Sales and marketing: Why they should work more closely

Traditionally, there has always been a divide between the sales and marketing functions of an organisation. Sometimes these are because of ideological reasons and sometimes they are a result of personality clashes – and other times, no one is entirely sure what the divide is, other than that it exists and overtly so! But with the world changing and routes to markets converging, it’s imperative that sales and marketing (and arguably, sales, marketing, PR and communications) all work far more closely together, as integrated functions with the same over-arching objectives.

Learning from Other Cross-Functional Departments

It wouldn’t be the first time that two different functions have learned to work together in organisations. Look at product designers, who have learned to work with manufacturing and production at the start of the creative process. They understand the constraints, possibilities and opportunities around the practicalities of production and use them to help refine their design ideas. Working means less time and effort is wasted and leads to increased value for the end customer.

Time to Move On

Sales and marketing teams have the same opportunity. It’s time to move away from the blame game – where marketing blames sales for poorly executing its strategic plans and sales blames marketing for poor pricing or other decisions in the marketing mix which make the product difficult to sell. All too often, the two functions fail to notice each other’s strengths and focus on the negatives. The source of this strife is often found to be both economic and cultural. In the current climate, the economic argument can become all the more compelling. When both departments are competing for budget, marketing believe that they require the most in order to execute planned campaigns to acquire and retain customers and sales feel that investment in their front-line sales people would be the wiser move.

The Impact of Not Changing

Such divisions damage the company. Departments that are out of sync waste time, energy and resources. Time spent warring with each other also saps creativity, spark and passion and encourages talent to leave. With business facing more challenges than ever, there’s an imperative to shake up old ways of doing things and embrace new approaches. This is one of those new opportunities that cannot be ignored.

The Potential

Conversely, for organisations that get it right, the benefits are considerable – the cost of sales becomes lower as market-entry costs decrease. Sales can have a view of when marketing should be producing communications and promotional activities and shore up their resources to capitalise on them. Each function can listen to the viewpoint of the other and act accordingly and cohesively.

There are also cultural advantages. Marketers tend to be data driven and analytical. Usually more formally educated, they will be project focused and ruthless about cutting projects which fail to perform. To sales people, however, this analysis and performance doesn’t look like genuine action, as it takes place in the office. Sales people spend their time talking and engaging with customers.

They’re skilled at building relationship and live for sales. Managed well, the two different approaches can learn to co-exist and the organisation can reap the benefits of both. For example, sales reminds the business of the importance of actions, achievement and targets every day. Marketing reminds the business of the longer-term objectives and how to gain competitive advantage.

Finally, economic advantages may be possible. A joined-up team may be able to shed duplicate support functions to free up budget. Closer working on cross-functional projects means quicker outcomes and lower costs. Clearer decision making and a shared view reduces squabbling over budgets and helps to create one single plan.

How to Manage the Two Together

It’s clear that there are potential benefits to be realised by integrating the two teams. Firstly, education is crucial. Sales and marketing teams tend not to understand what the other does. So put cross-functional groups in place to work on proactive, positive activities, such as planning for a series of trade shows, rather than leaving meetings for conflict-resolution situations. Get both teams together on joint training and planning, so they begin to integrate naturally. Consider sharing structures, rewards and management systems as well. There will be fewer boundaries and staff across the teams will begin to cross-skill and become more rounded. A shared budget can also help greatly and will slowly build a shared mentality.

Improved communication is also critical, as are controls and processes that involve people from both teams. For example, it can be agreed that marketing material will not go to print until the sales representative has signed it off. Also, you could move the teams physically together, so they interact and communicate naturally within the office. Management will certainly be key in implementing the changes and helping to build a cohesive, high-performing culture where the customer remains at the heart of all business activity, rather than internal divisions.

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