vickioneill

From this episode:

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What would happen if you did away with your marketing and sales teams altogether? 

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For the record, not the people or responsibilities - just the titles, pre-conceived notions of what the other team does or doesn't do and created a "customer journey team" that focuses on what's most important: the customer experience.

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I review 3 examples of different "shades of gray" scenarios:

1. eCommerce like Amazon where there aren't sales people to work with on the B2C side (there are on the AWS and cloud computing side of the business)

2. Car dealerships where there is a strong delineation of marketing and sales teams

3. Entrepreneurs and small business owners who wear multiple hats, often times more than one at the same time
    

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3 take aways:

1. Even if your business is KILLING IT, does this marketing and alignment conversation make you stop and wonder "But could we be doing better?"

2. If you are starting out and wearing both hats, carry that expectation through as your business grows and you hire a team

3. If you have separate marketing and sales departments like a lot of businesses do, take that first step at scheduling a meeting with your counterpart to start evaluating the customer journey process to find opportunities that will connect the dots between your marketing and sales strengths.

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Final thought:

While ​Marketing is constantly glorified and Sales gets a 'bad rap', it takes two to Tango - meaning it's not one or the other, it's both. 

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The reality is the 'bad rap' may not just be lack of information, lack of understanding, lack of asking the right questions, lack of listening OR lack of research - it could also be ineffective marketing, misleading marketing messages, or even lack of marketing the right message at the right time to the right audience. So it's a combination of all these that gives Sales a 'bad rap' and/or creates bad experiences. 

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Regardless of your role, title or responsibilities today - marketing and sales are blending more and more than they ever have. These 'shades of gray' are lessening the delineation that exists between these two teams - not lessening the importance but lessening the separation - and as a result are focusing more on creating a customer journey experience. And isn't that what it's all about anyway? 

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The difference between marketing and sales lies in how each person on the team can positively influence the customer journey and buying experience. 

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Just remember that a well-thought out marketing and sales plan will effectively create the experience your target audience wants AND drive the sales you want.