Integrate sales and marketing efforts
By Andrew Maydoney

For maximum success, companies should see the relationship with a customer as a continuum that begins well before the customer makes a buying decision and lasts long after they have made a commitment. It's essential that sales and marketing departments are unified in the messages and attitudes they present to prospects and customers.

Some important steps to integrate marketing and sales teams include:

1. Integrate individuals/personnel
   Set ground rules of interdependence and mutual respect where cross-functional presence is desired rather than required.
   Consider the physical layout of the teams. Weave the teams together physically as much as you reasonably can.
   Assure that all levels of the organization are included in the integration––leadership, management and staff.
2. Integrate process/organization/operations
   Include representation from each discipline in key discussions and decisions.
   Walk in their shoes and learn their language: bring marketers to sales calls; bring sales people to focus group research or campaign planning sessions. Assure that each discipline is sensitive to the needs and challenges of the other.
   Don't indulge negative slights or comments across disciplines.
3. Integrate performance measurement
   Assure that individual and team value is measured, in part, against the successful integration of disciplines.
   Check in on integration progress as frequently as possible––at least twice per year.
   Celebrate successes as teams and with individuals from each discipline.
4. Integrate the customer
   Instruct both sales and marketing to monitor the customer's sense of real value.
   Assure that the organization presents only a customer-focused culture; not a sales culture and/or marketing culture.

Integration. Collaboration. Interdependence. While these terms all seem internally focused, they are, in fact, important acknowledgements that the complete customer experience is a key to the success of any organization or individual – including sales reps.

Adapted from “How to Integrate Sales and Marketing Efforts,” Andrew Maydoney, Sametz Blackstone Associates, www.sametz.com.