The Dissimilarity between sales and Marketing can not be over emphasized. Sales and marketing are closely interwoven and are aimed at increasing income. Do you know that without marketing, you would not have prospects or leads to follow up also, without a good sales strategy, you wont be able to sell your wares/services.

Let’s look at some online definitions of the two terms in discuss here. According to the balance website, they defined it as thus ” If we broke it down to the basics, marketing is everything that you do to reach and persuade prospects and the sales process is everything that you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract.”

We can also look at this difference from another perspective what makes sales and marketing different? In very simple words, sales can be termed as a process which focuses or targets on individuals or small groups. Marketing on the other hand targets a larger group or the general public. This was according to :difference between

In our own simplest terms, we see sales as an activity that involves persuading or influencing a customer to buy a product or service. The sales process is everything you do to close the sale and get a signed agreement or contract. While Marketing is the systematic planning, implementation, and control of a mix of business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutually advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

From the definitions above, it is obvious that the two still have similarities and their use may be interwoven. Marketing means generating leads or prospects. sales means converting the leads or prospects into purchases and orders.
Marketing involves a longer process of building a name for a brand and pursuing the customer to buy it even if they do not need it. Where as sales only involve a short term of finding the target consumer. Let us look at them in close details separately.

It can also be said that Marketing concept is more oriented towards helping the customer whereas the selling concept is more oriented towards helping the seller

From research and studies conducted by experts, it was concluded that sales may include all of the following:

1. It focuses or targets on individuals or small groups
2. Sales convert the leads or prospects into purchases and orders.
3. Sales focuses on meeting up with consumer demand
4. sales often can be accomplished in a one-on-one meeting
5. Once a product has been created for a customer need, sales persuade customer to purchase the product to fulfil their needs
6. Sales are the ultimate goal of marketing.
7. Once the need is created with recognition of the needy customer, the sales job starts with final detailed discussion to get the final order released by customer.
8. sales affect to the challenges and relations with the customer
9. Sales revolves around needs and interest of seller
10. Sales are a part of marketing process.
11. Overcoming objections that customers may have about an organization’s products or services
12. Closing a sale with an existing or new customer
13. Handling complaints about products/services
14. Building long term relationships with customers

Read also understanding emotional intelligence

Marketing has been noted not to be direct as it uses various methods like advertising, brand marketing, public relations, direct mails and viral marketing for creating an awareness of the product.

It was also shown that Marketing includes all of the following:

• Discovering what product or service customers want or need.
• Producing a product or service with the appropriate and desired features and quality.
• Pricing the product or service in correct and attractive ways.
• Promoting the product or service or spreading the word about why customers should buy it and studying the market to offer right products at the appropriate time with correct proposal.
• Defining and qualifying market segments and potential buying groups.
• Defining and qualifying individual consumer prospects, including which particular consumers can be targeted or called upon (including demographic and psycho-graphic research).
• Developing marketing “collateral” or fliers, brochures and presentation material to be sent out or shown to customers by sales people.
• Developing a recognizable “brand promise” for products/services. This may include an organization’s website and other promotional programs.
• Building or designing loyalty programs, reviewing customer experiences, and suggesting entirely new product and service offerings based on research on ongoing consumer feedback.
• Advertising the products to raise awareness and build the brand.

Final Thought

The Key is Finding a Balance

It has been said by scholars that the key to success in life is to strike a balance in anything we do. Too much of one or too little of the other can disrupt balance. So it is imperative for a business to succeed, there is need for them to either have a mix and blend of sales and marketing.

Have you ever watched a recent video on the hare and the rabbit? I was impressed with the story line which has more lessons than the conventional hare and rabbit story we grew up with. It shows how you need to partner with one who has what you do not have for you to succeed. This means you should partner with someone that possess the talents that you feel you lack in. If you are stronger in marketing, find someone who understands and gets the sales process. If you are better at sales find someone that can help you strengthen the message, create marketing materials that sell and give you tactics and ideas.

If you don’t work in a company that has both departments and you are working solo you can do this by creating a partnership, subcontracting, or hiring in that talent. Remember the key to success in marketing and in sales is balance!

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