Comments on: NORC: No One Really Cares

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:40:48 +0000

My problem is more complex. I work for a small company and wear the Sales and Marketing hats simultaneously. Luckily, I’m a gemini, so I’m no stranger to the whole split personality thing. Anyhow, it becomes a chicken-and-egg situation all the time and I get abused for when the marketing isn’t as professional as possible, or my sales numbers are down. Trying to decide how to spend my time is quite difficult because I am the lone sales person and no one else is trying to drive business. What should I do?

By: Michael

Michael — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 17:50:42 +0000

This is the total truth… As sales managers/reps etc.. we often times feel entitled to get our pitch in. Sales & Marketing go hand in hand… without one, the other would fail. It’s marketing team role to get the people in the door… It’s our job as the sales team to keep them loyal & keep them in the seat.

The most successful team tend to shy away from blame & pointing fingers, work together to streamline the process and create stronger — better results.

By: collink

collink — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:00:26 +0000

Its okay to be hard on yourself if you have a coachable mindset. Learn from your mistakes and take them to heart. Don’t depress yourself because you failed, be happy that your aware of your mistake and won’t let it happen again.

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:54:35 +0000

I like it, Real. Good points.

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:24:51 +0000

I’m actually a sales person with a marketing mind. I ended up getting a sales position (instead of a marketing one) when I graduated college, and learned really quickly that being able to add my marketing strengths to my selling skills, it gave both me personally and my company a competitive advantage.

Generally speaking from my experiences, if marketing materials and opportunities are truly great and not just “good,” a client will find the money or resources to buy. That said, marketing can actually be the difference between a sale or not.

When the sales and marketing teams are in sync, it definitely makes the company a lot stronger.

By: Jay Bailey

Jay Bailey — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:41:03 +0000

Real – The problem actually lies in the major disconnect between marketing (advertising) and sales. Marketing and selling are supposed to be one in the same… or at the very least sales is a division of marketing. But unfortunately marketing has taken on a whole new personality over the past 20, and even the past 10 years and is now driven almost exclusively by “creative” types that focus heavily on form over function, awards over sales, and image over revenue.

Too often marketing departments and ad firms lose touch with their fundamental purpose – to drive sales. And management is to blame, they allow marketing to operate outside a world of any measurable accountability… ie. mention the word ROI to marketing types and your bound to see a sea of blank faces. Marketing has become a self fulfilling prophecy and very few firms understand how to create a successful marketing piece (one that drives revenue) today.

If you want your company to have a successful marketing campaign/brochure/website/whatever… you have to understand that marketing should exist to compliment the sales professional’s efforts. After all, the money made off all those sales is what gets budgeted towards your next revolutionary campaign.

By: Sam Parker

Sam Parker — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:27:47 +0000

Real (marketing) person… Please use your real (marketing) name if you want to continue to have your comments included. And thanks, by the way, for crossing the aisle. We love you for it.

Now go sell something.~>

By: realperson

realperson — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:12:25 +0000

unfortunately, you have missed the point entirely

By: Loretta

Loretta — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:57:55 +0000

If it wasn’t for the “big fat commission person”, you’d have nothing to market:)

By: realperson

realperson — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:52:16 +0000

This started off great, but once again, in the end, comes the insults and blaming of marketing and suggestion that sales professionals know everything about marketing, always have the right answers, are superior beings and never to blame. This seems in conflict with your higher slogan “just sell,” which might be better backed up with a gentle (or not so gentle) reminder saying “quit blaming marketing for your problems, quit worrying about what marketing is and isn’t doing, quit projecting poor sales on marketing/others while taking credit for good sales as your own personal achievement, quit being an egotistical, condescending, lazy, whiny, know-it-all, greedy gasbag that thinks they are entitled to special treatment and that everyone is in love with and expects others to take ownership of everything except schmoozing and collecting fat commissions, quit trying to tell everyone else how to do their job, and instead pick up the phone, make a cold call, knock on a door, learn something about your product/prospect/competition, be real, be honest, be humble and just sell.” But still be patient with them…they’re not mere humans…just ask them.