Sales and Marketing are like Batman and Superman. They might have their differences, but they need to work together to achieve an overarching goal.
In this case, the goal is to get more leads, and ultimately more sales. By aligning the two, each department can provide the other with insightful information, and increase sales considerably. Seems like a foolproof strategy, right? According to Forrester, fewer than one in ten companies say they have tight alignment between sales and marketing. Not everyone has achieved the elusive harmony between the two departments – but with a little communication – they could be working side by side fighting the greater evil.
Here’s how to get your sales and marketing team to join forces and achieve greater results:
- Get everyone on the same page
In order for the two departments to function to their best abilities, they need to work with each other rather than against. They need to embrace ‘Smarketing’. Firstly, you need to have an established view of your prospect and buyer profiles. Get the leaders from your sales and marketing together to compare their prospect profiles and make sure there isn’t a mismatch. You should also outline how you’re going to deliver leads from marketing to sales, and determine when a lead is qualified or ready to be passed to sales. If both departments agree what qualifies as a sales-ready lead, you can close the sales-marketing loop and win more sales.
- Outline service-level agreements (SLA)
Clearly defined goals and metrics will make it easier for marketing and sales to work together and hold both sides accountable for their commitments. Using performance metrics like specific numbers, percentages and timeframes within the agreement, will make it easier to measure performance. SLAs will help you keep track of leads and evaluate the performance of both teams. Keep your SLAs clear and simple, and re-evaluate them on a regular basis in order to keep up with performance and to ensure both departments are reaching their established goals.
- Measure, analyse and learn from the data
Measure the quality of leads coming in and the performance of each department at every stage of the funnel. Have both marketing and sales rate the leads, and then get the senior staff members to reconcile them. You can measure and analyse how many leads sales contacted and engaged with, and if this number reaches your goal. Share this data with sales and marketing, so you can easily determine what is and isn’t working, or which areas you can improve on.
- Communicate
Like we mentioned earlier, communication is paramount. Frequent and direct communication is important to make sure everyone is on the same page. It’s important to discuss what needs improvement and whether changes need to be made to the SLA, and any other updates. Have marketers met with the sales team or joined their meetings at least once a month? According to SiriusDecisions, “B2B organisations with tightly aligned sales and marketing operations achieved 24% faster three-year revenue growth” – so it’s important to have a good relationship.
Even though sales and marketing have different functions, they have common goals and a symbiotic relationship is necessary in order to achieve them. If you want to know more about aligning marketing and sales, download our helpful guide.
