Aligning your sales and marketing teams is a crucial propellor for generating high-quality leads. But how do you attain this?

Syncing sales and marketing is an ideal scenario that maintains your growth trajectory. The alignment also delivers a cohesive experience for the target customer base while generating high revenue returns. Although most businesses are aware of this, achieving the unison is easier said than done. Studies indicate that only 8% of brands have successfully aligned their sales and marketing divisions.

Content Marketing Institute found that in cases of misalignment between sales and marketing domains, around 70% of content generated by marketers goes unused because it lacks relevance to the buyer persona. Whereas, HubSpot believes that sales teams struggle to convert around 79% of leads due to a shortcoming to nurture leads. Getting sales and marketing on the same page involves establishing shared goals, strategies, systems, and processes to work unified as a brand. As a result, you can attain better outcomes from marketing activities, such as more closed deals, a higher ROI, and enhanced customer satisfaction.

What happens when Sales & Marketing are misaligned

It is a known fact that sales and marketing diligently work towards the same goal of driving growth and adding to the client network. However, they work in separate silos with different data sets, dealing with metrics, analytics, and so on. When they work as independent streams., it creates a monolithic environment having less capacity to leverage each other’s core competencies. Let’s look at some of the common problems that arise when both sides are working in synergy:

Siloed customer data

The absence of data unification can cause each team to be misinformed about their leads and customers and what they are seeking. For instance, if a sales team is unaware of the marketing strategy being implemented, it may be clueless about client interactions. Alternatively, the marketing team may not receive insights from the sales calls and end up launching campaigns for the wrong audience. This confusion can be avoided by fostering a strong alignment among these two domains.

Under-utilized sales content

Marketing teams strive to create relevant content designed for the target audience, specific to the platforms they frequent. However, if the sales reps do not provide input, all these efforts become futile. When marketers create various forms of content, be it infographics, industry reports, white papers, or some other materials, they need to communicate to the sales team the use of these resources. An alliance among these two sections can help address the sales rep’s needs and deliver result-oriented effective content.

Lead quality

Identifying the target audience is a catalyst to enhance your overall lead quality. Your sales team may focus on adding information-qualified leads, only to be disappointed when the prospects don’t convert into paying accounts. If sales and marketing together identify the lead categories and agree on lead scoring, they can operate more effectively. In this way, the sales team remains updated on the buyer’s journey and the data exchanged during the interactions. It also enables them to prioritize the prospects likely to convert into paying accounts.

The Benefits of Aligning Sales & Marketing

Simply put, misalignment of sales and marketing can hinder customer experience to a large extent. On the contrary, aligning these teams creates a synergistic cross-functional team that can drive your sales pipeline. The partnership between these two teams creates shared objectives and synchronized processes. The marketing branch can help sales generate, qualify, and nurture leads in the sales pipeline. Whereas, sales can promote marketing to bridge any gaps in the funnel. This alignment draws more high-quality leads while shortening the sales cycle. Let’s dive into why it is beneficial to align sales and marketing.

Effective Databank

The current B2B sales and marketing have geared towards a more fragmented solution generating large volumes of data but few insights. Aligning sales and marketing under a common plan results in an integrated tech stack that creates a high-quality data set for both teams.

Highly Motivated Teams

Sales and marketing alignment makes both teams work towards a common goal rather than competing with each other. The outcome is— better performance efficiency and higher revenue growth. Foster better cross-functional collaboration that also contributes to revenue growth. Moreover, aligned teams may be more inclined to stay, contributing to less employee churn.

Improved Resource Utilization

Sales are not involved in content creation. When there is better alignment between these teams, it allows you to deliver more customer-oriented and data-driven messages with input from sales.

Quick and Sustained Growth

Sales and marketing alignment brings them together to collaborate towards a common end goal— higher sales and growth. When everyone heads in the same direction, the friction between the two teams is greatly reduced and the resource utilization goes up. Additionally, the data can become more systematic and lead to streamlined organizational efficiency.

How to establish sales and marketing alignment

These best practices can be your go-to for bringing sales and marketing on the same page.

Set goals

If you may face misalignment, begin by defining objectives and allow both teams to recognize that they are working towards shared goals. This can be anything, from a company’s initiative to a new campaign to adding more clients, both teams must agree on business goals. A stepping stone to uniting sales and marketing is to bring their perspectives on the same page.

