Both the marketing department and the sales department have one common goal: generating revenue. But marketing and sales are not the same. If you don't see the difference, there is a good chance that you are using them incorrectly and not getting the result. A nice comparison is the following sentence:

“If you don't know where the road is (marketing) you walk around like a headless chicken. But if you know how to find your way but you don't have a vehicle (sales), it can take a long time before you get to your destination.”

In short, good cooperation between marketing and sales is necessary for every company.

Difference between marketing and sales!

People in marketing are concerned with the market. What are the customer's needs? Who is your target group? Why do you do what you do? These are crucial questions to determine how you can approach potential customers. Essentially, marketers are laying the groundwork for salespeople to close the deal. Sales is about marketing your product or service. Both have one common goal: generating turnover, but there is such a difference between the two functions. Marketing is a strategic subject while sales is a tactical subject, we will go into this in more detail.

Marketing is strategic

Marketing determines the vision, mission and purpose. As a company, you decide how you will position yourself in the market. The following topics are important to gain insight into the market in which a company operates.

• Brand Strategy & Branding
• Target group determination
• Set up “turnover” goals
• Draw up a marketing plan
• Social media strategy
• Competitive analysis

There are many more topics that a marketer can cover to gain even more insight into the market in which the company operates. But the bottom line is that marketing forms the basis and framework for all sales activities, without all this knowledge it becomes difficult for the sales department to close deals.

Sales is tactical

Sales is concerned with direct sales and maintaining business relationships. Sales has a direct influence on your profit and turnover, while marketing does not. Almost every company has a marketing plan in its closet, but this plan should not be in the closet but on the retina of every sales employee. Most salespeople will do everything they can to close the deal, the only disadvantage is that salespeople sometimes deviate from the vision and mission of the company. If the marketing plan is in the seller's subconscious, this is guaranteed to produce results, because then everyone is on the same page.

Would you like to know more about the differences between marketing and sales and how you can improve the relationship between marketing and sales? Then download our white paper on Sales and Marketing.