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[T414]The Difference Between Marketing And Sales

by James Copper, Jam

When comparing marketing with sales and considering how they relate to one another I always think of the medium sized business where I had my first job. The marketing department people were serious and analytical, always busy with statistics and campaigns and meetings. The sales people were breathless, always on the go, always on the phone or going to meet customers, always on the cusp of some enormous deal, some magic sale that would catapult the companies turnover way over the annual target. As a junior it seemed to me that the marketing people and the sales people were from two different planets. I now know that they were simply two parts of the same continuum.

Marketing can be described as the set of activities that are undertaken in order to generate leads, while selling is the act of turning a prospect a hot lead into a buyer and later a repeat customer. The marketing and sales functions of any organization are glued together by leads. If there are no leads, the two will fall foul of one another. I saw this in that business I was describing earlier. But leads work both ways. The marketing department has to deliver them and the sales department must act upon them to maximum advantage. But leads must first be generated and that is why marketing tends to overwhelm the sales function when the two are discussed.

The various forms that marketing takes are well known because they are so visible. They range from cold canvassing to brand or corporate advertising, through to the more targeted types of marketing such as direct response advertising and referrals, where the particular benefits of the product is explained to the customer. If this is done properly, then qualified prospects will actually approach the sales people for assistance. Sales people love those leads. It is in fact when the sales people take over the communication function that the lead ceases to be a lead and becomes a prospective customer, then a customer and finally a repeat customer.

Actually I have painted a somewhat idealistic picture of the lead relationship between the marketing function and the sales function. It is just not that simple because not all leads are equal. An extremely tiny percentage leads are customers who are ready to buy. Most of them are merely interested in possibly buying at a future date and some are just mildly interested, just browsing. Thats why it is important to have some sort of lead management system so that potential customers can be turned into buyers and buyers can become repeat customers.

All follow up communication should be friendly and informative, definitely not hard sell. The company representative should be regarded as a helpful expert rather than a rabid sales person. Fortunately many of the follow up functions can be automated to take the form of email, direct mail, voice broadcast and fax broadcast. Obviously the lead would be encouraged each time to call directly if they have questions or a ready to buy. The follow up effort is usually a function of the marketing and sales departments combined.

It seems to me that there is a lot of confusion between "marketing" and "sales" in the business environment. Judging from the job postings and requests for proposals that come my way, there is a tendency to lump the two together, probably because resources are limited. Companies end up looking for a sort of holy grail: someone who can successfully fill both roles, either as an employee or as a contractor.

In every instance that I know of, the person or company hired for these “double whammy” positions or projects is more sales-oriented than marketing-oriented. That's not a bad thing. Sales, after all, is the engine that generates revenue. The problem is that this scenario robs companies of the business benefits that real, honest to goodness marketing provides.

The difficulty is that what makes a great salesperson rarely makes a great marketer (and vice versa). Sales focuses on doing only those things that will lead to producing revenue, and ignores activities that don't have a direct bearing on getting to a signature on the bottom line. Sales is by necessity short-sighted, looking to the next month, the next quarter, or maybe stretching into the next year, but no further. The name of the game is filling the pipeline and moving prospects through as quickly and effectively as possible.

Marketing is a longer-term activity than sales, and generally is oriented more toward context that content. What I mean is that marketing seeks to enhance the company's position in its business niche through a variety of means, many of which can be more nuanced than a salesperson can tolerate. A successful marketing manager has a mentality that crosses creativity with good project management skills; put such a person in a sales role, and chances are high they will fail.

To clarify the differences in the two functions, I'll try some metaphors:

-- Marketing is bowl, sales is the fruit.

-- Marketing plows the soil and lays down the fertilizer, sales sows the seeds and tends the plants.

-- Marketing is the coach, sales is the star athlete.

In all three cases, the qualities that make one role work are very different from the qualities that comprise the other. Trying to get both sets of qualities in one person or contracting firm is likely to result in hybrid that doesn't perform either function well.

Here is my suggestion: If you decide that you need to get some “sales and marketing” assistance, stop and think for a moment. What specifically do you want to achieve? Answer this question, and then seek EITHER sales OR marketing assistance, not both in the same breath.

To get you started, here are some possible answers to the question:

-- You want to bring more business in the door as soon as possible. (Sales)

-- You want to increase recognition of your company and its offerings in the marketplace. (Marketing)

-- You want someone to staff your trade show booth who can talk to attendees and collect qualified leads. (Sales)

-- You want someone to manage your trade show booth and make sure everything goes smoothly. (Marketing)

I could go on, but I have hopefully made the distinction clear enough. And given you food for thought that will help you get the most out of both your sales AND your marketing resources!!

Article Source : Best Network Marketing Companies

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Both James Copper & Trish Lambert are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

James Copper has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Mortgage and Mortgage. James Copper is a writer for where you can find out informtation on. James Copper's top article generates over 1220000 views. to your Favourites.

Trish Lambert has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Guide Guitar. . Trish Lambert's top article generates over 480 views. to your Favourites.