Let's start with some basic definitions for sales and marketing. Marketing is communicating what you have to offer to the market. The purpose of marketing is to generate leads. Sales on the other hand finds a specific need for what you offer. The result of sales is a contractual obligation to provide a product or service in exchange for some form of payment.
Now, how you physically get this done in your company can take a number of different forms. Some companies look to the sales person to do it all. In other companies leads are generated by marketing personnel and then passed to the sales people. Once closed who then services the accounts? Again, some companies the sales rep is responsible for it all, while in others this is handed to an account manager or service rep.
I’ve only mentioned a few different implementations here. It would be helpful to all our readers to hear how is this done at your place of business? Or, what are other ways you have seen sales and marketing implemented?
The reason how you is implemet this is so critical to Revenue Engine performance is because each step in the cycle requires resources - both time and talent. The time component is important, but even more important is the talent required to perform each of the unique functions. Try to cram all of this into one person and you quickly see why it is so hard to find good sales talent!
The type of person it takes to market is different than the kind of person it takes to close a deal. I recently heard an exceptional sales manager use the terms “huggers” and “killers” to differentiate marketers from closers. Do you know people that can turn up dozens of opportunities but, can’t seem to close a deal to save their life? On the other hand, do you know those people that can close the account nobody else has been able to close for years, but they never have enough deals to keep them busy? If you are asking a single resource to do it all, plan to pay top dollar.
It is amazing how many of us have seen both these scenarios. But, how do you correct the problem? Specifically define who is responsible for what.
Without well defined responsibilities it becomes difficult to place the right talent in the right role. Also, if you haven’t place accountability for lead generation with a specific job function I guarentee your Revenue Engine is suffering as a result. Not creating accountability gives both sales and marketing an out, and the finger point runs rampant. Close the loop here and you will see a dynamic shift for your organization. In turn, you can now attribute lead performance where it should be occurring. Ultimately improving this common chokepoint will increase flow of the cycle increasing revenue.
I would be interested to hear from you. What has been your experience when creating accountability for lead generation at your company? Did it help or hinder your revenue performance both in the short-term and long-term?