A fine tuned sales and marketing team is an essential step towards achieving growth in your business. Traditionally, sales and marketing has been viewed as two separate departments; each believing they can do each other’s job better.

At Envisager Studio, we believe that while their daily functions are concentrated on different parts of the customer relationship, operating as a single unit could be more beneficial to the success of your business. Their relationship is inescapably interconnected, and some would insist that one or the other define what it means to do business.

The developing relationship between sales and marketing

Marketing fosters leads, establishes and builds relationships with prospects through numerous types of strategies. Some of these strategies may include promoting through direct mail, newsletters, trade fairs, and of course internet marketing. Some people assume internet marketing is a dated term or that it means the same as digital marketing. Neither assumption is correct. Given that the most of digital marketing activities fall within the area of internet marketing, internet marketing is actually a subset of digital marketing. Internet marketing includes content marketing, mobile marketing, search engine marketing, email marketing, etc.

Marketing communicates with potential customers offering them incentives and information about their products and their company through advertising campaigns and promotions. To ensure people return, marketing nurture leads through cycles. While getting the sale is important, people must stay interested in order to feel compelled to know about the company’s additional offerings. A good marketing team keeps people interested.

After the prospect has entered into the buying phase, marketing gives them over to sales to close the deal.

The sales team work hard to perfect a sales pitch that ensures the customer progresses from being interested in their company, product, or service to signing on the dotted line and paying for a product or service. The salesperson assists the customer by presenting them with products and/or services that meet their specific requirements. Employing additional methods such as face-to-face or cold calling, salespeople can turn a lead into a confirmed sale. To ensure the success of a business, knowledgeable salespeople are vital.

Importance of sales and marketing working together

With all the information readily available now on the Internet, potential customers are already armed with the ‘facts’ – even if they’re sometimes wrong. In previous years, the sales process was more about educating the prospect about a solution to their problem. The thing is, now that the prospect is already armed with a plethora of information, the salesperson will be asked questions instead of the other way around. So not only do salespeople have to be experts on the features and workings of their product or services, it’s a bit more difficult to convey just how those things tackle the customer’s problem.

The situation is worsen when sales and marketing duties overlap and it causes confusion and discord among the two groups. It’s imperative that these two departments work together effectively. Marketing is extending the lead hold and focused on forming long-term relationships with customers before giving them to the sales team.

By extending the lead hold, Marketing is helping to improve sales intelligence, and arming sales reps with the information they need to keep their conversations focused on the customer’s needs. This in turn reduces the number of warm leads for the sales team, thus advancing the closing process which makes it easier for an effective sales team to generate revenue.

Wrapping up

Sometimes, all a prospect wants is assurance they’re making the right decision. Sometimes, they just want someone who is knowledgeable and understands their problem and can help them make the right decision. What they don’t want is to feel they have to settle a squabble between two departments. If your company promotes Sales and Marketing working together or if they don’t, let us know on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog if you found this article helpful.

Hazel Burgess

Hazel Burgess
FOUNDER/SEO DIRECTOR

Hazel is the Founder & SEO Director at Envisager Studio, a premier website design agency specializing in WordPress website design, development and internet marketing. In her spare time, she writes about search engine optimization, website design, and internet marketing.