It used to be that companies could achieve growth by simply focusing on sales or having sales and advertising be complementary marketing tactics. But today, macro and micro pressures along with evolving landscapes across industries have resulted in a more competitive landscape. Tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) provide a level of sophistication, and these tools can help business leaders bridge strategies and tactics across different business units.
But AI and ML alone cannot create alignment; they are enablers, not ends in themselves. That’s why – whether we’re considering B2B or B2C environments – it behooves any CEO to think about how to best pair the horsepower of marketing with sound processes and a winning sales strategy. Customers are not waiting to see an advertisement or for a sales rep to call. Today’s marriage of sales and marketing, while delicate, is essential for success.
The best customer is the one who doesn't know that they need you, and the way to get to that desired state is by pairing the firepower of marketing and sales. Let’s see how you can be the exception to this trend.
Everything falls in line when sales and marketing are aligned and operating as one brain. According to LinkedIn, organizations with strong sales and marketing alignment are 67% more effective at closing deals and 58% better at retaining customers. With so much access to information, customers have become more sophisticated prior to purchase. They have researched your company, your brand, and all your competitors before they even think about your product within their consideration set. A Google Insights study highlights that only 12% of B2B buyers want to meet in person with a sales rep; and 71% start their process with an unbranded search. This is all made possible by marketing; now, the customers who didn’t know they needed you are walking on the proverbial sales lot. Marketing supports by driving the top of the sales funnel. But once those prospects are down the funnel, the successful hand-off to sales is critical to bring them to the purchase stage. How can they both work together for outsized results?
The sales team is on the front line with the customer, talking to them and gauging their interests, learning how the market may be moving, or understanding the unique exceptions that are being made. When sales and marketing work together symbiotically, they can help each other – and other parts of the company – by sharing customer insights and observations. Perhaps product development needs to know that there is a gap in the portfolio, or that a competitor is using discounting to lure away your prospects.
A recent HubSpot survey claimed the benefit of sales and marketing teams being more aligned was that it helped them close more deals. However, this same study revealed that only 23.1% of sales professionals believed that there is true alignment with their marketing team. Companies that seamlessly pair sales and marketing together tend to perform better, have better support infrastructure, and have clearer communication. Collaboration can help make the entire organization more effective – focused on growth, and efficiently protecting your brand against competition.
When companies hear “We’re going to get marketing and sales to work together,” teams often think this means a lot of joint meetings. In this simplified sense, it is hard to gain alignment if it means more demands on time and workload. That’s why many teams may come to regret bringing sales and marketing into alignment. However, having marketing and sales connected is not necessarily a function of how many meetings you have in a day or a week. It’s about how you go about your day-to-day processes with both sides of the equation in mind.
It’s also about understanding your roles and responsibilities, and those of your counterparts in sales or marketing. Consider a football team. The kicker isn’t trying to score touchdowns, and the halfback is not (often) trying to throw the ball. It’s not to say team members won’t be adept at stretching their skills; everyone must understand how their role supports the company’s overall sales and marketing goals.
When sales and marketing teams collaborate and rely on each other, it is a beautiful thing to see. I have seen the acceleration of growth within organizations where sales and marketing are aligned, and they almost operate as one brain. When that happens, all other functions fall into line. But when the sales function isn't tight or operational efficiency falls apart, then the company begins losing valuable time and money to force alignment. But when they're both tight working together, you can see companies move and grow at a faster pace than those that are unaligned.
Trust, Shared Goals, and KPIs
How do sales and marketing teams build trust through collaboration? It starts with knowing the company focus and mission, and understanding what resources are available to help streamline and augment the work of both teams. There needs to be clear communication on strengths and weaknesses surrounding the product, marketplace, and process. When both teams are able to align on priorities upfront, they can work together to develop a more cohesive strategy.
Some of the best and most rewarding times have been when I am in sync with the sales team. We can communicate well and have each other’s backs when there is pushback on strategy from leadership. It’s satisfying to see how well we work together and how our collaborative planning and execution can yield real results in a short time. Indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, with many hands making the job easier; more informed by a complete picture of the business landscape. Data collected from a recent LinkedIn study support my experience - 87% of sales and marketing leaders say that collaboration between their departments enables critical revenue growth. Taking collaboration one step further, 96% of companies that report being well-aligned organizationally are also aligned on sales and marketing technology.
When sales and marketing are aligned at the beginning and there are joint KPIs, collaboration can yield processes that work for both sides of the house. It doesn't make sense if there are processes that benefit sales and not marketing because they both start from the same place regarding access to the CEO. Whether leadership is singularly focused on sales, or only cares about marketing, shouldn’t matter when both teams are aligned and the infrastructure to foster collaboration is in place.
By fostering collaboration and synergy between these sales and marketing teams, organizations can experience improved lead generation, higher conversion rates, and increased revenue growth, among many other benefits. Streamlined communication and shared insights that come from collaboration empower teams to understand customer needs, resulting in more personalized and effective marketing strategies.
Ultimately, the alignment of sales and marketing not only enhances operational efficiency but also cultivates deeper customer relationships and competitive advantages in today's business landscape. It’s not enough to simply aspire to this goal; unification between sales and marketing is a necessity for any business competing in a crowded marketplace and can mean the difference between success and failure. Need help aligning your sales and marketing teams? Reach out and let's discuss.