Sales vs Marketing
This article was sparked by a conversation over at Flying Solo but it suits my article writing roster very well.
There is an eternal debate over the roles and positioning of sales and marketing. The debate can get a bit heated. Here's my take:
Sales and marketing are part of the same continuum - chicken and the egg stuff. One has no value without the other.
| Function | Job |
| Marketing is about understanding what the market wants and providing that | Market Research Product Development |
| Marketing positions the company and product in the section of the market with demand | Branding Stimulating Demand |
| Sales shows and demonstrates the product to the market | Advertising |
| Sales deals with individuals (incl. businesses) and helps them to own the product | Merchandising Negotiation |
| Sales feeds what it learns back to Marketing to adjust or build new products | Communication |
As you can see both rely on each other. Without the ability to sell there is no sense in creating a product. Without the ability to create a product that customers want then there is nothing leaving the store (anyone for beige Lada?).
When Two Tribes Go to War
People love to divide and conquer. Division of labour has brought some great rewards. People who are good at hammering get to hammer and people who are good with screws get to... well you know what I mean. So businesses and people have spit everything into divisions.
But division can also have some nasty costs when the the sense of the whole is lost by the individual parts. Once functions are divided, defensiveness and animosity grows. Each division starts to see themselves as separate from and even in competition with the other parts. To make things worse unions will even have disputes over who can and can't perform each task.
There is one business, one product, one market and one customer. Sales and marketing should live in the same room (even if only virtually) with a free exchange of ideas and information. Then each person will bring their own strengths to the job.
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
The other reason for the Sales vs Marketing war lies in the human distaste for lies. You find it in marketing people who believe that marketing is clean but sales is grubby. You find it in sales people who believe that marketers are all ivory tower idiots who wouldn't know a customer if they shared an alco-pop with them.
Both sides point to the other as being the cause of the problem while trying not to name it at all: lies and outright robbery in the guise of business.
When business is really a front for robbery then people feel uncomfortable. No one likes to admit that they are part of the problem lest they have to change (and we all hate that) so they point the finger and weave stories like naughty children in front of their parents.
So long as the other is to blame for the Viking in the cupboard then no one has to own up and make changes - like telling the Viking to take a hike back into history where he belongs - so everyone can get back to being productive.
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