March 2009 

By Catherine Proulx, Managing Director, Twist Marketing

One of the classic problems that impedes marketing’s effectiveness is the crevasse that exists between the Marketing and Sales departments. There are a number of problems that cause this, some of which are real, some of which are perceived, and all of which are preventable. In this article I’ll take a look at one of the most common problems that I’ve come across: the lack of a clearly identified and defined role for marketing.

What is that role? In relation to sales, it’s generating leads, nurturing them, passing them on to sales when they are qualified, taking back those that do not close within a prescribed period, identifying why they haven’t closed, and further nurturing them. In order to do this cost-effectively for the company—and in a way that’s mutually rewarding for all involved—Marketing and Sales must work together closely.

Yet, so often sales people do their own lead generation and nurturing, moving prospects along the pipeline themselves with no input from marketing. Why? Because in many organizations the Marketing department is regarded as the doer of tactical activities: producing collateral, planning trade shows and when the big fish is on the hook, putting together PowerPoint presentations! While these all fall within the Marketing department’s mandate, they are all part of the broader strategic activity of lead generation. Brochures, trade shows and presentations are all lead generation and nurturing tools. In short, if something is used to create a dialogue with a prospect, it’s part of the lead generation process.

Why is this more than just a question of who does what? Because when lead generation is left to sales people to do on their own—and when lead generation tools are created by Marketing in isolation or as one-offs to win a deal here or there—the organization as a whole suffers in terms of lost revenue opportunities and inefficiencies. When sales people are freed of the time consuming process of generating leads so they can focus on selling to leads that are strategically generated and nurtured by marketing, the entire organization benefits from higher revenues and lower marketing and sales costs.

The Twist: Companies that bridge the crevasse between sales and marketing by approaching lead generation and nurturing as a strategic marketing function, instead of a task to be performed by sales people, close more deals more cost-effectively.

Coming Up: Bridging the Crevasse Between Sales & Marketing Part 2


For more marketing articles, please visit www.twistmarketing.com/resources