The Keys to Successful Sales Collaboration

by | Nov 22, 2011

Many companies struggle to get their marketing and sales teams on the same page. Because of the disconnect between these important groups, companies miss out on a lot of opportunities.
Although it may seem like there’s no way to build a bridge between these groups, there are companies who have found out that successful sales collaboration is possible. Not only is it possible, but connecting these groups can significantly improve a company’s bottom line.
If you’re tired of banging your head against a wall as you try to figure out a solution to this issue, here are the keys to successful sales collaboration:

Times Have Changed: One of the reasons many companies struggle with this issue is because they try to solve the problem with outdated solutions. It’s no longer true that marketing should play second fiddle to sales. It’s also not true that marketing can simply blaze their own path without considering their role in the bigger picture.

A major key to successful sales collaboration is exactly that: collaboration. Instead of either group viewing this type of change as a sacrifice on their part, it’s important for both groups to understand that collaboration is the only way to successfully tackle today’s more complicated sales process.

Identify Key Segments: Both groups need to identify which segments provide the best opportunities. When the answers provided by both groups are compared to each other, those that overlap are the opportunities your company should be the most aggressive in pursuing.

Roles are Expanding: Another impact of the changing sales environment is that marketing and sales roles should no longer be defined by rigid boundaries.

In the past, marketing was generally viewed as solely responsible for branding and generating leads. Sales was then responsible for closing leads. Instead of being shunned as soon as leads are brought in, marketing needs to be encouraged to continue participating in the sales cycle.

Once marketing is given the opportunity to participate, they need to take advantage of it by coming up with new ways to engage with customers. The contributions they make should help both groups build stronger relationships with leads and existing clients.

Allow Information to Flow Freely: Successful sales collaboration requires your company to adopt an attitude that values the benefits of what this objective can help everyone accomplish.

However, simply getting everyone on-board with sales collaboration is not enough. In order for it to actually work, information needs to be accessible by everyone within your company. If people can’t easily get the information they need to do their job, they’re not going to be successful with sales collaboration.

Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever to give everyone instant access to the information they need. By implementing a web-based CRM for your company, members of all your teams will be able to instantly enter new information and access whatever they need to know.
If communication issues have gotten in the way of your company’s sales collaboration, a CRM is one of the best ways to eliminate these issues.

What sales collaboration obstacles have your company faced?