Marketing and Sales Alignment: How One Demand Gen Executive Makes It Work
It is no secret that if Sales and Marketing have better alignment, the quality of leads that convert to opportunities usually increases significantly—in fact, better alignment can drive quality leads almost 40% higher.1 However, we see that only about 20% of our tech marketing and sales clients align their efforts effectively.
In our Demand Gen Marketing Series interview with Lesley Phillips at Egnyte, we learned that she and her team meet with its SDR pros weekly. This critical meeting is the opportunity to receive feedback on lead quality and performance, and also ensure that Sales has the information about the prospect they need to reach goals and make any necessary optimizations in real time. It’s not rocket science, as they say: The more information Sales has about a prospect pain point, the more effectively Sales can reach out to begin a dialogue. To ensure they deliver that intel to sales, Lesley and her team look for demand generation activities that enable a prospect to answer questions, engage with multiple pieces of content, and work with companies that share best practices for lead follow-up.
Here are a few insights from Lesley about strengthening the Sales and Marketing relationship:
- Partner with Sales throughout the funnel: Drive leads from top of the funnel all the way through to closing the pipeline.
- Agree on the targeted list to influence programs: Knowing more about the prospect helps set the salesperson up for success.
- Ensure solid communication during the handoff process: Give clear understanding of programs, what the prospect engaged with, and more to make sure the salesperson is prepared when engaging the prospect.
Egnyte uses Content Syndication, Lead Advance, Lead Engage and Waterfall from Activate. Lesley highlights programs that allow her to see the multiple touches that prospects complete before she hands them off to sales. Contact us to learn how Activate can help you equip your sales team with prospects to close the pipeline.
