Is Marketing the Same as Selling?
Many people think that marketing and selling are interchangeable, that it is just a different way to say the same thing. In fact, in many ways, marketing and selling are very different and require different skills and a very different approach. Of course they lead to the same end but the way that each approach progresses can be very different.
Is Marketing the Same as Selling?
Marketing is a broad, somewhat simplistic concept, where “selling” is thought of as the exchange activity. Marketing is an overall Organisational activity (the planning, pricing, promotion, packaging, advertising and selling of any Value Offer (Product. Selling is therefore only a part of the overall Marketing of any Product and therein lies the difference.
Are Marketing and Sales Different?
This is a perenial topic in forums and will get lots of responses – particularly I have found from sales folk. Their basic message is that Sales and Marketing are different. Marketers don’t understand Selling. Sales people are important and underappreciated.
The basic problem with the topic and discussion is that very few participants understand or use the terms correctly. They only think of “sales” and “marketing” as organisational departments, not as functions.
It is difficult to have a useful discussion if the key terms are not understood and agreed
So here are a few useful definitions to help (I hope) the discussions
Marketing
The process of exchange of value between Provider (Seller) and Customer (Buyer). Involves creating and providing what customers want in return for something they are willing to give (money, time, or membership)
The systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix (see Marketing Mix Strategy) of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products (Sale, Hire, Acquisition) for some form of Payment. The process of planning and executing the conception, Product Pricing, Promotion and Place (Distribution) of offers (ideas, goods and services) to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational objectives.
(1) The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements while achieving organisational objectives (including profitably).
(2) Fundamental policy-forming activity devoted to selecting and developing suitable products for sale – promoting and distributing these products in a manner providing the optimum return on capital employed. (Teach Yourself Marketing, John Stapleton, 1975.)
(3) Marketing starts in the market place with the identification of the customers’ needs and wants. It then moves on to determining a means of satisfying these needs and of promoting, selling and supplying a satisfaction. The principal marketing functions might be defined as Marketing Information and Research, Product Planning, Advertising and Promotion, and Distribution.
Marketing is generally thought of as one of the three or four basic activities of all organisations. Thus – Marketing; Finance and Operations (or Production and HR)
Marketing Department
A division within a company with responsibility for the planning and coordination of all marketing activities
Marketing Department Orientation
A term used to refer to the orientation of an organisation which has established a separate department to look after its marketing activities, but which is not totally imbued with the marketing philosophy. An orientation in which all marketing activities are brought under the control of one department to improve short-run policy planning and to try to integrate the firm’s activities.
Sale
A sale relates to someone or some organisation buying something. Sales are often confused with the process of Selling. Result – or pinnacle activity involved in selling products (goods and services) in return for payment (money or some other compensation of value to the seller).
The amount of Products (both goods and services) sold in a given period of time. Sales are operating revenues earned by a company when it sells its products.
Sales
The amount of Products(all forms) sold in a given period of time
The simplistic term to mean the “Sales Department. This is OK except where it confuses the overall activity of the organisation in the Marketing function
Sales Department
Sales department is the division of a business or an organization accountable for selling services or products. The department responsible for planning, organising, controlling and evaluating the activities of the sales force.
Selling
Process of persuasion leading to an exchange or trading arrangement.
Personal Selling
One of the possible activities of the Promotional Mix.
The process of making oral commercial representations during a buyer/seller interview situation. Direct, face-to-face communication between buyer and seller. Personal selling is a basic activity and is old as marketing itself . Colloquially referred to as face-to-face selling. Sometimes known as buyer/seller interface.
Conclusion
Marketing and selling are not the same although they are both extremely important parts of the entire process. Each one requires a detailed level of expertise and an approach that is effective and compelling. One cannot exist without the other if you expect to be successful at selling your offerings and your brand to other people who are made to feel that they can’t live without them.
We are pleased to provide you with the insightful comments contained herein. For a complimentary assessment of your online presence, let’s have coffee.
|
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Social Media Marketing and Measurement
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Interesting differentiation! Do you think the differences between marketing and advertising fall along the same lines?
By Alexandra Burton
I believe Marketing encompasses all things like Selling, Advertising and other forms of Promotion, Marketing Research, Pricing’ Product (both goods and services) Planning. Each will be a specific activity – but all are part of the Marketing activity of the organisation.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: B2B Content Marketing
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
As you rightly say they are very different. They do need to be integrated and crucially support each other. I’ve worked with many clients that have sales and marketing departments that act almost as competitors.
There’s so much that can be learned by all parties through communication.
By Stephen Tamlin
The Marketing Department and the Sales Department are usually different. The usual primary objective of the Marketing Department is sales.
Yes, sales is the objective of marketing. Thanks for boiling the discussion down to this correct conclusion.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group:Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Many think that marketing and Sales functions are one and the same. Let us define these two functions
Marketing is finding out what people want, why they want it and how much they’ll spend. Don’t confuse marketing with advertising.
Sales is sales! It’s converting an inquiry or lead into a contract or shipment. Sales is not market research, business development or advertising.
Marketing is everything that an organization does to reach and persuade prospects. The sales process is everything that it does to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract. Both are necessities to the success of a business. One cannot do without either process. By strategically combining both efforts an organization will experience a successful amount of business growth. However, by the same token if the efforts are unbalanced it can deter your growth.
Marketing will consists of the measures to reach out to and persuade prospects that you are the company for them. It’s the message that prepares the prospect for the sales. It consists of advertising, public relations, brand marketing, viral marketing, and direct mail.
