Cassidy has gone on record stating that marketing-sales alignment is largely a marketing problem. However, let's not drop all the blame on marketing. In this episode, Cassidy and Carl go over 5 ways sales leaders can demonstrate leadership in aligning marketing with sales.
1 - Quality over quantity
If the leads "suck" - it's as much on sales as marketing. Stop insisting on lead volume when the leads don't convert to pipeline and revenue. Instead, empower marketing to focus on high-quality leads.
2 - Encourage building awareness
It's not news to anyone that it's easier to sell when prospects know who you are and what you stand for as a company. The best sellers I know are huge advocates for building awareness and are pushing marketing to be more innovative.
3 - Invite marketing into the sales process
There is no better place to learn about what works/doesn't work than in the sales process. Explain the sales process and how deals are done. Get your marketing team licenses to your call recording software. Invite product marketing to sales calls. Take time to structure your learnings so they are actionable.
4 - Align outbound sales with inbound marketing
There is a good chance that your outbound sales efforts are fishing in the same pond as your marketing efforts. Therefore, spend time sharing learnings and aligning campaign efforts, so the positioning and messaging are consistent with prospects.
5 - Lead by example & don't let sales off the hook
Leaders don't make excuses. If marketing isn't carrying its weight, get in the game and help. If your sales team isn't following through, take your team to task. When you show that your goal is the company's success and not the success of one organization over another, you are a leader others will respect.
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