Sales and Marketing Alignment Webcast

Looking for research and commentary about sales & marketing alignment,  I think you will find this webcast presented by the American Marketing Association (AMA), called For Better or Worse. Marketing and Sales Conflict Can Actually Produce Positive Results useful. It was presented today, but you can view it anytime.

"AMA and University of Florida will debut the findings of a recent Marketing and Sales Alignment survey that amazingly shows how conflict between marketing and sales departments, if managed well, can actually contribute to more positive results."

Some of the things mentioned seem intuitive or obvious by experience but it was good to see some research behind it. Sometimes we feel emotional as marketing or sales folks...and we know there is a difference in perspective, but don't know how to dig through the emotions to the real problems. This webcast identifies very specifically different mindsets and values  between sales and marketing (according to the study) that bring about such conflict. It also provides insight into what can be done to resolve them. It also talks about how some amount of conflict is good, and can lead to positive change for individuals, the groups, and the business as a whole.

You'll see  characteristics and mechanisms of best practice companies in terms of aligning sales and marketing such as joint meetings, cross functional teams, use of coordinators, job rotations, and tradeshows.

Watch this webcast for more information on this research.

Also, visit the AMA Marketing & Sales Alignment site for more information, webcasts and shows on Demand Generation, Sales Effectiveness, and Customer Messaging.