“In a great company everybody sells – not just the salespeople.” – Larry Ellison
Marketing enables sales.
In the world of growth strategy there is probably no more fundamental, yet frequently misunderstood, concept than the highly dependent relationship between marketing and sales.
In my work as a growth strategist, this concept is the starting point and a core intellectual foundation for building almost every go-to-market strategy and plan.
For business leaders who are responsible for growing the organization (if we are being honest, this should describe every leader!) this is a critically important concept.
Marketing and sales are vital functions of almost every organization, yet they often live in isolation. Even worse, in many companies they have an antagonistic if not completely dysfunctional relationship. Yet, marketing and sales need each other in order to be successful.
Basic Definitions, and the Challenge
For maximum effectiveness, marketing and sales have to be tightly connected, and working in an aligned and coordinated fashion. Unfortunately, for many organizations this is usually the exception, rather than the rule.
To set the stage for a solution, here are two basic definitions, which also help illustrate the root cause of the problem:
- Marketing – According to the American Marketing Association marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.
- Sales – A sale is a transaction between two or more parties, typically a buyer and a seller, in which goods or services are exchanged for money or other assets.
Once you read these definitions it is easy to see they really are not that far apart. So why the divide?
We do not have to go too far back in history to find a clue. In the late 1940’s post-war growth economy, business strategists and educators began to describe marketing as owning the creation and promotion of a brand – focused on what is commonly called the 4 P’s (product, price, place, and promotion).
And sales? Well, sales was about making the sale to those prospects who responded to marketing’s outreach efforts. The wall began to form because marketing and sales were classically viewed as two completely separate functions, despite both being aligned around wanting to make sales happen.
You can thank technology for helping to bridge the gap. Over the years, as we have layered in more tech-enabled tools like email, websites, CRM, marketing automation, and social media we have begun to break down the wall that separated the marketing and sales functions.
We have removed much of the “friction” around commerce. Knowledge is free. Communication is cheap. The lines are blurred. The connection points between buyers and sellers exponentially multiplied. The pace accelerated.
Transactions can take place without face-to-face contact. At the touch of a button, we can blast messages to thousands or millions of prospects and in many cases they can buy directly without going to a store, or even talking to a human.
In today’s hyper-connected business world we can safely reach one conclusion: everyone is in marketing, and everyone is in sales.
This all makes perfect sense, except for one small problem – nobody told marketing or sales! In many organizations, they are still living in their separate silos.
A Solution to Bridge the Divide
Is there a proven solution to bridge the divide between marketing and sales?
Yes, there is. Many modern go-to-market organizations ensure alignment and collaboration between marketing and sales through a defined sales enablement strategy and approach.
- Sales Enablement – The process of providing the sales organization with the information, content, and tools to help sales people sell more effectively. The foundation of sales enablement is to provide sales people with what they need to successfully identify and engage the buyer throughout the buying process.
As its name implies, sales enablement is a way to make sure marketing enables sales. One simple way to think about sales enablement is helping buyers to buy, and sellers to sell. Sounds pretty smart and intuitive, doesn’t it?!
How does it work? It begins with enlightened company leaders who understand, and fundamentally believe, marketing enables sales.
Without this executive buy-in and support, sales enablement is doomed to fail, and marketing and sales will continue to live separately.
Next, the marketing and sales leaders of the organization must collaborate to build out their definition and required capability. This will look different for each unique organization since sales enablement consists of a diverse set of tactics and activities.
It often includes an expanded role for marketing to rate, score, and qualify leads. Moreover, in some organizations it can include an outbound lead generation function (sales development representatives) who work to identify and engage targeted prospects in order to develop them into marketing qualified leads (MQL).
It is very common to see sales enablement jointly owned by marketing and sales. In smaller organizations, it may be the same person overseeing both functions. In larger organizations it might roll up under a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or Chief Revenue Officer.
The sales enablement stakeholders then build out a strategy. They will need to define the approach to provide sales with the resources they need to sell. This strategy is always tailored to each specific sales team’s needs so they can best target their audience and close more deals. It should also include a thorough analysis of the resources, tools, content, and information to provide sales with to ensure it is helping them convert more leads into customers.
Sales Enablement ROI
Does sales enablement work?
My experience is that it does, and research backs it up! The Aberdeen Group found that companies with strong sales and marketing alignment realized 20% better annual revenue growth than peers without alignment.
Furthermore, a study from Marketingprofs found that sales and marketing teams with high alignment saw a 36 percent increase in win rates compared to less aligned organizations.
Conclusion – Go Forth Together
Sales and marketing alignment is a critical component for company growth.
The role of marketing is to identify who the “best” prospects are for a given brand, in terms of both purchasing power and the potential to become a brand ambassador. Then, marketing creates content that can engage the buyer with that brand and helps progress them on their buyer journey.
Salespeople and marketers close the deal together. It has always been a team effort, and it will always stay that way.
As social selling evangelist, Jill Rowley said, “The new reality is that sales and marketing are continuously and increasingly integrated. Marketing needs to know more about sales, sales needs to know more about marketing, and we all need to know more about our customers.”
Creating sales and marketing alignment is one of the most important ways organizations can improve the effectiveness of both teams. Forging this alignment can also help to lower customer acquisition cost, while also providing a better sales experience for prospective customers.
In a follow-up article, we will explore specific tactics to help drive alignment between marketing and sales.
-Onward