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In theory, Marketing and Sales efforts are a coordinated, in-sync set of communications that compel the right customers to buy.  The reality is that activities of the marketing and sales engines of your organization are often going in different directions. Sometimes the only clue is flat or declining sales - and that can spell trouble in both the short and long-term.  What does it really take to figure out if your marketing and sales efforts are in alignment or not? 

As we regularly advocate in many of our interactions with our own customers - we suggest taking "a look in the mirror."   By reviewing objectively the company value proposition, marketing strategy, sales competency, and customer perspectives - you can see what connects well, and what doesn't connect at all.  Think of each of these items as a mirror. Whose face is reflected back? Is it the face of your company or the face of your customer?

Intuitively we know that customers are more interested in themselves than they may be in your product or service.  But in practice, most of us spend a lot of time communicating our message from our own perspective - leaving the customer to translate it into their own language, situation and concerns.  The majority of customers won't bother.  Or will give up if it gets too hard.  It’s more work for us to retool our message, strategy and delivery to be entirely from a customer viewpoint – but it has tremendous upside in terms of both short-term and long-term sales. 

Here is one way to test the alignment of your company’s message and positioning.  Ask your executives what the company’s value proposition is. Ask them to write it down. Then go to your sales force and ask them to do the same thing.  Then the true test:  go to your customers and ask them what value your organization brings to them.  Compare the results.  Are they the same, somewhat similar or completely different?  The only way to test our assumptions about how our message works with customers is to ask them and to compare to our internal understanding and perceptions of what value we bring.  There is potential for surprise if you do this exercise.  One outcome could be that you are spot-on – and therefore, the message is right. Okay - we can check that off.   But sales still aren't adequate. So, perhaps it’s in executing the message where your company faces challenges.  However, the most common result to the value proposition test is that there is a marked difference between a customer’s understanding of the value you bring versus your sales people and the internal team that delivers the product or service.  Aligning these 3 points-of-view is crucial in impacting sales growth. 

The next step is to review and align all the supporting processes and marketing vehicles to connect directly to the customer’s perception of value.  So the text outlined above is the first step in performing a complete marketing and sales assessment to provide the roadmap for improvement in revenue and profit growth. 

The perspectives impacted by doing a thorough assessment are twofold:

Sales Perspective

• Do your people (marketing, sales, and customer service) understand your value proposition?
• Are they able to articulate the message clearly and with confidence?
• Are they trained and equipped to sell effectively and consultatively?
• Are they motivated to sell consultatively (rather than pushing a sale)?
• Does the company have a defined sales process that everyone can follow?
• Does your executive team understand how to help their sales professionals?

 Customer Perspective

• Can they articulate clearly why they do business with you?
• How can you better serve their needs?
• How can our sales people create customer loyalty?
• How can our sales force be perceived as strategic and trusted advisors?

 For more information on conducting a marketing and sales assessment, click here.

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