B2B companies have long recognized that aligning sales and marketing is key to driving business growth. However, “only 28% of salespeople said marketing was their best source of leads.” This indicates a lack of alignment that can result in missed opportunities for lead generation, inefficient sales processes, wasted marketing spend, and ultimately, decreased revenue.
Think of sales as the arrow and marketing as the bow. You need both, working together, to hit your target.
Your sales team is on the front line with clients and prospects every day. Your reps have a unique and important perspective on what your clients are looking for, expect, and need. Optimizing your marketing to drive sales success means collecting and utilizing valuable insights from your sales team about what the market wants. On the other hand, your marketing team is looking at insightful data on a regular basis and understands the broader levers to pull in order to generate the momentum needed for sales. Both departments must work together to drive the arrow forward.
Explore the importance of aligning marketing and sales for B2B success, and what steps B2B executives can take to ensure their teams are working together effectively.
1. Identify Main Goals and KPIs for Sales and Marketing
The first step in aligning sales and marketing teams is to establish a common set of goals and the key performance indicators (KPIs) used to track those goals. Both teams need to work towards the same objectives, whether that is increasing revenue, generating leads, or expanding market share. By having a shared vision of what success looks like, teams can work more effectively together to achieve those goals.
In addition, establishing KPIs will allow teams to measure the success of their joint efforts. This could include metrics like website traffic, email and social engagement, lead generation, and MQL to SQL conversion rate. Having a shared set of KPIs ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same end goals.
2. Improve Communication Between Sales and Marketing Departments
Communication is key to any successful relationship, and the relationship between sales and marketing is no exception. In order to work together effectively, both teams need to have open lines of communication and collaborate regularly. This can be achieved through regular team meetings, joint training sessions, and shared performance metrics.
One effective way to improve communication between sales and marketing is to create a shared database of lead and client information. By sharing data on leads and accounts, both sales and marketing teams can work more effectively to target the right customers with the right messaging. In fact, “43% of sales and marketing people said ‘lack of accurate/shared data on target accounts and prospects’ was the biggest challenge when it comes to aligning sales and marketing departments.”
We recommend HubSpot to all our B2B clients. HubSpot’s dynamic and robust set of marketing, lead generation, and sales features empower organizations to unite siloed sales and marketing teams, leading to increased collaboration and communication between teams and ultimately driving higher-quality lead generation.
Collaboration between sales and marketing is key to driving high-quality leads. While marketing teams are often responsible for generating leads, sales teams play a vital role in providing feedback on the quality of those leads and helping to refine targeting. By working together, sales and marketing teams can generate sales qualified leads that are more likely to convert into clients.
3. Review Results and Make Improvements
Finally, it is important for sales and marketing teams to regularly review their results and make improvements to their joint efforts. This may include analyzing website traffic and lead generation data, reviewing sales pipeline velocity, or conducting joint win/loss analyses.
By regularly reviewing their KPIs and results, teams can identify areas where they are succeeding and areas where they need to improve. This can help teams refine their sales and marketing strategies and make data-driven decisions about how to allocate resources and focus their efforts.
Aligning for B2B Success
“We see daily the effects of poor alignment between sales and marketing teams—it leads to wasted budgets, burnt out employees, and frustrated leadership. Luckily, your sales and marketing teams have the knowledge and data to do the job. Make sure your team is aligned under the right goals and equipped with the best tools to get the job done. That’s where Breezy Hill comes in.” — Crystal Buessing, VP of Digital Strategy
Aligning sales and marketing teams is critical to driving business growth for B2B organizations. By establishing shared goals and KPIs, improving communication between teams, and regularly reviewing results, leadership can ensure that their sales and marketing teams are working together effectively to drive toward the right objectives. As a result, they will be better positioned to generate leads, close sales, and grow your business.
If you are a B2B executive and would like to learn more about how to align your sales and marketing teams, contact Breezy Hill Marketing today. Our team of digital marketing experts can help you develop a customized marketing strategy that aligns with your business goals and drives revenue growth.
