The tension between sales and marketing is as old as the roles themselves. Here's how they work together to grow a business.
At Beans Marketing, we help businesses get noticed and grow.
We develop branding, build websites, design marketing materials, and generate content – all aimed at helping you attract customers. One common challenge we see, though, is how businesses understand the roles of marketing and sales.
Sometimes, there can be a bit of a misunderstanding about the role of these essential growth ingredients and where they overlap.
For example, a business owner might get a lead from their website, feeling excited that a sale is almost guaranteed. But then, if that potential customer has a question or an objection, the lead might be dismissed as "bad" or "low quality."
This can be frustrating for everyone involved, and it often means missing out on real opportunities.
Let's break down the roles of marketing and sales, where they connect, and where they diverge.
Think of marketing as everything you do to get people interested in your business and understand what you offer. It's about building your brand and making people aware of your products or services. At Beans Marketing, our job involves things like:
Marketing helps people discover and engage with your business.
Sales is about taking that interest and turning it into a paying customer. It's the direct interaction you have with someone who is already interested in what you offer. Sales responsibilities typically include:
Sales is the final step in getting someone to buy.
The connection between marketing and sales is like a pipeline. Marketing fills the top of the pipeline with interested people (leads), and sales works to move those people through the pipeline until they become customers.
Marketing provides sales with warm leads, meaning these people already know something about your business and are somewhat interested.
Sales then gives feedback to marketing about what kinds of leads are most successful and what questions people frequently ask. This feedback helps marketing improve its efforts.
Problems can arise when business owners expect a lead from marketing to be an "easy sale." It's important to understand that a lead means someone is interested; it doesn't mean they've decided to buy yet.
When a potential customer raises an objection – maybe they think it's too expensive, or they're not sure they need it right now – it's easy to just label them as a "bad lead."
However, doing this often means you're giving up on a real opportunity because you’re not prepared. Objection handling is the key to successful selling, like a labyrinth of opportunities to explain your value to the customer.
If you run a business, you are a salesperson. Whether you're talking to a bank for a loan, hiring new employees, or simply explaining your vision to someone, you are always "selling" your ideas and your business.
It's not really a choice.
It's the job.
To be successful in this role, you need to develop strong sales skills. This includes:
At Beans Marketing, we specialise in generating interest and attracting potential customers to your business through our marketing efforts. However, converting this interest into actual customers ultimately depends on a consistent and skilled sales approach.
By understanding the interplay between marketing and sales, and by actively embracing the sales aspect of leadership, you will be better positioned to grow your business.