Marketing and Sales are two crucial departments for a company. Without marketing there will be no need for a product or service and without sales that need could not be met. In practice, these two departments cannot always work together well, even though that is precisely where the key to success lies.
In this blog we provide a number of useful tips that can improve cooperation between marketing and sales.

When is a lead transferred to sales?

First of all, it is important to have a good idea of ​​when a lead should be forwarded to the sales department. This is an important question, because it varies per company. Suppose a customer downloads a brochure on the website, is this immediately a lead and can you forward it to the sales department? Or do you first wait to see whether the potential customer will do anything else? These types of questions must be clear to both the sales and marketing departments, which is why the first tip is

1. Classify your leads

It is important to classify your leads, for example with a points system. Is anyone visiting the website? Then he or she gets one point. Anyone download a brochure? Then that person gets eight points. Does anyone sign up for the newsletter? Then that person gets ten points. Ultimately, you build a profile for each customer and you can draw up a profile based on points. Someone with 30 points is therefore a better quality lead than someone with ten points

2. Lead quality over quantity

There is still too much focus on bringing in as many leads as possible, while a quality focus will do wonders. Not only to increase the conversion rate, but also to experience success. Sales will feel like they have to bang their heads against the wall less often before closing a deal

3. Create a customer profile

“If you can't define them, you can't find them”.

You may have heard this statement. Determine who your customers are! Know who you are talking to, what concerns them, what you can help them with, how to address them and where to find them. Make sure that both the marketing department and the sales departments are clear about this, otherwise no results will be achieved. Make time for this in a meeting or brainstorm with both departments.

4. Share targets (objectives) with each other 

The word target is mainly used in the sales world, but marketers also have targets that they must achieve. These targets are often close to each other, but both departments do not know this about each other. A target for a marketer could be: generate at least 50 leads. You can then immediately translate this target for the sales department into: generate at least 25 transactions. These transactions can only be generated if there are enough leads. In short, share targets with each other because they are closer to each other than you think.

5.Make sure that the customer is the shared challenge 

Improving the relationship between marketing and sales is not a goal in itself. It is a means to achieve the most important shared goal, namely, to give the customer an unforgettable experience. Consistent communication is of vital importance. Sales continues where marketing's responsibility ends. Together they aim for the same goal: a (new and) satisfied customer.

Would you like to know more about the differences between marketing and sales and how you can improve the relationship between marketing and sales? Download immediately white paper!