The Sales Team and the Marketing Team Don't Have to be Polar Opposites
It really seems crazy...kind of counterintuitive...but in many companies, the sales department and the marketing department are not on the same page.
"The marketing department invites the sales department in once a year to hear what we think," says a sales client. "And then they do their thing and we do ours. We really don't know what they will be advertising until we hear it on the street."
I ask, "Well, if you're on the front line with customers, how do you relay the firsthand information about what they want and need? Seems marketing would eat that up!" Or not.
It's logical that sales and marketing would work together. Most often it just doesn't happen. And then, again, when it does, success speaks for itself.
My marketing friend told me, "When sales gets a lead, they share that prospect's needs with marketing and we communicate with that prospect while the sales person is opening the next door." This person's company uses CRM technology effectively to capture information and target market. The result: increased sales!