12/09/2023
"The connection between marketing and sales is something that should happen by default. Without it, there is no result." - mentions Andriy Chumachenko, Co-founder of Netpeak Agencies Group, marketing consultant.
"In a classic B2B format, marketing brings in customers from outside but knows very little about them, while the sales team communicates with customers but has no influence on where they come from.
Therefore, the former should understand the audience it attracts very well, and the latter should influence the quality. To establish this contact between the departments, it is necessary:
1. Synchronize
This means holding regular meetings. At least once a month, marketing and sales managers and their teams should meet and report on both departments, share news, comment on them, and make adjustments for improvement.
2. Measure.
Choose a common metric, an indicator of the quality of both teams. For example, at Netpeak, we use SAL (Sales Accepted Lead). This means that the lead from marketing has passed the MQL stage, the sales team has already talked to it, and an offer is being prepared. This metric can be indicative as it can be used to measure the quality of channels, regions, specific marketing activities, etc.
The sales team is incentivized to get the highest conversion rate from SAL to deal, so it is beneficial for them to move to the SAL stage only the leads that are most likely to start working with us. Why? Because every lead puts a burden on the production department to create a pre-sale, which means time is already being spent, and time is money.
At the same time, the lead scoring system motivates the highest conversion of lead to SAL, which shows the quality of service orders (how targeted they are).
To establish communication between marketing and sales departments, you need to:
- organize meetings and be accountable to each other;
- come up with metrics that will work at the intersection of what marketing and sales departments affect.
Then, the synergy of these teams will allow you to achieve pretty good results."