The document discusses the critical need for alignment between sales and marketing teams within B2B companies to drive revenue growth and sustainability. It emphasizes the importance of creating synergistic messaging that supports sales efforts and encourages open communication to prevent cultural clashes. Additionally, it highlights the necessity of training and feedback to ensure that marketing strategies resonate with the marketplace and enhance sales effectiveness.

1. SUCCESS
Next Exit
By Paul Kirch, PRC
President & CEO
Sales and Marketing Alignment
Maximizing Your Impact In Today’s Competitive Environment

2. 8% of B2B Companies Feel They Have A Tight
Alignment Between Sales and Marketing
d
Forrester Research – B2B Sales And Marketing Alignment Starts With The Customer
If your company is part of the 92%, then your success is being stifled or severely limited.
Marketing and Sales must align for there to be synergy. Avoid adding conflicting
messages by creating messaging which sales embraces and truly understands or believes
in. Creative marketing should be embraced, but only if it’s also effective and being
leveraged.
Is your marketing driving more “sales” or revenue? Should this be the emphasis and
expectation of your marketing efforts? Let’s look at this further.
What
about the
other
92%?
Takeaway Points

3. “We Have Two Departments,
Sales and Sales Support”
a
Charles Wang, CA Technologies
Takeaway Points
If this slide offends your way of thinking, please stop and look at this honestly. If you
measure your company success by revenue growth or reaching sales targets, then your
objective should be to embrace any means of reaching those milestones. Marketing
must be used as a tool to support this. Yes, there are other reasons to celebrate within a
company, but without revenue generation, it’s likely your firm will not become successful
and it will likely not lead to sustainability. Let’s look at how the word “marketing” is
defined, as this alone leads to a very telling story of where your focus should lie.

4. Marketing Defined
Wikipedia: Marketing is the process of communicating the value of a product or
service to customers, for the purpose of selling that product or service.
Merriam –Webster: Marketing:
1 a : the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market.
1 b : the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or
service.
2 : an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods from producer to
consumer.
Takeaway Points
Any way you look at marketing, the practice is dedicated to generating more “sales” within
an organization. Even your “branding” should be centered around a value based message,
where top-of-mind recognition leads potential buyers to seeking your company’s products
and services. Visibility does matter, but if it isn’t attracting buyers, then it’s time to revisit
your approach. Being known is not the same as being desired. Desirability will lead to
more revenue, which allows for your company to invest back in areas which support growth
and innovation. Without that, it’s about survival instead of sustainability.

5. Goal Adoption
Takeaway Points
Are your marketing and sales teams’ goals in alignment? If not, they need to be. Often
marketing creation occurs in a silo, where there is not mutual buy-in. Perhaps this is driven by
management or a “creative” marketer. Client conversations that the sales team has are often
not relayed to the marketing team. The end result may be competing messages, instead of
synergistic messaging. Common goals and open communication can create opportunity and
drive a culture where success is celebrated! If not aligned, then both groups will believe the
other is not doing their job. This creates a cultural clash and may lead to productivity decline.
“They just don’t get it!”
Most Sales or Marketing Executives, Referring to Their Counterparts

6. Website Usability
1. Accessibility
2. Identity
3. Navigation
4. Content *
Takeaway Points
Website usability is one example where message alignment must exist. If your sales
team is using talking points or discussing products which don’t exist on the website or
other marketing, this leads to client confusion and can damage credibility. Also, a
website focused on lead generation and sales support has a significant, positive, impact
on the sales process. A focus on content marketing and lead capture will turn an online
“brochure” into a sales support tool, which can lead to new business or an increase in
business from existing clients. The small cost of managing such a site can pay dividends.
Is Your Site a Brochure or A Sales Tool?

7. Message Alignment
No More Silos
Synergy
Communication
Takeaway Points
Creative marketing developed in a silo is, arguably, not that creative. Focus on
developing synergy between marketing’s message and how sales is applying it. The
sales team can provide feedback on what is and isn’t working and then re-alignment can
occur, to provide maximum impact. Don’t let the marketing teams efforts be wasted by
not receiving buy-in from the people using the message with prospects and clients.
Constantly Check Alignment

8. Modern Sales
Takeaway Points
Creating an environment where both marketing and sales work together, as one team,
leads to a powerful place where marketing’s messages and tools are creating real
leverage within the market place. By learning what isn’t resonating with buyers,
adjustments can be made that can lead to a significant increase in revenue. Also, it can
help save money by identifying areas which simply aren’t effective. The handoff process
creates a collaborative opportunity that creates a culture of success, instead of conflict.
Never should either team state, “They just don’t get it” in reference to their counterparts.

9. An Aligned Team
What’s the weakness in the messaging?
Takeaway Points
A missed opportunity in many organizations is related to training. To ensure the success
of the sales team, it is paramount that they be provided education on the use of new
messaging or the “selling” of new product offerings. Often when a new concept is difficult
to leverage or the sales professionals find that it isn’t comfortable or effective, they resort
to using verbiage which they are comfortable with. “Falling back into old patterns”
creates internal frustration. “We created it, but they aren’t using it” may be heard in
these instances. Roll playing and other training may make the implementation of new
concepts more effective , providing a great degree of confidence with the new direction.
Do not allow things to unravel and break. Focus on communication and training. If there
is weakness in the messaging, this will surely help identify areas of improvement.
What’s Resonating with the Marketplace?

10. Marketing & Sales Aligned

11. Paul Kirch, CEO
Actus Sales Intelligence
Email: pkirch@ActusSales.com
Mobile: 214-412-0573
Office: 214-295-6111
http://ActusSales.com