Visit our Facebook page and become a fan.
Got Marketing? Align for Enhanced Results
A sales cycle can be a lot like putting together a puzzle, except you don't know what the final picture will look like. Sales and marketing departments provide individual value, but aligning your sales perspective with their marketing view can generate a better visual.
Consider your marketing department as a contributing partner rather than a separate entity to forge a valuable alliance that will provide you with added insight and visibility into the client's buying process. The 2008 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study revealed only 31 percent of respondents felt there was alignment in their organizations between sales and marketing on what their customers want and need.
Are You Aligned?
As the sales cycle grows more complex, the responsibility of understanding customers becomes a collective effort of all involved departments. As many elements of the buying process have moved online in recent years, marketing has become more engaged in the sales cycle. Responsibility of the corporate website typically falls to your marketing department, and as more customers look online for product information, testimonials, and competitor comparisons, they have a better view of this buying behavior and activity