3 Steps to Get Sales and Marketing on the Same Team to Accomplish Your Goals

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.

Here are three steps to get Sales and Marketing working together.

1. Communicate. Nothing happens without communication. Marketing needs to know what types of leads are good ones so they can evaluate where the good leads came from. Sales needs to tell Marketing what makes a good lead, and they need to have data to back up which leads are good ones. Marketing can share with Sales what they’re doing to get those leads, so they understand how much work it is and that good leads shouldn’t go to waste.

2. Measure. Feelings don’t cut it. “I think these are good leads,” and “I’m estimating we’re closing 40% of the leads,” doesn’t give either department the intel they need to do a better job. You need to measure both quality and quantity of leads, percent of leads worked, and close rate. Metrics also make for better communication. So if Sales is complaining that Marketing isn’t giving them as many leads this month as last month, the data will show whether that’s true or not — and will prevent arguments.

3. Create an SLA. Sales and Marketing can’t truly work together unless they’re on the same page. Get on the same page literally with a Sales and Marketing Agreement. An SLA details exactly what each department is responsible to do. It outlines goals using the S.M.A.R.T. format. When you have an SLA, everyone understands the common goals, and everyone knows who’s responsible for what. It reduces inaccurate expectations on both sides, and gets everyone focused on what will make the goals a reality.

Sales and Marketing won’t get along by magic. It takes a bit of work. But the results of having both departments on the same team working together to accomplish the company’s goals are more than worth the effort.