For any business to succeed, sales and marketing need to work well together. But too often, they don’t see eye to eye. They don’t share knowledge. They use different tools. They track different data and metrics. These disconnects can cause all kinds of headaches — not just lost leads and revenue, but also lots of wasted time and frustration.
“We’re not getting the leads we need,”
reports the sales team.
“Nobody’s following through on our leads,”
declares marketing.
That’s why it’s essential to create better alignment between sales and marketing. The effort can drive business growth, maximize revenue and help both teams collaborate and feel more engaged every day.
87%
According to LinkedIn, 87% of sales and marketing leaders say collaboration between sales and marketing enables critical business growth.
Here are three best practices to foster greater sales + marketing alignment.
1
Open the Lines of Communication.
Sales teams are much closer to the day-to-day conversations with customers. They’re the ones fielding customers’ questions and hearing about challenges firsthand. This knowledge is powerful for marketing…if it gets shared.
To develop compelling marketing content — the kind that attracts and engages strong prospects – communication and collaboration are critical. It’s a two-way street that pairs sales’ insights and real-time feedback with marketing’s skill and creativity. From educational resources that enhance product knowledge to customer success stories and thought leadership pieces, easy-to-digest content that addresses customer needs head on will drive sales conversations forward.
Marketers can play a pivotal role in driving overall sales success if the lines of communication between marketing and sales are open.
2
Integrate Your CRM and Marketing Automation.
Turning prospects into customers, and customers into loyal fans, is an ongoing, cross-functional process. Just as sales and marketing teams need to collaborate, their technology platforms need to work together, too.
Consider your customer relationship management software (CRM) and marketing automation platform. When you use these two technologies in tandem, sharing information and insights across the platforms, you gain a full picture of the customer journey while creating a more streamlined process and a more seamless experience for customers.
As a result, not only are sales teams able to identify qualified leads more effectively – allowing them to engage and follow up with potential customers – but they can also provide insights into what topics gain the most engagement. In turn, that helps marketing create more informed, effective campaigns moving forward.
Integrating CRM and marketing automation software can help:
- Provide better visibility to sales and marketing teams
- Shorten the sales process
- Provide consistent messaging
- Unify metrics and data management
Combining your CRM and marketing automation creates the ultimate powerhouse of marketing and sales technology – delivering actionable insights to further drive real, measurable results.
3
Use Data to Fuel Evolution and Strategy.
Improving communication and integrating technologies between sales and marketing unlocks a third advantage: the ability to leverage extensive data to inform and support both teams’ efforts.
From search to social media to email campaigns, today’s digital world is full of data about prospects and customers. But which metrics are important to your business? Well aligned sales and marketing teams help you focus on the data that matters.
When you share the same goals, aggregating CRM and marketing automation data sheds light on what’s working and what isn’t. It helps uncover gaps and new opportunities. It’s a powerful feedback loop for continuous improvement.
Lead scoring is a good example. CRM data helps define the criteria for a warm lead. Marketing automation data helps track what it takes to get there. Together, sales and marketing can keep using the data to make lead scoring more efficient and effective.
Bottom Line
The key to success is understanding that sales and marketing are complementary – not competitive. When you align on goals and marketing strategy, foster strong communication, integrate technologies, and harness data together, you’ll overcome finger pointing and excuses. Instead you’ll unite, engage and empower both teams to drive more revenue, growth and customer satisfaction.
Trefoil Group: A Partner Committed to Your Success
At Trefoil Group, our goal is to create digital marketing strategies that help you cultivate your database, engage your prospects and customers, and turn interest into acquisition. By approaching marketing holistically – from building strong brand foundations to designing and executing multi-channel marketing plans, we unleash the power of marketing to accelerate business performance. Contact us to learn more.
