Having worked in both Sales and Marketing roles independently I have been exposed to what motivates each party and ultimately, their goals.

Until recently, it was quite simple. Both parties worked autonomously. Sales did their prospecting and selling, Marketing drove awareness and if by chance there was a successful lead generated they were passed to sales to do their thing and close the deal.

In the last few years however, Marketing, and particularly Digital Marketing, have been generating leads quicker than a salesperson can smile and dial. Marketing automation, better analytics and the explosion of social media have all contributed to the success of Digital Marketing as a selling tool.

This has created an issue. Marketing now hold quite a bit of power in the success of the Sales department. Apart from the stress of having a target the last thing a salesperson wants is someone else in control of their earning potential.

A recent report by InsideView® and Demand Gen® show that both parties still have conflicting ideas about the value of each others roles:

“55% of Salespeople surveyed agreed Marketing isn’t accountable for pipeline”

“16% of Marketers surveyed agreed they could do a better job selling than their sales colleagues”

The report did show however that both parties were on the same page regarding the challenges of aligning the two departments:

Sales and Marketing must work as one and trust each other in order to achieve the best outcome of the partnership.

Some Marketing departments are now measured by their contribution to pipeline which helps to unite both teams.

Studies have shown three striking benefits of the alignment:

1. Revenue Growth

“Organizations with tightly aligned Marketing and Sales achieved 24% faster revenue growth and 27% faster profit over a three-year period.”                                                                                     (Source: SiriusDecisions)

2. Retain Customers

“Companies with aligned sales and marketing teams experience 36% higher customer retention rates.”  (Source: MarketingProfs)

3. Closing Deals

“Companies with aligned sales and marketing teams are 67% better at closing deals.”                            (Source: Marketo)

As Digital Transformation sweeps across the B2B landscape having your Sales & Marketing departments working as one finely tuned machine can only be a good thing.