Perhaps this scenario is familiar: a group of sales-marketing colleagues settle in for an interdepartmental meeting. The marketing department is giddy with excitement and a fresh morning coffee buzz. The sales reps are watching the clock and cringing each time they hear their office phone ring through to voice mail.
The head of marketing calls the meeting to order, and with a winning smile says they have just finished mining new market research. The sales reps roll their eyes. The marketing manager announces that the department is preparing to deploy a complex, multi-layered marketing strategy. The sales reps let out a sigh that is heard around the office. Marketing goes on to explain what this could mean for the company as a whole. All that the sales reps hear is “We have found more busy work, and we’ll be delivering it right to your desk!”
This disconnect creates a bigger problem than a boring meeting. Companies with poor sales and marketing alignment see declining revenues. One of the most common misaligning factors is the process of lead generation and nurturing.
Marketing departments hope to generate huge amounts of new leads, and a big number denotes departmental success: hot leads, cold leads, or indifferent. That number falls into the lap of the salespeople, who become overwhelmed with processing contacts, and underwhelmed with selling. Sales reps are measured by conversions. When occupied with processing instead of selling, resentments build both ways.
The sales enablement solutions of today serve as the lead go-between for marketing and sales by defining clear department responsibilities. The marketing department is able to freely generate potential prospects and contact information. The sales enablement software uses capabilities like leading indicators to determine what kind of leads the contacts are. Then, reps can ignore bad information, and spend their time turning good leads into opportunities and conversions. Advanced platforms help reps to determine next steps by providing predictive sales information.
Does your team have trouble warming up cold leads?
