If you missed our Content That Converts session focusing on Sales & Marketing Integration for Small Businesses, you can read the highlights or access the recording here. If you’ve joined us in the past, you know that we talk about common challenges and trending topics relating to growing your business.
We tackled the common challenges between sales and marketing and misaligned efforts. We shared best practices and discussed how our collaborative effort has created a fully integrated platform delivering a better-than-expected result to date.
We encourage you to listen or watch the recording. We had great questions and comments that were shared throughout the session.
Here are a few key take-a-ways:
Both are vital functions that power your growth; however, most small businesses don’t see real results from their marketing efforts because the lines between the two functions become blurred when the same staff is responsible for both outcomes.
Marketing is one-to-many and sales is one-to-one
Marketing tells stories and sales is where our business becomes real for the prospect and our stories come to life
Marketing looks after the brand’s reputation and sales is relationship-driven
Marketing needs to keep stories circulating and resonating with the target markets and sales looks after individual
There are many definitions for conversion. For our session we defined conversation as the transition of a cold contact to a warm lead. EMI defines conversation as moving a key contact to the next step in the process. Whatever definition you choose, those involved in the sales, business development and marketing functions of your business must be aligned.
Work with your team to do a deep dive into what type of client is the best for your business and why. Be sure to document the profile and gain buy-in from every client facing position within your organization, not just those involved in the sales & marketing functions. This may seem extreme, but most don’t have clarity on their ideal client profile. Without clarity, lead generation and prospecting is not targeted, growing client relationships are random, and marketing is too general to influence or impact your ideal client. In most cases, this is the root cause for low close ratios, low client retention rates, and lack luster marketing results.
Most don’t think about client services or finance & accounting being involved with sales and marketing. They are. Everyone in the organization has a voice in the marketplace regardless of position. Communicate efforts, initiatives, successes, challenges, goals, and targets throughout your organization frequently. When teams are pulled together, aware and involved, better than expected results are generated.
Align goals and milestones. Sales tend to have their goals, targets, and milestones. Marketing has there’s. Marketing tells sales that they delivered XX leads last month and is concerned that sales hasn’t closed any of them. Sales is frustrated because the leads generated weren’t qualified. Marketing met their target. Sales missed theirs. When the growth strategy is set, those involved in the marketing & sales functions should build the plan together. Goals are set and milestones are defined. Each month or quarter the combined plan should be reviewed, celebrated, or realigned accordingly. This is where challenges are discussed, collaboration happens, and opportunities surface.
Most people go in with their outreach for the 3% without the 97% in mind. Go after the 97%, nurture them, pull information from them, keep them in the loop, keep them always in that funnel getting information about you. The 3%, are buying so they are going to respond to you regardless. Focus on the 97% right now and how you start a relationship. Knowing I’m probably not going to get the sale today. But how do I start that relationship with them? And then, how do I keep them in that relationship loop so that when they are ready to buy, they think about me and my organization.
To learn more about the ACQUIRE | NURTURE | CONVERT program, a sales & marketing platform for client acquisition, CLICK HERE.
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For a full recording of the Sales & Marketing Integration for Small Businesses Podcast click below. Enjoy!
