For most businesses, the sales process is like a relay race. To win customers, it takes impressive performances during every leg of the race. Your team might begin with other crucial members, such as finance or product development, before handing the baton off to marketing and letting the sales team sprint to the finish. However, without a strong start from all members, sales may not receive the baton in time to make up all the lost ground. 

One of the most crucial legs in the race belongs to marketing. According to Zoom Info, when marketing and sales departments work closely together, marketing efforts are more effective and help drive 209 percent more revenue than teams who aren’t in sync. As a result, the company receives an important head start and grows by an average of 20 percent each year. Unfortunately, research from Forrester indicates only 8 percent of companies manage to achieve this close alignment. 

Clearly, there is room to improve the relationship between sales and marketing. Companies who succeed will see a significant payoff. To get there, there are a few collaborative actions we recommend taking first. 

Include Marketing Team in Conversations About Sales Goals 

Marketing and sales teams can only support each other if they are working toward the same end goals. If your marketers don’t understand exactly what the sales team is hoping to achieve, they’ll end up running their own race instead of bolstering sales’ performance. For example, the sales team might be trying to gain more qualified prospects, but if the marketing team doesn’t know that, they may instead be focused on increasing the sheer volume of leads. Because of this miscommunication, sales employees aren’t getting the support they need.  

When you establish sales goals for the quarter or year, be sure to inform the marketing department of those objectives. Their team will be starting to brainstorm new campaigns and marketing ideas at the same time, so it’s important that they know exactly which goals to support. The sales team should continue to communicate with marketers as their goals evolve or change over time. With this process, employees can exchange ideas and avoid working with outdated information.  

Work Together on Content Creation 

One of the primary tasks for most marketing teams is creating content that will reach potential customers and convince them your brand will add value to their lives. Ideally, salespeople should be able to use this content to provide helpful information to their leads and ultimately build productive relationships. However, that may not be the case if the marketing team is not aware of the questions and reservations prospects often bring to sales representatives. 

Instead of having marketers guess which topics they should focus on, the sales team should regularly communicate the feedback they hear from customers. Collaborating on content can be highly beneficial for both sales and marketing. With this process, the relay members will be in perfect sync for the handoff. The marketing department will know their efforts set the team up for success, and the sales team will be able to cross the finish line with happier leads. 

Create Parameters for Handoff Process 

As marketing and sales initiatives become more intertwined, it can get confusing as to who is responsible for different communication channels. Without clear direction on when to hand off leads, the marketing team may overstep or end up neglecting responses from prospects, resulting in confusion and missed opportunities. To avoid these issues, it’s important to clearly define each team’s roles upfront. For an effective handoff, it’s important that each team member understands when to grab hold of the baton and when to let go. There’s no right or wrong way to split up these duties, but at many companies, the marketing team hands the baton to the sales representatives when leads reach a designated point in the marketing funnel. At that point, the salesperson can take over with direct communication and hopefully conversion. 

With a clean handoff process established, the sales process becomes more seamless for prospects. This small change can significantly improve these customers’ overall experience with your company. According to research from MarketingProfs, organizations whose sales and marketing teams are closely aligned have 36 percent higher customer retention rates – and retaining customers makes everybody’s job easier. 

For some companies, it can be difficult to create this relay team between sales and marketing. Often, there are just a few people are trying to tackle all the work. The relay is not meant to be an individual event, and to be successful, you must have a full team working together toward a common goal. If you need a hand creating a well-oiled marketing machine, shoot us a message or contact your own trusted local marketing agency.