With COVID-19 and remote workplaces becoming the new reality for the new future, it is more important than ever that there is direct and open communication between sales and marketing. Being that most employees are not physically working together anymore, there are no more impromptu conversations in the breakroom or informal discussions over office happy hour. In order for the gap between sales and marketing to be bridged, communication needs to be formal, regimented, and regular.
Scheduled Conversations
Sales and marketing leaders need to meet at least monthly over teleconference to analyze leads, lead attribution, budget, marketing mix, etc. There needs to be a discussion of the quality and quantity of leads coming in and closed-loop feedback from sales leaders on the ROI from leads over a period of time. These conversations need to be a regular, scheduled call and cannot be scheduled as needed. If a call is not in the calendar as a recurring event, 3 to 4 months will pass without a discussion happening. Sales and marketing leaders need to stop what they’re doing and get this recurring meeting in their calendars.
Read more: How to handle marketing in uncertain times.
Utilize Google Docs, Dropbox
Lead attribution needs to happen in real-time. As leads come in, marketing needs to identify the source of the lead and sales needs to determine its value. Lead attribution data needs to be accessible 24/7 by all critical members of the sales and marketing teams. With remote workplaces being the new normal, a digital file-sharing platform needs to be utilized. Sales and marketing teams can use a platform like Google Docs or Dropbox to better collaborate, perform lead attribution, with the end goal of optimizing lead generation tactics.
Read more: Using interactive web design to connect during social distancing.
No Agenda Needed
Conventional wisdom suggests that all calls, Zoom meetings, etc. need a defined agenda. However, with everyone being a remote worker, there are less informal conversations about marketing ideas unless they are on Slack, Skype, or some instant messenger platform. To help with lead enation tactic innovation, regular sales and marketing conversations should still be scheduled even if there is no formal agenda. Getting everyone together with no agenda just to “free style” discuss sales and marketing ideas will help to continuously optimize lead generation. If you are uncomfortable with no agenda Zoom meetings, ask each person to come up with a sale or marketing article or news item to discuss. This will help spur sales and marketing collaboration and innovation.
Challenging Times
If sales and marketing collaborate effectively during a pandemic, they will be able to optimally collaborate at any time. Instead of getting frustrated and dwelling on the negatives and shortcomings of this time, it is better to look at this is as a game and see if your sales and team can meet the various “levels” of this game and come out better on the other side. This will pass and what does not kill us, makes us stronger!
