Marketing and Sales have fought for a long time between each other. I think there isn't a more tense and broken organizational relationship than between these two. I feel like this is something we've read about, heard about, talked about SO MUCH before. However, we still haven't done anything about it.
One of the main causes for failed digital marketing projects, in Mexico at least where my experience relies on, is the broken interdepartamental relationships. Why? There is no way you can really work on between teams across the organization. There is so much tension, competition and jealousy between them that the idea of helping one another, simply does not exist. Marketing and Sales/Commercial departments are EXPERTS in this fight, and it really is the most ironic fight of all, when you come to realize how good it is, and mutually beneficial it is for them to work together.
I can't seem to understand why this is still going on today. I could actually understand why this used to happen, I mean the idea of digital wasn't even a component for the overall strategy. Marketing wasn't even doing digital right. But what happens when the digital marketing strategy takes place, and sales becomes threatened by the idea that this will replace them. When are you going to open your eyes and realize, you are them. Digital Marketing and Sales should be and is the same thing. Just look at marketing platforms, they don't work without the integrations of their CRMs. Who manages the CRMs? Salespeople of course. But again why the heck are we fighting this? Don't you think if your salespeople where the same as your marketing people, then your expertise in both streamlines will become eventually one? Don't you think this would one up you against your competition?
Let's look at this example. Our sales guys and gals are the ones who know the customer best, they know what they want, how they want it and when they want it. However they don't know how to best place the message without being a pushy sales guy, or gal. At least most of them. Marketing should know this, they should be experts in message placing actually. Putting this two together would be the best combination. Imaging you marketing people knowing what your customer wants, they know how to talk to them, what to tell them not only when and where to give them the message. Now, if sales knows when to deliver the right message, don't you think that makes a powerful combination and gives them leverage as experts, shifting the mentality that they're only here to sell.
Changing your salespeople's role from the seller to the helper, will only be done when marketing and sales erase the razor thin line that exists between them. One of the most important goals of an organization when adopting digital marketing strategies, should be to create a whole new department for this people. The marketing and sales people who have now become one. HubSpot used to call it smarketing, I liked that concept, I think smart people became aware that this was eventually going to happen. When a Martech stack includes the sales technologies or tools sales department uses, it becomes clear, they have to work together. Technologies are seamlessly integrated between this two departments, so why aren't people?
I also think this goes well beyond the marketing and sales integration. It has to happen across the whole organization. We have to stop this internal competition. The only way to really do this is by communicating and changing the way we work internally, providing the benefits of mutual collaboration. Not wanting individual credit for the whole organization's well being. This can only happen when we have a great company culture and everyone is a team player, focusing not on their individually gain but in the company gain.