The seminar was on sales, but one thing I noticed in the session was that Jeffrey continued to bring up the topic of sales teams getting materials from the marketing department. The materials simply didn't do the job. The statement actually brought laughter to the room; especially the comment of having the marketing team sell using the materials they had given the sales department.
While I too laughed at the statement, I was also reminded on how divided and disjointed our sales and marketing departments are. This is especially true in large companies. Why is this?
Marketers often feel frustration when encountering the difficulties of getting their brand message translated into equity-building, price increasing, and margin-enhancing results by the sales force. Salespeople feel frustration when trying to get marketers to understand the real business situations sufficiently to deliver them practical and effective sales tools that will actually convert a potential customer into a customer.
It doesn't matter what side you are on, the truth is we both need one another. As marketers we can help the sales department when we understand what it is they need to be successful. A sales person goes through several phases in order to court a prospect into a client or customer. When we understand those phases we are better at creating marketing materials that will work for them, both in efficiency and effectiveness.
Prospects don't care how long you've been in business, unless you are in the final phases and they are comparing you with a competitor and everything else measures up equally. That may be one straw that helps make that decision, but if the sales person has created the relationship with the prospect this factor is almost null, so don't build your entire marketing kit around how long you've been in business - a one liner will do just fine.
A prospective customer needs to know why you are different and why they should choose your company or your product, if you can't explain this in your marketing materials, how can you expect sales to use that information to sell? Create a tool that helps them in differentiating you.
A sales person needs to be equipped with the tools that help them create the relationship with the prospect and assist them in finding common ground or mutual attraction with the prospect. Can you be creative? Of course you can you are in marketing. Create a tool that allows them to get to know more about the prospective customer. Perhaps it's a questionnaire, a survey, or even just a funny piece that opens the door to more personal discussion.
These are just a few ideas that can help you gain a better understanding of sales and what it takes to sell the products or services within your company. In order for marketing to have a true understanding of what it's like to be in sales it may be a good idea to spend some time in the field with your sales representatives. There is a difference in sales and marketing, but it doesn't mean we can't work together to increase the bottom line as a team.
