The Marketing Mind & The Sales Psyche - Where do you Fit?

As we delve deeper into causes of the divide between sales and marketing, we thought it necessary to take a peek from 30,000ft and define the characteristics of a marketing mind versus a sales psyche.  Our hope is to uncover the similarities, as well as the differences between these two very important roles in an organization.  Here are some of our discoveries. Where do you fit?

____

___________________________________________________________________________________________

What does this mean in terms of the divide? 

We need to appreciate our individual skills sets and use our attributes for the better of the organization; then, we can truly learn who, when and why to nurture. Sales and marketing will no longer act as two disparate minds, but become one cohesive unit. 

Takeaways:

1.     Just because sales and marketing minds may work differently doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t all play in the same sandbox. This means creating open lines of communication between departments, whether it is over coffee, that mandatory Monday meeting, or just stopping by at each other’s desks.

2.     Marketing folks – Don’t think that once you created a list full of possible leads that you are done for the day—to really qualify leads, you need to know what is happening in your targeted companies.  Do your research; we know you are all information seekers. You may deliver less quantity, but we promise you will deliver better, more qualified leads that the Sales team will be satisfied with, and they may even come by to say thank you.

3.     Sales folks –Don’t be lone wolves, let marketing folks join you on a sales visit, so they can really listen to the pain points of your leads and clients and create better targeted messaging. Everyone will benefit from more communication and stronger understandings of what one another contribute to the organization.  www.ilantern.com

Sales & Marketing : Can't We All Just Get Along

I often joke that I spent ten years in sales and sales management and then, depending on the audience, I explain that I went to / or came from the dark side, spending ten years in marketing.  Without fail I always get a good laugh.  Why?   Because of the great divide between sales and marketing.   The question is not whether a gap exists between sales and marketing, but rather, how wide is that gap in your company?

______________________________________________________________________________________

Why does the gap exist?  No two organizations are more aligned on the surface than sales and marketing.  But, scratch just one or two layers below the surface and the issues become painfully clear.  The issues stem from myriad places: misaligned goals, dependencies, basic personality differences, compensation differences, action horizon, and a slew of many other reasons.

______________________________________________________________________________________

In recent years, it appears that both technology and process improvements have aligned sales and marketing to be closer than ever.  But, the tension seems higher than ever.  CRM’s visibility highlights the dichotomy in the distinction between how a salesperson understands a qualified lead and how a marketing person understands a qualified lead, and provides each side with the data to support their cause.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Sound Familiar?

Marketing: “Are you kidding me? I gave you 100 valuable and QUALIFIED leads; what did you do with any of them?”

Sales: “Qualified leads? Check out Lead #109.  All he did was download a whitepaper and he’s not even in my territory.”

______________________________________________________________________________________

When technology does not add relevant information that further qualifies the lead, then we simply speed up and fuel the moment of contention. 

______________________________________________________________________________________

Stay tuned for future posts where we discuss strategies and tactics to help diminish the divide between your sales and marketing teams.  

www.ilantern.com

Prospecting: Just Another Broken New Year’s Resolution?

I belong to several blogs and groups within Linkedin that focus on selling.  When discussing cold calling and prospecting, there is overwhelming suggestions for best practices. 

Responses range from “Old School” approaches of smiling / dialing, to newer trigger based prospecting techniques.  The central theme:  Prospecting is a necessity to consistent sales performance.

What is concerning was when asked for metrics and measurements to manage the requisite amount of prospecting occurs, the silence was deafening. 

This experience left me with the impression that prospecting is similar to a common New Year’s resolution for becoming healthier.  Sales people know prospecting is a key to success.  Each year many plan to start “going to the gym” and prospect on a regular basis. However, much the same as many “healthy” New Year’s resolutions, the prospecting gym card goes underutilized.

So what plans / measurements do you have in place for yourself / sales team to prospect?