The sales + marketing love story you really want

The best relationships between sales & marketing are deep, authentic and sustainable.  They are typically built on a foundation of trust, respect, shared interests and mutually agreed-upon priorities.

Just like real relationships, things won’t always be chocolate and roses.  You will fight.  You will disagree.  Things will go wrong.  But through thick and thin, you’re in it together.

Too often, sales & marketing relationships are fleeting and short-lived.  The B2B equivalent of the weekend fling?  That’s a great sales kick-off (SKO).  Things are great and wonderful and euphoric until you get back to your offices and back to work.  Your day-to-day reality isn’t quite as exciting as the potential on paper.

Sometimes sales & marketing feels like an unhealthy, on-again off-again relationship.  Lots of ups and downs, break-ups, make-ups, long discussions about goals and desires, then back around again.

The ideal long-term relationship between sales & marketing isn’t always sexy.  Sometimes it feels more like “This is 40” than “Love Actually“.  But the couples that make it long-term have something in common with the highest-performing sales & marketing partnerships:

• They communicate constantly
• They accept disagreements as part of the journey but work together to find common solutions & outcomes
• They regularly discuss objectives & needs, and make adjustments accordingly
• They value trust, respect and empathy
• They assume the best of intentions from each other
• They accept and honor their differences but know they’re better together

How healthy is your relationship between sales and marketing?  Where are you strong, and where are you vulnerable?  Which elements will you work on to create a stronger, long-term, successful and sustainable outcome?