For years, marketing and sales teams could literally represent the ultimate dysfunctional family. Interestingly enough, these teams not only don’t speak with one another, they rarely collaborate to foster the same revenue goals.
Not all businesses suffer from these two teams having a contentious relationship. However, the fact presents itself that for many businesses these two groups do not communicate enough. It’s an illness that many advertising agencies experience on a daily basis as they go about facilitating the execution of communication messages on behalf of their clients.
How can one seamlessly integrate these two teams in order to foster a cohesive approach to meeting revenue goals? This is not an impossible task! It just require a few ground rules (processes) to put into place.
Process, Process, Process
While this may seem redundant, we all know that having a plan of attack in place beats no plan at all.
Start with alignment of processes and who does what and when they do it. Provide a clear line of roles and responsibilities. This includes setting up a system (automation) of sharing information.
Target Audience
Target audiences (potential buyers) should be the same for both teams. It doesn’t make sense to be at odds on this point because it is easy enough to tier the prospects based on how much they generate.
Content
Content is king. Therefore, the two teams should be able to collaborate on the right content messages based on specific audience insights.
When developing the content strategy factor in what works well from both a sales and marketing point of view.
Metrics
How do you quantify and measure the lead obtained? These should be established and agreed to upfront and not on the back-end of the process.
Implementing measurements at the back-up doesn’t allow you to clearly see what worked and if you reached the right prospect. If the teams can’t agree on who manages the lead, maybe it’s time to let technology handle that for you.
Set up times to review and enhance your processes. This includes pre-planned times for marketing and sales teams to meet and discuss successes and even disappointments. Some of these planned meetings can take the form of off-site meetings that combine a bit of fun for team building! Ultimately, this should foster better communication and a unified approach to meeting revenue goals.
Adele Lassere is a marketing/advertising consultant with 20+ years experience, freelance writer and author of “Elements of Buying” (a self-help advertising guide), available at Amazon.com. Adele was listed as Black Enterprise’s 2011 Top Execs in Marketing & Advertising and Black Enterprise’s 2013 Top Women Executives in Advertising & Marketing. Contact: [email protected]
