What's the Difference Between Sales and Marketing By Vincent James Giovinazzo
Vincent James Giovinazzo is a
best salesman and consultant in finance industry. He has long term experience
in this field. He explains the difference between Sales and Marketing. To
understand the differences as we look at a strategic marketing plan, sales and
marketing each have a different focus. As we work with midsize companies we
sometimes hear the terms sales and marketing used as if they were
interchangeable. Sales and marketing do work together hand in hand, but they
are definitely not the same thing. They require different functions and
different skills.
Business owners typically have a clear grasp of what operations
do; they build products and services. They also have a good grasp of what
accounting does; they track and manage the company's finances. They know that
the sales department sells the products and services the company has to offer
its target market. However, they're a little unclear of how marketing is
different from sales.
The analogies we like to provide to help business leaders better
understand the roles of sales and marketing are the concepts of hunting vs.
farming. Sales people are hunters. Sales works on developing relationships with
prospects and/or channel partners. They call prospects, knock on doors, find
the right people, overcome objections, negotiate prices and terms and often work
with operations and shipping to be sure their customer's orders are fulfilled
according to the agreed upon terms.
The perspective of sales is from inside the company out towards
prospective clients. They are essentially casting their line at external targets
hoping to hook them and reel them in. Sales are focused on shorter time frames
such as this week, this month, or this quarter.
Marketing on the other hand is more like farming. Just as in
farmers have to till the soil, plant their seeds and fertilize the fields in
early spring, marketers have to prepare the marketing groundwork as to what and
where to plant the seeds of create great content. They then have to update the
content regularly and target the right prospects. Farmers have to weed their
fields of undesirable plants. Farmers must water their crop regularly
throughout the growing season. Marketers have to tend to their content,
updating it on a regular basis throughout the growing process. If all has been
cared for and done properly, farmers can reap their harvest in the fall. If
marketers have tended to their content, regularly and properly update their
content throughout the growing season, they too can harvest well-qualified,
targeted prospects who already know who you are, what you're all about and what
they can expect when doing business with you.
Marketers are farmers. They are focused on the longer term and
the bigger picture. Marketing's perspective is from the outside looking in at
the company and doing everything they can to attract the right kinds of
prospects they can harvest when the time is right.
An additional analogy is that of an apple tree. While an apple tree appears
dormant throughout the fall and winter, in reality its roots are continuing to
grow, processing and storing the energy necessary to push for a full bloom in
the spring. When an apple tree comes alive in the spring there is lots of
foliage and flowers, but there is no fruit yet. It is not until late spring
into early summer that little green apples begin to appear on the tree.
Throughout the summer and into the fall these green apples get bigger and
bigger, and at some point in the fall, one of the green apples turns red while
all the others remain green.
James Giovinazzo
say’s In marketing not all prospects will be ready to buy at the same time. You
can't always be sure where your prospects are along the educational spectrum.
They may remain green for a long time. However, just like the apples on the
tree, eventually more apples begin to turn red and ripen in the fall sun. In
your business, as your marketing continues to further educate prospects as to
why you are the best choice to do business with, eventually they are ready to
buy.
Even on an apple tree, not all apples eventually turn red and
ripen. Some may never turn red. They may have not gotten enough water or
nutrients and simply fall to the ground and rot. In marketing, not every
prospect is going to buy, but enough of them will so that your business
survives. However, we want to do more than just survive, so just like an apple
tree, a farmer has an entire grove of apple trees and in your business you must
have a large pool of prospects from which to gather business in order to thrive
and produce a bountiful harvest. And unlike farmers who have to do it all over
again every year, marketers are more like greenhouse farmers who stagger their
plantings every few weeks to a month so as to create a continuous stream of
fruit and vegetables to harvest on an on-going basis.
To develop a solid strategic marketing plan one must have a firm
understanding of how marketing and sales work together and how each has a
different focus and approach to growing the business. Sales are tightly focused
and are much more time centric. Marketing is broadly focused and is in it for
the long term. They work together to produce both short and long term
prosperity for the company.
James
Giovinazzo say’s In summary, sales are comprised of hunters and fishers who
focus outward on prey to be caught. Marketers are akin to farmers who plant
seeds and tend to their farms or orchards throughout the season in order to
reap an abundant and continuous harvest over time. Farmers and marketers are
inward focused on attracting their desired fruits to come to them.
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