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<\/a> <\/p>\nTable of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Sales<\/a> includes all of the activities that lead directly to a sale. Salespeople are responsible for managing relationships with potential clients, or prospects, as well as providing solutions that eventually lead those prospects to turn into paying customers.<\/p>\n In contrast, marketing<\/a> encompasses all of the activities that help spark interest in your business. Marketers use market research and analysis to understand who their potential customers are and what they care about, and they run campaigns to attract people to their business\u2019s brand, product, or service.<\/p>\n Digital marketing expert Kyrus Keenan Westcott<\/a> offers a helpful analogy<\/a>: \u201cMarketing and sales are like siblings with the same goal: helping a company succeed. But just like siblings, they have their own distinct personalities and roles to play.\u201d<\/p>\n Westcott continues, \u201cMarketing focuses on getting people interested in a product or service, while sales focuses on closing the deal and making sure the customer leaves happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly, there is a lot of overlap between sales and marketing \u2014 but there are also a few important differences. So, let\u2019s dive a little deeper. How exactly do these two business functions differ?<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n To ensure your marketing and sales departments are set up for success (both individually and together), it\u2019s essential to understand the core elements of each. Below, I\u2019ll share some key differences between marketing and sales, including differences in planning, goals, tools, and more.<\/p>\n Both marketing and sales plans typically start with an overview of the company\u2019s history and its overarching goals and initiatives. However, that\u2019s where the similarities end.<\/p>\n After this basic information, a marketing plan<\/a> lays out what the product is, its price, who it\u2019ll be sold to, and where it will be sold. This is also known as the 4Ps of marketing<\/a>: product, price, place, and promotion. Goals are set, marketing channels are chosen, and a budget is defined for the various campaigns that the marketing team plans to pursue.<\/p>\n In contrast, sales plans<\/a> include details about the sales process<\/a>, team structure, target market, and goals, as well as the action plan, tools, and resources that will be used to hit these targets.<\/p>\n Similarly, while the high-level goal of both sales and marketing is to generate revenue, the two departments pursue different specific goals in light of that larger objective.<\/p>\n The primary goal of marketing<\/a> is to promote the company, offering, and brand. Marketing departments are responsible for pricing their company\u2019s products and communicating how these products address customers\u2019 needs and wants. These goals are often fairly long-term, as marketing campaigns can span many months or even years.<\/p>\n Sales, on the other hand, is focused on hitting shorter-term quotas and sales volume goals. Sales goals<\/a> are often measured month-over-month, with sales leaders defining targets and calculating how much their department, team, and\/or individual salespeople need to sell to meet corporate goals.<\/p>\n Sales and marketing teams also differ substantially with respect to the tools and resources they leverage.<\/p>\n To be sure, they do share some tools: A CRM database<\/a> can be used by sales, marketing, and the company as a whole to help all departments manage relationships with contacts at any stage of the customer lifecycle. I\u2019ve also found that both sales and marketing departments can leverage social media, with marketers using it to promote content and sales using it as part of a social selling strategy.<\/p>\n But beyond these basics, there are several tools that are specific to each department:<\/p>\n On the marketing front, here are some of my favorite kinds of marketing tools<\/a> to consider:<\/p>\n And on the sales front, here are some of the types of sales tools<\/a> I always recommend:<\/p>\n It\u2019s also important to note that new tools and technologies emerge constantly. For example, AI<\/a> and live chat<\/a> are two newer tools that marketing and sales teams have begun using to personalize their communication with leads. While not every tool will be a good fit for every team, I firmly believe that to stay competitive, it\u2019s essential for organizations to evaluate and consider adopting new tech as it\u2019s created.<\/p>\n Because sales and marketing have different goals, it\u2019s only natural that these departments pursue different strategies as well. For example, common marketing strategies<\/a> include:<\/p>\n Similar to marketing strategies, sales strategies<\/a> also vary depending on a company\u2019s industry, products, market, and target customer. Some of my favorite sales methodologies<\/a> are:<\/p>\n Each of these sales strategies can help prospects solve a problem, achieve a goal, or satisfy a need \u2014 which, hopefully, will help the sales team close a deal by turning those prospects into new customers.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/p>\nMarketing vs. Sales<\/h2>\n
Planning<\/h3>\n
Goals<\/h3>\n
Tools and Resources<\/h3>\n
Marketing Tools<\/h4>\n
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Sales Tools<\/h4>\n
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Strategies<\/h3>\n
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