8 min read

It’s a colossal mistake to think that salespeople and marketers are the same, but it’s hard to discern because both play a massive role in boosting revenue. And by definition, both professions aim to “promote” goods and services.
Their difference may confuse you but don’t worry. In this article, not only will you learn about the difference between salespeople and marketers, but you’ll also know why the two are essential for businesses, how expert salespeople sell, what methods great marketers use, and how both professions make plans.
The goal of a salesperson is to close deals, while marketers aim to increase brand awareness. A salesperson’s priority is to increase sales. Companies hire salespeople to sell products or services. That’s why they’re essential for businesses. How can a business thrive or even survive without sales, right?
But don’t get me wrong, a business also needs marketing just like sales.
Think of Apple. They’re not necessarily successful because they’re good at sales. It’s because they’re good at marketing, which increases their sales.
Marketers exist to make a product attractive, and they prioritize understanding customers. With their help, products or services can be sold quickly.
Think of a crucial basketball game. Your coach tells you to shoot the ball, yet you decide to pass it, which surprises your teammates as it’s not part of the plan. The same scenario happens when salespeople and marketers don’t work together. Separate goals occur and eventually lead to disaster.
A sales and marketing team needs to work together to improve lead generation and gross sales. When you align both groups, a company’s revenue growth increases efficiently. There’s an interesting term for making the sales and marketing team work together. It’s called smarketing.
The term “smarketing” refers to alignment between your sales and marketing teams created through frequent and direct communication between the two.
Hubspot
Improve communication in the workplace to make the sales and marketing team work together. This improvement allows salespeople to close deals more easily, but it also helps both teams understand what goal they should aim for — causing them to save time and effort.
It takes time to improve sales skills, but learning from sales experts allows you to be more efficient. Follow these five ways, and you’ll become a sales expert, too.
1. Don’t hard sell; do soft sell. It’s a costly mistake to be too pushy, yet new salespeople do this often. Be less aggressive instead. When you soft sell, it puts less pressure on customers and increases brand awareness simultaneously. Thus building the customer’s trust in your company.
Now, this isn’t to say hard selling is always wrong. There’s a time when you should hard sell. However, you have to know when to use this technique effectively.
2. Think like a doctor. What do doctors and great salespeople have in common? They ask questions. Doctors don’t recommend a product immediately. Apply this mindset when selling.
Don’t just offer a product without any information about the customer. It implies you only care about selling and not helping.
3. Less persuading, more influencing. Persuasion is a paradox. The more you try to convince customers, the less they get interested in the product/service. To be influential in sales, emulate their body language.
4. Focus on helping the customers. Don’t overthink about closing the deal. This approach builds trust and makes the customers feel you’re really helping them and not just eyeing their cash. Be genuine during this process. Once you’re customer-focused, you don’t need to persuade customers to increase sales. Selling becomes easier.
5. Understand your customer’s perspective. Not only does this help you empathize, but it also gives clarity when selling. You’ll figure out what sales strategies are annoying and what are effective. For example, think about someone aggressively talking to you about a product. How would you feel? Consider this tip whenever you’re making sales. It works miracles.
Not all salesmen are CEOs, but most CEOs make great salespeople. An epitome is Howard Schultz. He started as a salesman at Xerox. What made him successful was his knack for building relationships — a common trait of great salespeople. And because of this trait, he discovered Starbucks.
Another proof that salespeople create future CEOs is Mark Cuban. Most people know him as an owner of the Dallas Mavericks. But before owning an NBA team, he sold different products, even during his younger years. His failures in selling taught him how being good at sales produces successful businesses. A lesson that made him who he is today.
If it’s your company and you can’t sell, you’re not going to be in business long.
Mark Cuban at Black Enterprise (2018)
Be strategic to become a better marketer. What separates great marketers from bad ones is their outlook on marketing execution. Great marketers ask the right questions when creating a marketing plan, allowing their company to stand out.
Creativity also breeds better marketers. From inspiring marketing campaigns to witty ones, this determines great marketers. Achieve this skill by trying out new ways to do the same thing.
A creative style ensures your efforts capture the audience’s attention and, eventually, help increase sales.
Now, have you ever heard of guerilla marketing? It’s simply an unconventional way to promote goods and services. It’s the result of achieving creativity in marketing.
An example would be how an energy drink company placed empty cans in trash bins to give the illusion of popularity. The result? Red Bull did become famous.
Data analytics is essential in marketing as it predicts consumer behavior and improves business decision-making. According to Villanova University, marketers agree with this statement, as 29% of them in the U.S consider marketing analytics as beneficial for sales.
If you have no idea about data analytics, watch this video to get a glimpse of how to learn it properly:
By making marketing data-driven, companies also save money since analyzing the data tells them what’s working and what isn’t. This approach allows companies to budget appropriately and prevent wasted efforts. Imagine putting a lot of cash and effort in exchange for nothing. That’s what happens without data analytics.
As stated by Talend, the three big data you need for marketing are the following:
A sales plan has different objectives from a marketing plan. The former is designed to turn prospects into customers, while the latter prioritizes the methods to better engage with prospects. With that said, here’s a table to show what both plans should contain:
What’s Included in a Sales Plan? | Why Is It Included in a Sales Plan? |
Buyer Persona | Allows salespeople to identify what type of customer they’ll be dealing with at most |
Target Revenue | It gives clarity on what the sales plan should achieve |
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) | It helps determine whether sales activities are practical or not |
Action Plan | Ensures the team knows how they’re going to do to achieve sales goals |
Sales Tools | Describes what your sales team will use to sell easier |
What’s Included in a Marketing Plan? | Why Is It Included in a Marketing Plan? |
Target Market | Enables marketers to focus on an audience likely to buy products or services |
Market Research | Provides essential information about a specific market |
Marketing Budget | Prevents overspending and unnecessary costs |
Competitive Analysis | Assists in recognizing how to improve your marketing plan |
Metrics | Tracks your marketing effort’s performance in a quantifiable way |
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