Rob Hendrickson

Wanted:
A new Vice President of Marketing AND Sales.

I’ve seen this title a thousand times and wonder if the person who created the position knows the difference between the two. I wonder if the person wearing the title knows?

I’ll bet that more often than not the answer is no.

Many companies (people) use the two terms interchangeably. When looking through the job postings on Craigslist, there are many, many listings for “marketing specialists” or “marketing professionals wanted”. Click through to the ad and what do you know… it’s a sales position. Pushing something door-to-door or making phone calls.

So, I’ve decided to give everyone a short primer because it is important to know the difference just like it’s important to know the difference between an OBGYN and a Dentist - especially if you just need a good teeth cleaning.

I could sum it all up in a couple of sentences, but let me set the stage so the impact is greater.

Marketing is a very broad and long-term process that provides brand value or capital as time goes on. It’s the ongoing evolution of your company’s or product’s reputation with the people who use them.

Sales is a more narrowly defined, short-term set of techniques that have a specific goal in mind… to get a potential customer to become a customer. Many of these techniques include persuasion, relationship building, education and consistent communication among many others.

Now, many people will point out the fact that good sales can take time and is a marketing function because it directs the reputation with the customer. I do not disagree. That is why it is a “part” of Marketing.

Marketing is an all-encompassing umbrella that includes a variety of divisions such as Advertising, Sales and customer service. Anytime you’re brand is visible to the outside public, it has a chance to affect the reputation and thus is a function of marketing.

But why the debate?

Well, because Sales is such an important aspect of business it often is confused with, or in many cases, overshadows the Marketing program.

Now, here is a simple explanation and a demonstration of why they are both important and need specific care.

Sales is your monthly income and Marketing is your Net worth.

You HAVE to have sales in order to pay the bills, the employees and the green fees. Specific Sales goals should be set for each day, week, month, year and so on. They can be measurable and somewhat predictable.

Marketing is a long-term strategy, set of brand guidelines and programs that influence the company’s reputation in a positive way, over time - which gives you brand strength which is brand value. (By the way, advertising, another marketing function, is effective in establishing brand “awareness” but not brand “strength” which is another subject.)

If you only focus on sales, you take the chance of building no long-term value in the brand. And we all know when one business buys another; it is the brand strength that creates the big price tag.