Do you strive for long-term improvement or immediate results? This could be the difference between whether you have a marketing or sales mindset. 

Sales and marketing business departments are always working toward a similar goal, but they go about it in very different ways. Do you understand how both departments work together and separately to grow your company? 

Failing to understand the intricacies of the relationship between these departments could result in missed business opportunities and reduced profits. 

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for a simple guide to marketing vs. sales. 

Marketing 101

Marketing is the process of promoting products and services. Typical marketing tasks include research, running advertising campaigns, and creating digital and print materials. They’ll also keep up with social media trends and run promotions.

A marketing team will do everything from digital to print, connect with prominent social media figures, and provide materials for other departments. 

How Does Marketing Support Sales?  

Marketing can be described as the precursor to sales. You’ll never see a salesperson walk into a meeting without marketing materials. Additionally, the marketing department is responsible for the company’s overall brand awareness and reputation.

In fact, good resources, brand awareness, and reputation can be the make or break factor between a salesperson managing to make a sale or not. No matter how good their sales technique, it’d be impossible to convince a client without the groundwork being done by the marketing department first. 

Sales 101

Sales is a straightforward department to understand; they sell things! A sales team will typically focus on short-term sales. They’ll also foster long-term relationships with clients. 

Salespeople are typically charismatic, incentive-driven, and have one goal in mind. 

How Does Sales Support Marketing? 

Marketers judge the success of their efforts by ROI and the volume of completed sales. Therefore, without a competent salesperson, the marketing team would be unsuccessful in their targets.

It’s so important that many businesses have dedicated roles in sales to help maximize marketing profits (you can learn more about BDR in sales here).

Additionally, in cohesive teams, the sales team will provide valuable feedback to the marketing team. As the marketing team is primarily behind the scenes, the sales team is an invaluable resource for real-time feedback. 

The marketing team can then redraft and rework materials based on the clients’ needs, and everybody wins!

Marketing vs. Sales? They’re Both Crucial for Success!

Now you understand the ins and outs of both these departments. You’ll realize why marketing vs. sales isn’t an appropriate comparison! Both are essential and critical to the other’s success. 

There’s no way to choose which is better because one could never exist without the other. So, if your marketing and sales teams aren’t aligned, you’ve got a problem to fix. 

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