From the Desk of Rick Pedersen, CEO of The ROM Group

There has been a lot of buzz about aligning sales and marketing. In one of my LinkedIn groups, B2B Lead Generation Roundtable, many of my group members expressed their many sentiments on this topic, from disgust to suggestions on how to close this gap. It is true and there continues to be a disconnect between sales and marketing. Businesses everywhere are reaping the consequences of this challenge.

Today’s businesses have to run at warp speed. The demand on sales is ever increasing in order to create sustainability. And because of this, they only have time to contact hot leads, leads that are ready to buy now. They don’t have the time for lukewarm leads, leads that need to be nurtured with more information over time. But studies have shown that a percent of these leads will buy within the next six to eighteen months. In the meantime, marketing stands on the firing wall, made to prove their worth or be shot on site. Gone are the days of creating creative campaigns just for creativity’s sake. They are being called upon to drive leads through the process to sales-ready, as well.

Taking leads from prospects to close is where sales and marketing can get on the same train. This model calls on sales to work with marketing towards the same goal: working leads through the Purchase Decision Process to sales-ready and then to close. Notice that I did not say “sales funnel” or “marketing funnel.” If the focus is on the buyers and the way they purchase, everyone wins.

I found a study on MarketingProfs’ Web site that proves there are businesses that are using this model with successful results. The study was conducted by Miller Heiman and Northern Illinois University. They surveyed nearly 2,000 sales executives and managers in the U.S., Europe and Asia in 2009 and found that about one-third said their marketing and sales departments work collaboratively, one-third stated these two departments were neutral, and one-third reported there was no alignment.

The study goes on to compare these groups and document the results. Compared to businesses with low alignment, highly aligned businesses experience higher:

• Number of qualified leads
• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisitions
• Customer retention
• Average billing per customer
• Revenue

In order to achieve alignment, both departments have to agree on the definition of a sales-ready lead. The next steps are to determine how to generate leads and then create a lead nurturing plan, one that takes these generated leads all the way to sales-ready and to close. In our popular article, 7 Key Features of a Successful Lead Nurturing Program, we identify the pieces that need to be part of the program.

If you have something to say about this topic, please feel free to join the conversation on LinkedIn by joining the group: B2B Lead Generation Roundtable.

Until Next Month,
Rick Pedersen

Related posts:

1. Discover How to Close More Sales Without Creating More Burden on Your Reps A recent blog, "Leads, Sales and Marketing: Tapping the Well and Filling the Gap," describes the dilemma that nearly 98 percent of U.S. businesses find...