Sales & Marketing Management - January/Februry 2008 - (Page 14) SMART MANAGEMENT BY DAVID J. CICHELLI Should sales do marketing? It’s long past time to break down old divisions Y our first response to this question should be, of course, “No.” And with good reason: The dividing line between marketing and sales is clear. Marketing does marketing and sales does sales, right? Well, if you lead a sales department, you might want to reevaluate this division. DAVID CICHELLI IS THE SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE ALEXANDER GROUP IN SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. HE CAN BE REACHED VIA E-MAIL AT EDIT@ SALESANDMARKETING.COM. Think back to when you were a youth, looking at a map of the world. “Gee,” you probably thought, “it looks like Africa and South America share the same connecting sides of puzzle parts, but that can’t be.” Your uneducated mind dismissed the likelihood that these two great continents were actually, at one time, snugly connected. Later on, in fourth grade Geography, you learned that plate tectonics actually pulled these two great bodies apart and a big ocean now separates them. Does that sound like the marketing and sales functions at your company—two distinct entities separated by a large body of water? If so, don’t be alarmed; it’s natural. Be warned, however, that this division could be the basis of future failure if left unaddressed. Yes, sales should do marketing, and here’s why: Market segments (what marketing understands) will ACT! BY SAGE. SALESPEOPLE SWEAR BY IT. NOT AT IT. Get the most from your sales force. Give them the best. ACT! by Sage Premium is easy to use and flexible so it works the way you do. That’s why people love to use it. It’s part of why ACT! has been the best selling CRM software for over 20 years. And it’s not just for individual users. ACT! Premium is designed for sales teams and sales managers. Keep your numbers on track, your customers satisfied, and your salespeople happy. Get the CRM software people swear by, not at. For more info, go to www.act.com/swearbyit or talk to a CRM specialist at 1-866-421-7752. © 2008 Sage Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Sage Software, the Sage Software logo and Sage product and service names mentioned herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sage Software, Inc. or its affiliated entities. http://www.act.com/swearbyit http://www.act.com/swearbyit
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