Despite the fact that sales and marketing work closely together, the two departments are often at odds with one another. In this post, we discussed why the sales team hates the marketing team. Today, we’ll explore the other side of the coin: why the marketing team hates the sales team.
Marketing hates Sales because they feel Sales doesn’t follow through
Marketing professionals are often angry with sales professionals because they feel like Sales don’t walk their talk. They feel as if the sales team will generate leads and then do nothing afterward. Lead generation is imperative for a company’s success, and it’s incredibly important for the sales team to follow up on their leads. The marketing team’s job is to bring attention to a company, product, or service. It’s the sales team’s responsibility to follow up on people that inquire about services and seek out people that could benefit from them. If leads get lost in the ether, it can skew the data that the marketing team needs to see if a campaign is successful or not. It can also make a company’s marketing team look terrible, when in fact they’re not doing anything wrong.
Marketing hates Sales because they think Sales gets to wine and dine clients while they do all the hard work
Marketing involves a lot of time sitting at desks, looking at data, and doing research. Marketing professionals usually have higher degrees in marketing and are constantly learning new industry standards to stay ahead of the curve. When they see salespeople not strapped to their desks and possibly having nothing more than a high school diploma and people skills being successful, they can grow resentful.
In the process of generating leads, the marketing team may feel like the sales team might exaggerate certain aspects of the product or service and then leave it up to the marketing and customer support teams to take the heat when customers are upset. Customer support gets yelled at by clients not getting what they were promised and Marketing gets berated by the boss for failed campaigns. Meanwhile, the sales team gets to enjoy dinner meetings, traveling around the country, and the perks of meeting with potential clients. This can cause some bitter feelings.
Marketing hates Sales because they think Sales get all the credit
At the end of the quarter, if a business is successful, the sales team is typically lauded with praise for their leads. This can make Marketing feel indignant towards Sales. After all, if it weren’t for the effort they put into the marketing campaigns, the sales team would’ve had a much harder time selling things. It can be looked at like a play. If the sales team are the actors, then the marketing team is the backstage crew that created the scenes and lighting. Neither can be successful without the other, but the stagehands seldom get praise or prestige because they’re not in the spotlight.
Marketing hates Sales because they think Sales is better paid
Marketers typically have a salary or hourly pay while sales reps typically have a base rate plus commission. This can be a major source of discontent for the marketing team. As mentioned in point two, marketing professionals usually have a degree of some sort in the marketing field. They also put in a lot of time and effort to ensure a successful marketing campaign. When they see the sales team not only enjoying the benefits of courting potential customers but also getting commission with possibly only a high school diploma, they can grow incredibly resentful. This can end up splitting into two paths of thought: either the business doesn’t value the marketing team enough to pay a comparable wage, or the sales reps are money hungry and inauthentic when approaching potential leads. Either way, this can spell disaster for a business. When two integral departments are at war with one another, it can cause the breakdown of the entire company.
Marketing hates Sales because they think Sales doesn’t understand the strategy
Marketers are incredibly methodical when it comes to what they do. They create campaigns based on data, trends, historical information, and current events. They have a strategy for every campaign, and sometimes they feel like it’s gone completely over the heads of the sales team. When making a campaign, Marketing selects what target demographic they’re going for, and they get frustrated when Sales aims outside of that demographic because it messes up the campaign strategy. Sales may also not understand why Marketing is doing what they’re doing, and instead of asking for clarification, may overlook the strategy altogether. This can make the marketing team feel disgruntled because it feels like all of their hard work was pointless.
Even though the war between Sales and Marketing will probably continue until the end of time, both sides need to realize they’re at fault. A business can’t be successful without both, and they need to work together for that success to come to fruition. While friendly rivalry is always a fun motivator for teams, full-on hostility is detrimental not only to the teams but to the entire business. It’s easy to become defensive when one feels their livelihood is being attacked, but it’s imperative to look beyond that and see the bigger picture. Ask questions. Learn from one another. Instead of jumping to conclusions and leaning on assumptions, take the time to actually listen.
