The Relationship Between Sales and Marketing Activity

2nd April 2019

When sales and marketing teams were asked how satisfied they were with each other's performance what percentage do you think answered 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied'? 1.

Over 50% 2. Less than 10% 3. Around 25% 4. More than 75% We will get to the answer in a moment, but the first question is why does this even matter? -Marketing needs to know more about sales, sales needs to know more about marketing, and we all need to know more about our customers Jill Rowley. What is very clear from this advice is that marketing and sales need to be working in partnership with each other. As each depends on the other, there can be no sales without leads and there is no need for leads if there is no one to sell the product. With this mutual relationship in mind you may be interested to know that the answer to the question above was 27% were 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with each other's performance. From small businesses to large organisations it is never too late to begin changing your business processes including marketing and sales alignment. There are a few things you can do starting today that will ensure both marketing and sales are pulling in the same direction which is to generate revenue. Top Tip #1: Control the amount of marketing and sales you do for the results you get. As a small business it's important to individually break down the cost for both the marketing and sales element in each lead you get. If you spend more time on marketing for that lead can you shorten this to allow more time on sales? Would this produce more sales or should you use this method across other products and aspects of your business? Top Tip #2: Learn how sales and marketing work towards mutual goals. Small businesses should make sure that when marketing they always wear a sales hat. Ask yourself questions such as -does this campaign help me reach suspects that can become prospects? or -what other information do I need from my marketing campaign to help create high-quality leads? Top Tip #3: Define what makes a quality lead. In a small business you alone are the sales and marketing team, this means looking at the type of leads your marketing is generating. Then using this information to match it to completed sales. Combining this information can help you refocus your marketing efforts, so you are generating leads that are ready to buy. Top Tip #4: Filter out bad leads. For small businesses or solopreneurs this could mean a marketing campaign that gets customers to sign up for a free download allowing you to then divide this data further, into customers who are looking to buy a product similar to the one you are selling or those just looking for free goodies. Top Tip #5: Sales should inform marketing and vice versa. Your success in sales should inform your marketing strategy. The results you gain from a marketing campaign e.g. suspect vs prospects, buying persona, etc should feed into your sales approach. Similarly, referrals that generate new sales use this information to shape your marketing strategy e.g. referral source, what problem your product solved. For more great information on how to grow your small business check out my other articles or come join in the conversation with myself and other small businesses at Facebook.