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Superhero Approved Marketing and Sales Orchestration Tips to Leverage Right Now

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March 4, 2022

4 mins read

Superhero Approved Marketing and Sales Orchestration Tips to Leverage Right Now

Superhero Approved Marketing and Sales Orchestration Tips to Leverage Right Now

There’s nothing quite as thrilling as a good superhero team-up. Individually, these heroes have their strengths and weaknesses; together, they’re nigh-unstoppable. Thor’s lightning powers up Iron Man’s suit. Batman’s brains combine with Superman’s brawn. Rocket Raccoon and Groot… And for us, there’s nothing quite like a marketing and sales orchestration match-up.

But you know how most of these movies start out with our heroes squabbling and throwing punches at each other? That’s where a lot of sales and marketing teams get stuck.

It’s high time to move on to the third act of this superhero movie, become a true team, and take out your most daunting foes.

To help with the process, Demandbase has formed a superhero team of its own. Through our acquisitions, we combined the powers of Engagio, InsideView, and DemandMatrix to create Smarter GTM™ powered by Account Intelligence. Then we asked experts in sales and marketing to team up with us for a thrilling comic-book adventure: The Superhero Adventures of DeeBee and the Intelligence League!

Here are a few key takeaways about sales and marketing orchestration and alignment from our superhero story.

Team up to sell directly to your highest-value accounts

The marketing department knows how to create amazing experiences for a target audience. The sales department knows what type of leads become the most valuable customers. Combine these two superpowers, and you have a laser-focused account-based marketing team.

“Start the sales process by selling directly to your best-fit, highest-value accounts,” says Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. She recommends that “your marketing and sales teams collaborate to determine who those customers are and how to create highly personalized buying experiences tailored to meet their pain points.”

This type of highly targeted, super-effective marketing can only happen with equal participation from the entire revenue team.

Foster communication to spark collaboration

Sales and marketing should have the same ultimate goals: Bringing in new business and inspiring repeat business and referrals. So why do they often work in silos, ignoring, resenting, or worse, competing with each other?

Sales enablement expert Pam Didner recommends a planning session exchange program to keep those lines of communication open. “One of the easiest ways to align sales and marketing is to invite each other to planning sessions: Have sales present at marketing planning sessions and vice versa,” she says. “During marketing’s planning sessions, teams can identify joint initiatives or sales can provide feedback on marketing campaigns and content planning.”

This type of collaboration takes some getting used to, of course. But it’s worth pushing through initial resistance and potential awkwardness to get to the ultimate goal: marketing and sales orchestration.

Team up on content strategy and execution

The sales team typically isn’t involved in the content planning process unless the content is specifically intended for sales enablement. Truthfully, your sales team may be less than interested in engaging the top of the buyer funnel — and marketers aren’t always eager to add more feedback into an already complex process.

But consultant Gerry Moran argues that sales and marketing alignment should start with collaboration on content. “Sales and marketing teams need to collaborate on content development, organic and paid social media plans, social selling programs, and SME development,” he says. “A brand-to-demand approach supported with educational content, social-selling skilled sales professionals, and internal influencers will help teams succeed.”

Start with shared goals for true integration

The next level up from sales and marketing alignment is integration. That is, the two teams may still be separate entities, but they’re working together with one strategy towards one set of goals.

“Goals need to be identified first and both sales and marketing should align all activities around those goals,” says Koka Sexton. “By focusing on integrating marketing and sales systems for better analysis, your teams will see the entire buyer’s journey. See how many opportunities there are and how fast they’re moving.”

Koka gets to the heart of why a sales and marketing team-up is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Each department on its own is deeply knowledgeable about a part of the customer journey. Together, you get a complete picture of how your customers choose your solution, who your most valuable audience is, and how best to reach them.

Every super team has an origin story

It took the Marvel Cinematic Universe four years to assemble their superhero team. Fortunately, your teams don’t have to deal with apocalyptic alien monsters or increasingly bloated special effects budgets. You can start bringing your team together today. You don’t need heat vision, super-speed, or fancy gadgets; you just need the old-fashioned superpowers of communication, collaboration, and innovation.

Capes and costumes are optional (but encouraged).

For more super advice from Earth’s Mightiest Sales and Marketing Experts, check out The Superhero Adventures of DeeBee and the Intelligence League!

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Justin Levy

Former Senior Director, Influencer Marketing & Head of Community, Demandbase

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