You’ve probably heard the old adage that everyone in an organisation from the mailroom to the boardroom is in some way or shape is a marketer, but what about sales? Is everyone also a salesperson, or in fact, do marketers also need to be salespeople?
As a marketer, I’ve always hated the generalisation that marketing equals sales – something I’ve experienced in many organisations I’ve worked at where Marketing, by default, is driven by Sales.
However, as a digital marketer in a city as stubbornly traditional as Adelaide, I’ve found that it has become really important for me to know how to sell, especially if I’m pitching an idea that isn’t just about a website. For most marketers, sales is a dirty word, but now more than ever it is important for them to know how to ‘sell’ if you’re going to get the job done.
Particularly if you aren’t at the CMO or Director level, sometimes the only way to get your ideas across the line (not to mention the support you’ll need to even get it off the ground) is to know how to sell it to them because without their buy-in, you can be certain your big idea will go down in flames.
But before you even think about telling the board all about how your idea is going to revolutionise the business and win you a tonne of customers, make sure you can at least answer these questions:
What objectives does it meet? – Show how it relates to tangible objectives and how it will help the business e.g. an increase in productivity, brand awareness or sales. If you can’t properly answer this one, you’re wasting everyone’s time. Even better, also show how it fits within the mission statement.
How will we get there? – No need to be too specific, but if you can’t be succinct or insightful explaining the steps you need to take then you probably shouldn’t even be pitching this idea.
What alternatives have you considered? – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Do your due diligence and make sure you have a good idea of what else is out there and why what you are proposing is the superior option.
What resources do you need? – Not only costs, but also what internal and external resources you will need. Whatever you do, don’t pitch it too low. It’s better to be conservative and come in under budget then to let costs blow out because you were too generous with your estimates.
How long is it going to take? – Pretty self explanatory. Don’t just know how long it will take to implement but also how long before it will be before you start showing some returns (then break even, and eventually profitable).
