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Lab's business
Laba Business School,
Editorial Team
Albert Chan is one of the most experienced digital sales experts in the world. In leadership roles at companies like P&G, Google, and now Meta, Albert has worked with over 100,000 customers, including Amazon, Walmart, and eBay. A graduate of Harvard Business School with over 20 years of sales and marketing experience, he has mastered the art of helping diverse teams set and achieve goals through a data-driven approach.
In our interview, Albert shares his thoughts on how marketing armenia mobile phone numbers database and sales can set common goals despite using different metrics, what the pandemic has taught us about communication, and how you can lead change by empowering your team.
What should salespeople know about marketers?
Sales should realize that marketers have a deep understanding of the company's target audience . They invest their time in identifying customer needs and behaviors. They are the ones who create strategic messages that resonate with the market.
Using this valuable information, sales teams can refine their approach and tailor their communications to potential customers. Marketing provides a roadmap that guides sales through the customer journey.
What do marketers need to know about salespeople?
Marketers should recognize that salespeople are the people who interact with customers every day . They know customers best. They have real-time market insights, understand customer concerns, and spot trends—and this knowledge can help marketers refine strategies, campaigns, and content.
Marketing should also recognize that sales is the driving force behind an organization’s revenue. This department is under intense scrutiny and pressure to deliver revenue and results. Marketers should be empathetic to this challenge.
They should also know that both teams are working toward a common goal: continuing to improve customer satisfaction and increase revenue.
Sales and Marketing use different KPIs. Does this create challenges in setting common goals and how can these be overcome?
One way is to focus on the customer journey . Both sales and marketing play a significant role in the customer journey from awareness to conversion.
That’s why it’s important to identify key touchpoints and metrics that reflect the performance of both teams, such as leads, conversion rates, LTV, customer satisfaction scores – to name a few.
When it comes to metrics like revenue growth, customer acquisition costs, customer conversion rates, there’s something called a “customer acquisition framework” that shows you how closely these marketing and sales metrics tie into your sales funnel.
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Aligning definitions is also key: making sure both teams can agree on common definitions of key metrics, such as marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads (SQLs). This helps avoid confusion and ensures both teams are working toward the same goals.
Finally, it is also about recognizing and celebrating the shared achievements of both teams. This is key to enforcing the importance of this collaboration and reinforcing the commitment to shared goals.
What do companies miss out on that fail to achieve this crucial synergy between sales and marketing?
There are several negative consequences. The first is ineffective lead management . Without proper customization, leads may not be nurtured effectively – and this will result in potential customers being lost.
The second is wasted resources . When sales and marketing are not on the same page, there is misallocation of resources, duplication of functions within the team, and misdirection. It also increases costs and reduces the ROI of campaigns and initiatives.
Additionally, this creates an inconsistent message . If both teams are not in sync, communication is chaotic and confusing, both internally and externally. Consumers will receive confusing messages that will ultimately erode trust and brand perception.
And what will they gain if they do it right?
If everything is in order in terms of management, resources, messaging, all these elements will be more streamlined, optimized and consistent.
Combining the strengths of these two teams improves morale and the quality of collaboration. When they are aligned, they foster a better work culture, mutual support, productivity, and creativity.
Business-wise, this results in accelerated growth and profitability. Harmonious relationships between these teams increase the company's ability to attract new customers, retain existing ones, and increase revenue. This sets the stage for long-term success and gives the company a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
A key part of the relationship between sales and marketing is communication, both formal and informal. What are the best practices in this area?
It’s always a mix of formal and informal collaboration. One way to do this is to foster a culture of collaboration—for example, inviting team members to participate in cross-departmental projects.
When I was at Procter and Gamble, marketing would bring sales into our agency calls, global planning sessions, etc. So that sales could understand what we were doing, but also give input and tell us what our customers were saying. They were basically answering questions like, "If we were to launch this, how would our customer react?"
