Bonding with Sales: A win-win all around

If I read one more story about “How Marketing Should Work with Sales” I may be sick -- but that won’t stop me from writing one!  This one, however, is from the Marketing perspective.


Let’s face it.  Wall Street aside, there are few things in business as wasteful as the disconnect between Sales and Marketing. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that no other organizational dysfunction takes such a toll on Time, Budget and Materials.


So, whatcha gonna do?

When it comes to operational-izing this disconnect, corporate leadership has to take responsibility. When it comes to policies and procedures around this performance issue, there usually are none.  Instead, setting the climate usually comes down to the past life experiences of the C-suite, which usually fall into one of three different categories:

• The Fatalists,
• The Recovering Marketeers, and
• The Sales Driver.

The Fatalists come from backgrounds where “hands off” was a way of life.  Their mantra is "It's the way of the world -- like cats and dogs -- we make the best of it through our meetings and processes."

The Recovering Marketeers come from equally contentious situations, but probably spent time on the marketing team and have an axe to grind.  Their mandate is, "... in my business, everything reports to Marketing -- from lead gen to CRM – it’s all under one roof for continuity."

And the Sales Driver says, "... we structured both functions under my Sales VP -- now he has no excuses and the company actually saves headcount and salaries ..."

Any of these sound familiar?  Which sounds like the best strategy to you?

The truth is they all stink out loud. There is no meeting, process, policy, org structure, or force of nature that will counteract an existing disconnect.  And, if allowed to stay dysfunctional, it will quickly evolve itself from a minor speed bump to full blown productivity killer.

So, what’s the answer?  It all comes down to the heads of Sales and Marketing and their willingness to collaborate.  If no one else is willing to address the problem, it’s an opportunity for both execs to set aside agendas and make each other successful.  And the key is nothing less than COMMUNICATION.

Easier said than done

For two organizations whose goals are so similar and interconnected, one would assume communication is second nature.  Not so much.  But here are some tips:

1.  Identify and deploy technology that consolidates, communicates across sales and marketing.  One system for sales and another for marketing leaves too many gaps, so much so that hand-offs are fumbled and the two teams are further disconnected.  Sales force automation, marketing automation and CRM should be integrated one seamless story-telling solution.  The result will be more and better touch points, resulting in more and better sales -- both new money and up sell/cross sell.

2.  Know the customers.  Not just the data – know their names, stories, experiences, things they’ve said, and how they think.  This information has closing power for your Sales team and will make your marketing that much more relevant.

3. Look for high-visibility ways to work together.  For example, give joint presentations at conferences.  Working side by side to prep and deliver a presentation not only provides solid in-the-trenches bonding time, but also makes a very public statement about your united front.  When your teams see this happening, it serves to set the tone and provide a good example.

4.  Revenue talk is a great ice breaker.  Revenue is Sales’ raison d’être. When Marketing is able to talk revenue, they gain credibility and are seen to be working toward the same goal.  By the same token, the more Marketing can connect its metrics with revenue objectives, the easier it will be to tweak programs and justify budgets with confidence.

5.  Celebrate each other’s success.  A Sales win really is a Marketing win too.  In fact, in most organizations, there are several departments involved in closing sales – from Legal to Finance to R&D to Sales and Marketing.  Whether it’s an e-mail blast, a web video broadcast, or an old fashioned bell ringing, some form of celebration is in order whenever a sale is made – it’s the lifeblood of the company, after all.

[Personal anecdote from the Marketing side: Once upon a time, I was presented with an award from our Sales team for being the company’s “Marketer of the Year.”  An honest-to-goodness, heavy-as-an-elephant, crystal trophy.  I’ve accumulated smaller, less “conspicuous” recognition over the years, but this one is the only award that I display prominently in my office and look at every day.  For good reason, we grew revenue from $40 million to $120 million in six months that year and it was a bona fide Team Effort.]

I hope you all have an experience like that -- and when you do, I hope you’ll let me know about it.