The Human Side of Sales and Marketing Integration

I was on a flight back from San Francisco last week. I was coming home from working with a Fortune 1000 client on improving their sales and marketing integration. On the flight, I happen to sit next to a person who was a professor of art history at a local Philadelphia university. She was amazingly well traveled. Had been all over the world and has interacted with dozens upon dozens of different cultures and societies.

I was in awe of her experiences and it made my life’s travels seem so small.
She asked me what I do for a living. So I gave her my 30-second elevator response. I expected her eyes to roll over and to immediate disengage me. She did the opposite. She started to relate what I do for a living to some of her own experiences. Here was the learning moment for me.

Like countries, all companies have their own culture. Being able to learn the culture, adapt to the culture and to engage at a human level that brings together cultures of independent groups like sales and marketing was how she related my role to her experience . And she’s right. Sales and marketing integration is not just about aligning content, messaging, technology, delivering better leads, etc. It’s also about understanding each other’s culture, needs, points of view – so that collaboration and ultimately teamwork is achieved. This is best stated as – aligning the human side of sales and marketing.

A company can purchase the best marketing automation technology, deliver the best leads and have an aligned communication plan, but in the end, it’s about teamwork and the interaction of human beings in the achievement of common goals. Do not forget culture and the human element when you are embarking on improving your sales and marketing alignment.