The sales process has been around for many years, but the addition of the marketing process has changed the way that things are done. With two different processes, companies can integrate the two, changing the process as a whole, and how the final result is ultimately achieved. If the marketing process and sales process are not connected and cohesive, it can create detrimental inefficiencies. Hugh Macfarlane discusses this more in detail in this video interview, hosted by John Golden.
This sales expert interview covers:
- Why is the sales process important
- Why is the marketing process important
- How the marketing and sales process are intertwined and how they work together
- Understand Macfarlane’s term “the buyer’s journey”
The Buyer’s Journey
Macfarlane coined the term “the buyer’s journey,” which combines the marketing and sales processes into one shared vision between organization and consumer. The shared processes work to help the buyer through each step of the plan, taking them through the “journey.”
A Successful Outcome
In order for this journey to be completed successfully, sales and marketing need to be in the room together. This allows both sides to create a conjoined plan of attack in order to monitor leads (sales), market to leads (marketing), and then furnish the desired result at the end of the scheduled timeline. Both processes become centered around one main question: How can a company best move the buyer through the conjoined sales and marketing process, and help them reach their ultimate goal?
Shared process, shared responsibility
The joining of these two processes can create some confusion on who to talk to, who is in charge, etc. Often times the head of marketing, the head of sales, and the CEO are all involved in seeing the buyer through each stage of the process. According to Macfarlane, the responsibility is distributed evenly. “It’s a third the head of marketing, a third the head of sales, and a third the CEO.” If you look at the entire process, not just the marketing and sales processes individually, you see that it can’t be done alone. There needs to be a shared process in order to create the necessary cohesion.
About our Host:
John is the Amazon bestselling author of Winning the Battle for Sales: Lessons on Closing Every Deal from the World’s Greatest Military Victories and Social Upheaval: How to Win at Social Selling. A globally acknowledged Sales & Marketing thought leader, speaker, and strategist. He is CSMO at Pipeliner CRM. In his spare time, John is an avid Martial Artist.
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