The sales process consists of interpersonal interaction. It is often done by a one-on-one meeting, cold calls, and networking. It’s anything that engages you with the prospect or customer on a personal level rather than at a distance.
Your marketing efforts begin the process of the eight contacts that studies show it takes to move a prospect or potential client to the close of the sale. If marketing is done effectively you can begin to move that prospect from a cold to a warm lead. When the prospect hits the “warm” level it’s much easier for the sales professional to close the sale.
By Amrut Desai
A “sale” is the desired outcome of a combination of marketing activity which may include Personal Selling.
Sales are not the same as”selling”
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
I agree marketing and sales are not the same. But from an organizational perspective, they are two important functions of a business and equally as important to acquiring and retain customers. If only more businesses were able to ensure true marketing and sales alignment, I suspect that both functions would benefit more and the business they belong to. I predict that 2015 will be a tipping point, whereby the majority of the buyer’s journey will be managed by marketing, but without the buy-in from sales it could fail. What do you think?
By Jon Clarke
Jon, I think you confuse sales with the activity of Personal Selling, managed by a Sales Department
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Sales may be a one time or repeat process which generate revenue for the business. It comes from many initiatives. From cold calling to customer referrals. When I think of marketing, I associate the development of initiatives to meet the firms short and long term goals. In essence, the “battle plan” designed to create brand awareness for increased market penetration.
By Victor Anapole
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Marketing provides strategic direction and sales executes for the results. However, if the two are blended and collaborate together, the team will be more synergistic and effective!
By Curtis Carroll
Of course many companies do not have a sales department – yet aim to get sales non the less
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Networking for Business Professionals & Doctors
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Yes and No. Marketing is brand awareness. Marketing is brand identity. For example, marketing is when someone hears of your services, the immediate image that comes to mind in you. See the GEICO gekko or the AFLAC duck. Brand awareness.
Sales is the delicate dance of give and take. The object is to gain as much as you can without relinquishing that same amount. Its a fine line to walk. For example, when selling services, (such as our services) we provide the consumer with the features of our services, what they are designed to do, the advantage of using our services (in comparison to our competition) and how using our services benefits the end user. One offense or slight of the tongue, could kill the deal.
By STUART ANDERSON
Good discussion … but you guys are over thinking it
Marketing is to fuel the fire of demand through the life of the company…
Sales is a point intake Transaction to bring Value to the customer in exchange for revenue
everything else is customer services and account management
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Sales people think in terms of LEADS– a vast net of cold leads becoming warmer until they become hot leads and the deal closes. This is the sales funnel approach that CRMs like SalesForce follow.
Marketing people think in terms of BRANDS — customers don’t buy products, they engage with brands that are positioned to meet their needs.
The challenge is to straddle this fence with what I call a “brand-driven sales engine” that leverages the brand experience at every touch point — including sales pitches and proposals.
By Bruce Miller
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business Accelerator
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Marketing is so much more than selling. It encompasses advertising, customer service, branding, product identification, and more – in addition to selling.
Your article is very good, and explains the difference very well. Thank you for sharing.
By Toni Lawrence
I totally agree Toni. You have understood my article very well
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Marketing establishes and defines the environment while selling means getting a sale – exchanging product / service for payment. For example the design, service support, financing and distribution process are 4 marketing elements which get buys into a show room – resulting in a sale.
By Gene Konstant
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Linked Small Business Innovators
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Good article, but it’s way too involved from my point of view. Marketing is the process that creates qualified, interested leads for products and services. Selling is the process for qualifying those leads further according to very specific criteria and helping those leads make good buying decisions. The two processes, done correctly, combine to create customers who are happy and willing to pay for value received.
By Brian Silverthorn
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
I agree with both Jon and with Bruce… that these two functions need to be effectively and seamlessly integrated. I see “brand” as the overall umbrella… but one can have a great brand and lack the tactical marketing / messaging that drives inbound interest or leads.
Leads are like “gold” to the professional salesperson and a lead is the result of effective and tactical marketing that captures the attention, highlights potential deliverables and generates interest. With interest, (leads) most professional salespeople can identify situations, determine specific areas of need, and apply services or products to those needs.
TODAY’S CHALLENGE: I know of so many extremely talented salespeople who suffer due to a lack of consistent messaging and marketing activities necessary to generate even a trickle of lead activity. As a result, and left without leads, one witnesses salespeople crossing over into efforts to market or message the company’s services. In this manner, BOTH departments are failing. If marketing isn’t generating inbound lead activity, the salesperson abandons their primary role to try to cross over and begin messaging — often inconsistent with the company brand. The simple reason… they starved for leads… and / or are simply starved for business.
As integration is critical, I believe that the most successful evolution will be a forming of marketing / sales teams, where marketing staffs will be assigned with sales staff members to integrate their messaging and activities to pull in leads and to close them fruitfully for clients and their company.
By Steve Mattoon
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
This is like asking, which came first, the chicken or the egg. Technically speaking, marketing and sales are the same!
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large (American Marketing Association academic definition). Therefore, sales, personal selling, advertising, branding, PR, publicity, coupled with traditional, social, new, and digital marketing, are ALL part of the marketing process.
Aside from the academic divide between business school marketing and schools for communications/PR/media/journalism, there is the reporting divide within organizations and the divide between business type/purpose that make marketing and sales seem like independent functions.
