The Time Is Now to Double Down on Sales & Marketing Alignment

While I’ve always been a proponent of Sales and Marketing alignment, now’s the time to double down. Though you may be working remotely, you need more collaboration, not less. And with every deal being hard-won, you can’t afford to have leaks in the funnel right now. So I want to encourage you to make an unbreakable bond between Sales and Marketing. It will serve you well now, and it will be something you can build on once you’re allowed to high-five in person once again. So here are eight ideas you can work on to better align Sales and Marketing and hit your B2B sales goals:

1. Align on REALISTIC objectives for right now. Make sure you’re in lockstep on business priorities and the right approach to take for right now. Will you focus on retention, cross-selling, expansion, keeping traction with prospects already in the pipeline, or finding net new leads? Maybe it’s a mix, or maybe only one makes sense based on your industry, but aligning on what represents the best opportunity given the current situation and what value you have to offer is an important first step. Gather context from sales team members who have their ear to the ground. Based on the segmentation and context cues provided here, determine priority segments.

2. Create a holistic buyer experience. If a prospect has researched your solution, read a great case study on your website, and downloaded the ebook about your benefits in their industry, do you start with a generic sales pitch from a rep? Or does the rep already know which content they’ve engaged with and what they’re most interested in, to bring insights to their interaction? Show you value your customers’ time and make sure your systems and processes deliver a frictionless experience across the entire customer lifecycle, from education, solution and selection through onboarding and beyond.

3. Embrace the art of marketing operations. When so much is out of your control, it can be a breath of fresh air to be really good at the things you can control. This is a great time to get your arms around the life of a lead. Trace every step of how a lead travels across every system, process and human interaction. Shore up any integrations or human processes where things are getting caught up or lost.

4. Create a safe zone and upskill together. If your sales team used to rely on face-to-face interactions and handshake deals, how can you help them adjust to the new world of Zoom calls and virtual presentations? Work together on mastering the best strategies for the technical aspects, and conduct live trainings and Q&A sessions to help the less-tech-savvy team members get help with no shame.