How Sales and Marketing Can Find Harmony and Drive Growth

Sales and marketing are often thought of as an oil and water mixture: two necessary components that don’t work well together. Why is that so often the case? Typically, it’s because these two critical departments are misaligned.

Misalignment is actually quite costly for businesses. In fact, according to LinkedIn, sales and marketing misalignment is a $1 trillion problem spanning multiple industries and business sizes.

Converting leads is hard enough as is, much less when two of the most important departments within the company aren’t coordinated and working together. The data proves it, too. HubSpot reported that leads fostered by a company with solid sales and marketing alignment spent nearly 50% more than those left alone in making their buying decisions; HubSpot also shared that companies with sales and marketing alignment reported 27% faster profit growth and 36% higher customer retention. Furthermore, these same companies shared that they met their revenue goals, and 19% actually exceeded them.

So, how can we bring these two departments together? Here are three steps to help sales and marketing find harmony and drive long- and short-term growth.

Step 1: Create Communication

Communication is key for any relationship, and that especially holds true when it comes to sales and marketing. Bring these two departments together regularly so that they can learn from each other. This will not only help them find (and hopefully fix) any gaps in the company’s processes, but also gain a better perspective on what each other needs and how they can work together to achieve company goals.

Step 2: Share Knowledge

The old saying rings true: Two heads are better than one. This significantly applies to sales and marketing when it comes to sharing information. Marketing efforts in general require consistent review, and customer feedback provided by sales is incredibly valuable for the marketing department to have when doing so. On the flip side, if the marketing department has information on prospective buyers, it’s beneficial to the sales team to get that info in hand before meeting with their prospects.

Step 3: Set Goals

Part of unifying sales and marketing is coming together around specific key metrics. Together, the two departments should set specific goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) so that they both have a defined (and shared) end goal.

In conclusion, sales and marketing are at their best (and at their most profitable) when they are working together, not against each other. Ready to unify your team and show them how to be better together? Learn more here.