Bridging the Sales-Marketing Gap

Every company which has marketing and sales departments has at some point witnessed the famous – sales and marketing fight and blame game – more commonly known as the sales and marketing misalignment.

One of the most significant reasons for the sales and marketing divide is the difference in objectives and their measurement of success in closing the sales deal. In a B2B set up these differences are more glaring as compared to a B2C company.

In B2C, both marketing and sales are measured by the sales and market share the company enjoys for its products. In such a scenario, marketing invariably assumes the role of assisting sales and propelling the company’s revenue share in the marketplace.

However, in most B2B companies, the primary objective of marketing is to generate quality business leads and of sales to convert these into closed deals. Both these departments are also measured based on the number of leads generated and the number of sales closed, respectively.

In reality the role of marketing in a B2B company is relationship building and that of sales to use this relationship and help prospects make a rational buying decision based on business value offered by the company’s solutions.

Irrespective of how companies want to position their marketing and sales objectives, the truth is marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin.

Selling starts the very minute the company goes out into the world and talks about its offering. Companies spend on marketing activities because they want to attract people who can buy their offerings. So what really differentiates marketing from sales is the point of their entry in the relationship building process.

Hence it is essential for companies to create a common ground or process for marketing and sales teams to work together in the in-between stages of qualifying and nurturing Leads.

Define Lead Profile

Defining a good Lead is the first step in this direction. It starts by putting down a definite list of attributes and a score for each attribute; this process helps in scoring the Leads and qualifying them. These pre-defined Lead attributes should be arrived at after doing ample research on how the Leads in the company’s Lead funnel behaved in the past, this requires an in-depth study of both Leads closed and opportunities lost. Also, this should be an ongoing process, where the Lead behavior is watched and the common definition accordingly developed over a period of time.

Automate Processes

Use of technology like marketing automation solutions can help in easing and automating the process of scoring and qualifying leads if the primary source of Lead generation is Internet.

Just this one process can go a long way in bridging the sales-marketing divide, at least in settling the blame game.

Setting up such a process not only helps in bringing clarity to the end objectives of both, but also equates the success metric. The Lead definition becomes the base measurement value for both the departments. Marketing is measured not on the basis of Leads generated but on the basis of qualified Leads generated in accordance with the common definition. Sales get measured on how many of these qualified Leads it managed to close.

Marketing automation solutions allow sales and marketing to have a common free-flowing communication channel through a common “Lead view”, even if they fail to fit the pre-defined criteria.

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Using Free Trials for Effective B2B Marketing

The popular ‘Call to Actions’ is mostly associated with free trials and offers and, is widely used in both the B2C and B2B industries. It is a universal rule followed by most customers around the world in any industry; that if they want to get the maximum returns for their investments, they allow the customer to test it in his own environment.

Here are some important considerations for B2B clients before using “Free Trials” on your webpage.


Placement effectiveness of ‘Free Trial’
Free trial generally is the primary call to action and gets the top billing in terms of placement – above fold along with the key value proposition or image. Sometimes it is even repeated twice in a smaller print below the fold or on the top along with the login.


Give away for ‘Free Trials’  
Free trial remains most comprehensive form of evaluation for any product or offering.


Ideal time for a ‘Free Trial’ offer
From a sales perspective, it ideal to offer the shortest time and then on an individual case to case basis, make exceptions where required.


Urgency around ‘Free Trial’
By indicating the free trial is available for a limited time in a subscript, one can create a sense of urgency around the call to action. You can also mention “No credit card data required” in the subscript which would emphasise – “no obligations for taking the trial”.


Information around ‘Free Trial’ tabs
Providing links to video, demo, tutorials or other resources may result in more click-through for these links as prospects would like to read more about the product and the value proposition before engaging in a trial.


Is dummy data in a sandbox better than ‘Free Trial’?
Using dummy data in a sandbox depends on whether the product produces data in a free trial which can show the prospects true value and new perspectives which they would find difficult to associate otherwise.

Overall, offering free trials is a practical proposition and works wonders from a prospect’s perspective, because it is an opportunity to go beyond the marketing automation collateral and jargon and check if the product or service being marketed matches the claims made.


Free trial is great option for B2B companies, if data produced during the trial period highlights the value of the product and provides with a strong motivation to buy.
The free product trial experience goes a step further than making available dummy data in a sandbox environment, as it shows how valuable the product is in the prospect’s own environment, thus reinforcing the value proposition.


Free trials help a prospect gain familiarity with the product, its features; not just in a sandbox environment, but right in the production environment. If the prospect does not like something in the promo run, he can voice his opinion and feedback, which can find its way back to the vendor company, who may just be able to accommodate the suggestions in the paid version.


Since most B2B decisions are taken by a group of individuals, going with a certain vendor becomes easier if there is data to showcase the merits of the solution offered by them. Free trials help put together such convincing data.


Also, a free trial allows you to make your first contact with the buyer, it allows you to present your case and build a relationship with the decision makers, which can affect the final purchase decision. So, ultimately it serves the purpose for effective Lead generation and lead nurturing.

Is your marketing automation solution offering you a good ROI?

Why settle for less?

It has been almost a decade since ‘marketing automation’ came into existence. So if you are one who has opted for a particular marketing solution, perhaps it is time to ask yourself if your chosen automation tool has brought in:

• an increase in revenue?
• cost reductions?
• enhanced CRM?

If not, then it is time to reconsider your automated marketing solutions.

A 2009 Forrester B2B Lead Management Automation Market Overview Report states that, "Tools that monitor online activity, match visitors against commercial databases, look up their firms and roles, and help sales proactively chase buyers across the Web take priority over technology that manages demand once it comes in the door…" According to the report, your automated marketing tools need many inherent built-in functions to ensure maximum revenue returns for your enterprise. So why settle for a solution that does not give you what you need - increased ROI? Why not trade up for a tool/solution that will provide you maximum ROI?

Things to remember

Efficient marketing automation software can work wonders for your enterprise. Here is a list of things you must keep in mind before choosing your marketing automation tool. Your tool should:

• Provide real quantifiable and measurable results
• Offer actual cost savings with cost effective lead generation, higher conversion rates with lead nurturing and enhanced sales
• Offer real-time updates and incisive information on visitor intent and behavior
• Get rid of multiple systems required for lead tracking
• Facilitate different campaigns within the system like email marketing, drip marketing, etc.
• Integrate your multiple CRM systems
• Be flexible and scalable
• Improve operational efficiency
• Effectively react and respond to change
• Help in making sales/marketing campaigns be buyer-centric
• Customize content and automate the timing of marketing communication

Look before you leap

Even as studies show that 95% of prospects visiting your website are primarily there for some kind of research, as many as 70% of the same prospects will eventually buy from you or your competitors. Therefore, it is important to optimize the leads you get from your prospects, which can be done with an effective marketing automation tool. Upon accurate implementation, a truly robust marketing automation tool can ensure your enterprise of customer-centric ROI. It can also ensure that your marketing teams add to your revenue effectively. So it will help you to exercise caution before arbitrarily selecting an automated marketing tool.