Rate Your Marketing Team!

The whole point of Marketing is to make selling easier. Unfortunately, many marketing groups think their job is to "drive" sales. As a result, they waste big bucks on nonsense and fluff. That increases the cost of sales, which inevitably results in smaller commissions for the sales team.

Since it is in the interest of sales professionals to keep Marketing focused on low-cost, useful activities, here's a quick questionnaire to determine whether your firm is suffering from costly dysfunctional marketing behavior.

Answer the following questions, keeping a running total of the number associated with each of your answers:

Q1: What level of sales experience is typical among your marketing folk?

1. They've all held Sales positions.
2. Some have held Sales positions.
3. The CMO once ran a lemonade stand.

1. Most of the leads convert into being customers.
2. Some of the leads convert into being customers.
3. You could do better with your finger and a phone book.

1. They're invaluable and we use them all the time.
2. They can be helpful when edited and customized.
3. Gee, look at the pretty pictures.

1. They ask the marketers for more of those useful product inputs.
2. They nod politely and then go back to their own work.
3. They start laughing and pointing.

• 7-8: Congratulations. Your marketing folk are a fully contributing part of your sales success.
• 5-6: Above average. Your marketing folk aren't exactly dead weight and do add some value.
• 3-4: Average. Your marketing folk are eroding profits that might otherwise go for commissions.
• 1-3: Uh 0h. Your marketing folk are complete waste of space. Resume time?