Thoughtful Thursdays – Marketing and sales
Most sales people today have marketing responsibilities in addition to sales. Even more if they are small business owners or employed by a small business.
Today’s thought is about being mindful of how much time you are spending on marketing and how much on sales.
First, let’s talk about the difference between sales and marketing. Marketing activities are about reach and frequency of that reach to create awareness and produce prospects. Sales activities produce customers.
The hand-off from marketing to sales usually takes place once the prospect is identified and the potential for business is confirmed.
The two functions measure success differently, however one can not do without the other. They must work together for any business, no matter the size, to be successful.
It is unlikely there will ever be a balance of marketing and sales activities. Successful prospecting will result in a greater need for sales activities to close sales and the lack of prospects will initiate a lift in marketing activities.
Those who do well in business development may end up with more qualified prospects they can handle. This can result in lost opportunities due to not being able to follow up in a timely fashion. Great closers may not have a sufficient number of prospects in the hopper to meet their sales budgets.
Prudent sales management helps identify where time is best spent and results in a more sustainable growth with more satisfied customers. When both sales and marketing are running at capacity, then it may be time to consider ways of expanding the team.
Good selling,
Richard
Have a question about sales? Contact Sakanashi and Associates Inc. and I will respond.
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