Relationship between Sales and Marketing

Effective marketing should lead to qualified sales leads.

Now, closing the sale is never easy. But here is an article I wrote giving some sales tips that are worth remembering.


Easy Sales Tips


Marketing is about building relationships through media such as web sites, brochures, postcards, but also face-to-face.

Sales is much more interpersonal and it requires the salesperson to ask for the sale.

When I sold roofing for the Home Depot during a brief stint, I enjoyed many parts of the position. But it was a matter of putting together all the pieces and keeping the presentation sharp.

I had sales successes like showing up, asking the right assessment questions, showing the benefits in a presentation, asking for the order several times and closing on the first call for an order ranging from $ 15,000 to more than $ 20,000.

However, I also had sales calls where it seemed like everything was going well and no matter how I asked for the order, I couldn't get the customer to sign.

But sales, like marketing, also requires perseverance and a constant review of the basics.

Marketing to Prospects is Like Swinging a Golf Club

Successfully marketing a business, product launch or new service is like moving a golf club slowly behind you and then – WHOOSH! – following through!

Marketing to a new contact is like the follow through.

The follow through completes the swing and helps power the golf ball but also directs it along the fairway. A poor follow-through results in a BLIP off the tee or a hook or shank in to the next fairway.

Let’s start with marketing terms. We use words like “prospect” and “contact.” They really should be “new friends.”

You attend a business networking event. You enjoy chatting with several people and you categorize the business cards you collected.

That’s like the back swing.

But do you have a follow-up (or follow-through) plan to stay in touch with those contacts?

Marketing consultant Dan Kennedy said it well, “Everybody shows up once! Hardly anyone shows up 8 times!”

Are you prepared to follow-up 8 times with a new friend?

Following through and following up was the topic of a seminar where Kennedy recently spoke with Infusion software.

He made a great point. “All wealth is created by systems” and he cited Ford auto which grew to dominate the automotive industry by establishing the assembly line. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of automakers at the time of Ford. But none of them had an efficient system.

How complex and sophisticated should a follow-up system be?

It should actually be relatively simple whether you work for a small company or a large corporation.

I sold roofs briefly for Home Depot, a wonderful corporation. While there was a corporate system for entering the names but the follow-up was still the responsibility of the individual salesperson.

Kennedy gave other reasons why follow-up is so important: there’s little brand loyalty in today’s world. Consumers have extensive choices. They receiving multiple messages and they need to know and be reminded your company exists.

Let’s take an introductory look at a follow-up system:

Collecting a name
Storing the name (data entry and database function)

Follow-up contact #1 – maybe a nice to see you letter / email and a chance to join your newsletter.

Follow-up contact #2 – let’s say you get a referral for your new friend. Call them with the referral.

Follow-up contact #3 – a postcard with a tip or update on an achievement of your business.

So the follow-up system can include a mix of email, phone call, letter, and more. It’s part of the marketing mix.

Follow-up of a new contact (er, new friend) is an area in which I’ll be doing my own research in the weeks ahead.

Marketing through Speaking

Business networking can be an effective marketing tool -- especially sharing what you know through speaking to groups whether large or small.

I'm speaking tomorrow at CHARO in Los Angeles on Web 360: Getting the Most Out of Your Website. I'm going to start off with the analogy that standing at a place like the Space Needle in Seattle could be akin to standing in the middle of your web site to survey the customer landscape around you.

I'll take participants through envisioning their web site as a dynamic tool for interaction instead of a passive brochure site.

I'm looking forward to it. I enjoy speaking.

Like article writing, speaking to share knowledge is a strategic marketing activity. There is usually not an immediate return for sales and new contracts but it can certainly be an effective way to build relationships.

This is a way to integrate off-line and on-line activities: if you write articles online and submit them to the major directories like the few articles I've submitted to ezinearticles.com, then you can also talk about these in front of business groups.

Marketing is sharing what you know and do best. Speaking is one way to make that happen.

Marketing to Kids

Tapping in to families with small children can be a lucrative niche according to the latest study from Packaged Facts. Companies can also market with an edge to going "green."

"Kids ages 3-11 in the U.S. have personal incomes totaling $19 billion, the study found, which is expected to reach $21 billion by 2012. Parental spending on food, clothing, personal care items, entertainment and reading materials reached $123 billion.

"Based on data from Simmons Market Research Bureau, the study found that a significant majority of kids 6-11 express concern for environmental issues. Nearly three-quarters believe people should recycle; 40% say you should buy recycled paper products."

Marketing to children also means reaching their parents -- the decision makers on spending money.

7Ps of Marketing and the 3Ms of Marketing

Do you know the 7Ps of Marketing?

• Plan


• Product


• People


• Price


• Promotion


• Place


• Partners

I originally wrote about them here on this post from Cash Flow Tips Today:

Business Marketing with 7Ps

The 7Ps of Marketing is a way to structure your marketing efforts to make sure you're reaching the right target market. But I feel it also falls short in underscoring the importance of a clear message, the media and distribution.

So, now, after a recent post on here, I've decided to introduce the 3Ms of Marketing:

• Message



• Media



• Methods

My summary is the right message, needs the right media and the right methods must be used in distribution to get a result.

Or, what is it you want to say?

Will you say it in a web site, brochure, newspaper ad, or both . . . or more?

And how will you distribute your media and message?

Since marketing encompasses disciplines ranging from strategic planning to graphic design and search engine marketing, it's easy to get lost in the details.

Having a structured checklist that's customized for your company can make it possible to step back and evaluate effectiveness.

Marketing a Solution to the Pain of Gas Prices

Marketing can mean finding the pain of your customers and then addressing that pain. Gasoline prices, anyone? A marketing opportunity.

Doing the little things help save money on gas like accelerating slowly, inflating your tires, and changing your oil at Jiffy Lube. Didn’t know that, did you?

I heard a radio commercial last night for Jiffy Lube explaining how a thorough servicing of your car is more than just changing oil, it’s also about saving money on gasoline since a smooth-running car is fuel efficient.

Jiffy Lube is trying to meet people where they feel pain – gasoline prices. Now, it didn’t really work for me since I’ve never gone to Jiffy Lube anyway. My regular oil changes are taken care of by my mechanic.

Shell Oil is also in the marketing game with a blog to answer the need for cleaner burning engines. They’re trying to start a movement, Americans for a Gunk Free Nation. And the personality they’re trying to develop is Dr. Fuelgood who writes a blog on how top tier gas is better for a car engine than cheap gas. In the long run, top tier gas is supposed to save money on car maintenance and fuel efficiency.

Shell, of course, sells top tier gas along with Chevron, Phillips, Texaco . . . the idea of top tier gas was conceived by the world’s top auto manufacturers: BMW, Toyota, General Motors, and Honda among them.

Will the blog, and the movement, catch on? Don’t know. I don’t know how Shell is promoting the blog. The next time I stop at a gas station, I’ll look for any info related to Americans for a Gunk Free Nation.

I do know this. It takes work even for a major brand like Shell Oil to drive traffic to a blog site. It also means marketing is a relentless activity using various media to put out a message.

Have you ever successfully marketed a message dealing with the pain of a potential customer? If so, share the details with us.