Sales is essential, Marketing is not.

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  Java323207/20/07 Reported as spam
  1

  High five!!!

  You hit it right hard on the head!! I love marketing but Sales is the only department that makes a company money!! Our job is tough and fingers start pointing our way when the numbers are down.
  
  You are right...I only care about my customers and my numbers because that is how I make money! Funny no one seems to get that. I love how you explained that in your post. Who would want to take a pay cut for the good of the company? Not too many people!!
  
  Well written!!!

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  yaz307/20/07 Report as spam
  2

  Perception (marketing) vs. reality (sales)

  You hit the nail on the head! Until marketing is compensated like sales , on actual successes, they will never get it!

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  amykat207/20/07 Report as spam
  3

  Hooray for Equal Pay!

  Hell yes! I'm all for that! Having been a marketing professional for more than 10 years now, I would absolutely LOVE to be compensated like the sales reps I have helped secure millions of dollars of business over the years.
  
  In fact, in all that time, only ONE REP felt compelled to spiff the marketing person who actually WROTE the proposal that won her the deal. A nice though, and much appreciated ... but a $1,000 spiff on a $50,000 comission is a bit paultry considering I generated the lead, wrote the proposal, and designed the program that we sold!
  
  But still ... I love to serve the sales force ... which is why I'm still here working for peanuts amongst millionaires (no, really) to make their jobs easier. Lots of pats on the back to compensate for a smaller piece of the pice ... no wonder I'm so hungry!!!

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  Java323207/20/07 Report as spam
  4

  maybe you should sell?

  Amy,
  
  If you are doing all the work and getting no money for all these years...have you considered selling? Maybe your answer will clear up some of your concerns.

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  amykat207/20/07 Report as spam
  5

  Because you couldn't do it without me

  Well ... I wondered how long that would take ... Way to go Captain Obvious!
  
  I HAVE in fact considered selling. But I am insightful enough to realize that I probably wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much as I do Marketing. There is a skill set and personality that are so crucial to being an effective sales person, and I have it some days, but not others.
  
  Furthermore, I absolutely love the opportunity to mix it up a bit, wearing multiple hats as strategic marketer, copywriter, graphic artist, web designer, print manager, etc.
  
  Unlike our illustrious author here who finds it necessary to slam marketing on a routing basis, I do NOT feel compelled to slam those sales pros who DO IN FACT keep the lights on. Succesful sales reps posses a talent that I do not.
  
  But then again, I possess skills that sales reps do not. My reps LOVE me. I believe that the role of marketing is primarily to support and improve the sales process. But as a marketer, that is VERY hard to do without feedback from the field.
  
  For example, it's extremely frustrating for a rep to complain about not having more "Project Profiles," but then when I try to produce them, and need information ABOUT THE PROJECT from the rep, the phone goes silent.
  
  So ... now my question for you ... as you sit here complaining about a lack of accountability and big salaries (excuse me as I catch my breat from laughing my a$$ off),why aren't YOU in marketing?
  
  I'll tell you why ... either because you can't do it, you KNOW there's little money in it, or you're frightened by the prospect that, contrary to populare sales bull shitake, marketing pros are routinely asked to defend their very existence by quantifying their value. And like it or not, marketing does have a TREMENDOUS value if done right, but it is a value that is difficult to measure in ROI. Sales however ... pretty easy. You're either bringing in revenue or you're not. If you are, then you're pretty much left alone to do your job. If you're not, well then, perhaps you are smart enough to find an out before management notices your draw on GP.

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  Java323207/20/07 Report as spam
  6

  Why I am not in Marketing

  Hi Amy,
  
  Well we all hit a nerve here!! Well to answer your question about why I am not in marketing....first of all I have an MBA in marketing and considered starting my own agency. I did note in my first response that love marketing. However, as you stated, there is little money in the marketing field. Also, I have the skills and personality to do well in sales...and I like it!

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  amykat207/20/07 Report as spam
  7

  Personality is a must

  Exactly! I know my limitations, and my strengths ... thus my career choice. And, I am fully prepared to accept that I do not have the same earnings potential in marketing as I might in sales, but that is a trade I have accepted and am comfortable with.
  
  I just get my feathers ruffled when a "sales" guy comments on how much money we make in marketing by comparison.
  
  Of course, I selected the company I work for because it is a sales-driven culture ... which is why our sales reps do so well ... and it's why management (having very successful sales backgrounds) understands the need for and value of marketing.
  
  Can't we all just get along?

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  Java323207/20/07 Report as spam
  8

  I'll get along with ya!

  I think we can all agree our jobs are important...although sales is the most important!!!! hee hee
  
  Have a great weekend Amy!

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  o.gomez.sympatico.ca07/20/07 Report as spam
  9

  Marketing..hmmmm.. is not measurable.

  Thank for you article. I started my business last December 2005. With a lot of sacrifice I paid for marketing consulting the result were wasted money, wasted time, and no leads. I decided to do "sales" and now I am doing much better. Marketers only care about themselves, sales people too but they keep a business running and successful. I could not find a "marketer" willing to get paid base on sales produced.
  
  Marketing consultants only care about business not their client's business. If what they suggested failed,,,, well be ready to pay more and more and more and more... what a joke.

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  amykat207/20/07 Report as spam
  10

  Sales advice

  I have a request. As a marketing pro, I joined this blog to gleen sales advice that I could then pass on to the reps I support. So far, however, it's been little more than a misdirected (and misinformed) rant against marketing.
  
  Could you PLEASE start writing about topics that actually HELP reps succeed in their endeavors to pay the bills? Stop pissing off the marketing folks who ARE acutally out here to help sales, and start dispensing useful information and advice.
  
