Syncing With Sales

“The minute the prospect pushes back, our SDRs revert to price,” lamented a 3x CMO. “This is a big problem for us right now, so I’m spending a lot of time with our CRO to fix it,” the CMO added. When I asked why this was so problematic, a chorus of Huddlers chimed in: “We must have consistent messaging throughout the customer journey otherwise we’ll lose most deals!” 

As one Huddler noted, "Buyers need to believe they are doing the right thing based on the problem they’re trying to solve – that gets lost if the rep tells me something completely different from what I was expecting." 

Since misalignment creates inconsistencies that undermine buyer confidence, getting in sync with sales is imperative. Here are 8 ways to do this: 

1. Listen to Your Sales Counterparts / Co-Create Messaging

It doesn’t matter how good your ideas are—if you want consistent messaging, include Sales in each development phase. Encourage them with requests for their input like, "If you don't like the description of the customer problem, help us put it in the customer's language."  From there, you can work together to develop a common messaging framework, a 1-2 page document that simplifies the brand story for all departments. 

2. Find a Sales Ally

Creating effective content is one thing, but getting Sales to use it is another. One quick fix is to work with a colleague in Sales who is experimental. Partner with them to test different approaches. Once they smash quota, position your ally as the change driver. Make them the hero and the word will spread. 

3. Report Metrics with Sales

When Marketing and Sales present monthly metrics together there can be no doubt about the partnership. There’s no room to blame the other. There’s just one truth. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t track marketing-sourced opportunities. This data can help optimize your marketing mix and rationalize your various investments and tests. 

4. Align Staff

Ensure everyone in Marketing has at least one "buddy" in Sales with whom they meet regularly. Someone from Marketing should attend every Sales meeting and vice versa. There are no “handoffs.” If Sales doesn’t close a particular opportunity, everyone needs to understand what went wrong and what needs to change. 

5. Establish Deal Rooms

Create physical or virtual "deal rooms" to concentrate your attention on the biggest opportunities. These “rooms” should house competitive intelligence, in-depth profiles of the buying committee, timetables, contact assignments, and sales enablement tools like a how-we-beat-each-competitor matrix.

6. Go on Sales Calls

Listening to sales calls via tools is helpful, but nothing beats experiencing the actual challenge of selling. Walking a mile or ten in sales’ shoes leads to more respect from Sales, more empathy for salespeople, and more insight into the messaging challenges you, the marketer, are uniquely equipped to solve.

7. Learn from Your "Expand" Team

Many companies rely on their ability to land and expand to grow revenue. One CMO observed, "I found our Expand folks are better at messaging because they’ve got an existing group of accounts they’re comfortable talking to." Conversely, SDRs often default to price after a single objection, which is problematic. Encourage your “expand” people and the “land” people to swap insights—and maybe even roles.

8. Test a Big Bet

A minor tweak to your messaging is unlikely to move the needle. Pick a vertical market and disrupt it with an outrageous added-value offer. Aim for the irresistible. Craft an offer that helps your target see themselves achieving a lot in a short period (we call this “speed-to-hero”). 

Let us know what you’re doing to gain alignment with Sales.