Effective marketing can improve your sales process tremendously, even when your sales talent is all over the map. A single great marketing person can help 100 or even 1,000 salespeople sell more effectively by raising the average skill level, adding consistency, and improving results for the whole group.
Good marketing empowers your salespeople to confidently state the following:
- “I understand and can explain the unique value and better business results (revenue and profit) our customers get from us that they can’t get anywhere else.”
- “I have proof—including testimonials, statistics, and repeat purchases—that customers get these specific results from using our products.”
- “I know who our ideal prospects are and how to approach them.”
- “I can quickly identify the customers and opportunities that are not worth wasting our time on.”
- “I know what to say during a sales pitch to get a prospect’s attention and start a conversation about our products.”
- “I know how to respond to objections regarding price, performance, quality, terms, etc.”
- “I know how to give a sales presentation to a group of skeptical customers so that they’ll remember what I said and why it matters to them.”
- “I know how to structure a proposal that includes price vs. performance options and ensures a reasonable profit.”
- “I know how to hold and defend our prices when customers push back.”
- “I know how to negotiate better agreements with professional buyers who use PICOS and other profit transfer methodologies.”
Ask yourself honestly: Does your marketing facilitate this level of deep knowledge and expertise among your salespeople? If not, what would you have to do to properly equip your salespeople with the right information and mindset?
Marketing should help sales sell more, faster, and at higher prices—but it often doesn’t.
Stop wasting time on gimmicky slides and corporate doubletalk. Focus on making sure your marketing gets your salespeople well-versed in the fundamentals outlined above. You will be amazed at how quickly this translates to higher revenues and profits.