Do you feel like your Sales partners are going rogue and promising features and products that your business can’t deliver… yet? The “Sales for Marketers” cheat sheet will help you frame your marketing impact in a way that Sales teams can understand and appreciate.
Introduction to the Cheat Sheet series
As a marketer, we spend a lot of our time thinking about the customer, the psychology, and the creativity of the campaigns, activations, and initiatives we produce. We’re like artists painting a Picasso or musicians scoring a Mozart. Sometimes, in the midst of our artistry, we forget the science of marketing. We forget to ask ourselves the burning questions that our partners (e.g. Finance, Product, Tech, etc.) like to know:
Why is marketing important? How do you know it’s working? Why should we care?
We used to be able to say “we trust our gut” or “it’s standard” but those days are gone. Now, we need data to support and validate our intuition.
As part of this Cheat Sheet series, we will breakdown some of the most important parts of our partner teams’ jobs and goals so marketers will have a better way of communicating our impact to them as well as be better business partners.
Sales
for Marketers
Role of Sales
Sales team’s remit is to generate revenue for a business [1] by selling products or services to customers. Oftentimes, these teams work with other businesses. This may involve identifying and pursuing potential customers, negotiating prices and terms, and closing sales. Sales teams may also be responsible for maintaining relationships with existing customers, providing support and assistance as needed, and upselling additional products or services. In addition to generating revenue, sales teams may also be responsible for providing feedback and insights to other teams, such as marketing and product development, on customer preferences and trends.
[1] Though the majority of the article is written through the lens of a business, this cheat sheet holds true for non-profit or for-profit organizations.
What does this mean for Marketers?
Marketers and sales teams have a unique relationship in the world of business. While both departments are focused on promoting the company’s products or services and generating revenue, they approach their tasks in different ways.
- Understand from Sales team what customers care about most. Sales teams are working closely with their customers and, like Customer Service teams, will understand what customers’ challenges are with existing products as well as source future needs. Marketers can leverage these insights to adapt their marketing messages and product positioning to address customers needs.
- Build leads through ‘upper funnel’ and let Sales team close. The marketing team can create campaigns and initiatives to generate leads and interest in the company’s products or services, such as email marketing, social media advertising, and content marketing. The sales team can then follow up with these leads and work to convert them into customers. This can help the company to generate more revenue and grow its customer base.
Vocabulary
- Close – To finalize a sale and complete the transaction
- Conversion rate – The percentage of leads or prospects that become paying customers
- Follow-up – The process of maintaining contact with a prospect or customer after the initial sales interaction
- Lead – A potential customer who has expressed interest in a product or service
- Pipeline – The sales process from initial contact with a prospect to closing the sale
- Prospect – A potential customer who is being targeted for a sale
- Qualify – To determine whether a prospect is a good fit for a product or service
- Upsell – To sell additional products or services to an existing customer
- Value proposition – The unique benefit or advantage of a product or service that sets it apart from competitors
Key phrases to say to Sales team
- “What can we do to help you close more deals?” Marketers can provide additional training and support, improving marketing materials and collateral, and providing access to more leads and prospects.
- “How can we improve our marketing materials to support your sales efforts?” Marketers can create more compelling and persuasive messaging, use more engaging and interactive formats, and provide more detailed and comprehensive information about products and services.
- “Can you provide us with feedback on the effectiveness of our campaigns?” Sales teams can provide detailed information on response rates and conversion rates, as well as customer feedback and comments on the relevance and usefulness of marketing materials.
- “What are the key challenges and obstacles that you are facing in the sales process?” Challenges may include lack of interest or engagement from potential customers, difficulty differentiating from competitors, and difficulty persuading customers to make a purchase. Understanding these challenges will help marketers build better branding, value propositions, and messages for Sales teams to leverage.
- “What trends and insights have you observed from working with customers?” Sales team may see changes in customer preferences and behaviors, shifts in market demand and competition, and emerging opportunities and threats.
Related questions
- “How can marketing and sales work together to achieve common goals?” Align strategies and goals, share information and resources, and collaborate on tactics and approaches.
- “What are the key differences between marketing and sales, and how can they complement each other?” Marketing focuses on promoting products and services, while sales focuses on generating revenue through selling. Marketing can support sales by providing compelling messaging and materials, while sales can provide feedback and insights to inform marketing strategies.
- “How can marketing provide support and resources to the sales team to help them close more deals?” Provide training and support, create effective marketing materials, and provide access to leads and prospects.
- “What metrics and data can be used to measure the effectiveness of marketing and sales efforts?” Response rates, conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and revenue generated.
- “How can marketing and sales teams collaborate to develop and implement effective strategies and tactics?” Communicate regularly, share information and insights, and work together to identify and pursue opportunities.
