“Sales just will not give marketing the time of day. It is a nightmare,” cried a distressed Champion client on a call last week. Unfortunately, they are not alone. This is something we hear all too often from our clients and is a running theme in the world of B2B.
But why is this important? Data from HubSpot reveals that misalignment between sales & marketing is responsible for a 10% loss in revenue on an annual basis, and with just 46% of businesses claiming the two teams are aligned, that is a lot of lost revenue…
So, what can be done to fix this gap between sales and marketing? Here are our top tips for bridging the gap:
- Align goals and objectives: Collaboratively define key performance indicators (KPIs) and targets that both teams can work towards together. This alignment helps create a shared sense of purpose and encourages cooperation.
- Develop a service-level agreement (SLA): HubSpot’s research revealed just 26% of businesses have an SLA place between sales and marketing. This agreement can capture the goals and objectives and should outline specific commitments, responsibilities, and deliverables from each team. It can include details on lead quality, nurturing and follow-up processes and response times.
- Foster mutual understanding: Encourage marketers to gain a deep understanding of the sales process and challenges faced by the sales team. Similarly, encourage the sales team members to learn about the marketing strategies in place. This will help bridge the gap and foster collaboration.
- Share prospect and customer insights: Marketing teams often gather valuable market insights through research, while sales teams are on the frontline of sales conversations. Sharing this information between the two teams will empower both to create a more successful sales cycle.
- Collaborate on content creation: Involve sales representatives in the content creation process. Seek their input on blog posts, whitepapers, case studies, and other collateral that they can leverage in their sales efforts. Involving the sales team in content creation ensures that the material is tailored to their needs and resonates with the target audience.
- Make content easy to find: 65% of sales reps claim they cannot find the content they need to send to prospects. Enough said! Make it easier for them!
- Celebrate shared successes: Celebrating wins as joint successes of the sales and marketing teams will help to enhance future collaboration.
Bridging the gap between sales and marketing is an essential step for businesses to take if they are wanting to accelerate their growth - and it doesn't have to be a struggle!
Looking to break down the barriers between your sales and marketing teams? Book in a meeting to find out how we can help here: https://calendly.com/harry-webster/champion-communications-b2b-pr-for-growth