The new sales team takes an integrated approach to sales and marketing that makes sense to today’s customer. If your company is relatively new, you can build a joint team from the beginning and everyone will be happy. However, if your company has been around a while, merging marketing and sales teams might pose a challenge. Change can be hard to adjust to when your teams are used to certain divisions of work.
If putting your marketers and salespeople in the same room sounds unpleasant, here’s a tip:
Gradually show each side how their expertise helps the other.
Today’s marketer has to be able to engage customers in a two-way dialogue over social media networks, which is exactly what the traditional salesperson has been doing for years over the phone or at the front door. Have your sales team brainstorm ways to address these points:
The new salesperson has to engage customers in new, tech-savvy ways that used to sit squarely in the marketer’s lap. No longer is door-to-door visiting or picking up the phone enough. Have marketers share their expertise in these areas:
After the teams prep their expertise, schedule two half-day meetings – one devoted to customer service goals and one devoted to marketing goals. Have each team present their strategies, and as the leader, conclude the meetings with your vision for integration.
Onwards and upwards! Alignment is easier than you might think.
Image via (cc) Michael Khor
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