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3 Ways to Garner C-Level Involvement To Maximize Sales & Marketing Alignment


Dan_Mcdade_150wBy Dan McDade, President & CEO, PointClear


Life is good when sales and marketing are fully aligned. The two groups work in harmony. Correctly deployed resources and effective processes click. The results: more sales, increased revenue and lower costs.

But when they are out of sync, the path takes a nasty detour south. Marketing complains it doesn’t get feedback and leads aren’t accepted. Sales complains it doesn’t have time to nurture long-term prospects and leads aren’t qualified. Neither group is really at fault, but the costs of non-alignment make it imperative both get on the same page as quickly as possible.

Where both can’t or won’t align, I propose a straightforward solution based on answers to these questions:

  1. What do sales and marketing need to agree on?
  2. How are agreement and alignment going to be assured?
  3. Who is going to assure agreement and alignment?

 

1. What do sales and marketing need to agree on?

Sales and marketing have to absolutely agree on 4 points:

  • Lead definition and follow up actions

We see both lack of agreement on lead definition and inconsistent follow up on leads. An example: marketing sends leads to sales, but sales lets them languish in SiriusDecisions’ “lead purgatory.”

  • Market definition

If either thinks the market is larger than it really is, resources are wasted on low-value prospects. If either thinks the market is smaller than it really is, high-value opportunities are not engaged and lost.

  • Offer and messaging

Without agreement on the offer and messaging, marketing may believe the best offer is for point solutions while sales pushes an enterprise solution.

  • Results measurement

Alignment progress occurs the closer the percentages of Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Accepted Leads and Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Qualified Leads get to 100%. Each step needs to be measured and reported.

2. How are agreement and alignment going to be assured?

Aligned teams are to be congratulated for developing prospects correctly and closing new business. I’m directing my comments to companies where one of the following occurs

  • Sales and marketing can’t align on their own.
  • Sales and marketing won’t align on their own.
  • There is an assumption that they are aligned, but they really aren’t.


How is alignment going to occur? There needs to be a single accountable person to step up, understand the problems and take action. This person must have mediation and arbitration skills to broker a consensus and can continually measures progress by translating the four points into no-wiggle-room, measurable goals.

3. Who is going to assure agreement and alignment?

The Alignment Arbiter is defined by Reference.com as: “A person empowered to decide matters at issue; judge; umpire.” or “A person who has the sole or absolute power of judging or determining.” Accountability must be elevated to as high within the organization as is necessary to bring change. The Alignment Arbiter needs to be a C-level or other senior executive to assure success.

Interested in how executives see this, I asked fellow members of a LinkedIn forum (Sales/Marketing VPs & Directors - Software & Technology) the question, “When Sales and Marketing are not on the same page, who owns the fix?” Their thoughtful and passionate responses are grouped into three distinct camps:

The CEO owns the fix

One member of this group commented, “OMG! Where's the CEO or President during all this other than asleep at the switch? He's/She's the Ranch Owner. Marketing is supposed to be beating the bushes, rounding up the ‘critters’ and getting them started on the cattle drive. Sales is supposed to brand them, get 'em to market and sold. The Ranch Owner is responsible for fixing a dysfunctional team.”

Sales and marketing share ownership of the fix

An advocate of collaboration said, “The leadership of the marketing and sales departments owns the fix. If the CEO has cultivated his team effectively, then he should have great confidence that it will get resolved.”

One Party Owns the Fix - But Not The CEO

A third group suggested the following individuals or single teams should be responsible:

One VP who oversees both sales and marketing

A respondent here said, “This is why every company should have a VP of Marketing and Sales. When ‘they’ are your team members and ‘you’ have the same boss, pointing fingers is not an option.”

Sales or the most senior sales executive

A member of this group noted, “The last say SHOULD remain with the VP of Sales - they usually are responsible for corporate revenue. Marketing, without sounding condescending, should be a supportive role of those acquiring revenue.”

Marketing

A marketing advocate commented, “It’s marketing that would have the strategic vision and be the enabler (not subservient) to the sales teams.”

It’s interesting – and not surprising – that not only is there a lack of agreement on alignment challenges. There is also a lack of agreement on who owns the fix. I believe strongly the Alignment Arbiter needs to be the CEO or C-level executive to which both groups report.

In rare cases, collaboration is possible, but it usually does not work out. A friend says, "No one ever built a statue to a committee." It is going to take the CEO or a Senior VP over both functions to align groups in most companies.

In the end, sales and marketing will applaud C-level involvement because it will deliver the target, message and offer clarification required to increase sales and drive additional revenue.

Dan McDade is President and CEO of PointClear, the prospect development company that helps B2B companies drive revenue by nurturing leads, engaging contacts and developing prospects until they're ready to close. The Sales Lead Management Association named Dan one of the 50 most influential people in sales lead management.   Dan’s first book, The Truth About Leads, was published in November 2010. He can be reached at dan.mcdade@pointclear.com

Demand Discussion: Which of your organization’s C-Level executives are involved in Sales & Marketing alignment efforts?