Decide a strategy

The next step is for both teams to avoid building independent go-to-market programs. Sales and marketing leaders need to meet regularly to map the buyer’s journey and discuss lead generation, conversion rates, inbound sales tactics, and more. Initiatives such as leadership offsite or regular standing bring clarity and ensure that these divisions work towards the shared goals you discussed previously.

Agree on processes

While executing business objectives, the sales and marketing managers will inevitably interact. If you have a model for promoting cross-functional collaboration, it makes it easy to instill clear communication and eliminate confusion surrounding responsibilities and expectations. Establish the sales and marketing elements upfront to streamline collaborative engagements and amp up the sales funnel.

Create better communications

Poor communication can trigger misalignment of sales and marketing. The best thing to do in such cases is to encourage centralized communication, which ensures that important conversations never go amiss. And transparency in the chain of communication is maintained. You can achieve centralized communication through tools or email campaigns.

Focus on sales enablement

A robust sales enablement framework improves the alignment between these teams. This forms a natural conduit between marketing and sales. For example, there is a sales enablement team to ensure that assets are not presented to sellers without training and guidance on effective application. Investing in a sales enablement team allows you to create reliable information between organizations.

Lead by example

When top leaders in your brand work hard to create the alignments, it works like a ripple effect across the team. Scheduling meetings between the leads of both teams to communicate the explore growth opportunities, offer feedback, and celebrate cross-functional wins can go a long way.

Streamline internal processes

You may be surprised to determine the influence of implementing organizational changes when aligning sales and marketing domains. In this step, introduce niche roles focusing on a specific aspect of the business, like strategy and development, demand generation, and nurturing prospects, for instance. You can also get content marketers on board to develop compelling messages aligned with each stage of the buyer’s journey. This stage is about building a solid framework for each phase of the customer journey, leading to a stronger collaboration between sales and marketing and driving business growth.

For every business that wants to survive the competition and thrive, aligning sales and marketing is no longer a choice. It is necessary to generate B2B leads and grow your brand. Evaluate the current state of these two teams in terms of alignment. The best practices listed here will guide you to build a cohesive relationship between these domains, enabling your teams to achieve the targets and create your mark in the industry.

The key to garnering high-quality leads is an accurate database. How do you maintain it well to accomplish the desired sales growth?

Customer data is all about collecting the right information about potential business prospects for application in sales and marketing operations. This includes data like the company’s name, contact information, industry, etc. Such details allow brands like yours to connect with potential prospects. When you can foster strong relationships with your target audience, it becomes easier to generate high-quality leads.

With B2B databases, you can quickly access target leads and procure necessary information about them. Since more and more relevant leads must be generated for sustained business growth, accurate databases offer a speedy and effective way to enhance your outreach strategy. If you opt for a dataset that is inaccurate or out of date, it can create complications. Searching through vast database options could be daunting, so we have compiled a list of the best tools for you to choose from.

Seven Best B2B Databases

In the digital age, customer databases are valuable tools that help brands drive B2B sales and accomplish their business goals. We have prepared a list of the best tools to help you find the right solution.

Saleshandy Lead Finder

It’s a comprehensive email outreach platform that helps you identify prospects and add them to your cold email sequences. With Saleshandy Lead Finder, acquiring contact information, such as email addresses and phone numbers, is simplified to a great extent. You can search leads with their rich database spanning different companies worldwide. It must be noted that this information is updated regularly to provide proactive and verified email addresses. Although they have a large resource, it makes it easier to narrow down targeted leads with advanced search filters. You can utilize this feature to find leads by their names, designation, department, role, etc.

Apollo

It is a cloud-based sales automation software that simplifies lead generation, contact database management, and email outreach. With over 2 million contributing data sources, this platform allows you to collect email addresses through a 7-step email verification process to ensure correct data delivery. Apollo refines your search with relevant filters, such as company name, size, industry, job role, location, etc. When you search data with these, it helps you reach the right prospects and acquire their contact information. Apollo enables targeting the right decision-makers to communicate based on filters, such as industry, designation, company headcount, etc.

Cognism

It is a sales intelligence tool that uses a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and human verification to provide you with accurate data. When you use Cognism, you can easily access advanced filters such as emails, technographics, and mobile numbers to filter the data and create a targeted lead list. This helps you attract ideal leads without wasting resources on prospects less likely to convert into paying accounts. Cognism is operational in Chrome as an extension and a mobile app. It is very particular about maintaining data compliance and keeps a ‘do not call list’ to avoid disturbing customers who have opted out of unsolicited phone calls. Through such innovative integrations, Cognism ranks among the top CRM and sales engagement platforms helping you build the sales pipeline and generate new leads.