Entities that sell a good, or some thing, naturally have a separate sales unit that may or may not report to the CMO. Oftentimes, they report to a CFO or COO. Entities that sell a service and personal brands tend to focus on all other promotional aspects of marketing–sans sales. Service and personal brands usually have a marketing department, which is managed separately from corporate communications and crisis management (PR/publicity).
As a brand-driven marketer, I focus on the business of marketing, which is reconciled with the brand of a business. Every aspect of marketing, and all individuals who fill a marketing function should, as Bruce said, leverage “the band experience at every touch point.”
Two things have to happen to correct the confusion:
1. B-schools and communications (other) schools must cross teach marketing principles
2. Practitioners need an overview of marketing, relative to the other 6 business functions, or at least a “style” guide of sorts, which everyone will comply with.
When I teach marketing principles, I call out all the marketing functions, assign a brand position, and then help attendees align ALL of their “sub-plans” like sales, website/SEO, PR, and social media with the marketing plan that supports business objectives and the brand. Doing so helps to facilitate cross training as well as active collaboration between units. More importantly, aligning all business actives that end in an “exchange of value” between producer and consumer will ensure that everyone is literally on the same page…
By Isha Edwards
Marketing function; Selling functions – and more, are indeed all part of the broader basic Organisational function we think of as Marketing – the exchanges made between the organisation and its market(s).
I am also reminded that very few sales folk have much of an idea about the broad concept of marketing (of which they are part). They think basically in a limited fashion of Marketing DEPARTMENT and Sales DEPARTMENT
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Dr Brian’s Marketing Network – Magical Marketing Ideas for Top Marketers
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
As a marketer who provides sales support, I say they are not, but they are understanding one is vital to understanding the other. A marketer should ideally spend some time in the sales function, and vice versa.
By Chris Bell
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Yes. Your marketing efforts are generally part of an overall corporate strategy. The marketing strategy and its component tactics are used to get people in the door, on the website, on the FB page, on the Twitter feed, on the mailing list, etc. Once they’ve reached this touch point, someone determines whether they are a prospect, suspect or tire kicker. That someone is usually a sales person. At this point your sales process kicks in and a determination is made to include or exclude them from your sales funnel. Hopefully the unique value proposition will match the buyer’s unique buying requirement.
By Joaquin Hernandez
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Linked Small Business Innovators
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
The internet, specifically on line purchasing, has blended the roles of sales and marketing.
As Brian pointed out, the purpose of marketing is to create interest. Prior to purchasing on line, those qualified leads that marketing generated were handed to a sales staff to “close” or in the case of consumer products programs directed interested buyers to a POS.
Today, a well designed and implemented strategy can generate interest, drive “leads” or interested parties immediately to a site where the sale can be consummated with little to no lag time. This process shortens the buying cycle thus eliminating the “cooling off period.” The time between responding to a campaign and having to make the purchase decision. This also provides value data and metrics regarding response to the campaign and conversion. So conventionally sales and marketing are two distinct but mutually inclusive functions. Electronically, the dividing lines are there but a bit more blurred.
By Rob Reichstein
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business & Independent Consultant Network
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Definitely not the same. Marketing is usually more high-level: developing the product, defining the market, promotions and PR. Sales is in the trenches, executing, shaking hands and kissing babies and closing deals. They are both important.
By David Kaiser
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Small Business & Independent Consultant Network
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Yes. Marketing refers to the highest level distribution. “Sales” typically refers function of collecting the exchange of (typically) the money.
By James Johnson
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
The confusion between marketing and sales being the same thing is a major beef with me. I’ve been in event management, regional marketing, and sales my whole life. Marketing is what I would call an umbrella. Marketing as a practice gets bastardized into weird amalgamations of business bs terms too many to list here. A regional marketing rep, sometimes called sales reps, is a person who partners your company with others to create business opportunities like co-branding, events, and such. Marketing reps focus on the day-to-day of the overall marketing goals of a company. Very seldom, if never, should they actually take orders. They ever rarely, never work on commission as how much the customer buys is not in their direct scope. A salesperson, maybe rightly called sales reps, canvasses, follows-up on leads, can work on commission, works an area, drop off samples, explain new features, and follow-up on orders. There is a lot of daily hustle and hassle in the job description. I also apply this to telemarketers, which are telesales and not marketers. When sales and marketing work together it is nothing but net… profit! Otherwise, they are two strange bulldogs. Anyone who has been in sales long enough has seen the argument “If the marketing didn’t suck the sales would increase!/ If your people weren’t lousy salespeople that we’d all make money!” Ah! Those were the days when you wish you had healthy coping and stress management mechanisms.
By Greg Demetrulias
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Problems with coordinating sales and marketing occur most often when a national or regional strategy does not seem to “apply” to a local sales territory. The saying that “you guys don’t see the problems and issues I am having” is often heard my home office marketers. Trying to create a consistent global marketing message that is applicable and useful for the sales needs of individual operating companies is even harder.
By Joe Sanger
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
@Joe Sanger: I couldn’t agree more. I remember a story about a new Mexican food restaurant in town putting up a billboard nearby. The ad talked about having better punch, or something like that. What the manager didn’t realize, or he was ironically insensitive, was that a ultra-religious commune killed 300+ parishioners with poisoned punch some time before that. There was a huge injunction and the guy had to pay to remove it. There was a huge protest over a car manufacturer that used lions in their ad. The lions chased the cars across this famous bridge. Come to find out, several workers were mauled by 2 lions when the bridge was being built some 90-ish years prior. It is hard to figure out what is going to set people off and what is a sore wound.
