Sales and Marketing Alignement

Sales and marketing alignment can be easy. The content on this page will help you with ideas about how to align your sales and marketing teams to achieve more success.

Why Can’t Sales and Marketing Get Along?

It’s common to hear people say, “I’m a sales guy, why do I need to know about marketing.”  Or a person who works in marketing say, “I don’t want to sell, I’m in marketing.” Huh?

They’re both missing the forest because of the trees. The best salespeople I know understand marketing. And vice-versa. Above all, job one for both of them is growing revenue!

Here’s a great book about sales and marketing alignment by Tracy Eiler and Andrea Austin called “Aligned to Achieve: How to Unite Your Sales and Marketing Teams into a Single Force for Growth.” (Affiliate Link)

A Quick Story About How I Shifted to Seeking Sales and Marketing Alignment

An Unexpected Ride-Along WIth an Executive That Altered My Career and Life

After two-and-a-half years as a field sales rep selling medical devices for Ophthalmology, the company VP of Sales and Marketing came and rode with me for a week. It was one of the most exciting weeks of my career.

During the week, Sam and I spent all our days and evenings together. He asked me many challenging questions about why I did certain things and what I wanted to pursue in my career. He seemed genuinely curious about my answers.

Getting Sold on Why I Might Want to Learn About Marketing 

When I dropped him at the airport on Friday afternoon, he turned to me before he got out of the car and said something I didn’t expect. Sam said, “Please pack your bags, Joel, we’re moving you and your family to the corporate office in St. Louis, and you’re going to become a Marketing Product Manager.”

He went on to say that I’d learn about running a business and marketing and take a significant pay cut for a couple of years. I was too young and excited to say anything but, “Yes,” and I’m grateful for him and whatever made me respond the way I did.

I wrote another story about how Sam helped me here.

Sales and Marketing Bicker About Nothing.

When I moved from Sales to Marketing, I was stunned by how Marketing people often spoke derisively of Sales. I knew how, at sales meetings, people criticized Marketing. These attitudes always seemed wrong to me because we both want the same thing - more profitable revenue.

Why? Because more profitable revenue pays commissions for Sales and bonuses for Marketing. Why do we fight and back-stab when we want the same things?

Is Sales From Venus and Marketing From Mars?

I know that Sales Reps aren’t lazy (Well, some are - but they don’t last), and Marketing teams do a lot more than plan parties and spend money. And the Aberdeen Group showed in a study in 2019 that companies with Sales and Marketing alignment, teams grow 28% faster than their peers!

If that’s what we all want, maybe learning to speak each other’s language is a smart place to start? It worked for me, and I know it can do for you, too!

In Conclusion

Look, I know how you feel because I’ve walked miles in your shoes. What’s exciting is that together we can explore new ways to use the skills we have and combine them with new marketing skills. I’ll teach you to create a brighter future for yourself in your businesses.

That’s what I’m going to write about on this sales and marketing alignment page. So if you’re into that, stop back often. And leave a comment below about your favorite productivity tools and how they’ve changed your work.

If you’d like a free pdf that I put together about how to make your customers and prospects feel special, fill out the form below. Or, if you’d like to schedule a time to discuss something you’re working on, email me at Joel@makemarketingeasy.com.

Good luck and good marketing and selling!