Lusha

Lusha works perfectly for B2B companies of all sizes to supply precise data. It is a go-to-market platform promoting effective sales and marketing. This database offers you an easy-to-use prospecting tool that simplifies lead identification. You can access the latest and high-quality insights and data that promote communication with the right audience at the right time. The highlighting feature of this platform is its smooth operation while setting up, without involving any lengthy onboarding processes. Another distinguishing factor is that Lusha is accredited under ISO 27701- the highest international privacy standard in the world. What’s more— it allows you to be compliant with all GDPR and CCPA privacy regulations.

Lead 411

If you want to focus on targeted communication, this is your go-to database platform. It is powered by intent data, allowing you to find out the contact details of your prospects. Lead 411 supports easy integration with popular ESPs and CRMs, resulting in efficient and automated workflows. Its highlighting feature is unlimited email views in the basic plan while restricting the export to 200 per month. Additionally, it provides you with information on buyer intent.

Clearbit 

It offers data integrated with artificial intelligence, thus ensuring that you have accurate contact information. Clearbit adds to your records and helps you understand your prospects’ buying intent. This valuable information accelerates the lead generation process. With Clearbit, you can easily create, capture, and convert prospects into paying accounts by addressing their demands. You can access a range of business intelligence APIs and integrations that accelerate sales and marketing campaigns.

SalesIntel 

This business intelligence platform provides you with the data you seek. The key difference is—SalesIntel uses patented AI technology and human verification to source accurate contacts. What makes it stand out is the vast database of more than 100M contacts available with emails and mobile phone numbers. It also offers amazing features such as intent data to gain insights into who is researching your solution. SalesIntel also helps you visualize company technographics to understand their tech stack. Another highlighting feature is the company firmographics that promotes the identification of target accounts based on factors such as company size, location, industry, and more.

Final thoughts

Various factors play a role in an efficient database, such as data accuracy, customer intent, data availability, and integration capabilities. Before you make an informed decision, you need to weigh the pros and cons of each platform. The database you select must align with your business goals. The best-fitted tool must allow you to effectively communicate with potential customers, engage with them, and drive the sales funnel.

Shortening the sales cycle is among the top priorities for sales teams. How can analyzing your sales pipeline help you reach the conversion stage faster?

Performing a sales pipeline analysis is beneficial if you want to increase sales. It works even if you are satisfied with your current sales performance. But what exactly is a sales pipeline analysis, and what is its importance?

Analyzing the sales pipeline involves examining leads to understand their status and progress. In this blog, we explain the importance of conducting a sales pipeline analysis and list six top sales pipeline metrics to monitor.

What is sales pipeline analysis?

Sales pipeline analysis helps you examine your sales pipeline to understand what is happening with your leads and why.

What does sales pipeline analysis tell you?

Analyzing the sales pipeline provides crucial insights into your potential customers. What prompts the leads who convert to do so? What causes those who do not stay? Out of the two options, which one occurs more frequently?

How you choose to carry out your analysis is totally in your hands, but it is often beneficial to examine different key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand the impact of your efforts.

Why conduct a sales pipeline analysis?

Conducting a sales analysis is important because it lets you understand how to enhance your sales strategy. It demonstrates your strengths, enabling you to replicate those accomplishments in the future. Similarly, it also reveals the areas of weakness in your sales, such as where leads are being lost.

Utilizing data from sales pipeline metrics to adjust the entire sales process can lead to consistent growth in sales numbers, resulting in a progressively higher ROI.

Six sales pipeline metrics to track and analyze

We have previously highlighted the importance of monitoring various pipeline KPIs to effectively conduct a sales analysis, but which specific KPIs should be tracked?

Here are six key performance indicators to examine in the sales pipeline.

Rate of conversion at each stage

Your conversion rate indicates the percentage of leads that turn into conversions. Naturally, the term “convert” has various interpretations. At the beginning of the sales process, it could just involve subscribing to your newsletter. However, ultimately, it translates to the lead buying something.

It means you need to analyze your conversion rate individually for every step in the process. Monitoring the conversion rate lets you pinpoint where you are losing the majority of leads. Having a high conversion rate at the end of the funnel but a low one at the start implies that your top-of-funnel sales process requires improvement.

Duration of sales cycle

The length of your sales cycle reflects the average duration of a sales cycle or the time it takes for the average customer to move from the start to the finish of the pipeline.

