The lack of alignment among sales, marketing, and the customer’s acquisition process is a topic with which companies regularly battle. Marketers face increasing pressure to provide sales with content that meets a specific need at a specific point in the sales cycle. However, in today’s economy, marketers need to have a razor-sharp focus on reducing customer acquisition costs and increasing sales efficiency. This means that marketers need to shift from supporting, to enabling the sales team.

In this report, ITSMA examines how companies are aligning sales and marketing and enabling sales (and/or business development professionals).

Key Takeaways

• Sales and marketing need to be on the same team
• Marketing can have greater impact by decreasing the sales cost per order dollar
  (CPOD = Sales Cost ÷ Booked Revenue)
• Many talk about accelerating sales leads through the sales cycle, but few do it well
• Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and lead nurturing programs should be more effective
• Using ITSMA’s Sales Enablement Performance Assessment, approximately half the companies in the survey can be classified as higher performance

Study Methodology

• Online Web-based survey
• Survey invitations were emailed during July 2009 to ITSMA member and select nonmember companies
• 35 representatives from 31 companies responded
• ITSMA analyzed the data three ways:
  • Type of Company
    • Sells both products and services
    • Primarily sells service
  • Size of the Services Business
    • Less than $1B in Services Revenue
    • Equal to or More than $1B in Services Revenue
  • Marketing Sales Enablement Performance Index (based on ITSMA’s
    Sales Enablement Assessment)
    • Higher performers
    • Average or below average

This report is available for sale at member and nonmember prices.

• See if your company is an ITSMA member
• Email ITSMA for more information