In my last post, I discussed why Marketers need to regularly ride with their Sales Team to call on prospects and clients. Essentially, there is no substitute for direct interaction with your target audience to help you build solid customer-centric marketing programs.
Now for the added benefit – you get to spend a lot of unstructured time with your sales people.
Sales talent are the eyes and ears of your company. They know and see things that can help you develop better products, find stronger sales points, identify issues trending in importance, and peg moves the competition is making.
Riding with sales people allows Marketers to
ask, listen, and collect this wisdom
Marketers, step in and fill the knowledge gap. Everyone wins. You get insight that helps you develop better marketing plans. The sales people feel valued for their intel, plus they feel they are “being heard.” The Sales Director gets kudos for how useful and informed his team is. And the company makes more money.
Here are 6 slightly irregular questions you can use when talking with Sales People in the field. (I like “irregular thinking.” It opens you to new ideas and opportunities to re-frame your world view.)
- What surprised you on that call?
- Who do you think will call on “Mr. X” tomorrow? What will be his pitch? Will it work?
- When thinking about who could steal this account, who do you fear most? Why?
- What’s the competition offering that will catch Mr. X’s eye?
- What’s Mr. X been talking about most? Why does that matter to him?
- If I could deliver to you just one new sales/marketing tool, what would you want?
Want one more benefit? The rapport you develop with the Sales Team. You’re building trust and familiarity with them. Now, you’re no longer “that marketing guy in the home office” who’s trying to push some agenda. That works wonders for creating effective Sales and Marketing Team Alignment.
What marketing benefits have you experienced by getting out in the field with your Sales Team?