The distinction between marketing and sales is becoming fuzzier by the day.
For example, social selling and content marketing both depend on sharing content strategically with an audience. The only difference is where that audience is in their buying journey.
In the old school sales world individual effort was exalted. The more salespeople could get in front of people, the better. That world is evolving quickly. Prospects have access to more information than ever before and it’s harder to get their attention when they are being flooded by social media posts, targeted ads, whatsapps, memes and videos. Selling situations grow more complex, with an average of 5.4 stakeholders involved in any one deal. Adapting to this new world of selling requires a different approach.
In the social selling environment customers may be better informed than ever, on the other hand they’re uncertain and stressed. So salespeople have to become guides for their prospects, and the ability to share useful material is critical. A concept how to take the message to the next level is cooperation with marketeers.
When you work together with other experts in your field, the end product is improved. Having more than one perspective creates a deeper and fuller experience for your audience. When done right, sales and marketing collaboration is a creative endeavor where everyone increases their influence.
An outstanding tool for effective collaboration is strategic communication, live, bi-directional.
Communication is the short cut to functioning marketing & sales alignment
Share processes, resources, best practices, content ideas and recommandations for future offers and blog posts. Evaluate leads. Organise live meetings. Spend time together in a casual setting, a good environment for airily conversation.
Don’t miss the vocabulary aspect, important because many sales and marketing alignment issues are caused by differing business languages. If these meetings contain a refresher on how sales talks about concepts vs. how marketing talks about concepts, that can be very beneficial.
This helps build trust among team members and ensures that people feel comfortable leaning on each other for support. Sales reps are talking with prospects all the time and know what is getting them excited about your company. They know what kind of content is needed. Marketing can inform sales about the promotions and offers their leads are receiving and create templates to generate new leads and re-engage old leads.
When done right, marketing and sales alignment can fuel company growth right into the digital future.
Header image concept and visual created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky