The most salespeople I meet, actually have something against marketing……..and while I don’t really want to discuss why this is or how that could be changed. I would like to focus on how marketing could bring people to your business (into the door). Once they are there, then you can carry out your selling activities. What the most sales representatives that I meet don’t know is that marketing is the process of attracting. So anything the salesperson does to get people through the door is marketing, whether it is cold calling, a referral, direct mail or the offer of a free seminar. So a sales person does marketing as well, just another type of marketing then the company does (corporate marketing).
So let me summarize a bit: marketing is all about attracting clients you can then convince, while sales is about convincing, the words you use, overcoming objections, negotiating the sale, getting the cheque etc. So everyone of you does marketing or at least I hope so. The provocative question is then which marketing is more important, the sales persons marketing or the corporate marketing ?
In order to answer that, the next question is when do you want to have a relationship with a prospective client?
When they need you, or before they need you?
It is better to have someone think of you as their supplier or “problem solver” before they need you. However many companies base their marketing on getting to people once a need has arisen, not before. In my believe, the best marketers in the world know how to start to build a relationship before clients realize they need or even want you.
Think about this in considering corporate marketing: If people do not know where to go for appropriate advice they are quite likely to turn to those they know. So to develop a thriving business, it is a good corporate marketing idea to make people aware of you and what you can do, before they need you. So to all the sales people that say marketing is no good, please consider that:
1. anything the salesperson does to get people through the door is marketing, whether it is cold calling, a referral, direct mail or the offer of a free demo.
2. anything your company does or should do, to attract people to ether know about or even consider the door is marketing.
So let’s just face it that a sales person as well as the company does marketing, both just have different parts to play!
I know this was a controversial note/discussion point ………and look forward to read some comments or new aspect or ideas to this discussion from sales responsible as well as marketers!
Regards – Mark von Rosing