The more time spent in the pipeline, the higher the likelihood of dropping out before making a sale. Furthermore, the more time it takes for potential customers to move along the sales process, the slower your income will come in.

Speed of sales pipeline

The velocity of sales pipeline progress is linked to the length of the sales cycle. Instead of tracking lead retention in the pipeline, it focuses on the speed of revenue generation within it.

To figure it out, simply multiply the total deals in the pipeline by the average deal size, then divide by the average duration of the sales cycle.

This metric is advantageous for the same purpose as the length of the sales cycle – it shows the speed and effectiveness of your sales pipeline in generating revenue for you.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

CAC is an average cost measurement to earn a new customer. To determine your CAC metric, add up all your marketing and sales expenses over a specific time frame and divide by the total number of new customers acquired in that period.

It provides an idea of your expenses related to your sales pipeline. If your Customer Acquisition Cost is excessively high, you are spending way too much, or your sales strategies are yielding very unsatisfactory outcomes. In any case, you should focus on adjusting the ratio to benefit you.

Churn rate

Another vital factor to pay attention to is the customer retention rate. The churn rate is essentially a metric that indicates the portion of your potential and existing customers you no longer have within a specified time frame. To find it, divide the customers lost by the initial number of customers for that period, then multiply by 100.

It’s probably needless to mention that the higher your churn rate, the more negative impact it has on your situation. A high churn rate indicates that something in the later stages of your process is causing people initially interested to leave, so your task is to determine the cause.

Net promoter score (NPS)

NPS is a measure of customer satisfaction. It just evaluates the level of satisfaction your customers have towards your company. Survey your customers to determine your NPS by asking how probable they are to endorse your business, rating on a scale from 1 to 10.

A high NPS signifies satisfaction among customers for your company, while a low NPS suggests significant potential for enhancement. If your Net Promoter Score is not meeting your expectations, ensure to also inquire with your customers about how they believe you can enhance it. Next, apply those enhancements to boost your NPS score.

Wrapping it up

Understanding and efficiently controlling your sales pipeline will result in notable enhancements in your results – this is something we can all agree upon now. The sales team gains from the sales pipeline and aids in overall team achievements as long as the entire organization is in sync with revenue objectives. Businesses that achieve sales targets understand the importance of effectively managing the sales pipeline to track a prospect’s progress through each stage of the sales process, enabling them to nurture leads and increase conversions.

Sales and marketing leaders believe that ‘smarketing’ is the way to go for remarkable business growth. Here are some trends to look forward to.

As businesses chart their course in 2023, a key element under their radar is sales alignment. With a drastic shift in the global economy and the unprecedented surge in digitalization, the realm of sales and marketing has experienced profound changes. This article delves into the sales alignment trends for 2023, highlighting how businesses are using sales enablement technology and tools to streamline their sales marketing processes.

To begin, let’s address the question, what is sales and marketing alignment?

Sales and marketing alignment, or ‘smarketing’, is the strategic synchronization between the sales and marketing departments. It’s about breaking down silos and promoting a collaborative and communicative environment where both teams work towards the shared objective of driving business growth. Alignment involves aligning goals, harmonizing strategies, and encouraging dialogue between sales and marketing. The focus is on a unified understanding of the target audience, the company’s offerings, and overall strategic goals.

At its core, successful alignment sees marketing generating high-quality leads and crafting compelling narratives, while sales uses this insight to understand prospects, tailor their approach, and effectively close deals. It’s about shared metrics, recognizing how each role contributes to overall business objectives and how both can support each other. In essence, ‘smarketing’ is a customer-centric approach that optimizes the customer journey, leading to a consistent, personalized experience that boosts satisfaction and loyalty, enhances efficiency, and drives revenue growth. It’s a strategic necessity for businesses aiming for sustained growth in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Why is sales and marketing alignment important?

The answer lies in the fundamental need for cohesion in businesses’ marketing strategies. When the sales and marketing teams are not in sync, it may lead to ineffective communication, missed opportunities, and even conflict. This alignment ensures that the entire revenue generation process, from prospecting to closing deals, is seamless and efficient.

A recent report by LinkedIn highlighted that a significant 87% of sales and marketing leaders believe that teamwork and collaboration between these two departments are essential drivers of crucial business growth. The report further indicated that 60% concur that a lack of alignment between sales and marketing negatively impacts the company’s financial performance. However, the challenge with ‘smarketing’ (sales and marketing) arises due to the differences in objectives, tactics, and measurement metrics of these two traditionally distinct departments.

