The Tension Between Marketing and Sales Exposed! Silverpop’s Ellen Valentine on Marketing Smarts [Podcast]
Ellen Valentine, product evangelist at Silverpop and my guest this week on Marketing Smarts, has an interesting perspective on the perennial tension between Marketing and Sales: Technology is to blame!
Well, to be fair, she didn’t quite put it that way. Rather, she pointed out two developments that have changed the dynamic between Sales and Marketing and which cast some light on the source (and possible resolution) of the long-lamented conflict between these important corporate functions.
Buyer Behavior
On the one hand, Ellen cited a survey conducted by the Corporate Executive Board that found “on average, people are 57% of the way through the sales cycle before they’re bringing Sales on board.”
As she explained it, in the old days Sales was ushering prospects through the funnel from the get-go, which meant that “Sales had the primary responsibility for the early content strategy, and, of course, Marketing produced the materials for sales to take on those calls.”
Nowadays, people are educating themselves before ever engaging with Sales, which means that an activity that was once the purview of Sales now falls under the Marketing umbrella.
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With more than 20 years of experience in senior leadership positions for technology companies, Silverpop’s Ellen Valentine has deep expertise in launching new products, evaluating product and market positions, designing go-to-market strategies, and managing digital marketing initiatives. She’s currently focused on coaching and mentoring Silverpop clients to adapt and thrive in marketing’s changing landscape.
