In fact, a study conducted by LinkedIn reveals that 87% of leaders in these sectors believe that collaboration between both departments enables critical business growth .
But how can you carry out an effective integration when the target segment is Business to Business? We’ll tell you!
Marketing and sales, two vital areas for companies
Although it may seem far-fetched, reality shows that it is common for there to be conflicts or frictions between the sales and marketing sectors.
A survey conducted by Harvard Business Review found that 87% of the concepts that employees in these areas use to describe each other are negative .
This disconnection, far from providing benefits, leads to the waste of resources and the loss not only of time, but of profitability – which is even worse.
Smarketing is here to solve this problem. This term, created by merging the words sales and marketing, aims to align both teams to boost the growth of organizations and increase their profits .
Aligning Marketing and Sales in B2B Companies: How to Achieve an Effective Connection?
It is clear that the best thing for corporate well-being is for marketing and sales to stop working in silo and understand the benefits of mutual collaboration.
So, how can marketing and sales be aligned in B2B companies? By implementing some specific actions.
Sharing a single definition of the target audience
It seems like a no-brainer, but it never hurts to make it clear: for a sales strategy to be successful, both marketing and sales staff must understand who they are talking to or selling to, respectively .
By having the same vision of the buyer persona, the marketing department will direct its efforts to the appropriate target, while the sales department will focus on solving the needs of potential customers.
Establish common goals
Each department has different goals (attracting X amount of leads and selling X amount of products or services, for example). This means that they often focus on achieving them separately.
However, to align marketing and sales in B2B companies, it is important to determine objectives that, in addition to being common, are SMART , that is, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely.
Determining common goals encourages both sectors to work in a complementary manner.
Clarify all processes
Both areas must have a detailed understanding of the operational functioning of their own sector and the other department, understanding the difficulties, the most common errors, the highlights and the possibilities for improvement.
When employees are familiar with the processes that involve both departments, everything becomes easier and more synergistic . As a result, efforts and energy are directed toward integrated problem resolution.
Pooling data
Data is at the heart of any business strategy, because it reveals information about the market, potential customers and the results of implemented actions.
It is therefore essential that both sectors share data on their activities, leads and sales or closed deals . By doing so, they will be able to make informed decisions and optimize their efforts.
Technology plays a key role in achieving this goal . Having digital tools makes it easier for marketing staff to access data to improve strategies for attracting prospects, while allowing the sales department to better track them.
Establish a service level agreement between sales and marketing
Creating an agreement between both sectors, with well-established standards and processes, facilitates the operation and understanding of the parties , promoting alignment between marketing and sales in B2B companies.
This SLA should define what a qualified lead is, what steps to follow in each phase of the funnel are, and when leads should be passed on to sales, among other issues.
Promote communication
Communication is a key aspect for any company, regardless of the type of solution it offers on the market.
Therefore, the ideal is to establish spaces in which the sectors can communicate the status of their activities, the results they achieved and the points on which they are working or plan to work in the future .