  Thank you.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/20/07 Report as spam
  11

  Supporting Sales

  Maybe you should pass some of these "anti-marketing" posts along to your sales pals along with a note asking whether you are guilty of any of the abuses that I'm discussing. You might learn something that would help you support them more effectively.

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  amykat207/20/07 Report as spam
  12

  KNOW what you're talking about

  FYI - I routinely ask my reps how I can better help them. I am available 24x7 to support them, and ALL of my marketing programs are initiated based exclusively on feedback from the sales force.
  
  Try again ...

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/20/07 Report as spam
  13

  Twas just a suggestion

  I never said that every marketer was useless, just that in most B2B firms they're not providing a useful function.
  
  Go back to the previous post "Why Marketing Won't Listen" and read that idiotic press release from Oracle.
  
  I might add that I see HUNDREDS of similarly idiotic press releases every year from dozens of B2B firms.

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  Java323207/20/07 Report as spam
  14

  Have you been following this blog?

  Amy I have been reading this blog for only a few weeks and I have already gleened useful information about sales. There is the occasional marketing rant...which is fun to watch and participate in:) but overall it is a good blog.

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  amykat207/20/07 Report as spam
  15

  Not for long

  I only recently joined this blog, and while I'm sure that past posts have been helpful, in my short time as a member, I've seen many more attacks on marketing than actual sales advice.
  
  Going back to Gitomer, I guess.

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  Java323207/20/07 Report as spam
  16

  re: not for long

  Gitomer is awesome! I read his stuff daily. I check out other blogs like this to get a rounded view of sales. I encourage you keep reading and not get too offended!!

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  aj@...07/26/07 Report as spam
  17

  Some help...maybe

  The company is a team made of individuals and departments. We all need to work together for the machine to move forward. I view marketing as the spoke on the wheel that generates interest and awareness so that when I call on the customer they are at least aware of my product or service. Marketing is the bird dog that makes the bird fly into the air, and then it becomes the responsibility of the sales people to bring it home for dinner.
  
  It is my experience that the ball is often dropped by sales people who are not prepared for customer engagement. To many sales people do not practice at getting better at their art. This could be either because they don't know where to go to get better, or they don't know how to get better without sounding like some snake oil vendor. If you want a tip on continuous improvement shoot me an email at perisho1@mchsi.com.
  
  P.S. If Tiger Woods continously works on his game why shouldn't the rest of us in our careers?

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  amykat207/20/07 Report as spam
  18

  Marketing vs. sales is not your issue ...

  The word you need to focus on with regard to your lack-luster results is "Consultant," not marketing.
  
  A (qualified) staff marketing professional would probably have worked wonders for your business ... but a consultant has no stake in the success of your business. He gets paid no matter what.

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  Jeffryh07/20/07 Report as spam
  19

  Learn to love Marketing....

  ...and marketing will love you back.
  
  The best salespeople leverage marketing to their advantage. The best salespeople craft their messages using the messages marketing is promoting through campaigns. The best salespeople develop relationships with their companies marketing people and educate them first hand on sales process.
  
  The blame game never works. Sales is about taking action. Take action to align your sales process with marketing process and you'll have better outcomes.

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  jra15607/25/07 Report as spam
  20

  DO YOU KNOW WHAT MARKETEERS DO?!

  MARKETING create the right products, at the right price, and then get SALES to promote and sell them in the right market - both elements are essential!

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/25/07 Report as spam
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  Marketing "creates" products????

  I don't know which planet you're on, but inside every company I've ever heard about ALL the viable product ideas originally came out of R&D.
  
  While marketers are supposed to come up with "market requirements," in almost every company marketing's inputs on new products are treated a complete joke.
  
  In reality, it is either R&D or Sales that knows (respectively) what's the next product to build and whether customers will buy it.
  
  Marketing can sometimes help hone an idea, but they don't "create" anything. Ever.

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  Donna R.09/12/07 Report as spam
  22

  Marketing does create

  As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the creations of Marketing, Sales would have nothing to sell WITH. Sometimes the customer's perception of a company and its products or services is heavily based on their perception of Marketing-created materials and messages.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine10/18/07 Report as spam
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  Nobody reads 'em.

  I hate to break the news to you, but nobody reads marketing materials, least of all customers.

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  Donna R.07/25/07 Report as spam
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  Quit bashing Marketing

  Can't you resign yourself to the reality that if Sales is good at Marketing, they are more successful. If Sales is tactical and not strategic, they need Marketing to help focus their efforts and provide the tools they need to succeed.
  
  Sales resents Marketing because Marketing drives Sales. If Sales thought about Marketing as a parter instead of a driver or an unnecessary appendage, Sales would reap the benefit of big picture thinking and fine tuned message.
  
  What say you?

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/25/07 Report as spam
  25

  Marketing "drives" sales

  Do you have any idea how arrogant and absurd that sounds to anybody in sales?
  
  Marketing -- good marketing, at least -- can help sales to sell. I admit it, but think it's pretty rare.
  
  Marketing never "drives" anything. Even great marketing is only a service function.
  
  Marketeers who claim they "drive" sales are simply taking rhetorical credit for other people's work.

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  kurios55@...07/25/07 Report as spam
  26

  Walk the walk, not just talk the talk

  Just a thought, we could be arguing till the end of time about whether the Sales guys are pulling in the dollars or if the Marketing pros are 'positioning' the product/solution for the right target segment and customer.
  
  Each department probably has their own KPI and are compensated differently. Anyone who feels that the other side is not pulling their weight should jump into the trenches with them and show them how it's done. Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk.
  
  Instead of being department-centric, it might help to be organisation -centric. One suggestion is to have a organisation performance that everyone gets for 'contributing' to the continued growth of the organisation.