Top 10 Reasons Marketers Roll Their Eyes at Sales

Last week's post "Top 10 Reasons Sales Hates Marketing" produced a detailed comment titled "Top 10 Reasons Marketing Rolls Their Eyes at Sales." In attempting to tell the other side of the story, that comment was a perfect example of how screwed up thinking can get inside some Marketing groups.

This post reproduces that entire comment (with some minor editing), along with my explanation about why each "reason" is fundamentally wrongheaded.

Note: the original anonymous commenter has since asked that I identify her as "Heather Goodwin." (Needless to say, the picture at right is a stock photo and is not intended to depict her.)

CLICK HERE for the first reason Marketing rolls their eyes at Sales »
BS REASON #10: Sales acts superior.

• Description: Sales trade off their reputation for being the heavenly bodies who "bring home the bacon?."
• Why It Rankles: It's a team effort. Marketing (and many other functions) act like Sales' Wonderbra -- the hidden support that makes you look sexy.
• What's The Cure: Manners.

• Description: Sales trade off their reputation for being the heavenly bodies who "bring home the bacon?."
• Why It Rankles: It's a team effort. Marketing (and many other functions) act like Sales' Wonderbra -- the hidden support that makes you look sexy.
• What's The Cure: Manners.

• Why This Reason is BS: Unfortunately, much of the time the "wonderbra" is more of a ball-and-chain. Unless a marketing group understands the basics of selling and knows how to add value, it's more likely to block sales than help the process along. For example, marketing groups often come up with "brand messages" that have zero appeal to customers -- and then insist that sales reps use those messages during sales situations.

• Description: Sales may be a big part of the machine that makes money, but they also waste it as though it's going out of fashion. Sales see the marketing budget as a "jollies" budget for spending on meals, parties, alcohol and "sponsorship" -- all with no heed to return on that investment.
• Why It Rankles: Marketing managers must justify every last penny of their budgets and there is no excuse for any marketing manager who cannot now measure and report on what the business is getting for its investment.
• What's The Cure: Sales need to ask for (and justify) its own budget if it wants to spend it on "jollies."

• Description: Sales may be a big part of the machine that makes money, but they also waste it as though it's going out of fashion. Sales see the marketing budget as a "jollies" budget for spending on meals, parties, alcohol and "sponsorship" -- all with no heed to return on that investment.
• Why It Rankles: Marketing managers must justify every last penny of their budgets and there is no excuse for any marketing manager who cannot now measure and report on what the business is getting for its investment.
• What's The Cure: Sales need to ask for (and justify) its own budget if it wants to spend it on "jollies."

• Why This Reason is BS: So let's see now... the sales group asks you to spend your budget on frivolous things and you agree to do so, and so it's THEIR fault that the activities don't pan out. Gee, I'd think that it would marketing's responsibility to ensure that their activities are measurable and productive.

• Description: Sales are dismissive of any activity carried out by Marketing, believing that all marketing work is dispensable, consisting of attractive girls who do events and brochures, or a rest home for failed Salespeople
• Why It Rankles: The range and depth of activities carried out by Marketing, and the hours Marketers work, would scare the wits out of most Salespeople
• What's The Cure: Have Sales spend six months in marketing! Not only will they have learned how their own business works, but they will need to get back to Sales for a rest.

• Description: Sales are dismissive of any activity carried out by Marketing, believing that all marketing work is dispensable, consisting of attractive girls who do events and brochures, or a rest home for failed Salespeople
• Why It Rankles: The range and depth of activities carried out by Marketing, and the hours Marketers work, would scare the wits out of most Salespeople
• What's The Cure: Have Sales spend six months in marketing! Not only will they have learned how their own business works, but they will need to get back to Sales for a rest.

• Why This Reason is BS: Sorry, but I've worked in marketing and it's just not all that taxing. Most marketing groups are either goaled on activities or deliverables. In the ones goaled on activitiy, much of the work is of the "sit in a meeting a lay down a line of BS" variety. In the ones goaled on deliverables, there's plenty of work, but much of it is rather cushy and (as work goes) rather fun. Making an industrial video (and hanging around a video studio), for instance, is a piece of cake compared with cold calling 50 people every day.

