Every company is different, but it’s not uncommon for sales teams to feel like they’re doing the heavy lifting. While the marketing team might be focused on driving “awareness” or maybe even generating leads, sales often has a long road ahead to qualify opportunities and generate real revenue.
It’s one thing to believe that marketing could be pulling more of the weight. But what if the problem isn’t that marketing isn’t doing enough… What if marketing’s efforts are actually hurting sales?
Imagine all of your company’s marketing messages that are floating out there—the web pages, the collateral and white papers, the product announcements… Those marketing messages are like little “pre-sales” reps presenting your company and it’s products.
Now imagine all of the prospects that are perfect fits but decided not to engage because of what they read or saw from those pre-sales reps. Maybe nothing resonated as a potential solution for them. Maybe nothing they were presented addressed the perceived advantages that your competitors have. Maybe everything was so full of platitudes and fluff that they were just turned off.
If those pre-sales reps were actual humans—and not just marketing messages—they’d likely get the hint that what they’re presenting just doesn’t hit the mark. They’d change their pitch to ensure they don’t squander the opportunity next time. They’d do research to better understand and address their competitors’ advantages. They’d remove those platitudes and focus on what the prospects really care about.
But unfortunately, marketing messages can’t do any of those things… And if they failed to convince a viable prospect, you might never get another opportunity. Worse yet, if your marketing messages are hurting sales, would you even know it?
If there’s even a tinge of fear that your marketing messages could be doing more damage than good, then it’s time to give them a hard look. Examine them through your prospects eyes and really understand how they could be perceived. Be skeptical. Look at what your competitors are saying and how you compare. Understand the problems your prospects face and if those messages address them well.
After all, if your marketing messages were little pre-sales reps, you want to be sure you’d rather hire more of them…not just fire them all.
