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Sales vs Marketing

BY ERIC MCMULLEN

Sales and marketing. The two words are usually only separated by a forward slash, but are they really that similar? Especially in small businesses, we often lump them together and assume both areas are covered. In 2019, there are more differences between the two practices than ever before and it is important to recognize this if you want your business to last longer than you.

Marketing

Budgeting, planning, advertising, analyzing… In short, marketing is taking a product or service and promoting it to as many buyers as possible at a price they will pay. All of this occurs before the sales process begins and is done without sales in mind. Marketing tactics are based on what you are passionate about, what you can be the best at, and what drives your business (Good To Great by Jim Collins).

Sales

Educating a customer. Convincing a customer that the time to buy is now. Building value. Changing the rules to lock in a sale. Building relationships. Asking for the sale. These are sales tactics. Sales is an extension of marketing and exists to reach the goals set forth by your marketing plans. It is more important than marketing but should never exist without it unless you are hosting a going out of business sale. Sales tactics are based on what it takes to add one more notch on your sales chart.

In short, marketing is planning and sales is executing. This may seem obvious, but what does this mean for you? It means the more planning you do, the less sales you will need to achieve the same results. It means you need to be exploring the hundreds of different digital marketing tactics available in the 21st century to find which ones work for you. Then make a plan to keep them going! The best place to begin is Facebook. Build a campaign, select your demographics, set up your Pixel, start slow, and grow! Don’t get lost in the sales catch-up game month after month.

Eric McMullen is the marketing coordinator at Team Winnebagoland, a premium midwest dealer, where he manages all marketing efforts for powersports and marine. With backgrounds in marketing, media production, and automotive, Eric brings an exciting twist to powersports and is redefining the industry with groundbreaking digital marketing techniques.

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