In a world where we’re constantly being asked to do more with less, it’s understandable that the title of this blog has caught your attention. But don’t worry, it’s not clickbait – this article is going to outline just how you can expand your team at no extra cost.
Sales and marketing alignment isn’t a new topic, but you’d be surprised how many businesses haven’t nailed their strategy. The key? Aligning goals and building strong relationships between both teams (more on this here).
Once the sales and marketing alignment strategy is in place, you’ll gain access to additional resources from the sales team. Now, they won’t perform marketing activities like an extra Marketing Exec, but their unique skills, knowledge, and customer access can provide invaluable support to marketing and help fill the resource gap within the team.
Let’s take a dive into how they can help.
- Looking for new SEO terms?
Whatever keyword tool you use, sometimes you just can’t beat a human. And who better than the people who speak to customers on a daily basis? Sure the data doesn’t lie when it comes to search volume and other SEO metrics, but the starting base and evolution of any SEO strategy should always be your sales team for those key insights into what customers are actually searching for.
Even if there isn’t any search volume for these phrases, the work done will also support sales enablement materials that the sales team can use throughout their sales cycle – it’s a win-win!
- Need some support with content planning?
Creating content based on analytics is smart, but your sales team have their ears to the ground and will be a fantastic resource for discovering relevant topics.
On top of that, they can also assist with case studies, testimonials and success stories. By
identifying happy customers and teaming up with marketing, they’ll help you create compelling content that places your product/service as the solution.
- Want to nail your buyer personas?
We all know the value of well-defined personas; they can make or break a marketing strategy. Your sales team is a goldmine of on-the-ground experience that can refine those buyer personas. Their insights give you a deeper understanding of your ideal customer profile. And that means more impactful campaigns with spot-on messaging.
- Need to optimise your conversions?
Data analytics is a game-changer for campaign optimisation; however, data can only reveal so much of the story. Your sales team can closely monitor customer responses and the conversion rates driven by data. This gives them priceless insights into campaign effectiveness. They can pinpoint sales process bottlenecks, highlight improvement areas, and recommend tweaks to enhance conversion rates.
- Want to extend campaign reach
We all know the classic tactics of asking staff to like the company social media posts or add a banner to their email signature to promote a campaign. But your sales team will have multiple touchpoints with customers that you can use to increase awareness and drive campaign engagement.
For instance, a prospect might ignore a marketing email but may be more likely to engage if personally emailed by their sales contact with relevant content. By leveraging their relationships and networks they can add the personal touch which can make all the difference in a campaign.
It’s time to collaborate like humans
When it comes to maximising your resources and achieving more with less, don’t overlook the power of collaboration. By leveraging your sales team as an extended member of your marketing team, you’ll positively impact the overall performance of both teams. This collaborative effort aligns both teams towards the same goals, resulting in a win-win situation for everyone involved.