Sales and Marketing have essentially behaved as autonomous functions, but in the last few years, there’s been increasing pressure for them to work together to accelerate revenue growth.
Still others are suggesting organizational integration of some kind, such as part or all of marketing being moved under the Sales function.There continues to be a lot of discussion about organizational alignment being the solution. Some pundits have even suggested that Marketing have the same performance measure as Sales: sales quotas.
It’s unclear if any of these predictions are starting to take root at the C-level, but in any event, it’s still early enough for Marketing and Sales to shape their own future.
I’d like to suggest a more pragmatic future that both Marketing and Sales can embrace; A future that provides a win/win situation for marketing professionals, sales professionals, and most importantly, the customer. But first, let’s remind ourselves what triggered all this controversy in the first place.
Marketing and Sales: Alignment, Integration or Collaboration
