Sales and Marketing: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Introduction

Sales and marketing are two sides of the same coin, though they don’t see each other but they have value only when they are together. Think of it this way: You see a beautiful and tantalizing dish on Instagram and read great reviews about it on Google, so can’t wait to try it. But when you visit the restaurant, the dish, and the server both are not what you expected. It lacks the presentation, and the server just dumps it on your table. Would you go back there or recommend the place? The answer is probably NO.

This is why sales, marketing, and the rest of the departments need to work together. Marketing was the post or photo that you sawm and sales were the service you got. Often viewed as separate, sales, marketing, and advertisements are, in reality, deeply interconnected and interdependent. Working together, they form the backbone of an organization’s success. Both aim to build the brand presence and improve revenue-generating efforts. While marketing works towards customer acquisition and keep the prospects engaged, sales turn the leads into paying customers.

The two sides of the coin work in synergy for maximizing business growth and profitability. Just like you will not accept a one-sided coin, businesses cannot do without sales or marketing.

Sales vs Marketing: Why is it a big deal?

A business needs a buyer’s attention, time, and trust. It might seem both sales and marketing do that, but if you dig deeper, you will see a striking difference between the two.

Marketing

Marketing is built on strategy and thrives on creative skills:

It builds awareness for products and services, creating the stage for sales to hunt.

It uses strategies to build awareness, stimulate interest, and create demand.

A marketer knows customer needs, develops campaigns, and makes sure that the messages reach the audience at the right time.

Marketing activities include

Research and analysis
Branding and position
Content creation and presentation
Strategy planning on all touchpoints
Lead generation through campaigns and advertisements

Sales

Sales foundation is deliverable results, and it thrives on persuasive skills:

Sales focuses on direct interactions for conversions.

The object is to build relationships, address the pain points, and persuade but not sound pushy to convince them of the value of the company’s offerings.

A salesperson works with prospects one on one and tailors their approaches to client needs.

Sales activities include

Prospecting and engaging through outreach

Building relationships by presenting solutions

Handling objections

Closing by helping the customer make a purchase decision

When sales and marketing are aligned, it is ensured that no opportunity is untapped in smoothening the path to success.

Overlap between sales and marketing

Sales, marketing, closing the deal, advertising, etc., are often used interchangeably. However, there are some overlaps and gaps that should be understood well.

When the sales are low, marketing blames the sales team for improper rollout of their strategy, and the sales team blames marketing for not giving enough budget, putting high prices, or not getting good leads. Or sales accuse marketers of not knowing the reality and marketing saying the sales view is myopic. This type of lack of alignment will lead to the profits taking a hit.

Marketers work behind the desk, use analytics to form strategies, and are project focused. Salespeople, in contrast, are relationship builders and don’t fear rejection.

Here are some examples of collaboration between sales and marketing:

Collaboration between Sales and marketing

Shared goals and objectives with the ultimate mission to boost revenue with growing customer base at its heart. Marketing generates leads, and sales convert them in customers.

Communication and collaboration with timely lead handoffs, regular check-ins, and open dialogues so that both sales, and marketing are on same page.

Customer insights as sales teams give insights into the customer pain points which helps plan suitable marketing campaigns.

Unified messaging ensures a cohesive customer experience. Therefore, ensuring consistent messaging across all channels (sales and marketing) is a necessity.

Sales, marketing, and statistics proving their alignment

When sales and marketing work cohesively and understand their shared goals and objectives, there is a clear revenue growth and higher customer retention.

Researches show that strong sales and marketing alignments:

Give 38% higher sales wins.
Produces 67% better conversion rates as better leads are targeted
Have 37% higher customer retention leading to long-term loyalty.

How do sales and marketing work together?

Sales and marketing are teammates that cannot win without the other.

Let’s take a look how

Who do they talk to?

Marketing reaches out to groups of audiences through targeted advertisements, blogs, emails, social media, etc.

Sales is more of a one-on-one personal approach that is tailored to the individual or business.

Who interacts with the customer first?

Marketing is the first face of the brand; it generates interest and preps people for the sales.

Sales comes into play when the customer is ready to engage more deeply.

What measures their success?

In marketing, the success is how many good leads are generated and retained.

Sales is all about deals closed and revenue earned.

How to bridge the gap between sales and marketing?

Sales, marketing, and communication are the pillars of alignment and integration of the two in a business.

Here are some key strategies for the same:

Establish clear goals shared in real-time.

Both, sales, and marketing, should share the objectives and implementation methods of the campaign in real-time. There are AI tools available for facilitating the same and share revenue targets, customer acquisition goals, lead conversion rates, etc. mutually beneficial goals, KPIs help give a clear picture to both teams.

Create a defined Service-Level-Agreement (SLA)

Use SLA to define expectations and responsibilities for both teams, for example the number of qualified leads, and following up with the leads in a pre-decided timeframe.

Implement a closed-loop feedback system

For both teams to work together, implementing a feedback system to monitor the quality of leads and the effectiveness of campaigns is the way to go for identifying which strategies are most effective and which need replacement.

Use latest technology

AI marketing tools, CRM software, and marketing automation platforms can help fill in the gap between sales and marketing teams by sharing data and customer interaction in real time.

Regular training and development

Strategies and tools are great, but it is the people who need to feel empowered. Hold regular skill-building sessions, training sessions, and ‘meet and greet’ between sales and marketing teams to create an atmosphere of continuous improvement and a culture of inclusiveness. Joint workshops, industry certifications, and cross-training opportunities are a few examples.

Conclusion

Sales and marketing are indeed the two sides of the same coin, and each has its own specialized role in driving business growth. Integrating technologies helps unify the departments and puts the customer first. By developing policies that align their efforts, shared insights, etc., it is possible to create a seamless consumer journey that imbibes trust, loyalty, and profitability in today’s competitive landscape.

Amit Bhateja