In a traditional business, sales and marketing departments are kept separate. This might be the way that it's always been done - but in a modern environment, it doesn't make sense. By using "Smarketing" to bring the two teams together, you can harmonise your strategy for dramatically better results from both teams.
Division in the Ranks
Smarketing sees the sales and marketing teams coming together, both deploying their distinct skills – there is no blurring of roles in smarketing – as part of a unified team working towards common goals. Why? Ultimately, everyone in your business wants the same thing; success, stability, growth. However, traditional methods see the teams working in their own separate bubbles, limiting the capacity for communication and, at worst, eyeing each other suspiciously as rivals. Misunderstandings, competition for funds, professional rivalry, and outright contempt are sadly common between sales and marketing teams in many businesses.
This can lead to problems, particularly as sales and marketing often have quite different strategies. Although both teams have the same ultimate goal, they may approach it very differently. Companies often report that the marketing department concentrates on aspiration and bigger picture ideas, while the sales team has a tighter focus, with more immediate goals. Smarketing recognises the different parts individual sales and marketing people have to play, while understanding both functions as two sides of the same coin.
Bringing Teams Together
The first and most important thing is to have teams – or representatives of teams - attending each other's meetings. This can have a big impact, especially on the performance of the marketing department. By attending sales team meetings, your marketing team can really see what works on the cliff face, and what objections sales people are facing from prospects.
This will help the marketing department focus on strategies which get results, creating effective materials that address the prospect’s concerns and helping their sales colleagues close more deals. It may also spark inspiration and new campaigns, as the sales team have a clearer idea of what leads actually care about.
How will this help the sales department? Your sales team will often find that they are focused very tightly on short-term results. By working more closely with the marketing department, your sales team should get a clearer idea of the company's long-term, big-picture goals. In turn, this can help them deliver deeper pitches.
Solving Communication Issues
So far, so harmonious. However, there can still be deeper problems that must be resolved before the teams can work well together.
Sometimes, companies can have a culture clash between different departments. One of the best ways to solve this is by changing seating arrangements, moving desks so that the sales and marketing teams are physically mixed together.
You will also need to ensure that everyone is on the same page. If the two teams have historically been separate, they may have developed their own particular lingo, shorthand, in-jokes, and work styles. To work together effectively, the teams must share the same language. It may be worth having a specific meeting to discuss communication, and create guidelines to follow going forward. Ongoing shared projects, training, socials, and team building exercises will help build coherence and solidarity among your teams and solidify your efforts.
Next Steps
If you’re interested in how Smarketing arrangements work in practice and how you can facilitate better collaboration between your sales and marketing staff, have a chat with one of our specialists today. As a third party, we can often identify issues that are hard to spot from the inside, giving you a fresh perspective which is invaluable as you move forward with this new strategy.
Image source: Pixabay
