lines, and Marketing isn’t, you’re a vital information source for them. On a regular basis, give Marketing feedback (both negative and positive). And if you preface your comments with “I was just with one of our customers and he said…”, I guarantee Marketing will listen.
2. Recognize that all your feedback will not be acted upon
A good marketer constantly asks questions of sales people, then listens to the answers. But Sales shouldn’t mistake this as a subtle promise by Marketing to act on everything you say.
3. Let Marketing develop the messaging
The folks in marketing must consider all customers when developing a new product or service. They therefore are best suited to craft messages that appeal to the broadest array of customers and prospects. Let Marketing develop:
Positioning statements
Elevator pitches
Brochure copy
Sales should provide initial feedback into these efforts, but then back away and let Marketing finalize them.
4. Stop making Marketing the scapegoat
When sales slow down, don’t train your guns on Marketing. It’s easy to fall back on the tired refrain “We’re not advertising enough”. But ask yourself first “Am I doing all I can to reactivate dormant leads, sell more to current customers and jumpstart stalled prospects?”
Come together
Sales and Marketing are members of the same team. Neither works for the other; you both work together. The executive staff should work hard to identify goals that both will pursue. Then they should incent both groups on the same measures, to ensure cohesion. Finally, they should ensure the lines of communication remain open between both groups.
After all, the bottom line of your company is at stake
Cut bickering between Sales and Marketing with these tips - To learn more about this author, visit Jay Lipe'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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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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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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