A Fortune 250 B2B company spent a quarter of a million dollars trying to solve the wrong problem.
When Sales and Marketing Aren’t Aligned, Both Suffer
Research highlights three dangers in particular.
June 01, 2018
Summary.
Marketing and sales departments often set their strategies, and goals, separately from each other. Research on B2B sales management has found that in particular, a common problem is lack of alignment around product pricing and sales force compensation strategies. This both demotivates salespeople and inadvertently encourages them to sacrifice company profits to meet their own goals. Companies could benefit from early involvement and collaboration with the members of the sales force during initial discussions of product strategy, otherwise they may fall prey to the dangers that can result from misaligned goals.
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New!
HBR Learning
Marketing Essentials Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Marketing Essentials. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to communicate with your customers—strategically.