Sales and Marketing Must Work Together

In this economy, it is more important than ever to capture and nurture every sales lead and to pass only the most qualified leads to Sales. Salespeople can't rely simply on a consultative approach because it is time consuming and reactive. Marketing can't focus on simply generating leads and hope that sales can close that gap between "vague interest" and "fully qualified opportunity alone." Sales and Marketing must work together to make the sales process more proactive. Marketing must expand its role to pick up where the consultative salesperson falls short by blending the proactive nature of marketing with the consultative selling approach.

There is a significant change taking shape in business-to-business selling. We are seeing in business the rise of Marketing to supplant Sales' dominance. It is a dramatic and rapid evolution changing the way suppliers and buyers initially contact, interact and then transact business. This requires an interactive dialogue and interaction between buyer and supplier across all channels of communication. Website, blogs, trade shows, sales team, support, customer counsels, social network marketing, and touch points which have yet to be conceived, every touch point must be integrated, consistent and proactive.

This is not the first dramatic shift in business-to-business sales and will not be the last. This approach benefits both parties in a sale by minimizing the interactions required to make a buying decision.