• Description: Salespeople think they are the only people responsible for bringing sales.
• Why It Rankles: Marketers are responsible for the entire front end of the sales funnel -- generating awareness, positive brand perception, interest and initial inquiries. We can measure leads, manage the flow of leads and tell you what the qualification rate is. Then we hand it over and you go and do #1 (the selling).
• What's The Cure: Share the credit. We all "own" the customer and we are all responsible for "driving sales".

• Description: Salespeople think they are the only people responsible for bringing sales.
• Why It Rankles: Marketers are responsible for the entire front end of the sales funnel -- generating awareness, positive brand perception, interest and initial inquiries. We can measure leads, manage the flow of leads and tell you what the qualification rate is. Then we hand it over and you go and do #1 (the selling).
• What's The Cure: Share the credit. We all "own" the customer and we are all responsible for "driving sales".

• Why This Reason is BS: Sorry, but most demand generation and branding activity is just a waste of money... as I've explained in numerous posts. Brand and demand are a function of product and service (which in this case includes sales). I do give you credit, however, for measuring conversion rates. That alone, over time, will improve your marketing... as long as you're willing to concede that much of what you're doing in marketing has very little effect upon it.
  

• Description: Sales demand a brochure "a glossy" for every product they sell, because they think customers won't take the product seriously without it.
• Why It Rankles: Customers don't like glossies. They are happiest with an electronic document, or a plain printed page. Research shows that they like to receive product information electronically (easy to pass on and harder to misplace), and if they do have a printed copy, they like to be able to scribble their own notes in the margin
• What's The Cure: Scrap the huge environmental, workload and budget cost of collateral and teach sales to sell without this "crutch" that only they need.

• Description: Sales demand a brochure "a glossy" for every product they sell, because they think customers won't take the product seriously without it.
• Why It Rankles: Customers don't like glossies. They are happiest with an electronic document, or a plain printed page. Research shows that they like to receive product information electronically (easy to pass on and harder to misplace), and if they do have a printed copy, they like to be able to scribble their own notes in the margin
• What's The Cure: Scrap the huge environmental, workload and budget cost of collateral and teach sales to sell without this "crutch" that only they need.

• Why This Reason is BS: Oh, my. You apparently thought that the sales group was serious when they said they wanted you to do glossy brochures. Let me translate. "Go do a glossy brochure" is sales code for "Go away and stop bothering me."

• Description: Sales sell what they've always sold because they think (financially) they'll get what they've always got.
• Why It Rankles: Markets change. Sales' attitude is the death knell for any new product, putting the business at risk.
• What's The Cure: Balance sales targets so that 100% of target can only be reached by selling the new stuff, too.

• Description: Sales sell what they've always sold because they think (financially) they'll get what they've always got.
• Why It Rankles: Markets change. Sales' attitude is the death knell for any new product, putting the business at risk.
• What's The Cure: Balance sales targets so that 100% of target can only be reached by selling the new stuff, too.

• Why This Reason is BS: Sales sells what they're paid to sell. That's the beauty of the profession. If management wants them to sell new products, then management needs to change the commission plan to reflect the new direction. What irritates me about your viewpoint is that you expect the sales reps to take a cut in pay (i.e. selling stuff that's hard to sell) in order to support some strategic goal. Why should they be the only ones to suffer. Is MARKETING going to take a similar cut in pay for "strategic" reasons?

• Description: Unless there is a multiplier on target, Sales won't continue to sell beyond target. Salespeople are driven only by their own monetary reward, not by whether the company is hitting target.
• Why It Rankles: Marketing (and all other functions) go the extra mile without having to be paid to do it.
• What's The Cure: Bonus bases for Sales should include a high percentage of company divisional and team financial goals.

