Last year, I spent a lot of time thinking about when I decided to say that “Sales and Marketing should not only work together more effectively, but they absolutely must for the business to survive.” After reflecting, a key event stood out to me. This moment was crucial because I saw a change in myself and also in my coworkers. So, what took place?
I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things. — Mother Teresa
Years ago, I went to a regular sales meeting. These meetings were meant to discuss the business’s status, let team members connect, and share good ideas. At times, these meetings were helpful and encouraged colleagues to look at the business differently, often motivating them to improve their sales efforts. However, more often than not, they happened too frequently and were just a repeated discussion of what we had already covered in previous meetings.
This meeting, however, was different… little did I know. Our manager had invited someone from the Marketing team to come talk about a new initiative that they were launching aimed at helping Sales become more efficient in selling to customers. While the strategy was not groundbreaking for most marketers it was a concept that wasn’t really common in Sales. What this marketer did so eloquently was explain why the Marketing team thought using this framework was important for the company, how it would help Sales sell more efficiently, and how it could be implemented by each individual in the room as soon as the next day.
And that is when it hit me. This wasn’t just some new strategy mandated from the Ivory Tower of Marketing because they didn’t have anything else better to do, No, this was a tool that could actually help me do my job better. Now it made sense. And not only did it make sense for me but I could see it also made sense for my colleagues. There was an excitement after the presentation that was not typical for a sales meeting. My colleagues were asking questions and trying to figure out with which customers they were going to target first with this new tool. And the questions weren’t those “I just need to seem engaged so my boss thinks I care and that I’m a leader” questions. These were genuine questions to gain better understanding.
From this point on, I recognized the power of open dialogue between Sales and Marketing. What an opportunity to take advantage of! Each group has skills that are uniquely theirs and they should be celebrated, however when each group is able to understand more precisely how their actions impact the other group it creates a powerful synergy that leads to success.
Beginning the journey to Sales and Marketing alignment doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. It can begin with something as simple as a conversation to share ideas.
Empower people with knowledge so they may excel at what they are good at.