Where would sales be without marketing, and vice versa? After all, one would have little to do without the other. You would think that these two would go together hand-in-hand like bread and butter, but more often the opposite is true. The sales team may be complaining that the marketing department isn’t giving them enough information to go on while the marketers are arguing that sales is under-performing.
If these two vitally important cogs in the wheel aren’t running smoothly, it can mean big trouble for small business. How can we successfully bridge the communications gap between marketing and sales teams before we all drive off a cliff? More importantly, how can we get our marketers to be better overall communicators?
Don’t assume that they will stop and listen
Salespeople are always on the run and are often on the road. Forget old school methods of getting your message out and dump things like newsletters that are often overlooked. Think mobile, step into the twenty first century and send out podcasts, and voicemail newscasts that are brief, but informative. Share news summaries with a strong component of entertainment, tell customer success stories and give online training and boost morale. Sales teams are always pressed for time, so once you get their attention, keep it brief — no more than five to ten minutes (twenty at most)!
Kickstart your communications
Before you start your car, you need your keys, gas in the tank, oil in the engine, your driver’s license in hand, current registration, all of these and more before you can head down the road. Salespeople often must navigate complex situations and they won’t be prepared without all the proper tools in place. Make sure marketing has a strategic plan to help drive sales efficiency. In addition to having clear communications, there must be strong product knowledge, intense training and support.
Drive your brand
Your company brand is synonymous with your reputation and it is easier to sell something that people believe in, something that they trust, rather than some unknown product or service. Many experts believe that good organizational communication that comes from within is one of the many valuable keys to developing a world class brand. After common branding strategies have already been utilized, excellent customer service, authenticity and integrity, keep your hands on the wheel with effective internal communication.
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King of the Road
If you were a young, up-and-coming racecar driver, you wouldn’t ask for advice from just anyone on the road, you would seek out a champion, an Indianapolis 500 winner or professional from the Nascar circuit. If your marketing team wanted some big ideas on content marketing for example, they might turn to someone like John Rampton.
A true connector and effective communicator, John is the managing editor of the marketing news site Search Engine Journal and founder of Adogy, a company specializing in helping startups. Excited about his work, Mr. Rampton exemplifies the spirit of a true champion in his seminars and PR summits. This is exactly the type of model that your sales and marketing teams should strive to emulate.
So don’t run off the road with poor communications, get everyone on board and drive your sales and marketing teams to success.
