Lisa Arthur has an important piece in Forbes.com that outlines five steps to build sales and marketing synergy. She explains that, while lead generation is important, "Demand and lead generation alone are not enough. Instead, you need a solid business strategy that will use both customer retention and new prospects to drive value and growth. That strategy must be market-focused, not just product-focused, and it must be integrated with other core business functions."
She continues by outlining five essential steps to build sales and marketing synergy. Certainly, these ideas can be helpful to everyone from the novice social media person to the more experienced executive like Brad Powers.
She ends the article by explaining that, "At times, B2B marketers today can feel like they’re running the gauntlet, facing new challenges every step of the way. But, don’t think of developing a strong working relationship with sales as just another obstacle you need to overcome. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Creating synergy between sales and marketing will help smooth the ride through today’s rocky marketing landscape, while driving value and growth for your company."
