What the heck is 360° Selling?  Well, it is ensuring that the sales process in your company is aligned with other aspects of the business such as operations and marketing.  It is also ensuring that your company culture supports the efforts of the sales team.  What exactly do I mean by that?

Operationally: Ensuring that your operations can support what your sales team brings in.  If you are pushing sales, encouraging your sales team to “go sell a million widgets!,” your operations better be in tip top shape and able to produce those million widgets.  If not, your sales team is wasting their time.  Be honest with your sales team.  If your current operations can only support a certain threshold of sales, let them know.  It is better to not get a sale you know you can’t support than to sell it, not deliver, and lose the customer. 

Marketing: Ensuring your sales team’s message aligns with the rest of your marketing efforts.  This makes sure your sales team is delivering the message you want the world to see.  But it also reinforces your marketing message to your prospective customers.  So, make sure your sales team is aware of your new tag line, the fact that you have a print ad coming out, or have a new target audience.  Also, listen to your sales team’s feedback regarding what works and what doesn’t regarding your marketing message.  You may be surprised the insight they can bring to the table regarding this.  They are, after all, talking to your customers and prospective customers on a regular basis (or at least should be!).

Company Culture: There is often friction between the sales team and other departments of a company.  The sales team is seen as having too much freedom and too little accountability, frequently viewed as being on their own little island.  I think the key to this is to actively involve your sales team in other aspects of the business.  If you are really practicing 360° Selling, you will value their input and opinions regarding the operations and marketing directions of the company.   I suggest having a monthly team meeting where your sales people can interact with a representative of your operations and marketing teams so they can exchange ideas on improving each department.  Encourage open communication among the departments.  And if production worked overtime to get the product out on time or marketing came up with a kick ass campaign that resulted in an increase in viable leads for the sales team, then it is incumbent upon the sales team to say “thanks, great job.”

What is the difference between marketing and sales, you ask?  I know I have been asked that question many times so I thought I would answer it here.

First of all, your marketing and sales teams should be working closely together to make sure their messages align.  This is very important in 360° Degree Selling.™  Marketing is a support function of sales and is a big step in helping closing the sale.  Sales and Marketing are partners in the success of your business!

Having said that, what is the difference between marketing and sales?  Well, marketing creates awareness of your product or service.  It speaks to your target demographic.  Marketing also
creates noise, chatter, interest, followers, and fans.  It makes people want a product they didn’t
know they needed.  Or need a product they didn’t know existed…at least before it was marketed.  In other words, marketing creates a BUZZ.

Sales, on the other hand, makes your merchant account come to life!  It is finding the people that need
or want the product or service you are trying to sell.  It is negotiating and closing the deal.  It is fitting the solution to the people with the problem. Sales is the marrying of wants, needs, and desires with the
perceived viable solution.  Sales creates the BUY.

Buzz vs. Buy: What is your favorite marketing campaign and how did that influence your buying decision?