How to identify misalignment between marketing and sales teams
Have you noticed a sudden sales drop in your business? You have struggled to find the reason behind it, but you couldn’t. One of the biggest factors often overlooked is misalignment between marketing and sales teams.
A minor misalignment can become the source of major issues. You have a chance to miss several growth opportunities. When your salespersons and marketers get aligned, you may drive the growth of more than 30%.
Misalignment between marketing and sales teams: Major signs
Although you have separate teams for sales and marketing campaigns, they should work together efficiently. It will result in a seamless process. We have now listed the major signs of misalignment among your salespersons and marketers.
No team member is found accountable
Suppose Salesperson A has claimed, “You haven’t provided me with a list of quality leads.” In response, Salesperson B has argued, “You have not nurtured my leads effectively. You have not followed them up regularly.”
Thus, this scenario reveals that no one is ready to accept responsibility. How will you solve it? Ensure that sales and marketing departments are accountable for what they anticipate.
No consistency in language
A salesperson thinks that a lead can become a prospect by fulfilling some criteria he has set. On the contrary, another team member has defined that a lead can become a prospect when he tries to interact with him. Both team members are right from their own perspectives. However, you cannot notice consistency in their language. It is always essential to stick to a particular definition and language.
Without consistency, your salespersons and marketers can become confused. They will take contradictory actions, and there will be a loss of sales.
You have to be careful about this aspect to prevent misalignment.
The sales process gets separated from the content-related process
Your sales professionals have a view that selling is better than writing blogs. However, developing new content ideas is important as well. It is essential to build the best quality content.
Your sales consultants play a role in communicating with potential customers. They identify their needs and find what tactics do not work for the campaign. However, why do your marketers have not approached salespersons to get content ideas?
Although your marketers create promotional content, they should target alignment during their content development process. Let your sales consultants review the content and match it to potential buyers’ interests. Your salespersons will gain a sense of ownership while creating content.
No trust in each other
While some team members have not passed bad leads, others claim that the leads are not nurtured effectively. It is a sign of distrust in the team. It also makes your team inefficient, and there will be a lack of productivity.
As a team leader, you should help your marketing and sales professionals build trust. Provide the best opportunities to maintain workflow and interact with your team members.
No harmony while encountering each other
Your salespersons have thought of attending your seminar on Friday. But, your marketing team has decided on doing it on Mondays when they need to start a new campaign.
This problem can be solved when these team members have passed along what they have learned from the event. However, it does not happen in most cases. Several organizations have found that marketers and salespersons do not encounter each other at least once every year.
But, for a successful business, it is important to ensure their interactions twice every month. They have to celebrate milestones together.
Sales and marketing teams learn separately
Suppose your salespersons have gone to attend an event in a particular city to engage in team-building activities, product training, and motivational talks. On the contrary, your marketers have gone to another event for instructions and product demos. They will learn different things, and it will cause inconsistency in the decision-making process.
Make sure that your marketers and sales consultants learn together. You can host an annual event to let them stay aligned. These professionals should learn, understand, and test everything together.
No one is sure about their targets
A misalignment between marketers and salespersons will cause lots of hassles. As an inbound marketing professional, you know the importance of identifying target personas. In most cases, a company has services and products intended to match multiple target personas.
These personas are characters developed from data you have gathered. They are also ideal customers for your company. You will find it easy to sell your products and services to them.
So, take your time to find those target personas.
No performance-related feedback
It will leave your team in the dark. Your marketers and sales professionals should maintain a consistent flow when information is passed to each other. However, data is highly essential to make the sales process successful.
Check your team’s performance and give them feedback at the right time. The communication style should match your unique business structure. You may also deliver emails periodically. So, ensure that your message is circulated properly and every team member is aware of it.
Importance of aligning marketing with the sales team
This approach is effective at boosting morale and ensuring organizational success. The synchronization will be successful by scheduling events regularly. You can track how the teams are performing to achieve the shared goals. You should also communicate the obstacles and workflow. Both teams need to convey their voices and set a strategy.
Misalignment between marketing and sales teams: Conclusion
To conclude, we can say that alignment between marketers and sales professionals will result in higher revenue. Your company will also notice a shorter sales cycle. Though every sales cycle is unique, your professionals should keep up the flow. You should also try to find the reason for the misalignment between marketing and sales teams.
Both marketing and sales departments should learn the way to use automated software applications available at Movology.com. They can make the process of lead nurturing more efficient.