Sales and Marketing organizations have historically not got along and there has always been finger pointing from both sides. But, today there is more research and discussion about the importance of aligning these two organizations in order to help companies improve their business, improve lead quality and conversion rates, and at the same time gain higher value and more profitable customers.
We had a very informative webcast on this subject, and will continue to create and present more content around this in the coming months, since this is an integral part of our CRM strategy.
There was also an interesting article from Selling Power, that I recently read, where they highlighted findings from the Aberdeen Group and from CSO Insights. According to the CSO Insights study, there are 10 obstacles that stand in the way of sales and marketing alignment.
1. The CEO does not insist on unified reporting on the company's sales pipeline.
2. Salespeople complain that the sales leads marketing generates are useless.
3. Marketing team members believe they know what's best for the sales force.
4. Salespeople try to reduce complexity; marketing people tend to move in the opposite direction.
5. Sales and marketing can't agree on the barriers they face.
6. Both sales and marketing lose track of how customers buy.
7. The value proposition lacks clarity.
8. Sales and marketing don't speak the same language.
9. There is an inability within the company to agree on the best tactics and winning strategies.
10. Sales and marketing managers tend to forget their mission.
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