Marketing and sales. These two powerful functions can propel any company to success. If these two essential business functions don’t work together, it can lead to the opposite.

A fractured environment can lead to confusion for customers due to double handling, waste of resources, and too many goals. Worst-case scenario, both teams could be actively working against each other.

It doesn’t sound like a lot of work, does it?

You may also see significant revenue increases if you are able to get everything right and can align your marketing and sales efforts.

How big?

Companies that can achieve this have an average of 208% higher revenue.

Smarketing can help you no matter what size your business or industry is.

Let’s first define Smarketing before we get started.

Marketing, let’s face it, is a strange-sounding term, but there’s a reason.

It is a portmanteau of the words “sales’” and “marketing”. Well-executed Smarketing ensures that sales and marketing pull in the same direction, and work towards the same goal.

It wouldn’t make sense for these areas of the business to work together. 87% of sales and marketing executives agree that efficient sharing of resources can lead to long-lasting and positive business growth.

It is rare for marketing and sales to be misaligned. This is why it is important to pay attention and monitor what is working.

What makes Sales and Marketing such a powerful combination?

The numbers are clear: Companies that successfully align their marketing and sales teams were 67% more successful in closing deals and 58% more successful at retaining customers. This is the fastest way to save money, reduce costs, and get better results quickly.

Let’s look at the other benefits of better sales and marketing alignment.

Sharing information means that nothing is left out

There are key differences between marketing and sales, it is clear.

These differences can lead to a culture of competition and conflict that can negatively impact customer experience and conversions. You can turn this around by bringing them together and encouraging the open exchange of ideas and collaboration. This will transform these differences into strengths for your business.

Marketing and sales work with different information, so communication is key to each other’s success. While not all information is relevant to everyone who receives it, sharing information between sales and marketing increases your chances of recognizing important information that will help you channel your efforts in the right direction.

Establishing Common Goals

Although it may seem obvious, if marketing and sales pull in opposite directions, you will end up with lower results and less revenue.

It’s difficult to reach your destination when horses are being tethered to different ends of the same cart. These teams can share their time, effort, and resources, which allows your business to have fewer goals and more chances of reaching the desired results.

Reduced confusion about the definitions of a qualified lead

Recent surveys show that only 7% of salespeople think that marketing teams share high-quality leads. It’s not a lot, but it is a start.

Even more concerning is the fact that only 28% believe their marketing team is their best source of leads. This shows a lack of trust in a team that should be their greatest resource and ally.

Communication is difficult and collaboration can be lacking. It can also make it very easy for people to disagree about what constitutes a quality lead. If there is confusion about which leads to pursue, it increases the likelihood of following leads that are unlikely to convert.

Surveys have shown that 94% of top-performing salespeople believe they are receiving quality leads from their internal marketing teams when they work in a collaborative environment.

This step will increase the chances of your business attracting more leads that turn into sales.

Create a positive work environment

Healthy competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing for businesses. This can encourage a desire to achieve better results and a greater sense of accomplishment when you make those sales. Your bottom line is the only thing that will suffer when your marketing and sales departments are fighting it out.

By aligning goals and objectives, everyone can see that they are all in the same boat and work towards the same goal. This will make your business more successful and create a positive, exciting atmosphere for everyone. It also helps to retain skills.

Strategy: Meet in the Middle

It is crucial to get your strategy right from day one. To make the customer journey as seamless as possible, sales and marketing must be able to understand it.

It is therefore strange that two teams working for the same company don’t get to connect to make sure this happens.

A strong sales and marketing alignment allows you to have a clear strategy from beginning to end. If your marketing and sales work together closely, you have a greater chance of resolving any issues and creating a customer journey that is well-planned and results in more sales.

Eliminate obstacles from your customer journey

Our buying experience should be as easy as possible. You want your customers to have a pleasant, consistent experience they can refer friends to. Sales must take over where marketing ends, making the process feel natural and seamless with consistent messaging.

Both teams can share relevant resources, such as objection-handling memos, call scripts, or PDFs, so they are always on the same page. This will ensure that both sides are ready to hand over leads smoothly.

How to Align Marketing and Sales

It can be difficult to align sales and marketing, especially if the teams are used to working in a competitive environment.

What can you do to change this mindset and create the collaboration space that both teams require to succeed?

Let’s take another look.

MMutually Create a Sales and Marketing Strategy

You will need to create a Sales and Marketing Service in Miami Level Agreement (SLA) to get things moving. This document outlines the metrics and requirements for business success. 

The SLA should clearly outline the current work relationship and any expectations. The following information should be included in the SLA.

* The ideal buyer persona 

* What is a qualified lead? 

* KPIs and Goals 

* Responsibilities and accountability 

* Timings for the transition from marketing to selling

Both teams must work together to achieve the best SLA. By doing so, everyone’s goals, ambitions, and needs are shared and understood.

Join forces for regular meetings

It is crucial to keep sales and marketing in touch so that you can monitor your progress and stay on top of your goals.

Regular meetings can be a great way to get everyone together, discuss achievements, look at where everybody is going, and generally see how everyone is doing. A weekly meeting can be an open forum where everyone can freely share ideas, resources, and insights.

These will lead to stronger working relationships if they are done well.

Get your leads

Marketing and sales can often have problems. This is because they waste time on the wrong audience. This can be avoided by having a clear understanding of the criteria for a qualified lead.

You can make sure that everyone recognizes the most important attributes of these customers by getting your teams together and discussing them. Once you have this information, it is time to assign each character a ranking based on its importance to a sale. This will help you score your leads. It is one of the best ways to identify where a buyer is in their buyer’s journey and determine if they are ready for sale.

Demographics, past purchases, customer behavior, and online engagement are all key buyer characteristics. Keep in mind that your lead scoring shouldn’t be stagnant. You must constantly monitor market trends and adjust your lead scoring criteria to reflect your current business state and relationship with customers.

Once you have completed the lead scoring process be sure to include all key criteria in your sales and marketing SLA.

Create a team-first atmosphere

It should be obvious that teams that work together in a supportive environment are more likely than others to achieve their goals. You can make a huge difference in the way your team understands each other and how they can work best together by encouraging a positive atmosphere.

Simple things, such as the layout of your office, can make a big difference in encouraging positivity and collaboration. You can encourage collaboration and support between colleagues by keeping your office open and eliminating any barriers.

These ideas are primarily for the workplace, but it is worth looking into regular social events and team-building activities to help employees get to know each other better and build connections that will lead to better working relationships.

To achieve more, work as a team

It is easy to say that salespeople and marketers are inherently different. These differences can be difficult to overcome.

However, even the most competitive business environment can be overcome by a transparent alignment process that includes all stakeholders. This will help to build a supportive, strong team.

This transition can be made as smooth as possible by sharing your knowledge, and resources, and having a common goal. Regular meetings and a collaborative SLA will ensure that you can eliminate mistrust and rivalry.