In the US, 1 TRILLION dollars is lost every year because sales and marketing teams don’t coordinate together. In today’s episode of Aligned, our host Sean Doyle meets with Tim Parkin to talk about how to optimize your marketing and sales departments.
The Unpopular Truth
- Although people don’t enjoy hearing it, as a consultant, the NUMBER ONE thing Parkin tells clients is: Marketing is processing.
- Creativity and other factors come into play, but the key aspect of marketing is processing. Having reliable and proven processes to follow is CRITICAl for marketing teams.
A Common Language
- Beyond processes, another thing that prevents proper coordination between sales and marketing teams is Communication.
- Sales teams and marketing teams speak two COMPLETELY different languages from each other. There are three different suggestions Parkin has for bridging the language barrier: Having table stakes meetings, hosting revenue operations, and again, having solid processes.
Late Stage Marketing
- Another issue that prevents marketers from working effectively with sellers is how marketers often step OUT of the process after-sales take over when marketing teams should be involved throughout the ENTIRE sale cycle.
- In marketing, there’s a concept called centricity. Centricity refers to the client being the CENTER of the sales process. Sellers and marketers have to focus on centricity.
- Marketers can contribute to the sales cycle by reminding buyers of their current issue and how whatever they’re thinking of buying can solve their issue. When buyers prepare to buy, they’ll often look back on their current situation and avoid making the purchase, because change requires effort.
The Monkey Bar Method
- Parkin utilizes a technique called the Monkey Bar method whenever he’s working with different clients. He’s seen TREMENDOUS success from it.
- Essentially, the method focuses on providing buyers with ALL the information they need. Buyers come into sales with a lot of different questions. In one instance, Parkin worked with a trade school that taught students a few different skills.
- Whenever students would go onto the school’s website, they would find different programs. In the pages for the programs, instead of keeping things short, Parkin gave students an extra page discussing career opportunities for different skills.
- By focusing on centricity, and offering extra information, Parkin saw a SURGE in lead transformation and success. Focus on centricity, and provide ALL the information leads need.
5 Key Attributes of Great Processes
- Parkin has identified 5 KEY attributes that all of the best marketing processes share.
- The first attribute is: Being written down.
- The second attribute is: Having some sort of visual.
- The third attribute is: Being shared and communicated.
- The fourth attribute is: Being measurable.
- The final attribute is: Being regularly evaluated and adjusted.
If you want to get in contact with Parkin, you can go to his website or call him at 407-499-0303.
