Cogo Strategy Blog

Both sales and marketing are a company’s best tools for generating revenue. In a way, this makes them two sides of the same coin. Instead of working in opposition, sales and marketing teams can benefit from supporting one another and aligning some of their processes and goals.

That said, there are still many differences between these two departments and how they operate. Understanding these differences can give sales and marketing insights into how they can better support one another to improve customer loyalty and generate more revenue.

What is the Difference Between Sales and Marketing?

Sales and marketing are separate departments within a company, but they both have a significant impact on revenue and lead generation. Their functions and strategies, however, are often different when it comes to generating leads and making a profit.

Sales teams tend to focus on facilitating and completing transactions. In other words, they are all about making a sale and doing whatever is necessary to push a buyer or customer to make a purchase. The sales team is also responsible for managing direct relationships with clients (or potential clients) to keep them around and buying the offered products or services.

In contrast, where sales uses a “push” strategy to lead to a purchase, marketing uses a “pull” strategy. Marketing is responsible for attracting or pulling customers in by using content and messaging to attract their interest. Marketing is also responsible for engaging with customers to create an overall satisfactory customer experience.

Marketing essentially creates the environment that attracts the ideal customer, and then sales uses those leads and nurtures them in the hopes of turning them into a buying customer.

Marketing vs. Sales

To better understand the differences between these two departments to enable a collaborative partnership, it helps to break down the core elements of their processes.

Approach

Process

Focus and Priority

Target

Strategies

Tools & Resources

How Sales and Marketing Can Work Together

Though sales and marketing have different strategies and processes, aligning these two teams can significantly improve conversion rates, help grow your customer base, and boost revenue. Instead of the marketing vs. sales storyline that pits these two teams against each other, it’s more beneficial to help them create a partnership.

To do this, it requires breaking down the silos that exist between sales and marketing, which starts with establishing frequent communication. Both teams need to communicate regularly to align their goals and strategies. They also need to share important information, such as buyer personas, market data, and key performance indicators.

Plus, there needs to be a regular feedback loop between sales and marketing about the effectiveness of messaging, quality of leads, and customer complaints. They should collaborate on campaigns and content to ensure marketing efforts are aligned with sales targets.

Overall, regular meetings and training sessions between marketing and sales need to occur to ensure everyone is on the same page and communicating openly and as often as possible. It’s essential to create an environment that fosters collaboration between sales and marketing to achieve business objectives and drive revenue growth.

The Power of Smarketing (Sales + Marketing)

If aligning your sales and marketing team feels overwhelming, and you don’t know where to start, Cogo & Co. can help. Aligning your sales and marketing is one of the best ways to boost revenue and grow your business, especially when the focus is Account-Based Marketing (ABM). However, we understand how daunting of a process this can seem.

Uncover the efficacy of your sales and marketing strategy with the Cogo & Co. Growth Readiness test, obtaining a personalized score. Schedule a free consultation to explore an in-depth analysis of your sales funnel, optimize conversion rates at every stage, and drive your business toward accelerated growth.