Winning Teams Know The Secret

Winning teams know the secret. You’ve seen it: Thorough preparation. Game plan memorized. Players executing with precision. Communication without words. Everyone moving in the same direction. Passes thrown and caught by an open man downfield. Cheering fans. Dynasty predictions.

Sound like your Sales and Marketing team?

Unlikely. Sales and Marketing fight so much you’d almost think they’re on opposing sides. Handoffs look pretty ugly, but not a surprise when you see how independently they operate. Plans are made, budgets approved and work completed in almost complete isolation. I should know—I’ve spent the last twenty-five years in sales and marketing. From firsthand experience I know what it takes to win and, sadly, what leads to defeat.

Losing teams are easy to spot

There’s ego and infighting. The clock is their enemy, skinny player depth, no one knows their assignment, a non-existant game plan and poor field position. Translation: In the void of leadership, ideas and teamwork, they run out of time, money, and market share.

Winning teams?

Sure they use every opportunity to score, are constantly on the lookout for new ideas and ways to exploit competitor weaknesses, but what sets them apart? Their leaders have energized everyone to break down the hurdles in the sales cycle to get the ball across the [revenue] goal line. Call it Sales Readiness, Effectiveness or Efficiency, the whole organization shares the mission and knows what to do if the ball comes to them. Flurries of activity are never confused with solid play that advances the ball.

Marketing is the vehicle that energizes the entire team to move a prospect or customer from one sales process stage to the next.

Why I wrote the Marketing Playbook

I want to give leaders a lot of ideas and common ground to get Marketing and Sales on the same page. Designed for a specific phase in the selling process, each single-page Play includes a visual example, coaching points, recommendations and typical costs. Most Plays can be adapted for any size company or non-profit organization and target customer.

For accomplished marketing executives who are old hands at growing revenue by leveraging marketing, I’m hoping you’ll utilize the Plays as a way to refresh and rejuvenate your thinking. Maybe there are some things that you have been recommending to the marketing advisory board that just never get funded. Perhaps this book can provide you with the necessary ammunition to get the budget you need to get something started.

For a few topics, I’ve asked others to be my assistant coach. These marketing professionals are top-rated all stars. Each of them, like me, have not only seen a particular Play in action, they’ve been on the front lines getting it implemented. They know the gotchas, the pitfalls, the timing and the costs.

Bottom line: These Plays are not written by an academic or pundit that has spent their career on the sidelines. These are the real deal.

Your Own Marketing Playbook

As you develop your own Marketing Playbook, your Play selection will depend on your company, competitors, timing and wallet. It’s okay if your Playbook contains just a few simple ideas and elements, but whichever you decide to run, test them first. Then commit. There is nothing worse than marketing that is a collection of hodgepodge ideas and a plan that is executed when someone “gets around to it.” When this is the case, you’re wasting money and the most precious resource of all, your time.

The clock is ticking. Call a time out and get started immediately.

John M. Fox
President, Venture Marketing