The Sales and Marketing Relationship

By Rivers Corbett

Sales and marketing, two parts of business that are so different yet need to be connected to each other and some point or end. Sales people and marketing people are always in different worlds, it's like the jocks and the nerds (I wont say which is which, that's up to you). The school isn't going to be complete without either one missing and your business won't be either.

The job of the marketing people is seen as serious and analytical, they are the people always talking amongst each other, planning and playing with statistics and campaigns. Marketing is the path taken to get to the customers. There are many activities involved in marketing; cold canvassing, brand or corporate advertising, or more targeted types of marketing like direct response advertising and referrals. This is where the particular benefits of the product is explained to the customers. So all these different kinds of marketing are what get to the people, and these people are your leads. Leads are the connection between sales and marketing. Without leads, there is no connection, sales and marketing will never meet and business won't work out.

The sales people now are always on the run, going here and there, on the phone with customers or meeting them somewhere, always trying to grab some big deal that's going to bring the company to greater heights. What get's them moving is the leads they acquire from marketing. Now this doesn't mean sales is under marketing and is less important or is the department that needs a smaller budget. Marketing has no purpose with sales and sales can't occur without marketing. Both need to work together in order to reach maximum advantage.

This all looks so simple, but the bumps occur at the same place where sales and marketing meet. Leads are not all the same, you have good and bad leads. Depending on the leads, sometimes the marketing or the sales approach needs to be different. That's why sales and marketing departments or people always need to be in constant contact with each other. The more you understand the way the other team is working, the more you can use the knowledge to your advantage when getting to the lead.

Following up is an essential part of sales and marketing as well. It can be following up on a potential lead or following up on a previous customer, the communication should not stop after one transaction, it's a continuous process that requires sales and marketing to always be working hand in hand. Here's to your Success!

PS...Award Winning Global Entrepreneur, Rivers Corbett offers entrepreneurs an insight into what prevents most entrepreneurs from experiencing success. Rivers series 13 Fears of an Entrepreneur is must knowledge for any entrepreneur wanting to succeed at any level in business. Click on http://www.DiscoverTheKnowledge.com for more information and also receive his FREE gift of what started him on his global entrepreneurial journey.