Table of Contents
- 1. Set Cross-Department Goals With Shared Metrics
- 2. Schedule Regular Touchpoints
- 3. Develop a Lead Scoring System
- 4. Produce Full-Funnel Campaigns
- 5. Utilize Sales Enablement Tools
- 6. Ensure Email Nurture Streams Complement Sales Outreach
- 7. Poll Sales Teams Regularly
- 8. Prioritize Ongoing Education and Training
In 2024, business moves faster than ever. That’s why marketing and sales aligning isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s essential for driving maximum ROI and efficiency. Known as sales enablement, it’s about giving your sales team the tools, content, and knowledge they need to more effectively sell your product or service and, ultimately, to close more deals.
When marketing and sales are on the same page, the results speak for themselves. Read on to discover eight ways Sales and Marketing can work together today to achieve big results tomorrow.
1. Set Cross-Department Goals With Shared Metrics
87% of sales and marketing leaders say collaboration between their two departments enables critical business growth.
Setting shared goals is one of the first steps in aligning marketing and sales. When both teams work toward the same objectives and KPIs — think customer acquisition, conversion rates, or sales cycle speed — they’re more likely to collaborate effectively.
In turn, holding both teams accountable for hitting those targets becomes easier. At a company where marketing and sales are focused on increasing customer retention by, say, 20% over the next quarter marketing might work on creating quality targeted content aimed at existing buyers while sales hones in on upselling and cross-selling.
To ensure success along the way, shared metrics are crucial. CRM systems and marketing automation platforms enable full transparency with access to the same customer data, interactions, sales pipeline info, and performance metrics, so everyone can stay on track and focus on what matters most from moment to moment.
⚖️ Related Reading: Content Marketing Measurement, Demystified: How to Demonstrate ROI from Brand to Demand
2. Schedule Regular Touchpoints
53% of sales teams rely on strategy reviews — the top enablement activity after support materials, product-specific training, and one-on-one coaching.
Regular communication is the glue that holds sales and marketing together. Whether it’s weekly, bi-weekly, or bi-monthly, these touchpoints allow both teams to discuss strategies and share insights to stay updated on each other’s activities and address any challenges. So when the same issues come up again and again on the sales side, marketing can create corresponding content to smooth the path toward conversion.
With consistent meetings where sales shares customer feedback and marketing explains recent campaign performance, it becomes possible to consistently pivot and personalize strategies for better results and fewer hiccups overall. And by encouraging ongoing communication through apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams, both sides can quickly address issues and come to faster resolutions for a more agile approach.
3. Develop a Lead Scoring System
Lead nurturing programs have shown an average 20% increase in sales opportunities and dramatic improvements to key conversion stages in the sales process.
Reflecting the needs of both your marketing and sales teams, a proper lead scoring system is a must-have when it comes to identifying which leads are most likely to convert — re: which deserve most of your time and resources.
By assigning scores to each lead based on behavior like website visits, content downloads, and email engagement, it’s clearer to see who’s ready to be passed from marketing to sales and when. So reps can spend their time on the most valuable leads, while marketing continues to nurture others. Sales teams can also benefit from training and documentation to help them understand how leads are scored and how to use this information to prioritize their outreach.
📧 Related Reading: B2B Lead Nurture: Evaluating Personal Email vs. Business Email Addresses
4. Produce Full-Funnel Campaigns
Full-funnel strategies see up to 45% higher ROI and 7% increases in offline sales compared to marketing campaigns across a single purchase stage.
– Nielsen
From awareness to decision and brand to demand, full-funnel marketing campaigns address every stage of the buyer’s journey for a seamless customer experience. In a perfect world, this happens by both teams working together so that marketing can generate higher-quality leads for sales to then nurture more effectively. But how does that play out?
Imagine a financial services firm, for example. Marketing might start with blog posts and social media content to raise awareness about financial planning. As prospects engage, they’re moved to middle-funnel content like whitepapers and webinars. Finally, at the decision stage, case studies and product demos can push leads toward conversion — with sales stepping in to close the deal.
Marketers need to build, plan, design, amplify, and measure as part of a single, continuous stream instead of focusing on siloed efforts.
– Lieu Pham, VP and Head of Strategy at studioID
5. Utilize Sales Enablement Tools
99% of survey respondents who use sales enablement platforms said that it makes their job easier.
– Seismic
Sales enablement tools are critical for giving your sales team the resources they need to succeed, but that means more than just plugging into a CRM system. From tailored sales kits and messaging guidelines to content libraries, one-off pieces, and fully-fledged training workshops for major initiatives, there are all kinds of ways marketing can equip sales for faster, more effective customer responses and deal closures.
For big rock campaigns, consider including a competitive analysis, case studies, and product demo videos. Ideally, it should be easily accessible through a centralized platform so that reps can quickly find the materials they need — including best practices for using the resources at hand.
6. Ensure Email Nurture Streams Complement Sales Outreach
50% of B2B marketers say sales emails are the most effective tactic in a lead nurturing campaign.
Another vital element of marketing and sales outreach? Emails, of course. With our powers combined, it’s possible to create a consistent and cohesive communicative experience for prospects, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
So if a prospect downloads a whitepaper, say, the marketing team can initiate a nurture sequence with additional resources — just what your sales team needs to then follow up with a personalized outreach. Referencing the content that lead has already engaged with, reps can offer something tailored — a human-to-human approach that shows folks you’re not just pushing a sale, but that you really understand their needs and want to help.
To ensure alignment, marketing and sales should map out the customer journey together and agree on when and how leads transition from one team to the next. Regularly review and refine this process based on performance data to keep things running smoothly.
🖥️ Related Reading: 2024 Best Practices for Email Marketing Campaigns: A Guide for Demand Generation Marketers
7. Poll Sales Teams Regularly
Only 29% of reps say they are completely satisfied with enablement materials.
Your sales team is on the front lines with customers, so their feedback is invaluable. By regularly polling your reps, marketers gain direct insights into pain points, common objections, and messaging gaps that need to be addressed — helping refine marketing strategies to refocus on creating content that can help improve customer experience and satisfaction.
Consider conducting monthly surveys or holding feedback sessions with your sales team. If reps are hearing the same concerns from customers again and again, marketing can create content that targets those specific issues, whether that be via a detailed FAQ, testimonial from a long-term user, or something else entirely.
Bonus point: Polling your sales team regularly can also help you stay ahead of emerging trends and shifts in customer preferences and behaviors, allowing you to further adjust your marketing efforts accordingly.
8. Prioritize Ongoing Education and Training
The number one growth tactic for sales leaders and managers is improving sales enablement and training.
For long-term success and alignment across teams, continuous education and trainings are key. These sessions should dive into new marketing strategies, sales techniques, and major initiatives as they arise to ensure both marketing and sales teams stay up-to-date and on the same page
This might look like a quarterly training workshop where marketing updates the sales team on new content, campaigns, and shifts in messaging while sales shares new insights from the customer front. You could even try out role-playing exercises for sales reps to practice using new messaging and leveraging specific pieces of content to solve client problems.
Investing in ongoing training arms both sales and marketing teams with the latest tools and the knowledge they need to better engage and close more deals. And, as the cherry on top, it reinforces the importance of alignment and collaboration, making way for a culture where marketing and sales work closer and closer together.
Your sales team has leads. Now what? View the infographic to give your sales team the best chance to seal the deal.
