A recent LINKEDIN STUDY revealed that 87% of sales and marketing leaders say collaboration between sales and marketing enables critical business growth. Misalignment between sales and marketing is an age-old issue. Companies often develop initiatives to improve cross-functional relationships, but it is easy for these ideas to fall by the wayside despite good intentions. It all comes down to having strong management who can take great ideas and execute them across teams. Here are a few basic principles for building a foundation to ensure execution happens.
Streamline for success
At Crabtree Consulting, we help retailers and manufacturers improve their processes and increase sales. We find the most common area for growth is the need to streamline day-to-day operations within departments.
Streamlining simply means finding ways to improve an organization’s process by setting up standardized workflows, eliminating unnecessary tasks, and providing visibility among teams. For example, in the retail space, marketing schedules billboards. An established workflow should prompt marketing to inform the sales team on what will be advertised and when by providing a book with the current billboards and the style numbers of the pieces shown. This way, when a customer calls or comes into the store, the sales team knows exactly which piece to pull. If the sales team isn’t privy to this information, they may miss out on closing a sale if they have no idea which piece the customer saw advertised.
Leaning into technology and leveraging a good project-tracking tool is the easiest way to gain visibility and establish accountability. Tracking tools give teams clarity on what they need to accomplish throughout the week, who is responsible for each task and a clear deadline. Upper management also has the advantage of seeing progress at a glance and the ability to discuss with teams what they need in order to execute.
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Create a standard operating procedure
In order to keep marketing and sales teams aligned, you’ll need to go a step beyond relying on a project-tracking tool and create a standard operating procedure (SOP). Your SOP will establish written instructions for properly performing a routine. An effective SOP will have buy in from all divisions involved such as inventory, marketing and sales to determine what needs to be done and strategize deadlines that are realistic. As an added bonus, your SOP can serve as training material for new hires and a reference guide for current employees. And if you are unsure what standard operating procedures are the most needed your in luck because my next column we will dive into this and how to create them.
Time block to stay on task
Once a workflow has been established, you’ll want to utilize a digital calendar such as Google or Outlook to help you juggle tasks. Create calendar events to block out time you need in order to execute your tasks. Set up calendar invites with team members you’ll need to check in with each week and pop up reminders 15 minutes before you need to switch your attention to a task or meeting so you don’t forget.
Maintain communication between teams
Lack of organic communication is a common issue when it comes to interdepartmental interaction. Determine the frequency of meetings that make sense for your teams. Whether it be monthly, bi-weely, or regular Monday morning kick off meetings, establishing consistent communication is important. Keep meetings short and organized by developing an agenda and staying on topic. Use the time to share relevant dashboards, reports, KPIs, and check in to see what your teams need in order to meet their established goals.
Operating as siloed departments is no longer an option. Sales and marketing teams must work together in order to increase revenue. Need help getting started? Visit here to set up a risk-free consultation.