Mind the Gap: It Could Hurt Your Business


sales marketing gap | close the marketing gap | increase sales revenueIf you’ve ever traveled on the London underground transportation system, you will recall the signs posted everywhere telling you to “Mind the Gap” when you get on and off the trains. These, now iconic, signs are meant to warn passengers of dangerous, wide gaps that exist at many of the stops. Interestingly, this powerful statement could also apply to most sales and marketing teams where there is often a lack of alignment in strategy and initiatives.

At Marketing Works, our clients often ask us if it really matters if sales and marketing work in silos. They also ask questions like:

“Don’t sales and marketing have different priorities?”

“Isn’t marketing all about the brand while sales is about making money?”

“With all the meetings we have already do we really need one more?

Well the short answer is simply an emphatic YES! If your organization is going to reach its maximum revenue potential then these teams need to talk often and all initiatives must be in-sync to achieve one common goal – increase revenue. In fact, according to a recent Marketo study, organizations that have fully aligned sales-marketing teams achieve 102% of their revenue target.

Plus, when sales and marketing are aligned your job actually becomes easier because you have the following:

• More integrated pipeline
• Highly personalized prospect interaction
• Optimized campaigns that hit the right channels
• Ability to maximize resources (e.g., seamless passing of leads)
• Enhanced capability to truly understand the ROI of your efforts and a coordinated effort to make adjustments more quickly

So how well are your sales and marketing teams aligned? Ask yourself the following:

1. Does the sales team ever complain that leads are not sales-ready?
a. Yes
b. No

2. Does the marketing team ever complain about inadequate lead follow up by sales?
a. Yes
b. No

3. Within your company, is there a formal planning process between sales and marketing that clearly establishes workflow and lead management responsibilities?
a. Yes
b. No

If you answered no to any of the above, then it’s time to “Mind the Gap.” Need help getting started? Contact us to arrange a time to speak with our experienced team about how to kickstart your realignment initiative. After all, the CEO is looking at both entities to achieve revenue goals.


Bill Kiefaber • June 22, 2012

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