What does sales want from marketing? It’s been said many times, many ways. But when it comes right down to it, says Fusion Marketing Partners CEO Christopher Ryan, regardless of how they describe the specifics, sales nearly always wants their marketing department to make their tough job of hitting the quarterly revenue target more effective and predictable.
In a recent blog post at greatb2bmarketing.com, Ryan offers up these thoughts on how a marketing team can add the most value to the sales department and its revenue mission beyond the obvious assignment of generating leads and building brand:
• Create great content. There is no such thing as too much content, assuming the content is relevant to the various buyer/influencer personas and tailored to different stages in the buying cycle. Sales reps love it when they have a handy piece of collateral to support a particular benefit or overcome a prospect objection.
• Optimize your website. A great website is a sales accelerator. The ideal scenario occurs when prospects visit your site, educate and self-qualify themselves, and then engage with your sales team – reducing the sales cycle and improving close rates.
• Demand reciprocity. Effective lead-to-revenue machines result from a tight partnership between marketing and sales functions, aligning processes, people and technology. Both departments have to execute their specific roles efficiently — based on the target metrics agreed to in the planning stages. The marketing department must not be a junior partner in this process — both parties are equally accountable.
“The essential thing to remember is that whatever you are perceived to be doing that helps generate revenue will be labeled an investment, and whatever you do that does not contribute to revenue will be labeled an expense,” Ryan states. “When it comes to budget, recognition and job security, it is always better to be thought of as an investment. Plan your deliverables accordingly.”
