Marketing and Sales Alignment—Still Conversation Worthy in 2017

Posted by Dan McDade

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on Nov 17, 2017 12:31:26 PM

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The age-old issue of how Sales and Marketing work together (or not) is still on the table. While everyone agrees the two organizations must be in sync to meet revenue goals and scale, the finger pointing continues. Marketing complains that Sales doesn’t follow up on their leads; Sales contends that the leads Marketing sends their way aren’t any good.

John Golden with Sales Pop, an online multi-media magazine that empowers sales leaders, sales management, sales professionals and entrepreneurs, and I recently chatted about the dynamics at work here, the role of technology, i.e. inbound marketing, and what needs to happen for both sides to truly align.

Join John and me as we shed new insight on this topic, as well as related issues, including:

  • The need for a common lead definition, agreed upon by both Marketing and Sales;
  • The importance of a moderating entity that makes the final call on whether a lead is really a lead (I call this the judicial branch)—if it’s not, Marketing needs to nurture it; if it is, Sales needs to work it;
  • Why, in a complex B2B sales environment, inbound-only won’t generate the number of qualified leads to meet revenue goals—it takes outbound as well, or an allbound approach;
  • And the common misconception that buyers want to be 70% through the buying process before talking to a sales person, which has been debunked by ITSMA research.

What are your thoughts on the current state of Marketing and Sales alignment?


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Topics: Marketing & Sales Alignment


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