Anyone who has worked in Marketing or Sales (or has been forced to play mediator between these two frequently finger-pointing clans) is all too familiar with the age-old rivalry. When revenue or sales goals aren’t being met, Marketing blames Sales for straying from the prescribed brand messaging and thereby confusing the market— while Sales argues that the messaging and collateral that Marketing created is too esoteric or sensational, not something they can effectively use in real life sales contexts.
And more often than not, they’re both right.
On the one hand, Marketing is correct that both Marketing and Sales must sing consistently from the same song book in order to create a strong and memorable brand identity. But, on the other hand, as Sales would argue, messaging that performs well in advertisements intended to drive initial top-of-the-funnel interest, will not necessarily work in its original form when applied deeper in the funnel. Sales typically needs a more concrete and substantive “remix” of the song in order to close the deal.
The best brand positioning is authentic, distinctive, and compelling—and the best messaging and collateral re-enforces that overarching positioning while amplifying different proof points for prospects at different places in the customer journey.
THE BRAND TRUTH? A truce between Marketing and Sales is possible—but Marketers must be willing to listen with open and curious minds to their colleagues in Sales (the experts in late-stage customer buying decisions) and adapt their sales enablement strategies accordingly.
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