How many different experiences does a prospect have with your business?

Your website, your reputation among your prospect’s peers, your sales team, social media, all your marketing efforts, your operations and customer service … so how many experiences does a prospect really have with your business?

Just one.

Every touch point all adds up to one experience in your prospect’s mind. And if your messaging isn’t aligned across every piece of this experience, it creates cognitive dissonance. That disconnect creates friction and slows down your sales cycle. Even worse, it can sabotage your sales force and cause you to lose the deal altogether.

“The top third of the sales cycle has gone away … the traditional sales process has evaporated.”

— John Neeson, co-founder of SiriusDecisions

Buyers are in control of the process now. And because they are doing their own research, your marketing must fill the role that traditional prospecting and consultative selling used to play. Your salespeople should be closing deals, not finding opportunities. Marketing should land you the first meeting. Sales should bring in the revenue.

• Organizations with tightly aligned sales and marketing functions experience 36% higher customer retention rates and 38% higher sales-win rates, according to a MarketingProfs report.
• Aligned sales and marketing organizations achieved an average of 32% annual revenue growth, while less aligned companies reported an average of 7% decline in revenue, according to Forrester Research.
• Firmly aligned sales and marketing operations in B2B organizations achieved 24% faster growth and 27% faster profit growth over a three-year period, a SiriusDecisions study.