Close the Sales-Marketing Gap in 2020 (Jim Karrh On Marketing)

The divide between sales and marketing — including both the people involved and their activities — has seemingly been around since the Hatfields and McCoys began feuding.

How often do you hear things like “We need better leads” (from the sales team), “We put months into this material and you’re not using it” (from the marketing team), or “You all need to get on the same page” (from the leadership)?

The business problem might not be new, but it has certainly passed the point of being tolerable or affordable. Buyers now have the advantage over sellers when it comes to information. Unless the business can respond with a consistent and relevant set of messages, everyone can get left in the dust of commoditization and missed opportunities.

Indeed, there is a lot of evidence that the problem is getting worse. A recent podcast guest, the consultant and author Jeff Davis, reminded me of some data that illustrates the issue. Miller Heiman Group, through its research arm CSO Insights, tracks a number of sales-effectiveness metrics among business-to-business (B2B) marketers. They found that “quota attainment” nationally — the percentage of sellers who are hitting their numbers — was 54.3% in 2018. It was 63% in 2014. Win rates — the percentage of deals forecast to close that actually do close — have been stuck at 47% for several years.

These aren’t just a few numbers carefully culled in order to support the point. As the CSO Insights report concluded, “We checked in on 16 different activities undertaken by sellers, from needs analysis to cross-sale/upsell, prioritizing prospects and more. Sales leaders considered their teams to be less effective at 15 of the 16 than they were five years ago.”

Things are clearly headed in the wrong direction for many sellers. The good news is that the longstanding gap among sales, marketing and other teams serving customers need not exist — or, at least, not to the degree it often has.

How can you bring the sides closer together? From my experience, there are three areas to consider immediately:

► Co-creation. Too often, sales and marketing operate as if they were ships passing in the night. It is already difficult enough to align these teams, given that they tend to have different training, incentives and even language. With people working remotely and on different schedules these days, separation becomes even more likely. As a leader you can productively intervene by having the teams create messaging and tools together. Consider tapping into the expertise of not only sales and marketing, but also colleagues from product development, delivery and even some good customers. Not only will the content be better, but in the process you’ll also establish more momentum for change.

► A common playbook. Everyone needs a central place to find the messages, stories and tools they need for their own customer conversations. The playbook should be easily accessible, updated often and useful in training and coaching.

► Metrics that fit together. Different teams are often aiming at different targets. Sales might be looking at quota attainment and win rates, while marketing looks at communication measures like awareness, brand strength or web visits. All are legitimate, yet for alignment you still need to include some metrics that overlap. “Qualified leads” is a common one. You likely have a few others that are important for growth.

These components can bring the various teams and activities closer together. As Jeff stated during the podcast episode, during a time when so many businesses appear fractured, “alignment has become a strategic advantage.”

As you set goals for revenue, customer experience and employee engagement for 2020 — as well as evaluate the training, tools and tactics necessary to hit those goals — consider the enormous opportunity to better align sales and marketing.

Leave it to your competitors to let the family feud go on.

Jim Karrh of Little Rock is a consultant and professional speaker, host of “The Manage Your Message Podcast” and author of the new book “The Science of Customer Connections.” Email him at Jim@JimKarrh.com.