By Greg Demetrulias
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Strategy & Competitive Strategy Forum
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
To me, selling is a major part of marketing. Marketing includes advertising, presentations, ad specialty items to get the company name in front of as many client/customers as possible, also anything and everything short of going out and getting orders signed. Sales is where the money comes from that allows marketing to do it’s thing.
By Alan Cohen
Far too many folk have a limited, compartmentalised view of what marketing is about. Yes many organisations also share that myopia.
There are three basic functions of any organisation.
* Marketing (all the functions needed in exchanging what the organisation has, for what it wants (That includes Selling)
*Finance
* Operations
If you want to know more about marketing – the whole thing. Have a look at our group on LinkedIn – Dr Brian’s Marketing Network. It is one of the fastest growing groups – and for good reasons.
BM
This question should be able to be answered by salespeople and marketing types definitively. The idea of it having to be asked is depressing–little wonder we have so many marketing disasters and 95% of salespeople can’t sell. I could write columns and books on the subject: “Oh, I have!”
Here it is in the simplest most basic form; Marketing is the art of creating a desire for a product(s) to targeted groups of people. It is desk work.
Selling is the art of forming a connection to a single customer in order to explain it is a solution to whatever they are looking for. It is field work. It is easy to see why there has to be synergy between the two despite the fact they are two entirely different skill sets.
However, I believe that marketing people would be well served to put some time in on a sales floor to observe the devastating effect of some of their wild claims.
Modern marketing (been around for 40+ years now) is not about “creating a desire for a product” That is inefficient. Modern marketing finds out what the target market wants and creates a marketing mix to create the best offer to them.
Much selling is not done face to face in the field or sales floor.
Many (most?) marketers have been out in the field
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
If sales and marketing were the same, 90% of white-color conflict resolution experts (in the good company of many business cartoonists) would be out of work. They are not only different, but they have inherent viewpoint conflicts that some companies have handled pretty well and many haven’t. Big company example of difference: Henry said “Any color they want, as long as it’s black.” Alfred P Sloan conceived “Chevy to Cadillac lifestyle progress.” MARKETING. And a cast of tens of thousands have been SELLING them ever since.
By Bill Corbin
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
They typically serve different roles in companies with traditional Brand Management structures because Marketing provides the “big picture” strategy looking at numbers from the “top down” national or global perspective, and manages the brand, and overall budget. The Brand group also creates the selling materials (with input from the Sales folks at HQ), and sometimes go on sales calls, especially for new product introductions. When annual budgets are being created, National Sales looks at the numbers from the “bottom up” (by zone, region, market), and the two groups get together to finalize a “realistic” sales goal and determine the spending level needed in the field to support those numbers. Brand Managers must have a collaborative relationship with the Sales function (both National and Regional), if they want to achieve success because at the end of the day, if the Sales function doesn’t make its numbers, the Brand Manager doesn’t either! There is no choice, but to operate like a team with clear roles and responsibilities with each function providing value to the organization. In my experience, when Marketing and Sales have a great working relationship and support each other, there is NO stopping them! I have always appreciated the differences between the two functions, and how they work together for a common goal. The key is having and demonstrating mutual respect for one another. That’s always worked for me. 🙂
By Shawne Howell
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
I think they are very similar. In my point of view, the marketing is used to selling service/product to lots of people, but the sales is used to selling service/product to a person or a group. So, of course, I even think the business developer also can bring into the same group.
By Frank Yao
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
The varying responses to the article make me wonder how many salespeople have marketing, business, or communications degrees or training. Everyone I know in sales has career experience in a particular INDUSTRY (versus experience in a business DISCIPLINE), e.g., pharmaceutical, automobile, insurance, retail, etc. The salespeople I know also have the gift of gab. They can buy, negotiate, pitch, and schmooze their way into anything. Their end goal is to get customers to purchase lots of products. So, while their primary purpose is different from most that fill a “general marketing” role, salespeople can only rightfully exist in ONE place…
For the record, there are 7 Facets of Business, which for the most part, every major college/university provides a curriculum. Although the sales function has financial and accounting outcomes, sales does not “fit” either aspect of business, nor does it fit under management, economics, legal, or IT/IS/IDA. By process of elimination, the sales function has to fall under marketing because salespeople deal directly with consumers same as those who manage social media, PR, advertising, customer service, etc. From an academic perspective, the psychology of buyer behavior is taught via the marketing discipline and so is sales analytics, negotiations, and pitching or the art of persuasion.
Here’s a sample business school curriculum: http://www.uakron.edu/cba/undergraduate/majors/sales.dot. Notice that the university offers a business administration degree with an emphasis in sales management. Also notice that most of the classes are marketing–not management and not even sales (!)
Although product engineers may disagree, those who develop, manage, and package a product, fill a marketing function. Although the means to the end varies, a marketer’s goal is to get consumers to make an “exchange of value” by every means necessary including, but not limited to a sales team.
Here’s another way to answer the question: Do you have to have a sales team to sell a product? Consider a branded product like Coca-Cola. Via its marketing department, it can promote directly to customers via social media, earned media, or advertising without enlisting a salesforce. Coca-Cola will generate sales without paying commission.
Truth be told: seems like much of the pushback about lumping sales under marketing is due to pride not practicality. Salespeople may want to do some career planning as well as some soul searching ASAP. If we continue to move at the speed of technology, instead of at the speed of business, the entire salesforce will quickly be diminished to a customer-friendly, wearable “app,” a POS touchpad entry (coughs at Apple Pay), or an email alert. Now guess which business unit is in charge of those tools?
