Marketing: The Wingman to your Sales Team

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I’ve been in the marketing business for many years, helping companies and small businesses create awareness and build their brand. I love what I do – helping others tell their story and gain customer loyalty.

But quite frequently, I’m approached by recruiters with an offer for a sales executive position – managing leads and meeting sales quotas for a large company. Which always brings me back to my philosophy - that marketing and sales are two completely different functions within an organization.

So, what is the difference between sales and marketing?  The function of a marketing team is to create a strategy using a variety of tactics to reach out to potential customers and generate interest and awareness of what the product or service offers. On the flip side of that is the sales team, a group who takes those leads and through varied forms of communication, converts those leads into sales.

The two functions aren’t mutually exclusive from one another, and really are very much entwined throughout the customer acquisition process. I like to think that the two work as a team, with marketing serving as a Wingman to the sales professional – establishing rapport, helping qualify interested customers so when the sales professional steps in, they’re already set up for success.

It’s necessary to distinguish the two functions from each other, especially when working with an organization whose main objective is to increase sales. Because as a marketing professional, I can build your brand and generate interest as much as possible, but if there isn’t a sales function within your organization to assist with the conversion of leads into sales, the marketing efforts will fall short of expectations. It’s the whole “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t get him to drink.” I get the horse to the watering hole and you get him to drink the water, right?

As a marketing professional, it’s my job to help you create the message and the tools to attract new customers and retain and nurture existing ones by strategically implementing a variety of tactics to achieve those goals. I draw on extensive and varied skills in marketing, as well as meeting & event planning and project management to further your vision for your campaign or celebration, in both the professional and private sectors. From corporate volunteerism to international campaigns in marketing, and events & meetings of all sizes, I have contributed to the success of organizations across multiple industries and have helped brands create awareness and drive results. Whether it be one unique component or the whole kit and caboodle, I’ll collaborate with your sales and C-level teams to understand your goals and deliver a quality marketing campaign that allows you and your team to close the sale and increase your bottom line.

Let’s get started. I’d love to chat with you about your upcoming projects and schedule a time to talk through what you want to accomplish, and how we can collaborate to bring your vision to life. Because my goal as a marketing professional is to get you to say, “you can be my Wingman anytime!”