Keep it in the Family, But Separate THEM!

Sales and marketing are two business elements that are often used to mean the same thing. Businesses that lump these two together are wrong. Sorry. You just are. Sales and marketing are two distinctly different animals and must be treated as such.

Marketing is defined as:

The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. It includes the coordination of four elements called the 4 P's of marketing:

(1) identification, selection and development of a product,

(2) determination of its price,

(3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and

(4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy.

Sales is defined as:

The activity or business of selling products or services.

The definitions might have similarities, but the skill sets required are radically different. When I work with businesses on strategy we discuss this in depth. Many times, executive management will lump the two together, with often conflict and lousy consequences as the result. An entrepreneur will often have the ability to create and grow a business without the need to separate these two, but when hiring employees and assigning roles in the organization, lumping these two together creates confusion for the employees involved.

Marketing, as stated above, is a management process. Sales is an activity based upon the marketing strategy. Only sales has a result that puts money in the bank account. You can no better have a marketing genius in charge of your sales team, as you can let the best salesperson control how you market. If you have been in business more than a few months look previous experience with the lack of coordination and mindset of the two. You know what I am talking about, you just may not have realized it until today.

Now to make things a bit more complicated, marketing is often let off the hook when it comes to results. It is easier to judge how well your sales are going. You can see a forecast, assuming you are astute enough to have one. You can track closed business by how much revenue is produced. You can look at profitability, assuming that you burdened your sale appropriately. Marketing is often not held accountable for results in a black and white fashion. Marketing is where the creative people exist, but marketing needs the scientist as well as the creative.

It is absolutely imperative to understand that sales and marketing must be on the same page. They must be woven into the business strategic plan, but each must have a clear set of marching orders and measurable performance indicators that compliment each other. If your marketing plan is working correctly, leads will be generated and cultivated that are pefect for the sales team to close. Sales people will be able to spend more time on the psychology of the sale and working on client decisions, rather than convincing the prospects to buy.

Sales is a service, marketing is a science. Both need to sort for the ideal customers that will ultimately gain with their relationship with your business.

Want to develop a strategic and tactical advantage? Send me an email. dcosta@renegadeconceptsinc.com