The Difference Between Sales and Marketing
As a leader, you have to understand the differences between the two and set department expectations accordingly.
Key Takeaways:
One feeds the other. One is about lead generation and the other one is about lead conversion.
One is a marathon, the other is a sprint. Understand the difference.
Not everyone in your organization is a salesperson, but everyone in your organization is a marketer.
Sales and marketing are completely different, but they work together to achieve one objective. According to Peter Drucker, the one objective for any business is to create a customer.
The Difference
Marketing is all about generating leads. It's about engaging in activities that attract and keep clients.
Sales is about converting those leads into actual viable customers.
Understanding the Timeline
Sales is a sprint. Marketing, is a marathon.
Don't expect results from a marketing team right away like you would from a sales team (you will get frustrated). Sales can deliver results to you quickly.
Marketing is about what's happening today, tomorrow, next week, and “how are the numbers looking” at for the end of the month. Marketing efforts are similar to a “slow roast”— it takes a long time to come to fruition. However, when they do, a marketing department can score huge. As for a sales team, they better be producing results for you within 90 or 120 days.
Again, do not ask a marketing team to produce results for you. Within days, or within weeks or within months, you will be sorely disappointed and the relationship will go south.
Polar Opposites
Marketing is about telling. Sales is about asking.
Great marketers want to scream about the innovations, great products, and the awesome services from the mountaintops. They want to let the world know about all these amazing things you have to offer.
A great salesperson will ask the proper questions to find the best solution for their client. Any salesperson knows that in order for you to control the conversation, you need to ask intelligent questions (this one is most often overlooked).
Everyone in your company is a marketer.
Think about the last experience you had at a restaurant. If that waiter treated you well, you're gonna tell your friends about it. So that waiter, in essence, is a marketer, whether they like it or not,
Not everyone in your organization is a salesperson, but everyone in your organization is a marketer. If you're not careful, someone that's super low on the totem pole could potentially sabotage your business or they could multiply your business as well.
It's very important to understand that everyone in the organization (especially those who have any interaction with a client whatsoever) is a marketer. Not everybody in your organization as a salesperson,
Sales vs. Marketing
They have the same objective, yet they have different set of goals.
As a professional, you've got to understand the differences between these two teams. Be sure to set expectations accordingly or else they will become super frustrated and put out resumes for an organization or boss that understands the difference. It is possible to sit on top of both, just understand how they work and how they're going to help your business.