As far as business growth is concerned, nothing helps more than having the appropriate sales and marketing. But many firms see these as two separate disciplines, when in reality, they must be aligned and support each other. Without a proper business development engine, no business can grow—or even exist—for very long. While back-office systems might provide the machinery for a business, sales and marketing offer the fuel.
At the core of any suitable business development engine is value creation. That is—what value are you providing your clientele for what cost and return on investment? The ability to create sustainable value is critical to growth potential since it is likely not only to attract but also to retain customers. Value creation strategies can take many forms: unique content, integrated platforms, and distinct customer experience, among others. Whatever it is you are marketing and selling must communicate your unique value proposition (UVP), sometimes known as the special sauce that helps differentiate your offerings from those of other organizations.
But once a spot-on marketing message is formed and communicated, you have to get buyers to purchase your products and services. This is best accomplished by your distribution system, whether through a direct sales force, telemarketers, online, resellers, or brokers. A system must be set up to allow potential buyers to purchase your offer—and to do so relatively easily. Each of these distribution systems has it pros and cons in terms of expense, inherent margin, profitability, and internal controls, among other aspects, but depending on your business model, one or more of these approaches must be selected and effectively managed.
Today, sales and marketing processes are simultaneously easier and more difficult than they’ve been in the past. Digital marketing tools including web design, search engine optimization, pay-for-click advertising, social media management, and email marketing, are all available with experts ready to jump in and help. On the one hand, digital systems make it easier to reach people, but often they also make it more difficult to compete since there’s a lot of redundancy across the market. Key to this formula is identifying your total addressable market (TAM) and focusing on the proper personas—buyer profiles—within that niche.
The easiest way to do this is to put a system in place that can identify target customers, qualify them, close the deal, and then manage ongoing relationships. Your goal is to ultimately create customer loyalty such that you can shortcut the sales and marketing process for future buying opportunities. But even a superb marketing process isn’t enough. You also need the right people with the appropriate skills, knowledge, and motivation to operate within the system—employees who know how to effectively execute the lead development and qualification, closing, and relationship management required while aiming to achieve unparalleled customer success.
Last, pricing appropriately is both art and science. There are metrics to gauge both what potential buyers are willing to spend and what your competitors are charging. Unfortunately, many consultants in our industry tend to either overcharge or undercharge for their services. Some overcharge because they believe they are the only ones who possess the necessary skills and thus are in rare demand, and others undercharge because they lack confidence in their added value. Getting the right pricing balance is sometimes a matter of simple trial and error, but making a mistake can hamstring your business. If you charge too little to cover your costs, you’ll go out of business, and if you overcharge, you’ll find few customers willing to do business with you.
In the end, every contact you have with a prospect or customer—whether live or purely digital—says something about who you are and how you operate as a business. You are creating a unique brand message. This brand must be consistently maintained to prove to potential buyers that they can rely on you to deliver. Your approach to sales and marketing efforts must align and support each other so that the sum is greater than the parts.
What are you doing to create a consistent, reliable brand within your sales and marketing systems? How do your marketing and sales approaches align to support each other? When you leverage both sales and marketing in tandem, you can achieve greater success for your organization.