• Description: Unless there is a multiplier on target, Sales won't continue to sell beyond target. Salespeople are driven only by their own monetary reward, not by whether the company is hitting target.
• Why It Rankles: Marketing (and all other functions) go the extra mile without having to be paid to do it.
• What's The Cure: Bonus bases for Sales should include a high percentage of company divisional and team financial goals.

• Why This Reason is BS: I strongly doubt whether ANY marketers are "going the extra mile" without compensation. True, the corporate culture might demand 50 hour weeks, but that's the kind of job they have. Marketers aren't working the long hours out of altruism. If they could get the same amount of pay for doing 2 days worth of work, they'd do so in heartbeat.

• Description: Marketers are all-but banned from talking to customers because they "might mess up the relationship" or "the customer might get fatigued from too much contact with us."
• Why It Rankles: Marketers cannot learn what customers need unless they are allowed to talk to them.
• What's The Cure: A contact strategy that schedules in contact time for marketers and customers, with or without Sales in attendance.

• Description: Marketers are all-but banned from talking to customers because they "might mess up the relationship" or "the customer might get fatigued from too much contact with us."
• Why It Rankles: Marketers cannot learn what customers need unless they are allowed to talk to them.
• What's The Cure: A contact strategy that schedules in contact time for marketers and customers, with or without Sales in attendance.

• Why This Reason is BS: Your own words reveal your cluelessness. Note the use of the phrase "talk to them" in the "Why It Rankles" sentence. With customer, the key activity is LISTENING, not TALKING. Unfortunately, most marketers have two modes when dealing with customers: talking TO them (i.e. lecturing) and talking AT them (i.e. advertising). That's why sales reps don't like bringing marketers along on sales calls. Marketers talk too damn much, which irritates customers and damages relationships.

• Description: Salespeople mock Marketers for studying business degrees that are "no use" in the real world and they resist any change proposed by marketing
• Why It Rankles: Businesses fail because Sales (among other functions) refuse to listen to Marketers reporting on market changes, technological futures, competitor trends and the company's strengths and weaknesses in context
• What's The Cure: Listen, or get beaten by competitors who value their Marketers.

• Description: Salespeople mock Marketers for studying business degrees that are "no use" in the real world and they resist any change proposed by marketing
• Why It Rankles: Businesses fail because Sales (among other functions) refuse to listen to Marketers reporting on market changes, technological futures, competitor trends and the company's strengths and weaknesses in context
• What's The Cure: Listen, or get beaten by competitors who value their Marketers.

• Why This Reason is BS: Most marketers have no idea what's happening in the real world. Unless the marketing group understands customers (i.e. listens to them), and actually knows how to sell, any "strategy" they'll devise will just be hot air. In any case, the entire idea that sales should change in response to marketing input doesn't make any sense. If you want sales reps to use different messages when they sell, don't talk to them. Give them messages that help them close more business. If you want sales reps to sell a different product mix, don't talk to them. Change the compensation plan.

• Description: Sales brief Marketing on what leads they would like, what profile, how well-qualified, how many of them and when
• Why It Rankles: Sales give them to the Sales team secretary to follow up, because they cannot possibly be of any value.
• What's The Cure: Well, I set my Marketing team onto following up and selling on those leads. When we started to whup the Sales team's ass, you can guess what happened very fast.

• Description: Sales brief Marketing on what leads they would like, what profile, how well-qualified, how many of them and when
• Why It Rankles: Sales give them to the Sales team secretary to follow up, because they cannot possibly be of any value.
• What's The Cure: Well, I set my Marketing team onto following up and selling on those leads. When we started to whup the Sales team's ass, you can guess what happened very fast.

• Why This Reason is BS: Frankly, I don't believe that actually happened. I'll bet the marketing team made about 20 cold calls, decided how hard it was, and then pretended that they'd qualified the leads... and then got back to the "strategic" work. However, let's suppose for the sake of argument that this event really did happen. A lead is a qualifiable if, and only if, the sales team that you currently have is able to sell to that lead. So even if your marketing team managed to close deals on those leads, the leads were still useless to the sales team unless they were the kind of leads that the sales team could close. And, rest assured, if they were, the sales team would be closing them.