Sales is from Saturn, Marketing is from…Another Planet

If ever there was a relationship in need of deeper understanding, it is that of sales and marketing within a company. Marketing is about reaching out to your audience and promoting your brand or product. It gets the process started. Sales on the other hand seals the deal, is the final handshake, closes the transaction. So why is there such disconnect in this obvious symbiotic relationship?

The main challenge is the difference in motivation. Sales is motivated to move as fast as possible to get a buyer “right now”. Marketing is the patient, get-to-know-you type, trying to nurture and develop a lasting relationship. Not only do they not see eye-to-eye, sometimes they aren’t even speaking the same language.

Since both of these efforts are so important, how does a company settle the discord? In a recent MarketingProfs article, Elise Musumano examines six ways sales and marketing might get more in sync with each other. These suggestions might help Marketers work better with sales, after all, they are on the same team.

·         Don’t rely on emails – person-to-person is always better.

·         Assume people won’t get back to you – be a nag and keep checking in with people. It’s okay, really.

·         Understand that if your subject matter experts are telling you “ I don’t have time,” they may not see the value – take the time to explain what you’re doing and why. If they understand the value in what you are doing and that it just might help them then they will be more likely to answer your requests.

·         Get a tough skin – if someone criticizes your work, use it to your advantage. You can respectfully push back, but use that moment of interest/engagement from them and harness it in a way to move Marketing’s efforts forward.

·         Have a ‘say yes’ attitude – to a degree – You are there to help, but keep boundaries.

·         Acclimate yourself to tight deadlines, and be flexible – use tight deadlines to keep you on your feet, but always keep your cool.

These are just a few ideas of how sales and marketing might better interact. What methods have you used in your company? Share your thoughts on what worked or what didn’t work with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Bullets

• In 2013, 6.5% of U.S. households “cut the cord”, dropping their cable or satellite TV service and retaining only high-speed internet, according to a recent study by Experian Marketing Services. The number of cord-cutters is up from 4.5% in 2010. (experian.com)

• Search-based advertising continues to drive online ad sales, accounting for 43% of all online sales in 2013. down just slightly from 46% in 2012. (iab.net)

• 51% of millennials have an Instagram account and 42% use Snapchat, according to a March 2014 survey by Ypulse. When it comes to daily use, photo-focused social applications are more popular than their word-focused competitors. 31% of millennials post on Instagram on a daily basis, while 29% tweet every day. (Marketing News)

• Most owners of tablets (81%) and smartphones (79%) use their devices to search for information on local businesses, according to Neustar. Nearly all computer users (96%) do local searches on their laptops/desktop PCs. More than three-quarters of local searches made on mobile phones/smartphones result in purchases, the majority within a few hours of searching. More than six in 10 local searches made on tablets and computers result in purchases. (Nuestar)

• The majority of U.S. consumers-both with and without multichannel TV service-watch TV series online via streaming, according to Centris Marketing Science. Three-quarters (75%) of those who don’t subscribe to multichannel services stream TV series at least once a month, as do 56% of those who do subscribe to multichannel services. (Centris Marketing Science; 610-994-8310)