It?s Time To Merge Sales and Marketing Functions to Maximize Company?s Time and Resources.
The sales and marketing departments must work together for a business to grow and shine, but they often don?t. Marketing employees craft a message they hope customers respond to, but salespeople are the ones who spend the most time with customers. They have invaluable input for the marketing department, and if they have a say in the marketing process, they have more motivation to sell better and more thoroughly. They?ll also help the marketing department hone its messages to maximize everyone?s time and resources. It?s about quality, not quantity. It?s about better meeting customer needs and expectations.
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- Get the managers on board first. Use their feedback and input as needed.
- Explain your rationale and how this makes jobs easier for employees in both departments. For example, it benefits sales by increasing lead volume and lead quality. It benefits marketing when salespeople tell them topics that customers want to see on blog posts and podcasts for inbound marketing. Marketing then puts out optimized content that is more useful than ever. The sales leads generated are more likely to be from people already interested in the business. Sales will become more successful.
- Develop a meeting or communication schedule for these departmental exchanges. Even doing them over email is fine?but a system must be in place. If you intend to fully merge the departments?such as having them work in the same space?outline your schedule and gradual assimilation process.
- Develop and use a measuring tool to more accurately track leads and to determine what results in a sale and what does not. Start measurements in the marketing stage (for example, how many leads did X podcast generate?). Adjust as needed with feedback from both departments.
- Cross-train. Have sales employees work in marketing for a few weeks (or shadow marketing employees). Conversely, have marketing employees accompany salespeople on calls and visits. Having a flexible team will go a long way in growing your business.
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