My prediction for 2015 and beyond: Marketing teams of the future will be cross trained. Marketing pros will be empowered to utilize CRM tools to facilitate customer-initiated sales transactions. Hello account executives that use social media to generate sales leads! Marketers who have a combination of communications, customer service/CRM, branding, digital marketing, people selling, and social media experience will be more valuable to a company than its entire sales team… The middleman will be eliminated. So long sales team. Hello marketers!
By Isha Edwards
Isha, My bet is that you are right. Few of these posters have studied marketing in any way. But they have an opinion on it.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Yes – Which answer do you like? Traditionally sales and marketing are world’s apart, but today people somehow t believe that technology like “personalization” or “Marketing Automation” can replace marketing. You can’t! If you have any doubt, pick up the phone or go to lunch with a customer you CARE about.
By Brad Curtis
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Sales and Marketing is not the same terms but works for the same purpose. Nerms as we think is likely to be same but ways are different for different purpose and products. Marketing creates the environment for the calculative purpose and sales comes then for the end customers satisfaction.
By Kundan Joshi
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
At the risk of over simplifying the difference between sales and marketing, I would argue all salespeople are marketers but not all marketers are salespeople. And if I had to explain the difference between the two during a 30-second elevator ride, I would say marketing is the ability to create the message while sales is the ability to deliver the message.
By Duane Bailey
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
This question, in various guises, comes up again and again. The answer is………….. it depends.
It depends on a whole range of variables, such as the unit price of your widget, your route to market, language issues, cultural issues, market maturity and many other factors.
In terms of low margin, high volume products – marketing will have a much bigger involvement than sales. However if its’ a multi-million contract, with a multi year sales cycle, your experienced sales person will have a massive impact on the revenue line. Multi level selling becomes incredibly important and what marketing can deliver, except perhaps in the early stages of the sales cycle, is limited.
The biggest issue faced by most businesses however remains the handover between marketing and sales. Clear KPI’s are often not established between the 2 groups.
Marketing should be responsible for lead generation – and NOT just brand, number of likes, follows etc. Marketing is more than promotion – marketing is also about having the right product at the right price.
Sales bring home the revenue. Social selling is here and in addition to traditional sales skills, your sales team must learn how online marketing tools are vital to help any sales team grow their sales pipeline.
So are sales and marketing the same – no. At least not in a B2B, complex sales environment.
By Steve Jones
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Network – #1 Group for CMOs
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Companies still struggle with this! We often help companies sort this out and it remains important to understand why it matters. Getting it wrong can hurt your business!
The key to understanding the relationship between sales and marketing is to define terms:
1. A. Are Sales and Marketing the same DISCIPLINE? (Think Business School)
(What is the ultimate goal?)
2. Are Sales and Marketing the same FUNCTION? (Think Department)
(What is the ultimate goal?)
***Practical Application Problem***
3. “Where is there overlap between Sales and Marketing – or where SHOULD there be overlap?”
I argue: most firms don’t care about these answers – starting off. (This is where problems start!)
As a DISCIPLINE, Marketing involves more than selling. A glance at the 3 P’s of service marketing, the 5 P’s (or now, up to 7 P’s), it is easy to argue that Marketing really consists of everything that one does to determine how a product/service/company should be valued and how (where/when) that should be communicated. This may include everything from Public Relations/Communications to Branding.
As a DISCIPLINE, Sales involves less than (fewer than – scope) Marketing and is focused on the activities that lead to the order.
Now here is where the overlap comes into play, and this, too, is where we start encountering problems.
OVERLAP: The overlap is in 3 places:
1. The ultimate goals
2. The day to day functioning of both
3. Communications
Companies that I work with want to know: What is wrong with my Sales and Marketing setup? Why is this not working? Or how can I improve my Sales and Marketing? (“How should I structure my sales and marketing functions?” This ought to be the question!)
The ultimate goal of each Discipline and Function should be the same: Ultimately, they each seek to contribute towards the GROWTH and HEALTH of the company. (This is true too, of other functions and departments – such as customer service.)
It is in the day to day Functioning of each, where one encounters nearly all of the confusion.
How should we structure the relationship? What best gets us to our shared ultimate goal of improving the GROWTH and HEALTH of the company?
Ans: Working backwards from the order…
1. To SELL the product/service the customer must believe it is good for them. A sales function may be to communicate how it will benefit the customer, or, how to create an emotional drive to purchase. This requires a very specific and extremely well-disciplined skill set.
2. Before we get to close a sale, we need to COMMUNICATE. The sales person is in the best (closest) position to understand what kinds of communication is needed/what is most appealing. Some comms may be created directly by “Sales” (function) including verbal communication. But this should be supported by Marketing (functions, professionals, departments) though direction and materials.
***INSERT CROSS TRAINING/FEEDBACK LOOP***
3. The Marketing Professional may provide the sales team with what they need to communicate about the product or service. But…the feedback needs to be BOTH WAYS. It is critical that Marketing professionals communicate to Sales professionals about HOW and WHY a product is being positioned a particular way, at a particular price point and in a particular market.
4. But the Sales professional, too, ought to provide the Marketing professional with feedback about how the marketing (and communications) about a product/service is working or not. (data driven, please!)
In the end, these are, indeed, two different disciplines. But the functions must SUPPORT each other!
Doing it right, companies get the best of both worlds:
Separate Disciplines with…
Excellent internal communications and…
A structured, dedicated feedback loop for mutual support.
