Unfortunately, many companies do not embrace the idea of marketing as they do the theory of "selling."

"Sales makes money. Marketing spends money." That's on old perception...one that is dangerous for today's competitive marketplace. Companies that sell on the merits of their salespeople alone are in for rough times and will never realize the sales strength and potential of the company that understands that marketing is crucial to its success.

Marketing sells the company as a whole. "Sales" sells the salesperson. How many companies fight to keep key clients when salespeople leave? That's because they've sold the salesperson, not the company and its products and services. Marketing builds a relationship built on the credentials and performance of the company. It builds a a relationship that is not threatened by the loss of a salesperson.

To market your company effectively, you must be willing to commit time and patience. Because marketing does not consistently produce instant gratification, it is sometimes viewed ineffective and a waste of resources after only a short time. But when we consider the cost of a marketing campaign that can reach 5,000 or 100,000 prospects in a matter of days or an instant and compare that to the cost and time it would take for a salesperson to personally visit the same people, it's easy to see the benefits of marketing. Sales is an expense, too, like anything else. In fact, some studies report that the average sales call costs the company over $200 each visit!

Successful companies incorporate both marketing and traditional sales in their overall campaign to promote the products and services of the company. Fortunate are the salespeople who have a campaign working in concert with their efforts so when a new prospect is approached he/she is familiar with the company. Fortunate is the marketing director who has salespeople enforcing their marketing message.

So the first step in devising your annual business plan is to re-think your ideas--your paradigms--about marketing and consider how they can impact your sales goals for the year.

Consider these questions in particular: Why do customers buy our products/services? How and how often do our customers hear from us? Are we getting as much new business as we would like? Could we sell more to existing customers?

If you would like to see improvement in any of these areas, give us a call. We can help you coordinate an entire plan or just a project.

Copyright Lauron Sonnier, 1999.

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