Where Does Marketing Fit into Sales Planning?
Selling Skills for Non-Sales People by Janet Ryan The most effective sales people I know are those who remember that sales and marketing are very closely linked, and that most sales efforts can be enhanced and leveraged by thinking like a marketer. When we get caught in the routine of making sales calls, dialing for dollars or feeling the need to be in front of a prospect every moment of the day, we forget to back up and look at the bigger picture, to figure out where we could make those critical personal contacts more effective by adding some mass communications (marketing communications) to the mix. A sales process consists of a number of semi-discreet steps which you can read about in any marketing textbook. Though the actual steps will vary somewhat by product and industry, a typical scenario includes the following progression: Generating Awareness Establishing an Interest Demonstrating a Need Educating the Prospect Qualifying the Prospect Making the Specific Proposal Closing the T
