Bridging The Gap

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01 the only thing salespeople need from marketers is a bunch of marketing qualified leads

02 sales enablement is sales operations

03 brand guides and messaging frameworks apply only to marketing

04 sales enablement should be part of a sales group

05 sales enablement is only about sales training and development

01 the only thing salespeople need from marketers is a bunch of marketing-qualified leads

Granted, marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) are the key deliverables for most of marketing organizations. Still, marketing can do much more for sales.

For instance, modern buyers do extensive research about products and services before contacting vendors’ sales teams. Empowered buyers educate themselves through content created by marketing. Marketers who understand the sales methodology can align relevant content with each stage of the customer journey.

Another example: email marketing was traditionally marketing’s job. But since salespeople can easily run their own email marketing campaigns using features in sales enablement or customer relationship management (CRM) tools, the marketing team can share the template and content used in their campaigns with the sales team— making salespeople’s jobs easier.

Marketing should also understand that new technologies offer marketers additional capabilities to elevate marketing programs and identify sales-enablement opportunities. The digital component of partner marketing, affiliate marketing, and loyalty programs can be integrated as part of a sales-enablement marketing effort.