In traditional business settings, sales and marketing are separate teams working toward the same goal of producing revenue for the company. All too often, these teams take different routes to get there, resulting in counterproductive work by both teams. 

Today’s buyers demand a different buying experience than the traditional salesperson can offer. They rely on product reviews, case studies, and blogs for information rather than solely relying on a salesperson for information. Since marketing teams typically produce this content, sales and marketing integration is becoming increasingly more important. 

The term smarketing has emerged as a way to describe sales and marketing alignment. When sales and marketing teams are integrated, they produce up to 20% more annual revenue growth. Implementing a smarketing strategy within your own business is fairly simple and straightforward. 

Speak the same language. 

Define the buyer personas you will be using as well as what qualifies as a lead. These should be used by everyone in sales and marketing. Ensure that the same terminology is used by everyone when discussing your products and services. Also, determine what your sales funnel looks like as well as who is responsible for each stage of the funnel.

Use closed-loop reporting.

Closed-loop reporting simply means that marketing relies on data and insights from sales. “Closing the loop” means that sales teams report to marketing about what happened to the leads that they received, which helps marketing understand their best and worst lead sources. This will eventually lead to more conversions.

Create a service level agreement. 

A service level agreement defines what marketing and sales will contribute toward the shared revenue goal. Creating one ensures that each person in sales and marketing knows what they must contribute to help the company reach its goals.

Maintain open communication.

Open communication is key to the success of any business who wants to implement a smarketing strategy. Hold a weekly meeting between your sales and marketing teams. Discuss progress that has been made, roadblocks either team has encountered, goal progress, or wins that either team has made. Most importantly, use this meeting as a checkpoint to make sure your teams are still on the same page.

Rely on data. 

Doing so will drive discussions in a productive direction. Data keeps everyone honest and it keeps your team driving toward common goals. Data gives clear insight into what is working and where adjustments are needed.

Smarketing is a strategy that will help integrate your sales and marketing teams. Its a way to drive your entire team toward the same company goals. It may be rocky at first, but once your sales and marketing teams begin to see the benefits smarketing offers, you will be well on your way to that 20% increase in revenue growth.

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