Bridging the Gap: Strengthening the Relationship Between Sales and Marketing
Since we met Rebecca Schuette several years ago, her career has evolved from serving in marketing leadership roles for start-ups to launching her own fractional CMO consultancy. Her experience in fast growing, fast scaling businesses has given her particular insight and perspective on the challenges and opportunities around an essential component of leadership— cross-functional collaboration. In this post, a follow up to a previous post, she speaks to the power and importance of “S’marketing”— forging a close working relationship between marketing and sales.
In the fast-paced startup world of B2B SaaS, success hinges on collaboration. When marketing and sales work together seamlessly, growth follows. But when the teams aren’t aligned? The sales team misses its targets, revenue goals become unattainable, and the blame game of finger-pointing begins.
In my experience as a marketing leader building and leading teams at various stages of company size and growth, fostering a collaborative spirit between marketing and sales is transformative. Once, in my first days on the job as SVP Marketing at a new company , I proactively (and instinctively!) set up an ongoing meeting with a Sales Rep. He was shocked, and remarked, “I've never had my marketing team listen to me before!” This blew my mind. I believe it should be standard practice for marketers to listen to sales teams.
The sales team is on the front lines, receiving real-time feedback from prospects about what messages resonate and what misses the mark. Good marketers conduct customer research, define value propositions, and craft sales enablement materials to empower sales. However, this work is best informed by direct insights from sales teams. Sales provides vital feedback that helps shape effective marketing strategies and materials.
So, what are some ways you can foster a stronger partnership between sales and marketing to ensure your company hits its targets next quarter? Here are three concrete, actionable tips.
1. Align on Goals and Strategy
The foundation of collaboration is shared objectives. Marketing and sales must be on the same page, aiming for the same targets. This alignment ensures that both teams understand their collective purpose and can rally together to achieve it.
Once objectives are determined, the next step is determining which strategies and tactics will help you achieve those objectives most efficiently. Strategic planning shouldn’t happen in isolation. When marketing and sales plan together, they’re more likely to uncover innovative strategies that drive growth. Joint sessions help to ensure that marketing campaigns support sales goals and that sales feedback refines marketing tactics
2. Open Communication Channels
To bridge the gap between marketing and sales, start by fostering open and proactive dialogue. Misunderstandings thrive in silence, so set up regular “S’Marketing” meetings and encourage honest feedback. This ensures each team understands the other's challenges and perspectives, creating a sense of unity.
I often find that once a few departments improve cross-departmental communication, openness becomes part of the company culture. Something as easy as creating a “Customer Wins” channel on Slack encourages knowledge sharing and brings the entire company closer to the customer experience.
In addition to communicating directly with Sales, software like Gong and Chorus makes it easy for marketers to listen to and extract learnings from sales calls. These findings can help inform intent strategies, refine value propositions and even guide future product development.
3. Shared Metrics
Using unified metrics to measure success helps both teams stay focused on the right priorities. When marketing and sales are aligned on what success looks like, they can measure progress together. This way, everyone knows what’s working and where improvements are needed.
The weekly S’Marketing meeting is a great venue to review these metrics and collectively solve challenges faced by either team, which reinforces the idea that both teams are striving for the same goal.
And, when your teamwork results in successfully meeting your targets, celebrate those wins together! A win for one team is a win for both. Joint celebration fosters a culture of collective achievement. Recognizing shared victories builds camaraderie and reinforces the importance of collaboration.
Go-To-Market Strategy is a Team Sport
A successful go-to-market strategy requires collaboration. A unified approach between marketing and sales is essential to navigating the competitive landscape successfully and achieving shared goals.
Let's break down silos and foster a spirit of collaboration between marketing and sales. When these teams work together, everyone wins.
Rebecca Schuette is Founder and Fractional Chief Marketing Officer at Start2Scale, a marketing consultancy focused on helping B2B startups and scaleups drive profitable growth. Follow her on LinkedIn.