Entrepreneurs Know the Difference Between Marketing and Sales

Entrepreneurs Know the Difference Between Marketing and Sales
Successful Business Planning

Entrepreneurs Know
the Difference
Between Marketing
and Sales


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Many people don't understand the difference between
marketing and sales -- even worse many don't understand
the relationship between the two. The Sales Department
can't really succeed without a well-focused and well-
executed marketing strategy. And those responsible for
the marketing effort can't develop the best strategy
without input from the sales function.

I like to think of the two the same way I think about a
sports team. The marketing people are like the coach and
the sales people are like the athletes. A coach comes to
the team with lots of experience, usually a proven track
record and knowledge of what works and what doesn't. Of
course all that history is with different athletes and in a
different organization. The marketing manager usually has


the same credentials and he or she must utilize that
history to help make different products and different
people in a different organization successful.

After evaluating what they have to work with good
coaches and good marketing managers can devise a
strategy that stands a reasonable chance of success. But
both need input from the men and women actually doing
the face-to-face work in order to improve the strategy.
Think about the similarity of these comments and how the
information each gives to the coach or the marketing
manager can be effectively used.

"The guy can't guard me, he's too slow."

"Our competitor takes too long to ship."


"When he throws a curve, he always stands on the left
side of the rubber."

"They are always trying to collect their money in as fast as
possible."

I remember listening to the new Vice President of Sales
and Marketing soon after he was given the responsibility
for a new division of Johnson & Johnson.

"We need to share information about what's happening n
the field and what we are planning to do in marketing.
There should be a senior person from the sales group at
every marketing meeting and a senior person from the
marketing group at every sales meeting. Copies of every
sales person's call sheets should be given to the marketing
group as soon as possible. Help each other succeed."


Now how many times have we all read about the team
talking behind the coach's back or the coach tearing into
an athlete? Too many times by my way of thinking. And
the scene always opens on a team that is in trouble and it
most often ends with people being moved out.

In your career as a business owner you will be confronted
with decisions about the marketing strategy, the plan, and
its implementation. You will also have to deal with poor
performance from the sales department. As you listen to
what everybody is saying you will have to sort out the
facts from the fiction. Doing so will not be easy. --
especially if you don't have actual selling or marketing
experience.

To make better decisions, I suggest that you get directly
involved. Go on sales calls or listen to sales solicitations.
Call a competitor and pretend to be a prospect, listen and


see how you are treated. Ask your people to comment on
what you saw and heard.

Try to figure out what your competitor's marketing
strategy is, what their plan might be and how they are
trying to implement it. Ask your people to comment on
why your competitor would be doing that, why it might
work or why it might not.

Nothing beats first-hand knowledge. You will quickly see
how well people know what they are supposed to do, how
effective they are at doing their work, and how responsive
they are to questions. The lifeblood of any business is the
revenue that comes from effective marketing and
successful sales. If it isn't happening in your business you
have to find out why.


If you still can't reach a decision about a person's
effectiveness or a plan's probability of success, spend
some money on consultants who can offer a more
seasoned look at both. Remember these professionals sell
their time so be sure you frame the task well. You want
specific responses and that requires asking specific
questions.

As you work through difficult times at your business
remember to keep the bonds between marketing and
sales as strong as possible.


The author can be reached at
[http://www.BusinessStrategyArtConsoli.com]

Art Consoli held eight corporate positions with Johnson
& Johnson before starting his first business. He went
on to build over twenty businesses from patents or ideas
or from businesses others couldn't make successful. These
ranged from starting a veterinarian drug company to
taking over a steel fabricating company to developing the
first manufactured home subdivision to qualify for every
private and government assisted mortgage program in
Arizona. He also did ten workouts for lenders and owners;
the last was a $30 million, 300 employee, precision parts
manufacturing plant that made parts for the auto industry.


Consoli's unique background and skills allow him to speak and write about how
someone with limited experience can do a self-evaluation which will let him decide
which business opportunity is best, how to evaluate opportunities and gain control over
the one which offers the greatest potential and then manage that business to success.
Readers of his book call and write to tell him how much his book has helped their lives
and improved their business.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Art_Consoli

Entrepreneurs Know the Difference Between Marketing and Sales

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