Takeaways From Marketing and Sales Alignment Secrets Podcast Discover highlights from Episode 2 of Mimeo’s Talk of the Traide podcast. You’ll learn how marketing and sales can align to be a real growth engine. Published on 28 April, 2021 | Last modified on 1 November, 2022 Amanda Wang Episode 2 of the Talk of the Trade Podcast—Marketing and Sales Success Stories, hosted by Mimeo, features a one-on-one interview with Amanda Wang, VP of Marketing at Contino, and a marketing expert with over a decade of experience across multiple industries. Host Mike McNary, VP of Acquisition at Mimeo, sat down with Amanda virtually to discuss how to Work Together, Not Apart: 3 Marketing and Sales Alignment Secrets. The conversation focused on how marketing and sales teams can partner together to be the growth engine of the company. This alliance involves keeping each other informed and providing support at the highest level. Read on to see key takeaways from the episode, starting with establishing particular behaviors and being transparent about metrics and success. Listen Now 1. Establish behaviors that teams can implement to work better together Both Marketing and Sales should strive to be as transparent and accountable as possible. This entails complete honesty between teams about what’s working and what isn’t working. For example, just as a sales team would like to know which marketing campaigns are successful, they also want to know which ones aren’t doing well. And likewise, the marketing team wants to be kept in the loop about what leads are turning into real opportunities and hear customer feedback from the frontlines. “It all comes down to being super transparent and not blaming one another, but, rather, saying, ‘Ok, that didn’t work. Let’s move on, try something else, and figure this out together.’ For instance, if we don’t see enough pipeline, we need to amp up our marketing efforts to get there. So, it’s not just the sales team’s issue or problem. It’s my problem, too. Let’s come up with a solution together.” Amanda Wang Working together involves more than focusing on top of funnel and passing on leads. Sales should let Marketing know which case studies, presentations, and other content resonates with customers so that they can produce more of this content. This information also needs to be passed along to sales representatives across different regions throughout the company. “When both Sales and Marketing listen to what the customer or prospect is saying, that shared perspective becomes easy to find – because you’re hearing it from the source. The more informed that you both are, the better behaviors you can drive, and then, ultimately, attack the market better.” Mike McNary 2. Have transparent data and success metrics It’s essential for both marketing and sales teams to have a “source of truth” to refer to – whether that is Salesforce or another CRM. By having immediate access to accurate metrics, teams can better understand what campaigns are driving sales. This cuts out a lot of noise and time-consuming back and forth conversations. Marketing and Sales must also be aligned on what these metrics mean. For example, everyone needs to have the same definition of MQL, so there is no question about whether or not leads are good enough to be passed along. And, in addition to being able to read metrics, certain marketing team members should know how to report on them, building out the right reports and dashboards for everyone to access. This could be a sales dashboard, a marketing dashboard, or a combination of both. But, make sure that your metrics are purposeful. “I think sometimes organizations can become obsessed with metrics. So, don’t just report on things for the sake of reporting on them. They actually have to tell a story, and it has to be an actionable story.” Amanda Wang Ensure that you include the right data and that it can be customized for, and consistently seen by, those who are invested in it. “Having metrics hit your inbox at a repeated time, whether that’s daily or twice a day, is really compelling. It gives you a moment in the middle of the day to check in and say – how are we doing against our key initiatives?” Mike McNary 3. Prioritize Customer Success The classic phrase, “the customer is king,” applies today more than ever. It’s imperative for Marketing and Sales to prioritize customer success and the customer experience. In professional services, for example, technology improvements are made to drive customer engagement and increase overall satisfaction. And, the effort shouldn’t end when the customer signs the dotted line. “At Contino, we implement what we call a “squad model.” So, every squad has a marketer on the team, and we create brand awareness around what we’re doing for that client. This includes making a lot of noise about all the victories we’ve had with the client – how we’ve upskilled their teams, improved their metrics, and saved them time and money in the long run. You can do great work, but if you’re not putting noise around it or championing it, it doesn’t really matter. There’s little opportunity for the sales team to step in and say, ‘hey, let’s continue working together. Introduce me to other people at the company.'” Amanda Wang Happy customers are one of the best tools for any salesperson to bring in new business – through the art of storytelling. Use case studies to illustrate what your company has done for individual customers and what you can do for future customers. (Check out Mimeo’s case studies to see how we’ve helped marketing and sales enablement teams worldwide accelerate their performance using our all-in-one business printing solution.) Beyond that, enlist the help of current, highly-satisfied customers to interact with prospects, who will likely want to learn more about your business. “Whenever you have a successful engagement or you have a happy customer, leverage it to the max. Turn the story into a case study, video, social media posts, and conversations at events. Utilize that story and spread it as widely as you can.” Amanda Wang Mimeo has been providing reliable, on-demand printing services to marketing and sales enablement professionals for over 20 years. We specialize in printing and distributing high-quality materials that create value for our clients and generate sales. twitter Tweet facebook Share pinterest Pin Next Post Previous Post Mimeo Marketing Team Mimeo is a global online print provider with a mission to give customers back their time. By combining front and back-end technology with a lean production model, Mimeo is the only company in the industry to guarantee your late-night print order will be produced, shipped, and delivered by 8 am the next morning. For more information, visit mimeo.com and see how Mimeo’s solutions can help you save time today.
