Sales and marketing teams should work hand in hand. That’s not always the case though. Sometimes, people in these departments may only communicate through forwarded emails or random Slack messages. When sales and marketing teams don’t stay aligned, everyone feels it — including your clients.
Justin Zappulla, managing partner of Janek Performance Group, says sales and marketing teams should shift from a “support” mindset to a “partnership” model. When both groups come together to create a more symbiotic relationship, you can ultimately get more wins. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share his guidance on how to achieve this kind of collaboration.
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Establish shared goals and KPIs. Sales and marketing need each other, but they often don’t depend on each other in ways that could help them both thrive. Zappulla says it’s important to establish shared goals and KPIs for everyone to be successful. For example, you could measure your lead-to-opportunity rate. A high conversion rate here indicates effective lead generation by marketing and efficient qualification by sales.
Encourage open dialogue. Zappulla recommends working together to create plans but understanding that you may need to go off course sometimes — and that’s OK. The key is to maintain clear, consistent communication between sales and marketing team members.
Use the right technology across teams. There are plenty of great tools out there that support the efforts of both teams. According to Zappulla, when you use technology and data to make informed decisions, performance across sales and marketing can dramatically improve.
Get leadership on board. In business, change almost always comes from the top, he says. It’s up to leadership to effectively communicate the message that sales and marketing have to join together to function as one big team.
Build a strong feedback loop between sales and marketing. This is how you can continue improving. Zappulla recommends thinking about it like this: Marketing paves the way for successful sales. They seed the ground, they’re out in front scouting, doing recon. Sales reps are out in the field, face-to-face and ear-to-ear with customers. They have a great sense of how different target markets need to be communicated with. This is something they can share with marketing creatives, who in turn can tailor collateral to speak to different verticals in ways that are understandable, relevant and effective.
Apply the tips above, like creating shared goals and getting buy-in from leaders, to help your sales and marketing teams get more aligned. When these groups work better together, communication improves and leads move more smoothly.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Justin Zappulla is managing partner of Janek Performance Group.