Note: Some cross training may be very helpful, but the feedback loop is more important!
By Jim Ryan
Jim, Selling is part of the Promotional Mix of Marketing
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Social Media Marketing and Measurement
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
interesting- I’ve been on both sides of the fence and feel that my role as MarCom Mgr is still primarily sales. Communications runs the gamut from selling our company, our value proposition, and essentially our products 24/7 and 365 days/year. If I do my job well enough I have “sold” the prospect or customer enough to ask for more info when they visit any of our e-properties, pick up the phone when sales calls, or even place an order. There definitely different skills sets, but the desired end result is the same. I look at it like Disney, where everyone is a “performer” from the person wearing the Mickey Mouse costume to the person flipping burgers or taking out the trash. Everyone has a role to play, but the bottom line job description for everyone in our company, any company really, is attracting and retaining business.
By Mary Lang
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Networking for Business Professionals & Doctors
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Actually, while both are unique and specialized tasks, they are intimately interconnected. Ask yourself this question. Does a customer buy the best value, or does he or she buy what they feel is the best buy? In reality, people usually do what their emotions dictate…then find a logic to justify it. Nothing is quite so important as emotion in advertising and selling. Regardless what you sell, the important things to grasp are the “intangibles”.
As an expert in your field, you see your product or service far more intellectually than your customer does. The benefits you see differ from those your customer sees. You see things that make your product or service different from your competitor’s.
Your customer sees only what your product or service will do for him or her. In many cases, your competitor’s product or service will do the same thing.
Your customer will buy from the company that he or she feels best about.
The challenge is to make sure they feel best about your company.
Advertising may increase the customer’s emotional predisposition towards your company but it takes a salesperson to close the sale. Good advertising begins the process of selling, but it is a process that must be completed by a human contact.
Do your salespeople know what your ads say? Are they in step with the spirit and thrust of the message you’re sending to your marketplace? Listening to your salespeople should be like hearing an extension of your ads. If your advertising and your salespeople aren’t saying the same thing, you must bring the two together. In you do not, your customers may find themselves conflicted between the intellectual and the emotional. This conflict doesn’t make them “feel” good. You just handed the sale to your competition.
The most effective selling organizations are the ones whose external advertising messages are in perfect harmony with their internal sales presentations. If your ad writers are marching to the same beat as your sales staff, you will achieve synchronicity and success. If they’re marching to different rhythms and going in different directions…you will have chaos. Listen to the drums that drive your business.
Marketing generates sales leads, brand awareness and creates the company personality. Sales turns all that into revenue. Perhaps it should be called marketing & Sales instead?
By Bruce Carter
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
All contributors have raised good points about the differences between Marketing and Sales.
These two terms are frequently (and falsely !) used interchangeably, but they should be viewed as two very different functions within every organization.
Smaller organizations try to blend marketing and sales into one person, but the “sales” aspect of this dual role will routinely dominate in this situation.
Sales could most typically be described as the direct interface to the customer, or potential customer. The sales people use a variety of tools to inform the customer of the products and services being promoted, and the sales professionals are often considered that individual most knowledgeable about the customer’s day-to-day issues, since he or she frequently witnesses first-hand specific examples of immediate customer needs & concerns.
As a result of organizational structures, a very critical — and often missing — aspect of the sales responsibility is a continuous formal feedback to those in the marketing department, which is most typically an office-based person or group.
Marketing individuals are the people in the organization who research and understand the larger market forces (eg, competition, payers, alternate sales avenues, promotional content, market evolution) to maximize growth opportunities.
It is the minority of organizations who allocate appropriate resources to this important balance between direct sales promotion and marketing resources. Rather, the smaller companies most typically over-allocate to direct sales functions, while failing to consider the relative importance of the marketing professionals in the greater promotional process.
By Tim Montgomery
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Tim Montgomery said it best however I tend to disagree with him in terms of marketing personnel being under valued. It is generally the outward facing sales personnel who are under valued. Even top performers will fall prey to the ax during down turns while marketing personnel will retain employment if only to research and implement a plan to ride the down turn and reduce losses.
By Majorite (Margye) Solomon
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Development – The Missing Link between Marketing & Sales
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
@marjorie (Margye) Solomon I would add that there is a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) position at the executive level in some corporations. That limited recognition at the executive level does support Tim’s observation. Here is the link to the American Marketing Associates definition: https://www.ama.org/AboutAMA/Pages/Definition-of-Marketing.aspx. After reading that definition clearly every business could benefit from someone that performs the function of CMO. To Tim’s comments about the lack of status I will add that I believe because promotion enjoys the visibility that is where most businesses focus marketing investments.
I firmly believe the discipline of marketing’s real value to the bottom line is the development of products and or services to meet or exceed customer and or user expectations along with the go to market plan.
Fortunately there are Chief Executive Officers/Presidents and Chief Technology Officers that do drive product and or service development from a customer and or user concentric perspective that in my opinion is hallmark of great marketing. I look forward to the thoughts of others. Thanks.
By Karl Reuning
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: A Startup Specialists Group – Online Network for Entrepreneurs and Startups Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
No. Marketing is not same as Selling. They each are a completely different mindset with different kinds of professionals needed in each.
By BJ Raval
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: A Startup Specialists Group – Online Network for Entrepreneurs and Startups Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
When money changes hands for products or services it is selling. Marketing creates the messaging, content and tool sets. The end goal of generating revenue/profits can only occur when products are sold and purchased. All negotiations, contracts and end pricing to a degree are set by sales. Marketing and sales must be in sync on roadmap activities in terms of generating leads.
