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Marketing and Sales are like oil and water… true or false? *record scratch* Wait… are we really still talking about this? No? Okay, phew! Frankly, whoever said Marketing and Sales do not or cannot mix needs a good ol’ reality check. Especially in the world of small businesses, these two “departments” are often mixing, mingling, or merged in order to conserve funds while working with a limited budget.
Just take a look at SMB Sales executives for example… they’re the walking, talking poster children for Marketing & Sales alignment. Why?
Because these self-identified Sales people get stuck doing marketing all the time! When you think about it, have you ever heard of a small company’s VP of Sales not having any involvement with marketing? (Let alone managing most of it themselves…)
Yet, in this scenario, there is a fine line between aligning Marketing and Sales and being overwhelmed by them. And that’s problematic.
Over the years, our outsourced marketing team has partnered up with a number of sales wizards—ranging from VPs and managers to business development executives—and we’ve found that the math is simple. When a sales-driven company can outsource its marketing strategy and execution to a dedicated team of experts, it creates a B2B powerhouse!
When running the sales show at a small or mid-sized business, these individuals are typically responsible for several time-consuming marketing activities: increasing brand awareness, improving the company’s website and social presence, generating content for interested prospects, etc. And that’s all in addition to their everyday sales tasks—making follow-up calls and crafting emails, creating tool kits, supporting client services, identifying and targeting new markets, and of course, bringing in business (you know… just to name a few light assignments).
After working with our client contacts whose primary function within their company is sales-related, the problem set is clear to us. When it comes to marketing, many busy SMB Sales executives struggle with:
Surprising? Not really… especially when you consider everything required to successfully attract, convert, and qualify leads…
And nurture and follow up with them until they close as customers…
And then support and delight them with the hopes of extending the engagement, cross-selling, upselling, etc.
SMB Sales executives are essentially managing their company’s combined marketing and sales funnels (sometimes completely on their own!) – all while simultaneously trying to shorten the buying cycle. The irony is practically a pain point in itself.
Nobody likes playing catch-up all the time. If you feel like you’re in the middle of reading an abstract from your professional biography, it’s likely an outsourced marketing team is the solution you’ve been looking for.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could subtract a healthy chunk of that work from your monthly to-do list? Here’s how outsourcing makes a difference:
Salespeople don’t look for an external partner who is just like them. They need a complementary source of support who takes them to a level they couldn’t quite get to on their own. It’s about finding that added value! When searching for the right outsourced marketing team, it’s important they demonstrate the following qualities:
So what’s the main takeaway here? For SMB Sales executives tackling both sales and marketing while on a budget, outsourcing > not outsourcing.
Giving outsourced marketing some serious thought? Let us know if there is anything we can do to help (or if you’re interested in receiving your own B2B digital growth assessment). We’re always up for sharing our insights! And we promise not to make you take a math quiz…
Oren Smith—our resident Marketing Manager and data geek... *ahem* expert—has been heading up PMG's marketing for 5+ years. Between stretches of content writing and inbound strategy, you might find him planning his next adventure abroad or enjoying a good, old-fashioned lobster roll.