Peter and I started this Bridging the Sales and Marketing Divide series a few weeks ago to get to the bottom of the persistent misalignment between sales and marketing teams and come up with some actionable steps to stop it from happening.
Over the past three episodes, we’ve explored critical gaps: disconnected messaging, poor lead management, and collateral that’s not suited to the needs of the sales team. We’ve also established without a doubt that both sales and marketing play pivotal roles in an organization’s success. Magic happens when the two are aligned and working together.
In this final episode (at least for now), we reflect on some takeaways from our discussions and dive into how you can foster better collaboration to drive results.
Revenue is the goal for sales AND marketing
Setting common goals is crucial to overcoming all the challenges we’ve discussed. And the one goal sales and marketing teams should both be laser-focused on is generating revenue for the business. With agreement on that — and what the targets are — alignment should be much more achievable.
Clear expectations are crucial
Leaders must set clear expectations and connect the dots to show how each team member contributes to the revenue goal and overall sales/marketing effectiveness. Ownership of key tasks need to be assigned to specific team members with clear milestones to track progress.
Communication and collaboration go hand in hand
Part of the reason clear ownership of tasks and responsibilities matters is that it facilitates collaboration. When teams know who’s working toward what, they can more easily see ways to support, contribute and benefit from those activities. This includes specific initiatives such as lead management, messaging and collateral development. It’s important for these agreements themselves to be collaborative — they can’t be top down. And once established they need to be communicated throughout the sales and marketing teams. This ensures every team member knows who to turn to for specific needs.
Feedback should always be constructive
Regular team meetings can ensure sales shares feedback with marketing and give marketing the opportunity to communicate what’s next. Building trust and clarity through less formal interactions — events, social outings and travel — can significantly enhance the effectiveness of sales and marketing collaboration. Make sure these are encouraged and not prevented.
Small steps lead to big changes
The journey to bridging the sales and marketing divide starts with small steps. Whether implementing one new practice or refining an existing process, these incremental changes can lead to significant improvements over time. The key is to act and continuously work towards better alignment and collaboration.
If you missed any of the episodes, you can watch them here. And if you’re having challenges aligning your teams — or have insights to share — reach out to Peter or me. We’re eager to continue the dialogue and help you tackle your biggest challenges. The conversation doesn’t have to end here. The way we see it, it’s just beginning.
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