Sales vs marketing: how the two teams differ

Put simply, Sales is the department that sells and brings in revenue. Marketing is a different way of working toward the same goal, influencing the market and users through advertising and promotion. Both are important, with different tasks and different ways of working. This article from MONA Media will help you understand in more detail how Sales and Marketing differ. With this information, you can decide more easily whether to invest more in Sales or Marketing.

What Sales and Marketing are

Sales is the term for the selling side of a business. Salespeople meet customers, advise them and persuade them to use the company's products and services. A salesperson needs deep knowledge of the products, the services and the company, and is the one who delivers them directly to customers.

Marketing is the department that studies customers. It collects information and learns about customers' habits and needs. Based on that data, the team plans advertising and promotion across media channels, online marketing, website development and more, to spread the brand to users. When this works well, it raises the company's reputation and reaches more potential customers, which makes selling easier for the Sales team.

How Sales and Marketing differ

Sales and Marketing differ in many basic ways, from how they work to their goals and scale. Here are the clearest differences between them that you should know:

1. Sales and Marketing have different tasks

The Marketing team usually starts its strategy once there is a product. It defines the target customers and advertising channels and comes up with ideas to promote the product and the brand. This work has to be done first. In this phase, promotions and marketing campaigns run continuously. Only when the product has spread across the online market and many customers know it is it launched.

Then the Sales team starts to run seminars and trade fairs, product sampling and sell the product to the market. At this stage the company needs to train and recruit excellent staff who communicate well and know the products and services, so they can “flood” the market. Sales has one final goal: selling the product for the highest revenue.

Put simply, Marketing promotes and shapes the market. Marketing builds sales prospects and expands the market for the future. This team creates brand awareness and introduces the product to a wider audience. Sales, on the other hand, takes the service to market through its best staff. The two departments are related, but they work in completely different ways. They meet at marketing funnel: marketing pulls customers in, and sales closes them out.

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2. Sales and Marketing have different purposes

The Marketing team specializes in publications, advertising and market promotion. It spreads the brand, products and services in many ways. Marketing spending is usually much higher than Sales spending, and company revenue depends heavily on the timing of marketing and the promotion methods used.

The Sales team accounts for about 35 to 45% of sales, while 53% to 70% comes from marketing strategies. That is why every field today, from consumer goods to services and entertainment, takes the marketing stage of reaching the market very seriously.

Marketing is the best way to stir people's minds, create the desire to own something and spread the brand. Without marketing, the Sales team cannot perform as well as hoped.

Marketing uses strategies to optimize conversion rate through channels such as Facebook advertising services, Google Ads or website optimization. Sales, on the other hand, uses software to manage orders and track how many products salespeople sell to the market.

-> See more: How to close sales effectively and raise revenue

3. They differ in how they work

Marketing uses many ways to reach the market. For example, email marketing, personalizing ads down to individual social pages and phone numbers. It can also create groups to advertise on social networks and forums. Marketing also expands the website and puts its information on every active marketing channel in the market.

Information about products and services spreads both in the real world and in the online market. Buyers reach out and pass the brand on to people around them. Marketing in particular researches the market well and understands customer psychology. It uses promotions and wording to bring consumers' desire for the product to its highest point. Website design and web content creation also fall under online marketing.

Salespeople persuade customers through direct communication and online consultation. They need knowledge of the products and services, and training in both communication and the product. Salespeople also usually need a pleasant appearance and an engaging voice, which a marketing team may not need.

Marketing sets product prices, distribution locations and promotions. The Sales plan targets the market and sets up the sales structure to get the best results. The two are related but work at different scales.

4. Sales and Marketing work at different scales

Marketing's goals are broader. It aims to grow profit and satisfy every customer need, and it gives customers more detailed information about products and services. Marketing has a wide scope and is researched and developed continuously.

For Sales, the core goal is to increase profit from selling products. They help customers get hands-on with the actual product. Both fields are important and depend on each other.

Everyone wants to succeed and make good money, but in Vietnam business, sales and marketing are still topics people tend to avoid. Many people do not understand the roles of Sales and Marketing, which leads to confusion or unfair judgments about their work. The video below gives a more realistic view of business thinking, so you can better understand how Sales and Marketing differ inside a company.

So should you focus on Sales or Marketing?

Sales and Marketing both exist to find potential customers and generate revenue for the company.

Sales needs strong communication and persuasion so customers buy. A good salesperson can handle every customer, from the easygoing to the most difficult. The goal is to sell professionally and raise revenue as high as possible.

Marketing shapes the market so that Sales has an easier job. Good marketing helps customers recognize the brand and trust it in advance, so when the product launches it is rated more highly.

In short, a business should invest in both marketing and sales. Build professional Marketing and Sales teams so they drive the company's growth together. If Marketing is not pushed forward, Sales will need more time and people to reach customers and earn their trust.

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Marketing and Sales are two important links in reaching customers. Connect Sales and Marketing to get the best results. You cannot rank one above the other; you need to invest in both. You can contact MONA and we will support you with professional online marketing. We can help you spread your brand, position it and build trust in today's online market.