Marketing teams are responsible for carrying out various online and offline techniques to generate leads. Sales teams then take those leads and turn them into customers. The process sounds simple, but it requires a comprehensive strategy and an in-depth understanding of the target market in order to successfully execute.
A great way to turn leads into customers is to have them attend a company event first. Events are a promotional and educational tool. They allow customers to interact with a brand in an immersive format and lean into some great takeaways, but events without a sales strategy do not do much for a company’s ROI.
It is common to see disjointed efforts from sales and marketing departments. Marketers design event plans and launch campaigns without input from the sales team, and sales teams take attendee information post-event without consulting the marketing team.
By joining hands, the sales cycle can be shortened and marketing teams can make smarter decisions about who to target, which can lead to positive revenue outcomes.
Reinventing the Workflow
While the specific tactics and strategies of marketing and sales team differ, the overall goal is the same, which is to generate revenue.
The best way to get into the habit of working together is to start straight out of the gate. At the beginning of the year, schedule monthly or quarterly meetings. That way, both teams have time carved out to discuss what’s in the pipeline, individual and combined priorities, and most importantly, have an open line of communication planned out ahead of time.
Defining what a lead looks like, where in the funnel they are most likely to be found, as well as past successes and failures on both sides, can be a helpful way to avoid repeating mistakes. Additionally, this type of collaboration can help teams narrow in on strategies that are likely to show success moving forward.
Using Events to Sell and Grow
Events have become a key aspect of the sales funnel. There are many types of events that can be hosted year-round and for various reasons. By now, marketers are familiar with the three major types: in-person, hybrid, and virtual, and so it is up to them to bring their sales teams up to speed on how interactions may differ based on the format.
An event today could look like a webinar or maybe something more formal like an AGM. The range is wide, which also means events could last three to four hours or a total of 15 to 30 minutes.
For sales teams, field sales remain an important activity and account for over half of the interactions within the sales force. This demonstrates the importance of in-person events and interaction and is something that must be considered by events and marketing teams.
With that being said, over the last few years, virtual interactions have earned the reputation of being “low pressure,” and this has led to more authentic engagement between attendees. The casualness of this format gives attendees room to engage without the external pressures normally associated with face-to-face events. Therefore, pairing the two types of events together, also known as a hybrid event, has become an effective strategy.
Sales Reps are Marketers At the Core
Let’s not forget that salespeople, at the core of it, are marketers too. When selling in a one-on-one conversation on the phone, in person, or virtually, salespeople need to communicate the brand story. Everything from the way the story is communicated to the words used to describe aspects of the story can make or break a sales call.
On the flipside, because sales teams interact with potential customers first-hand, they are fuelled by powerful intel. By communicating this information back to marketing teams, marketers can better understand consumer pain points and wants and work these insights into future marketing strategies, or better yet – the next event.
Marketers rarely directly interact with customers, although influencers are largely changing this. Aside from this one type of sales-focused marketing method, analytics, and measurement tools serve as key resources for marketing teams. Therefore complementary intel from sales partners can make a huge difference.
The modern-day funnel is comprised of marketing and sales. The two are intertwined, and when individuals from both teams can think from a marketing and sales lens, you’ve succeeded in creating a new and powerful revenue-generating machine to fuel your pipeline.
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