By Bob Haugen
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Strategy & Competitive Strategy Forum
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Without marketing you don’t have sales may be true but the same could be said for any of the other functions in the organization. Marketing and Sales are 100% not the same thing.
Marketing promotes the products and the company – web site content, catalogs, advertising, promotions, press releases, etc. etc.
Sales is about booking orders, customer interface on a regular basis, managing customer relationship, advocating for the customer to the rest of the organization.
One of the things they have in common for sure is these are outward facing functions as opposed to HR and Finance for example that are inward facing.
By Frederick L. Gilbert
Posing the question this way and starting with a bunch of trivial definitions creates bias .
Marketing is greatly changing today especially with the internet and new sourcing processes.Thus it should include the integration of branding , advertising , selling , pricing , forecasting, logistics , market research , customer service , internet etc.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Marketing is letting the community be aware of your presence And getting people in the door… Selling is a process goes from the state of unknown all the way to the state of desire and then the interest state when people make their decisions,
That based on Mr. Hubbard’s technology;
By Dr. Soheir Azer
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Selling is where the money comes from.
Marketing creates the opportunities to sell. If you don’t market, or you market ineffectively, there is a lot less to sell than there could be.
By Stephen Chiama
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
No, they are very related, but quite different. Sales generates the revenues. Marketing does the things which create the conditions to make the sale. Marketing is about branding, advertising, PR, print collateral–making the world aware of your product or service and moving them in ways to want it. It all important, but no revenue happens until the sale is actually made.
By Norm Boone
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
The language of sales and marketing is complex and dependent on which industry you work in. I find you need to define what you mean when you use any sales and marketing jargon. Even amongst experienced professionals, it is best to make sure you mean the same thing when using terminology.
With marketing you need to define what type of marketing you are talking about first. (brand marketing, direct response marketing, direct sales or business development?) Then you define the context (strategic planning or operations)? Then you define what you mean
Then you operationally define the terms you need to use within your team and with your suppliers. I find if I make an assumption about agreement on what terms mean, I’ll end-up regretting it later.
I tend to think of marketing as strategic and tactical most of the time (except for direct response marketing) which is all about generating sales.
Sales is just as loaded a word. Its meanings span strategic, tactical and operations functions too.
Personally, I prefer to shift the language into customer-focused, earnings growth and process language. Then you can focus on the things that matter rather than letting jargon get in the way.
By John Watson
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Marketing and Sales are two completely different aspects of business.
Sure, they both rely on one another to help business prosper; however, the two have absolutely nothing in common.
Saying Marketing and Sales are alike is as ignorant as saying advertising and marketing are alike.
All of these aspects can help a business succeed, but if the right captain isn’t driving your ship……….it doesn’t matter if advertising, sales and marketing all become cohesive (which is a businesses’ dream). A proper CEO and surrounding staff need to be the basis for everything before any of the above aspects can ever be expected to take place.
By Damien Perez
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Strategy & Competitive Strategy Forum
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
…in my experience in numerous general management assignments, I always treated Sales and Marketing as two different, but equally important functions, and I’m glad I did. Marketing is creating the demand for a companies products/services. Sales is a transaction process to complete a buyer-seller transaction. The focus, personality, skills and perspective are different for each, though both are necessary for a business to succeed, and its good for Sales and Marketing to communicate with each other. But the leadership, and type of people to staff each, are different. You wouldn’t mix IT and Finance; why mix Sales and Marketing?
By Don Miller
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Strategy & Competitive Strategy Forum
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
The boundaries of sales and marketing and so does the definition varies by sectors and business segments such as B2B, B2C, C2C. If we talk about social media or e-commerce for example, sales and marketing functions are deeply intertwined whereas charities might refrain from using the word sales altogether. For B2C businesses conventional print or television marketing generates demand and sales helps in booking, as Fredrick pointed. Whereas in B2B scenario marketing might be reduced to development of brochure, website etc and Sales could be responsible for demand creation and fulfillment ,to a large extent.
By Nitin Jain
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Marketing & Communication Network
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Is chocolate the same as vanilla? What about Sprite and Pepsi? We could go on. Sales has an immediacy – a need to close – a need to hunt and eat what they kill. Marketing can be both sales and marketing – where the process and flow of prospect to customer is a series of well thought out moments in time that have something executable across all of them. Sales would love to rely more on marketing to get them more prospects ready to close – but the science is imperfect and the relationship can be adversarial – with sales seeing very little value add from what Marketing brings. Peace on earth happens when Marketing delivers repeatable processes that show results to people looking for In Quarter results. Much of the time – people trump process – as the agendas are not necessarily aligned. Me? I like both vanilla and chocolate – equally.
By Charlie Tarzian
Marketing draws the potential customers into a better understanding of our products and services – the appeal of all media types (graphic, web, social, printed) offers solutions to potential customers. They can learn about us, our products & services and our brand through marketing medium.
Whereas our Sales force closes that sale, connects person to person and fulfills on the promises made by the supporting Marketing activities and materials.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: B2B Content Marketing
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
I agree with all the above as it relates to B2B sales in a complex multi transactional environment. However if you move to FMCG then marketing equals sales and their is often no distinct sales function. They do however have account/supplier management functions- but is this sales.
Of course you can take this argument to an extremes and say ” everybody sells the only difference is what to who” ( with apologies to Dr House).!….
