Shifting Line Between Sales and Marketing

Consider the shift between where sales and marketing start and finish. In the good old days of marketing, it was much more about advertising and the creative, and sales was the face to face interaction between the salesperson and the buyer, however as we all know, the internet has rapidly changed the way we do business.

Historically, the marketing function was responsible the generating leads and finding opportunities, that we're quickly handed to the sales team either informally or in person, or through a sophisticated computer planning system.

Remember there are two core types of sales – transactional such as asking your savvy barista for a piping hot double shot espresso), and complex sales such as buying a high value/risk or significant solution such as buying a house or deciding on a whole new IT solution for your business.

Interestingly, the core principles are the same – you have a product or service, a buyer and a seller. The key element that has changed is the role of marketing, largely due to the increase in internet reach, and the value we place on third party endorsements or testimonials. Think how many of us have done our desktop research and googled our options before we even choose to contact a provider, or how many people have changed their mind about where to stay based on a bad Trip Advisor review.

Have a look at this image. Down the left hand side is the old sales funnel, showing how marketing’s role was only about lead generation. The right hand side outlines how this has shifted, and this isn’t just for digital businesses or things you can buy online.

The important things to remember now are:

• Sales and marketing teams must have aligned strategies, plans and measurement
• Your digital footprint is powerful – make sure every channel is working for you (even ones that aren’t managed by you, especially if people can rank or vote on you there)
• Know your customers and potential customers, and how they’re most likely to engage with us, and how do we streamline that process for them.

And most importantly, remember to monitor it all – know what’s emerging or changing, what’s working and what’s not, and make decisions to continue your growth.