So, how aligned are other businesses’ sales and marketing departments? Unfortunately, the alignment varies significantly. While some businesses have been successful in achieving tight coordination, others struggle to bridge the gap. The primary factor hindering alignment is the lack of a clear strategy that supports open communication, shared objectives, and mutual understanding.

Sales Alignment Trends in 2023

Given the stakes, here are a few sales alignment trends and sales technology trends to watch in 2023.

Integration of Sales Enablement Technology and Tools

Companies are investing more in technology to streamline their sales and marketing processes. They are focusing on unifying key platforms like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems and Content Management Systems (CMS). This integration provides a centralized database for customer information, ensuring that both departments use the same, up-to-date data. Additionally, advanced analytics platforms are being employed to monitor campaign performance, track customer behavior, and make data-informed decisions.

Focus on Data-Driven Strategies

Data has become the cornerstone of marketing and sales strategies. It enables companies to develop a deep understanding of their customers, including their behaviors, preferences, and purchasing habits. In turn, this knowledge allows businesses to craft personalized marketing campaigns and predict future trends. A data-driven approach promotes the alignment of sales and marketing by creating a shared understanding of the target market, which helps teams collaborate more effectively.

Increased Adoption of AI and Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming increasingly prevalent in the realm of sales and marketing. These technologies are automating repetitive tasks, freeing up time for sales and marketing professionals to focus on strategy and creativity. More importantly, AI and ML can analyze complex datasets, identify patterns, and generate insights that assist in creating personalized marketing messages and identifying sales opportunities.

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

ABM is a targeted strategy that aligns sales and marketing teams around high-value accounts. It involves identifying key prospects or customer accounts, understanding their specific needs, and then tailoring marketing efforts accordingly. By focusing on particular accounts, sales, and marketing teams can develop a unified strategy, leading to more coordinated efforts and ultimately, better results.

Real-Time Communication and Collaboration Tools

Businesses are leveraging technology that supports real-time communication and collaboration to ensure seamless coordination. Tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Asana enable instant communication, task allocation, and progress tracking. These technologies promote transparency, ensure everyone is on the same page, and accelerate decision-making, thereby fostering alignment between sales and marketing.

Enhanced Customer Experience (CX) Strategy

Aligning sales and marketing teams with a customer-centric approach brings significant benefits. Sales provide direct contact and rapport with customers, while marketing can leverage those insights for better messaging. Collaborative tools, CRM, and analytics help track and predict customer behaviors. This alignment allows teams to understand their customers’ needs better and tailor their offerings to provide a personalized, satisfactory experience throughout the customer journey.

Social Selling and Digital Presence

Social selling involves leveraging social media platforms to connect, understand, and engage with prospects and customers. As per Forbes, a staggering 78% of sales professionals leveraging social media surpass their peers in sales performance. It’s about creating a brand presence, nurturing relationships, and driving engagement with useful and relevant content. By aligning sales and marketing efforts on social media, businesses can maintain a consistent brand voice, target their messages more effectively, and provide a seamless customer experience across platforms.

The Rise of Sales Operations

Sales operations work in the background, ensuring the smooth functioning of sales activities and alignment with marketing strategies. It involves sales planning, forecasting, territory management, incentive structures, and data analysis. Sales operations ensure that sales teams are adequately supported and equipped, reducing inefficiencies and bridging the communication gap with marketing. The rising significance of this role underlines its importance in promoting ‘smarketing’ alignment.

Advanced Training and Development Programs

As businesses acknowledge the criticality of sales and marketing alignment, there’s an increasing emphasis on cross-functional training. These programs educate both teams about the intricacies of each other’s roles, promoting empathy, understanding, and collaboration. With the help of modern eLearning platforms, interactive workshops, and real-time collaboration tools, businesses can foster a culture that values and promotes ‘smarketing’.

Enhanced Use of Metrics and KPIs

Businesses are now identifying shared metrics that equally represent the efforts and achievements of sales and marketing. By monitoring these shared KPIs, teams can better understand how their activities impact each other and the overall business objectives. The adoption of shared metrics promotes transparency and mutual accountability and fosters alignment.

To sum up, these trends emphasize the evolving dynamics of sales and marketing alignment. In 2023, it’s all about leveraging technology, fostering a culture of collaboration, adopting customer-centric approaches, and making data-driven decisions. Businesses that succeed in aligning their sales and marketing strategies stand a better chance of driving growth, enhancing customer satisfaction, and achieving competitive advantage in the increasingly digital marketplace.