Advancements in technology have provided businesses the opportunity to dramatically improve the efficiency and productivity of their marketing and sales organizations. Marketing automation software helps marketing teams design and execute marketing campaigns that attract and nurture more qualified leads with fewer resources. CRM software helps salespeople manage their day-to-day sales activities; enables an efficient sales process that accelerates leads through the sales funnel; and gives management improved visibility into the pipeline and more accurate forecasting. 

“Sales enablement” is a term that seems to get thrown around quite a lot. I’ve found, however, that many sales and marketing professionals really don’t understand what “sales enablement” is or why it’s important. My definition is pretty simple. Sales enablement is any tool or process that supports the sales function—helping salespeople guide their prospects through their buying journey—from exploration to evaluation to final decision making and close.  

If you work in Marketing, you're probably consumed with generating leads. If you work in Sales, you're probably concerned with closing deals. Because the two departments are usually siloed, it can be challenging to get them working together seamlessly. These three free resources will help you.

This time of year, many organizations start turning their attention to 2018. Why don't they wait until January? What’s the rush? These organizations understand that setting goals isn’t enough. Growing their business and meeting revenue targets requires planning. Goals without a plan are just wishes. If you wait until January to start planning, then you’ll already be behind. Now is the time to put your sales and marketing strategy under the bright lights and give it a thorough assessment.

But what’s that assessment look like? What should you be reviewing? What questions should you be asking? Every organization is different, but here are a few topics you should cover and a few questions that will get your discussion started. 

One of the first signs that a sales organization of a small company is growing and maturing is that they no longer rely on the sales team to generate leads. In the early stages of development, a new company requires that everyone “wear multiple hats”. Consequently, the salesperson usually plays the role of Chief Marketing Officer, Marketing Campaign Manager, and Business Development Specialist. It’s quite simple really—if the salesperson doesn't generate leads, no one will. But as an organization matures, the various Sales and Marketing disciplines should be divided as soon as possible. Not doing so simply makes achieving growth objectives more challenging and makes your life tougher than it needs to be.

Unfortunately, many organizations get stuck in this first stage of organizational development, and they continue to rely on the sales team to generate their own leads. Salespeople should really never stop prospecting. They should always be on the lookout for new business opportunities. But an organization that completely relies on Sales to generate leads are putting their growth objectives at risk. Below are three primary reasons why.

Sales and marketing alignment is a hot topic. As companies grow and invest more into both their sales and marketing departments, what used to be a team of two or three people becomes a team of many — and communication is a bit more difficult.

I know that I am not alone in my misery and suffering.

There are tens of thousands of us in the same boat, seeking relief, year after year, hope after dashed hope, failure upon failure.

I, like my fellow sufferers, are scorned, the targets of derision, the destination for the pointed finger and mirthful chuckle.

Yes, it’s awfully hard to be a Buffalo Bills fan.

But with a change in Bills leadership that promises cooperation, communication, teamwork, and a commitment to the twin lofty goals of accountability and responsibility, we have hope once again that our 17 year old drought will end in 2017.

Like the Bills, your company may be suffering from a drought that's stopping you from realizing your firm’s full new business potential. Of course, you’re making sales and getting new business, but can you do better? Just because you can put a few points up on the scoreboard doesn’t mean that you’re going to win the Super Bowl (Ouch. Sore subject.) of a record-breaking top line.

Just like the Bills need communication and cooperation in order to be a winner, your firm may need better and stronger communication and cooperation between its sales and marketing departments.

Here are a few ideas for putting together a winning team.

Too often, Sales and Marketing are opposing teams in their organizations. Each department relies on the other to help create the results the company is looking for, and neither side wants to take the blame when results don’t happen. The battle lines are drawn. Sales criticizes Marketing for not generating enough quality leads, and Marketing complains that Sales isn’t working the leads they’re giving.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Sales and Marketing are really on the same team, trying to get results together. And if your Sales and Marketing departments are in harmony, your company will reach your goals and get the kinds of results you’re looking for.

The most important role I have as a Consultant at LeadG2 is helping ensure my clients see ROI from their inbound marketing investments. However, as with all marketing investments, there are many variables that can get in the way of this. It's our job, as leaders in this industry, to figure out how to work around those obstacles and still ensure success. 

As part of the LeadG2 series on "The 10 Commandments of Inbound Marketing" we will be discussing each of these 10 commandments and the importance of each one. Also, we will be discussing why these principles are ones that you can’t ignore. The second of The 10 Commandments of Inbound Marketing is: Sales must be involved in your inbound strategy at each stage from conception to implementation to follow up. (Tweet This)