Newsletter | March 15, 2023

03.15.23 -- Creating continuity between B2B marketing and sales!

 
     
 
     
 
  In This Issue:  
 
     
 

FROM THE EDITOR

 

Having continuity between B2B marketing and sales is vitally important for your business!

 

One of the most debilitating problems that B2B organizations have is related to the relationship that often exists between marketing and sales. It is so ingrained in our cultures that we have come to accept a level of friction between the two functions.

 

We have convinced ourselves that the best solution is to keep marketing and salespeople apart. We need to look no further than our organization’s line and block chart for evidence of this. It reduces disruptions, prevents sales people from tasking marketing with urgent requests for collateral, and marketers aren’t distracting sales people from selling.

 

But the problem is about continuity, not some inherent differences between salespeople and marketers.

 

And why does this matter? Our buyers, both prospects and customers, don’t view us as departments. They see us as a single brand from which all external communications come.

 

When a prospect engages with a thought leadership article intended to serve the early buyer’s journey and a sales person contacts them with a ready-to-buy message, it harms our brand. The buyer becomes irritated with us, all of us, not just the sales or marketing teams.

 

Buyers are on a journey, often to solve a problem they have. While the journey is not without starts and stops, distractions, and slowdowns, it is a continuous journey, and they are seeking help from brands who recognize and understand that. Having continuity across all our external messaging begins with continuity inside our organizations and between marketing and sales teams.

 

This edition of our newsletter is all about creating better continuity between B2B marketing and sales. It is loaded with practical information that can be easily applied to put you on a path to better business growth.  

 

Have every edition of our newsletter delivered to your in-box by signing up here: send me the Follow Your Buyer newsletter each week!

 

- Perry

Perry Rearick

Chief Editor | Follow Your Buyer

prearick@followyourbuyer.com
 

 
Exclusive Content From Follow Your Buyer
     
Accelerate Business Growth With Sales And Marketing Interoperability
 
 

When trying to discover why our business is not growing as much, or as quickly, as we like, it is common to initially blame uncertain economic conditions or other factors outside of our control. If we look inward at the things we can control, we may point to low quality leads from marketing or undisciplined sales teams that fail to close. The real problem is not often siloed in either marketing or sales, but in how they work together.
 
Follow Your Buyer |
 
 
 
     
Reframing The Relationship Between B2B Sales And Marketing
 
 

Exploring ways to improve the relationship between sales and marketing in B2B businesses is like venturing into the Sahara on foot without water. Rarely do business leaders intentionally set out to change marketing and sales operations, to include organizational structure and processes. We too easily retreat to the risk-free zone of “but that’s the way we’ve always done it.” However, the harsh truth is that this modus operandi is fraught with risk.  
 
Follow Your Buyer |
 
 
 
     
The Trouble With Silos
 
 

No one gets excited about adding another meeting to their schedule, but the right kind can offer immediate improvement if you suspect important information is getting trapped in your separate marketing and sales silos.
 
 
 
 
     
Building The Bridge While Crossing The River — B2B Marketing And Sales Professional Development
 
 

**“Change is the dominant** fact of life in every business today. And the ability to master and exploit change has become one of the most sought-after management skills. This is particularly true in marketing, where the very tempo of change is constantly quickening.” This was how John D. Louth, a principal at McKinsey, opened his presentation to a group of executives in 1964.1 It was true then, and it is true today.

Despite Louth’s clairvoyance, how many of us are intentional about helping our marketing and sales teams adapt to change? 
 
Follow Your Buyer |
 
 
 
     
     
 
Ensure our newsletter reaches your inbox by following these whitelist instructions. This newsletter is being sent to {{lead.Email Address}}. If you need to update your preferences, please visit your user profile. To cancel your subscription to the newsletter, please opt out.