Sales teams and
marketing teams pursue a common objective: create customer value and drive
company results. But sales and marketing don’t always get along. Certainly,
all-out war between the two teams drains productivity. Yet having the two teams
work in perfect harmony and reach an easy consensus on every decision is a
pipedream, and in fact, is not the best answer either.
Some tension
between sales and marketing is healthy and productive.
Sales-marketing
tension can stem from differences in marketers’ and sellers’ perspectives.
Marketers think in terms of aggregate customer segments; sellers think in terms
of individual customers. Marketers design strategies; sellers implement
tactics. Marketers focus on analysis and
process; sellers focus on relationships and results. These diverse perspectives
often lead to conflict. For example, marketing says, “We develop thoughtful
strategies that can drive sales force success, but most salespeople won’t even
take the time to understand them.” Sales says, “Marketers are locked in the
ivory tower. Their plans look good on paper, but don’t work with real
customers.”
But the tension
created by diverse viewpoints also has a positive side. It sparks creativity
and ensures that multiple sides of issues are expressed. Sales makes certain
that customer needs are addressed and that short-term company revenue goals are
achieved; marketing ensures that product and customer segment strategies
anticipate the evolution of longer-term customer needs. Sales pushes for
competitive pricing; marketing ensures that the company uses discipline in
pricing.
Sales-marketing
tension can also stem from the co-dependence of the sales and marketing teams.
Especially when things don’t go well, situations can quickly turn to
finger-pointing. Marketing says “We worked hard and generated good leads for
sales, but they didn’t follow up.” Sales says, “Marketing’s leads aren’t worth
my time; the last lead they gave us was for a business that shut down two years
ago.”
But the mutual
dependence of sales and marketing creates a productive sense of urgency and
encourages both teams to do their jobs better. Sales insists that marketing
provide better leads. Marketing makes sure that sales follows up. Sales helps
marketing develop strategies and sales collateral that address customer needs.
Marketing urges sales to spend time strategically and implement the marketing
plan.
Accomplishing the
common objective of creating customer value and driving company results
requires competency in a wide range of tasks which fall into three categories.
•Sales tasks. Account management, personal
selling, distributor management, merchandising, sales compensation design, and
numerous other sales management activities typically fall within the purview of
Sales.
•Marketing tasks. Market research, competitive
analysis, market segmentation, brand positioning, packaging, and dozens of
other market-focused undertakings are usually the responsibility of Marketing.
•Joint Sales/Marketing tasks. Sales strategy
formulation, lead generation, sales collateral development, pricing, sales
forecasting, and many other tasks frequently require the participation of both
Sales and Marketing.
Entire books,
journals, business courses, and consulting companies are dedicated to helping
marketers and sellers with these tasks. Yet very little is written about how to
get sales and marketing to work together to keep all of the tasks aligned
around the common objective.
Four strategies
help companies accomplish all of this work with a healthy balance of
sales-marketing harmony and tension.
1.Make sure all sales tasks to get done well.
Design a high-impact sales organization, hire sellers with characteristics such
as interpersonal ability and results-drive, and develop the competencies
sellers need to succeed. Support the sales force with structures, processes,
systems, and programs that enable sales success.
2.Make sure all marketing tasks get done well.
Design a high-impact marketing organization, hire marketers with
characteristics such as analytical savvy and strategic thinking ability, and
develop the competencies marketers need to succeed. Support the marketing team with
structures, processes, systems, and programs that enable marketing success.
3.Implement processes and systems that
encourage communication and collaboration. Ensure that Sales and Marketing
communicate about tasks that the two teams perform independently, and
collaborate around tasks that require joint effort.
4.Create a culture that facilitates teamwork.
Start with strong sales and marketing leaders who, through their words and
actions, consistently reinforce a cooperative, customer-focused culture.
Reference to Harvard
Business Review (HBR Blog Network)
