Don’t hold your breath for long, hoping to lean on “marketing took up my time” as a reason for explaining the shortfall in numbers. No one will buy it.    

Here are organizational aspects that may impede the sale.

Titles

Your title is meant to portray what your employer wants to project of himself through you. It is intended to market the organization, and therefore, you. It’s not intended to exempt you from selling. Businesses evolve with the needs of the marketplace. Unfortunately, over the years, the notion of selling has tended to make the buyer a suspicious spectator. The notion carries a lot of negative baggage. It often ends up with the sense of doing something to somebody, rather than something for somebody, or with somebody. Because of this dysfunctional relationship most businesses have opted to revise the titles they give those in charge of the’ numbers’.

In addition, they also want to inspire the title holder and inject a sense of understanding of the responsibility at hand. But. Whether you are Account Associate, Wealth Manager, Account Consultant/ Executive/ Manager/ Representative/ Specialist. Or, you are Business Developer, Business Development Specialist, Client Advisor, Chief Commercial Officer, Client Engagement Specialist. Even if you are Client Success Consultant, Customer Engagement Representative/Manager, Relationship Manager, Financial Consultant or hold any other customer facing title, know this. Learn how to market yourself, and never lose sight of one fact: delivering ‘numbers’ is your raison d’être

Head of Sales and Marketing

Now then. If you hold this title I’m willing to bet you do sales, not marketing. You are judged squarely on numbers not the advertising campaigns you’ve run. Sales is not marketing, and vice versa. Marketing lets you know what exists but selling gets you to acquire it. Marketing theory teaches us that sales is a subset of marketing and it is. But theory is one thing you don’t find in this column so let’s get back to the practical.

Many organizations that have the title Head of Sales and Marketing are driven by the industry peer pressure to be seen to be embracing marketing. However, in truth, they don’t really appreciate or understand it . They are not deeply driven to engage in marketing and most likely do not even have a budget for it. As for the holder of the title, just as with the salesperson aforementioned, don’t hold your breath for long, hoping to lean on “marketing took up my time” as a reason for explaining the shortfall in numbers. No one will buy it. (See How to market yourself as a sales person)

 Putting sales under finance is killing sales

If there are any two functions that are diametrically opposite to each other it is sales and finance. The former is outward, and the latter inward, seeking and looking. The former is abstract and amorphous in its approach while the latter is concrete and defined. Sales people see opportunity (spending) and are risk prone; finance is cost conscious and risk averse. Whereas both are necessary, to put sales under finance is to suffocate the sales team. As a Head of Sales friend of mine once told me: “When I joined, I found the sales team under the Finance Manager. They said they felt like orphans.”

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 The elections are finally over . Any ‘elections’ related excuse you may have had for not selling is now a hard sell.


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