By Richard Masters
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Marketing speaks to what products you sell, what geographic areas you wish to sell them in and who you want to sell the products to in those areas. Selling involves advertising choices, pricing tactics and customer nurturing activities. They are two different facets of business management.
By Jim Oglethorpe
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
Marketing provides the blueprints that expresses the goals of the business into conceptual terms that can be acted upon; Sales is the actual construction process. Or another analogy, marketing is the seed, the sales is the blossom that attracts the bees, and if successfully pollinated, result in the desired fruit.
By Charles Burgess
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Succeed: Small Business Network, Powered by Staples
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
There are clear differences between marketing as a business function/focus and Sales. In reality, they need to become allies with each groups unique skill set working together as a team to deliver both customers and market(s) as reliable profit generators for the business.
Here’s what those differences are, why each group is equal in value to a company’s survival and growth and why I say that becoming allies is now a must:
The online “everything’s a commodity” web, Google, social networks sourcing/searching mentality world is a game changer. It puts the prospect in the driver’s seat for problem solutions research, sourcing products, solutions, services and solutions vendors. It also offers a common ground where, if sales and marketing can cooperate, they can win big time.
That’s because marketing and sales combined have the vision and skills needed to understand their real marketplace, what it is and how to approach it to survive and thrive in the face of this sales game changer.
Sales-In the field, has real world access to hearing and or asking
*What folks want and why
*Who are the target audiences and appropriate titles to aim messaging at
*What these target audiences care about
*What they will spend money on, will pay for
*What is emerging as trends that a company should focus on leading in
*Real price points where target audiences can be comfortable
*Competition, emerging, new, traditional and what they are doing-offering v what the company is doing, planning, offering
*New products needed, differentiating points
Understanding these points and the real world answers to each point is absolutely critical in a competitive global sourcing world for really knowing, not guessing what the next steps should be for a company and its offerings.
That’s where a good partnership between Marketing and Sales becomes essential to surviving and thriving in our Google-search world
Marketing- Has the skills to do the research v ROI
*Validate what sales sees and begin to define the solutions in products, services, new markets that will meet the challenges that sales conveys to them
*Find out Where do the appropriate Target audiences “hang out” online and offline to “talk shop”
*Managing the online outreach needed to join into the many different and focused social networks, messaging and connecting paths that can acquire paying customers via that specialized approach
*Determine shows and seminars that are great prospect generators v cost
*Determine seminar opportunities where a live featured speaker or webinar can yield paying customers.
*Research how to position and say what captures interest at the right levels in target audiences and adjust ads, brochures, in print and online messaging accordingly
*Identify where to spend the available cash to gain great prospects and acquire paying customers
*Do the appropriate PR, article writing in magazines, trade pubs and e-zines that can establish the company as the “go to” experts.
All of this is absolutely critical in a competitive global sourcing world for really knowing, not guessing what the next steps should be for a company and its offerings.
Given the standardization of online sourcing as a research and buying starting point, it’s really a necessary cooperative relationship where, because of focus, skills, access to real world intelligence, messaging paths, both sales and marketing need to cooperate if the company wants a future and the ability to acquire paying customers v competition..
Both sides are in the same boat with exactly the same objective. When they understand each other’s value is to acquire paying customers now and in the future and proactively manage the changing sourcing and market behaviors so that goal is consistently achieved, it’s a great formula for long term success.
By Neil Licht
I find a lot of the comments here truly disappointing! Fairly obviously some haven’t read the article.
The article is primarily about “Selling” That is not exactly the same as “Sales” One is a function/and activity that may result in a Sale.
Many think only in terms of “Marketing DEPARTMENTS” when they think of Marketing.
Many have obviously so little understanding of what Marketing is, that it is embarrassing to read their comments – yet they work in a marketing based field – Selling/Personal Selling.
Suggestion – do a bit of self study at least. Learn more. And don’t focus on simple “practical” books or articles. Anything which suggests a simple method is just selling you a pup. Get a textbook so you can understand and talk the talk. Even understand the bigger picture Marketing should represent.
The Personal Selling/selling activity (usually managed by the Sales DEPARTMENT) is part of the Promotion/Marketing Communication function of Marketing. Some/various marketing activities/functions are undertaken by the Marketing Department. BUT – “MARKETING” is a very wide, basic function of all organisations. Some do it well. Many others do not. Getting the best out of your organisation’s/companies exchanges with customers and prospective customers can only be optimised when you get a proper understanding of Modern Marketing.
Is it OK for me to be a bit rough about this? I hope so! The aim is TO TRY and HELP YOU
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Business Strategy & Competitive Strategy Forum
Discussion: Are Marketing and Sales Different?
In my view, Marketing and Sales are two different functions . It is true that these two functions are being treated as same or similar by many English speaking Executives . However, I can say from my own experience , that the difference is quite clear to all the French speaking executives . Marketing identifies the potential market , devises methods to access the market in line with the strategy of the company for creating competitive advantage . Marketing has also a very important role in product development strategy . As far as I know , all the major industrial giants in continental Europe take the decisions for product development during the meeting between R&D functions and Marketing functions with the participation of the top management and all the corporate functions .
I had also the privilege to set up the function Marketing Achats ( Purchase Marketing is an approximate translation ) in a leading European company for ensuring that product development takes place to take full advantage of what is available in the supply-market .
By C.M.A. Nayar
Marketing is the process used to make potential buyer aware of your products and services.
Sales is the process of turning a prospect for your products and services into a buyer.