Why meshing sales and marketing is important

The terms “sales” and “marketing” are used interchangeably, but they aren't the same

The terms “sales” and “marketing” are used interchangeably, but they aren’t the same. Marketing works to support sales, and successful sales efforts give marketing the resources to do its job of spurring continual growth. Sales and marketing should work together like a finely tuned, high-performance engine. No pings, no sputters — just dependable power to expand your firm. Although they are two sides of the same coin in that they share the same goal, each must be respected for its distinct value if you want to build your business in the most effective way.

Sales is defined as brokering the exchange of a good or service for money. In the financial services business, this means selling the services of asset management, or an investment itself, to an investor.

Sales are highly measurable — you either sell something or you don’t. And you can count how much each sale is worth.

Marketing is the business of promoting products or services and encouraging their purchase. Marketing supports sales in that it helps generate awareness, increases demand and provides education about products and services.

It also creates buyer incentives. Its impact can be somewhat harder to measure, given that investment decisions typically are the result of multiple variables and can be influenced heavily by emotion, which means that decisions can be unpredictable and irrational.

Although salespeople may disagree, I defer to what management sage Peter Drucker once said: “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.”

Now that we know the role of sales and marketing, we have to figure out whether they are working in harmony. Some things to look for include:

Agreement. Is your sales team saying one thing and your marketing materials another? Gather up your marketing materials and read through them. Hopefully, the messages conveyed are consistent. Then sit in on a few calls and meetings with various members of your sales team. Compare what they say with your materials. Is it the same? If not, you need to get everyone on the same page. That might mean updating your marketing materials, retraining your sales team or both.

Materials used. Is your sales team trained and motivated to use your marketing materials? You can have a great suite of business collateral, but if your sales team isn’t educated about what is available and how to leverage it, the materials are just pieces of pretty paper that don’t serve much purpose beyond looking good. A simple half-day of training can get your sales team on the same page, motivated and in tune with your marketing message.

The right support. Are your marketing materials and efforts robust enough to support your sales team’s needs?

When you see your sales team in action, you may discover that they don’t have the support that they need from marketing. Maybe the provided tools are outdated. Maybe the pitch doesn’t work in the real world. Maybe audience awareness of your firm and offerings isn’t what it should be in order to establish trust and/or close a deal. You won’t know unless you ask. Just be prepared to invest in improving your materials if they fall short.

The right message. Is the message used by your sales team and presented in your marketing materials closing deals, and winning new and repeat business?

Even when sales and marketing work together well, your message may not be resonating with your audience. You may be speaking to the wrong audience or not speaking to your audience in a way that makes an impact.

Audience research and message testing are two tools we employ regularly to help home in on an appropriate, persuasive message. You can dig as deep as you want here, but the best place to start is often client and audience interviews, plus a short, well-formed survey to the people that you want to reach.

Sales and marketing are like a braided cord: strongest when tightly woven together. If just one is off, your entire team and your bottom line will be pulled in the wrong direction.

Douglas Heikkinen spent 24 years in the financial services industry before becoming president of Riley Weiss, a branding firm.