Marketing vs. Sales
The difference between marketing and sales lies in how close you are to converting a potential customer to an actual customer. Marketing encompasses the strategies you use to reach new leads and generate interest in your business. Depending on your business, marketing could include:
Print, TV, or digital advertising Public relations Social media use and partnerships Relationship marketing Brand marketing Viral marketing Cold calling or emailing Direct mail
Sales are the process of actually convincing someone to buy from your business. Most of the time, these leads have been driven to you via marketing efforts. Your sales strategies may include:
One-on-one meetingsCold calls or warm callsNetworkingPromotional events or trade fairsRetail interactionDirect salesAbandoned cart emails
Cold, Warm, and Hot Leads
Turning a lead into a customer takes multiple points of contact. These can include any form of marketing, as well as social proof like recommendations from friends or online search results. As potential customers progress through these points of contact, they are referred to as cold, warm, and qualified leads.
Cold: Leads who are unfamiliar with your brand, have no opinion on it, or don’t intend to buy anything. You may know their contact information, but you haven’t yet started the process of turning them into a customer.Warm: Leads who have been exposed to some of your brand messaging or have heard about your business and are somewhat interested in buying. They may have followed you on social media or expressed interest in learning about your services.
Hot or Qualified: Leads who have a positive opinion of your brand, know what they would like to buy from you, and are close to making a purchase. They are ready to buy and need to be convinced that you are the best business to buy from.
Your marketing strategies guide cold leads through the stages necessary to becoming first warm and then qualified prospects. Sales techniques are what you use to close the deal and turn them into full customers.
Integrating Sales and Marketing
Integrating the work of your sales and marketing teams enables you to reach prospects at all three levels: cold, warm, and hot. If your sales and marketing teams are in different departments, those departments must communicate in order to be effective. Have them work together to create a comprehensive strategy for reaching prospects from all three categories of leads. Some possibilities include:
Cold lead strategy: Send out a direct mailing, run a digital ad, or sponsor a social media post.Warm lead strategy: Write a personal follow-up email, send out a sales letter, or invite leads to a special seminar or free training session. If your warm lead strategy creates a qualified lead, it’s time to proceed with closing the sale.Qualified lead strategy: Conduct a one-on-one call; schedule an in-person meeting; offer a time-limited discount; or present a proposal, estimate, or contract.
Balancing Marketing and Sales
Small businesses and startups may lack the staff for separate sales and marketing departments, relying instead on just one or two people to handle both responsibilities. While this can make it easier to create a comprehensive marketing and sales plan, it can also mean that more energy gets directed to one side of the equation. If your small business is having trouble balancing sales and marketing, invest the time and resources to learn about marketing materials, brand messaging, and sales tactics. When you and your staff feel equally skilled in both sales and marketing, you’ll be able to balance the two to create a process that reliably turns prospects into customers. Want to read more content like this? Sign up for The Balance’s newsletter for daily insights, analysis, and financial tips, all delivered straight to your inbox every morning!
