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(or "How I learned the difference between Sales and Marketing")
[The following blog was written by a client of mine in direct response to last Friday's blog: Please Punch Me in the Face. This is unedited. See the comments section for my further remarks.]
I was ready. I had memorized the research. Crunched the numbers. Crunched ‘em again. I had a “bulletproof” product marketing proposal.
I was a young Product Manager working in the Marketing Department of a large, publicly-traded Company in a dynamic, high-growth industry. My product line’s growth had slowed in one of our regions and we were losing share to a competitor. This couldn’t continue. Not on my watch. I put on my best navy suit and power tie and was “armed to the teeth” when I scheduled the meeting where I would present my brilliant plan to my boss, who was the Corporate Officer responsible for Marketing. I was barely 5 minutes into my presentation and I’d just finished the “Situation Analysis” part of the plan and I was ready to “hit” him with a one-two punch of revised (i.e., reduced) pricing and increased promotion. You see, I am a classically trained marketer who grew up believing in the “Four P’s of Marketing [Product, Price, Promotion and Place] and every good plan had to focus on one or all of those areas. My boss interrupted me and said…
“It sounds to me like you’re trying to solve sales problems with marketing solutions”.
Gulp. Suddenly there was less air in the room and I was having trouble breathing. I felt like I’d been punched in the face…
After he took me back through the situational analysis and reminded me of a valuable difference between our product that our competitor didn’t have and couldn’t easily match. So, our competitor had simply changed tactics and we were getting “outsold”.
We discussed a few different options that involved additional sales training, increased sales activity and more accountable sales management.
60 days later and the story changed. Our losses subsided and we were back on track with our growth plan. All of that with no changes to the Product, Price or Promotion components of the marketing mix. We simply changed the way we handled the Place (i.e., Sales, or where the “rubber meets the road”, as Sarah mentioned).
In the interest of full disclosure, my example featured a direct sales channel where the Marketing Department could physically (or virtually) communicate directly with the people who delivered our “Product” to the “Market”. I realize this isn’t always the case with an indirect or online sales channel and additional pieces of the marketing mix have to be considered.
Here’s how I see it:
1. Start with the 4 P’s of Marketing: Product, Price, Promotion and finally, Place.
2. The first 3 P’s (Product, Price and Promotion) are traditionally known as marketing functions. Clearly, there are significant differences between each of these areas.
3. The last P is the “engine” that drives the growth you’re looking for in your Marketing plan. Think of Marketing as the car and Sales as the engine. Even the best designed, hottest looking car won’t go anywhere without an engine.
4. You can have a “drop dead” Marketing Plan and if your distribution channel(s) don’t line up with your target market or if your salespeople aren’t as effective as they could or should be, then you won’t see the difference you’re looking for in your marketing plan.
5. Try to sharpen/improve the sales function before making any significant changes in product, price or promotion. Remember, nothing sells like lower prices and it takes very little skill to spend more money to “outshout” your competitor. This can be a “slippery slope” on the race to the bottom.
I (mostly) view Sales and Marketing and different functions.
However, I’ve seen Sales and Marketing integrated and used interchangeably most often in independent, mostly entrepreneurial professional services. Think about it: if you, your experience, knowledge and capabilities ARE the product and you set/negotiate the price and you promote yourself and your work online and offline, then you’re definitely engaged in the sales process in every step.
Remember: nothing happens until (or unless) somebody sells something.
-Randy B.
