Integrating Sales and Marketing Functions

Traditionally, marketing and sales differ from each other although both have the same important goal that is to achieve a positive bottom line – profit.  These two groups perform independently and are preoccupied with their respective agendas.  Each seems not to care much on what the other is doing until a problem arises.

Often, a blame game between the two erupts when the business is not able to achieve their goals.  The sales team usually points their fingers at marketing for giving them bad leads and spending too much of their huge budget.  Marketing on the other hand, blames sales for its poor performance of losing opportunities to get business deals with target customers.  Each group tends to defend its respective position and more often, don’t appreciate the contributions of each other.  This disconnection between marketing and sales departments greatly affects the overall performance and fiscal health of the business.

Can marketing and sales integrate?

Definitely! The fact that sales and marketing have the same ultimate corporate or business goal they wish to achieve means that they can align themselves and work together towards attaining that common goal. This is the challenge faced by top management people although as early as 1950s, some big corporations began to align their sales and marketing departments.  Many businesses today, irrespective of their size, are still having this management challenge on how to align or integrate sales and marketing functions.

These two functions are important in every business operation.  One cannot exist without the other.  Without marketing, you’ll not be able to get leads. Absent of sales functions, you will not be able to conclude a business deal with a customer.  Clearly, these two are equally important.

How to integrate sales and marketing?

Integrating marketing and sales function may vary depending on the size of the organization.  It is easier for a smaller company to do this, but it might be complicated when it comes to big companies.

Basically, to integrate these two functions, we need to work on the following.

1. Enhancing the relationship among people in these two groups or departments by encouraging open communication. Sales and marketing should understand or agree on the terminologies to be used.
2. Defining the stages of the marketing and sales funnel.  Some will simply call it a marketing funnel. It’s better to call it marketing and sales funnel. Define “who will do what” for every activity in every stage of the marketing and sales funnel.
3. Conducting regular meetings for feedback session and goal setting. Once the two groups agree on its goal/s, frictions will become less.
4. Using the appropriate technology.  Lots of marketing automation solutions integrated the CRM software are available in the market today.  Train your marketing and sales people on the software you use.  This will make marketing and sales functions a lot easier.

Hubspot in their article How to Align Sales and Marketing for Results (Not Just Harmony) invented the term “smarketing” which refers to the alignment and connection between sales and marketing. They argue there needs to be a culture change in organisations. Reengineering the relationship and integrating sales and marketing functions will produce substantial improvements in the overall business performance.

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Daniel Lesser

Inbound Marketing Consultant | Gold Web Traffic 

e daniel@goldwebtraffic.com t +44 (0)1273 810292 +44 (0)7920 221607  w goldwebtraffic.com

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