Marketing Killed Sales

Marketing Killed Sales

Many organizations I see can be defined by the phrase: “Marketing killed sales.”

But what does that mean?

Aren’t they the same thing?

The mis-interpretation, the mis-application, the mis-appropriation of these two simple words is why many organizations fail to see increases in their revenue. The fact of matter is this, sales and marketing are two different responsibilities for an organization. Throughout the restoration industry — and really any industry for that matter — the roles of Sales and Marketing are combined into one position. This creates confusion and results are left wanting.

The purpose of sales is simple, “to drive revenue for the business.”

The purpose of marketing is simple, “to create exposure and recognition for the business.”

Undoubtedly, sales and marketing are related. They work together and they are both seeking that final ultimate goal: a successful thriving company. But they are different in their purposes and too often they are mashed together with hopes of accomplishing the same outcome.

I see this every day with our clients and several other businesses. Individuals are hired to do both sales and marketing with no clear objective for what the results should be. Eventually the new hire turns and runs. The turnover rate for these positions are among the highest. The owner isn’t satisfied with the results and the new Sales and Marketing hire is drowning in the confusion of their role.

In many cases the positions is created, wrongfully I might add, in the effort to save money. In the long run this strategy costs more money and the local owner will find themselves once again looking for a sales and marketing guru — more time, more money.

So how do you fix this? How do you allow the complementing strategies of Sales and Marketing to breath and be effective for your organization?

The simple answer is, STOP.  

Stop combining the roles and create separate positions for each respected need. Hire sales individuals to focus all of their energy on growing revenue for your business. Hire a marketing team member or an agency to help with branding and promoting your business in the local market.

Allow the two positions to relate but not to monopolize each others time throughout the week. It is critical that both positions are managed with detailed roles and responsibilities as well as key metrics for performance. This can be in many variable forms. For sales, a simple quota and revenue objective is king. For marketing, it can be a set number of activities along with a detailed number of engagement. Marketing can definitely get to be more detailed for demonstrating ROI, but it is critical to have a plan in place before filling that position.

I promise you this: sales and marketing can start working for you and causing your business to thrive once you separate the roles and stop the mash-up. The outcome is two unique focuses that can grow revenue and help your business thrive to new levels.

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