Sales Vs. Marketing. What’s The Difference?
Sales and marketing are two business functions within a business that ultimately converts to lead generation and revenue.
Marketing is typically the first initiative. A lot of brands use marketing to attract leads and prospects to a company. Sales, on the other hand, is more direct as it reinforces the value of the particular product or service the company has to offer and what the prospect would be missing out on if they do not take the offer presented by the company/brand.
So, while both terms might sound different because of the similarities in terms of functionalities, they work hand-in-hand in the new marketing age. For example, if the marketing effort of ABC Drinks is to create brand awareness about their new product in the market; then, they must explain the USP (Unique selling proposition) of their product.
The sales function, on the other hand, is to complement the marketing efforts and compel people to buy the products. Essentially, sales involve selling the goods and services a brand has to offer while marketing centres on getting people interested in the goods and services been sold.
Therefore, it is a marketer’s job to constantly research to find out new trends that would attract customers (both existing and potential ones) to choose and stay loyal to a brand, while the sales team focuses on leveraging the relationship between the business and its customers, as well as using other strategies to convert the prospects into paying customers.
While Sales might use strategies such as:
- Cold Calling.
- Using a sales funnel (using a sales magnet. E.g. Using a free item such as an e-book or cheat sheet to capture the attention of the consumer).
- Discovery meetings/Presentations.
Marketing, on the other hand, uses the following:
- E-mail Marketing.
- Blog posts.
- Podcasts.
While the points listed above highlights the similarities and differences between sales and marketing, it would be completely impossible to have one unit function without the other in an organization.
Both business functions are needed to achieve a healthy and functional system in every company, especially in terms of revenue generation.
