SALES &

Want to maximise your marketing and sales team’s potential? Make sure you can put a tick against each of  these key areas. 

As cliché as it is, marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin. And, as with many things, having open communication between the two departments is paramount to driving the business forward. A basic understanding will enable you to identify the different pain points each other faces along the customer journey from customer awareness through to conversion - as well as how you can both add value. 

or at least attend each other's meetings.

Reading and resources can’t be beaten when it comes to getting an understanding of the greater picture, but (and it’s important) they can only take you so far. The reality is far more nuanced. Just as you can’t expect to pass your driving test without both theory and practical lessons, the same can be said in business. Formal, informal when it comes to education it all matters and sometimes you can’t beat learning on the job.

One way to overcome this is to provide marketers with protected time to shadow a salesperson in sales meetings and client visits. This new knowledge can then be employed to develop strategies with a sales focus and deliver more value to not only both departments but, ultimately, the customer. 

One of the most important things you can do as a business is for all your departments to have a clear understanding of who your customer is. The BlueOcean strategy canvas provides a concise way to say what you’re good at, why you should win, where you should play and what you should communicate. With a clear and consistent visualisation of who the customer is, it’s easier for each department to know which levers to pull and which are definitely best left well alone.