Last updated on May 15th, 2016 at 09:01 am
Can Sales and Marketing Live in Harmony?
BtoB marketing and sales … are they from the same solar system?
We asked those questions at an interactive evening with Toronto’s top BtoB practitioners. Presented by Edelman Toronto’s Rob Manne and moderated by veteran BtoB marketer Elizabeth Williams, we discussed what marketing can learn from sales, what sales can learn from marketing, and why inter-departmental tension and may even lead to a better understanding of how our products and clients work.
Key differences in the cultures of sales people and marketers were highlighted to illustrate just how the two groups might live in harmony and orbit the same sun:
· Sales and marketing agree on a key point about lead follow-up. Only 5% of marketers believe that sales is doing a good job of following up on the leads they provide. Only 6% of sales people say that they follow up on leads provided by marketing.
· The relationship between product and sales, product and marketing, often depends on company structure. In small companies sales and marketing are forced to work together and, mostly, they do. Some large companies put sales and marketing together with cubicles interspersed so that conversations will be overheard and
· Marketing people hate the word “no,” it makes them retreat. Sales people are just getting started when they hear it. To sales people, “no” is an invitation to dance.
The first #BtoBPOV event inspired conversation and analysis both at the event and on Twitter. Stay tuned for registration information about future sessions that will look at other aspects of BtoB marketing, sales, research, client relationships, and creative.
