Why Can't Sales & Marketing Get in Sync and Soar... Together?

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Soo, on with the schew...

Because I've been around the block a few times, I've seen the oft-lamented chasm between sales departments and marketing departments several times. First-hand.

Common sense would beg the question...

"If sales and marketing are both working to grow the same company, then why is there such strife between the two departments?"

I worked with a company a few years ago, with numerous profit centers, where this was a BIG issue.

The sales department in one of the profit centers felt like marketing wasn't listening to them when they complained about the low quality leads they continued to get from marketing.

This disconnect had been going on for some time, I learned.

Slowly, at first, the sales people started opening up to me, until they decided they could trust me.

And then the floodgates opened!

They seemed stunned that there was, finally, someone in marketing who actually listened — and heard them.

Not only that, I became their champion.

I found out what the specific issues were, what they'd tried to convey, what had/hadn't been tried by marketing — and the outcomes.

Then I started digging around, asking questions, and it didn't take long before I started to piece together some of the problems.

First Problem:

The marketing folks only had a hammer, so everything had to look like a nail.

They were only using one marketing channel (paid FB).

No really... only that one!

Because it was working with all the other profit centers, they assumed it'd work for this one the same way.

No it wouldn't. And it didn't. Yet they kept trying.

They were trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

And the two departments were not even in agreement on what, exactly, constitutes a lead! (Eye-roll.)

The other profit centers offered pretty affordable products for consumer audiences.

But this one didn't remotely resemble the others. It was a VERY expensive business opportunity which, of course, had to be marketed to a B2B audience. (Duh.)

My Suggestions:

Wearing my most diplomatic hat, I asked if I could take a look at the ads with an eye toward how we might write/produce ads that clarify it's a business opportunity that involved...

• A hefty chunk of money to get started
• Some financing was available
• Owners would get a protected territory
• Marketing would be handled for them
• Training was provided by corporate

Rationale:

• In this kind of sale, the sales people do NOT want to talk to people who are not qualified. (No money, no entrepreneurial spirit, etc.)
• It's much better to send the sales people ONLY qualified leads. Quality over quantity works in this case.

Action:

• Wrote, co-wrote, and coordinated with design to produce new motion-graphic or video ads that looked and sounded professional and legit.
• Promoted a business opportunity for 'serious-minded investors only.' (Weed out the chaff.)
• Designed 'killer' landing pages (with a lead magnet) and a WOW Factor. And we, cleverly, allowed prospects to 'qualify' themselves and set their own appointment with a sales rep, if they were qualified.
• Those unqualified now, were provided a different path, with a nurture campaign to educate more, help them qualify, and remain top of mind.
• Wrote various follow-up SMS and emails for the sales force to use, depending on where each lead was on the path to a 'Discovery Call' — and streamlined follow-up process afterward.
• Researched, isolated, and championed other, more appropriate vehicles to introduce this profitable, biz-op to the very people who were looking for this kind of business. (Go fishing where the fish are.)

You'd think these two departments in Corporate America would have figured out how to operate like a well-oiled machine by now, right?

Wrong.

In a Harvard Business Review article in 2006, the authors interviewed pairs of chief marketing officers and sales VPs to get their perspectives.

It's a pretty interesting read... and at the end, the authors provide four types of relationships that sales and marketing typically exhibit.

See if you can identify your company's sales/marketing relationship here...

Undefined

When the relationship is undefined, sales and marketing have grown independently. And each is preoccupied largely with its own tasks and agendas.

Each group doesn’t know much about what the other is up to — until a conflict arises.

Meetings between the two, which are ad hoc, are likely to be devoted to conflict resolution rather than proactive cooperation.

Defined.

In a defined relationship, the two groups set up processes—and rules—to prevent disputes. There’s a “good fences make good neighbors” orientation.

The marketers and salespeople know who is supposed to do what, and they stick to their own tasks for the most part.

The groups start to build a common language in potentially contentious areas, such as “How do we define a lead?” (Just a warm body, or qualified as determined by sales.)

Meetings become more reflective and people raise questions like, “What do we expect of one another?”

The groups work together on large events like customer conferences and trade shows.

Aligned

When sales and marketing are aligned, clear boundaries between the two exist... but they’re flexible.

The groups engage in joint planning and training. The sales group understands and uses marketing terminology such as “value proposition” and “brand image.”

Marketers confer with salespeople on important accounts. They play a role in transactional or commodity sales as well.

Integrated

When sales and marketing are fully integrated, boundaries become blurred. Both groups redesign the relationship to share structures, systems, and rewards.

Marketing, and sales to a lesser degree, begins to focus on strategic, forward-thinking types of tasks (market sensing, for instance) and sometimes splits into upstream and downstream groups.

Marketers are deeply embedded in the management of key accounts.

The two groups develop and implement shared metrics.

Budgeting becomes more flexible and less contentious. A “rise or fall together” culture develops.

Sounds good, doesn't it?

Buut... fast forward to 2024, and we see the same mis-alignment in HubSpot's '2024 State of Marketing' report.

In Conclusion...

While Nirvana may be unattainable for these two, I still have hope that more collaborative and effective relationships can be forged — if there's the will to do so at the top.

With both departments working for the same goal of making more sales and contributing to the company's bottom line...

They NEED to 'Get in Sync & Soar in 2024!'

What do you think?

What will it take for these two titans, holding up the corporate structure, to stop the rivalry and get on the same team??

Ball's in your court... your serve.

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And if you're in sales or marketing and need help in bridging the gap between the two... or any other marketing-related need... let me know?

Till next time...