In the next couple of weeks I will be filming a video session with Patrick Galvin of Galvin Communications. As you know, I am passionate about sales and helping you close more sales. Well, Mr. Galvin is “one of those” marketing guys. He is as passionate about marketing as I am about sales. Now, before you marketing folks send me your hate mail; know that I believe marketing is a critical component to the success of many organizations. Patrick does an outstanding job and the power of his marketing expertise cannot be denied. Well, our passions led us to an interesting conversation. Is marketing more important than sales or does sales reign supreme?

Using our blogs as our weapons and video as the battlefield, we are going to settle this debate once and for all! To warm up for the marketing vs. sales showdown I am sharing my ideas here for you to comment on and help me prepare for battle. 

1. Close Ratios

Quick! Think of three brands of cars. Car companies spend millions to be the first car that came to your mind. So let’s say you go look at those three car brands that came to mind. Does the buying experience impact your decision? Of course it does. If you aren’t sure of what car to buy then you need someone to help you by identifying what you are looking for and then make sure they put you in the vehicle that delivers you the best solution.

This is where sales training comes in. Sales training should teach you how to ask the right questions to match the customer up with the correct product. If a sales rep does not know how to do that then they are much less likely to get the sale. If you have outstanding marketing that drives people to the business, but you cannot close the sale when they get there then what good is marketing at all? Having well trained sales reps that know how to close business makes the most of every prospect.

2. Referrals

When a customer has a great experience with a sales person the buying experience is a pleasure and it creates repeat customers and referral sales. Let take a restaurant as an example. My mother has a waiter at a very posh restaurant that makes a Caesar salad that is amazing. The waiter is friendly, funny and extremely knowledgeable. He has built a relationship of trust with Mom and she tells everyone about this waiter. Countless people have gone to the restaurant because of her recommendation.

With so many choices available people are turning to the opinions of their friends and family to cut through the clutter. It is a relief to know you are going to buy from someone you can trust. Without that waiter being a great sales person the restaurant would not have the best marketing tool available; referrals. 

3. The Two “P’s” of Sales

If you take a basic marketing course you will hear that marketing is about product, packaging, pricing and placement (add promotion to wow your marketing teacher). Sales is about people and profits. Sales people build relationships (see #2) and protect profit margins. 

I had a client that spent tons of money on marketing that generated great traffic. The problem was that the sales reps did not know how to sell and so they were discounting almost every transaction! If the profit on a product was $100 they would take off $60 to get a sale. However, once sales training introduced the concept of building product value prices were rarely cut any more. Even if marketing nails the four (or five) P’s, it will not do much good without well trained sales reps building relationships and protecting profits.

So what do you think about my arguments? Do you agree that sales is more important than marketing? Help me refine my argument before the big showdown! I will post the video on my blog at www.steppingstonesolutions.com after the showdown takes place.