Over the last few weeks discussing the difference between sales and marketing seems to be quite a hot topic of conversation amongst my small business community. Many small business owners have the ambition to grow and it is particularly front of mind as we start to consider the 2025 marketing planning cycle. During a recent LinkedIn poll I conducted 52% of respondents plan for the year ahead in November and December. So with this in mind I thought I would explore how these two disciplines work together. The very simple answer to this question is that marketing creates interest in a product or service, whilst sales is the process of making the sale and converting.
For your sales and marketing teams to work well together, there are definitely some key overarching elements that need to be agreed on by both departments. Communication is key to ensure both teams needs are being met and heard, otherwise sometimes there is a tendency for them to take different directions. Whilst the perspectives may be different they both take the lead from the following:
Goal setting
Agree on and set SMART (Specific Measured Achievable Relevant and Timed) business objectives for the year ahead. Each team may interpret this differently but they both need to work towards the same target. For example, an organisation may have the objective of driving £1m revenue in 2025. Both teams will then adapt this goal for their discipline to help the organisation work towards it. Marketing may look at their conversion levels and realise they need to connect with 500k of their customers via their email and social media campaigns. Sales may then need to make 100 calls or connections to make this happen.
Defining the target audience
By being clear on who they are and the pain points each product or service solves and the benefits will ensure that the marketing focus and the sales follow up messaging are aligned. It would be ineffective if they were working in different directions and focusing on different audiences. Consideration should be given to both existing and new clients as it is likely the approach will be different.
Communication
By using a CRM system this can help to improve the communication between the two teams. Using a really simple example, the marketing team might send out a monthly newsletter including details of a new product or service. This would be recorded in the CRM system so that the sales team can see what communications their potential prospect clients have received. This gives them a reason to then reach out and start the conversation with their clients, ideally converting to a sale.
The marketing strategy
The role of marketing is to generate awareness amongst the target audience and encourage them to connect with a brand to find out more. In today’s digital world there are many ways that we can do that, often with really accurate tracking metrics. Routes to market may include: social media, email marketing, content generation, advertising, PR and digital marketing techniques. We would use the 4Ps (or the new 7Ps) of marketing to help us set our strategy. The 4Ps encourage us to consider:
- The Product/ service: What are you going to sell? To which audience?
- Price: Define your pricing strategy.
- Place: Define the best way to get in front of your customer, consider the best type of website to create or if a physical shop front is required, the best location.
- Promotion: This is where you define your marketing plan and campaign timings to help you best connect with your ideal client.
In January we explored the 7Ps of marketing theory further, it has actually expanded over recent years and in consideration of the development of the service sector to include additional elements. So now instead of the 4Ps it is now the 7Ps of marketing. Click HERE to read our article “Using the 7Ps of Marketing to Plan For 2024”.
The sales strategy
Once we have created interest in a product or service, the sales team would then pick up the conversation. There are many sales methods to choose from, it is important to select an approach that works for your business. As with all good sales processes it starts by building a relationship and the marketing activity will help to achieve this. SPIN is a simple model created by Neil Rackham in 1988 which would be a good place to start for small business owners. Of course, if the business is bigger or the process more complex there may be additional steps that need to be added.
- Situation: Gather information about the client’s situation, it is important to complete your research and be prepared during this phase.
- Problem Questions: Understand the challenges and pain points the target audience faces.
- Implication Questions: Discuss why those challenges need to be solved and define the priority.
- Need Pay-off Questions: Present options as to how your product or service may be able to help and the best option to help them overcome their challenge.
To read a great article from Hubspot that explores this model further, click HERE. We work closely with several freelance sales consultants, if you would like some help in reviewing your sales and marketing approach as we head into 2025, please get in touch.
