Syncing With Sales

It doesn’t matter how good your ideas are—if you want consistent messaging, include Sales in each development phase. Encourage them with requests for their input like, “If you don’t like the description of the customer problem, help us put it in the customer’s language.”  From there, you can work together to develop a common messaging framework, a 1-2 page document that simplifies the brand story for all departments.

Creating effective content is one thing, but getting Sales to use it is another. One quick fix is to work with a colleague in Sales who is experimental. Partner with them to test different approaches. Once they smash quota, position your ally as the change driver. Make them the hero and the word will spread.

When Marketing and Sales present monthly metrics together there can be no doubt about the partnership. There’s no room to blame the other. There’s just one truth. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t track marketing-sourced opportunities. This data can help optimize your marketing mix and rationalize your various investments and tests.

Ensure everyone in Marketing has at least one “buddy” in Sales with whom they meet regularly. Someone from Marketing should attend every Sales meeting and vice versa. There are no “handoffs.” If Sales doesn’t close a particular opportunity, everyone needs to understand what went wrong and what needs to change.

Create physical or virtual “deal rooms” to concentrate your attention on the biggest opportunities. These “rooms” should house competitive intelligence, in-depth profiles of the buying committee, timetables, contact assignments, and sales enablement tools like a how-we-beat-each-competitor matrix.

Listening to sales calls via tools is helpful, but nothing beats experiencing the actual challenge of selling. Walking a mile or ten in sales’ shoes leads to more respect from Sales, more empathy for salespeople, and more insight into the messaging challenges you, the marketer, are uniquely equipped to solve.

Many companies rely on their ability to land and expand to grow revenue. One CMO observed, “I found our Expand folks are better at messaging because they’ve got an existing group of accounts they’re comfortable talking to.” Conversely, SDRs often default to price after a single objection, which is problematic. Encourage your “expand” people and the “land” people to swap insights—and maybe even roles.

A minor tweak to your messaging is unlikely to move the needle. Pick a vertical market and disrupt it with an outrageous added-value offer. Aim for the irresistible. Craft an offer that helps your target see themselves achieving a lot in a short period (we call this “speed-to-hero”).