As a sales representative, you know that success comes from developing strong client relationships. But what if you could take your relationship-building skills to the next level?

 

With the help of marketing and sales alignment, you can!

 

When these two departments work together efficiently, it leads to better results for the company. Although achieving this ideal state can be difficult, it’s worth it for increased sales and productivity.

 

Related: Your Ultimate Guide To Sales Enablement

 

This blog post will explore marketing and sales alignment and how to achieve successful sales enablement through it.

 

What Is Sales And Marketing Alignment? 

 

Sales and marketing alignment is creating a plan with the same goals and strategies that help the “SMARKETING” teamwork as a whole. For any business, sales and marketing are essential for success.

 

However, these two departments often have different goals and strategies, which leads to a lack of communication and mistrust. The purpose of this alignment is to have a clear understanding of the customer journey. 

 

This alignment will also ensure that leads are followed up promptly and that any training needed by sales staff is identified and provided promptly.

 

Now, let’s discuss how to achieve successful sales enablement through this.

 

How To Achieve Successful Sales Enablement Through Smarketing

 

1. Create a joint strategy for data-driven decisions

 

Marketing and sales must partner on internal and external data to create an effective joint strategy for data-driven decisions. The best way to do this is to understand the types of customers that matter most and determine where to focus their efforts.

 

Moreover, sales and marketing teams should work together to develop KPIs aligned with business objectives. Once KPIs are established, data should be collected and analyzed regularly to track progress and identify areas of opportunity. 

 

By partnering on data-driven decision-making, sales and marketing teams ensure that they are working together towards common goals, resulting in more successful sales enablement and increased ROI.

 

2. Integrate CRM and marketing automation

 

Any successful marketing and sales initiative starts with clearly understanding the target audience. With this foundation, creating genuinely effective campaigns or measuring results is possible. 

 

A report says that 67% of clients say that the way a company uses technology is indicative of how it operates overall. [source]

 

As a result, integrating CRM and marketing automation tools becomes critical for creating a unified database. This will give a complete view of the audience and further avoid duplication and conflicts in the data gathered.

 

Additionally, when both departments work towards the same goal, it creates a deeper partnership that usually yields the best results. This is because it will allow you to,

• Sync information in both directions so that every update in CRM is reflected in the marketing automation system and vice versa.
• Have a comprehensive view of the lead’s activity and related valuable insights.
  
  

By getting closer to proper alignment, sales enablement will be more effective in closing more deals.

 

3. Create content that explains the purpose

 

Marketing professionals typically have a specific goal in mind when creating content. However, once that content is in the hands of salespeople, it becomes difficult to use it effectively. 

 

This is because marketers and salespeople think differently. Marketers create top-of-mind materials to capture attention, while salespeople use those materials to close deals. 

 

So, marketers need to create a “creator’s intent” behind each piece of content that helps salespeople use it effectively. Moreover, some content gets outdated due to market changes. To overcome this situation, marketers should provide agile content through videos to keep the sales team informed about recent trends.

 

After creating video content, marketers can build a library of videos that sales teams can access to learn and get best practices.

 

4. Collaborate with ABM tactics

 

Almost 59% of respondents in a recent survey said that tailored engagement based on past interactions is critical to winning their business. [source] To do this, marketing and sales need to work together to identify the accounts with the highest value and then personalize communication according to their needs and preferences. 

 

Once they understand these accounts, sales and marketing get to know them better by studying the type of content they engage with and the channels they use.

 

These accounts can also be used as templates to find similar accounts for future Account-Based Marketing programs, expand ICPs (ideal customer profiles), and increase the scope of programs. However, it’s important to remember that ABM is not a one-time effort but a continuous journey that requires ongoing alignment between sales and marketing.

 

5. Have formal and consistent communication

 

The adage “communication is key” is especially true when it comes to achieving successful sales enablement. This means having a regular communication routine where both teams talk to each other every day. This way, they can build a rapport and understand better.

 

In addition, having Quarterly Business Reviews and other moments that matter will help keep this communication going strong and understand the business’s pain points, which sales teams are doing well. 

 

This information further helps the marketing team figure out where to shift and prioritize its investments. In short, communication within the sales and marketing teams is essential to success in sales enablement.

 

Everyone benefits when marketing and sales are aligned and work together towards common goals. The sales team is better equipped to sell, the company achieves its revenue targets, and customers receive excellent customer service. Implementing these tips will help get your team on track for sales enablement and increased profits.