Sales and marketing leaders, like the rest of us, come in a multitude of personality types. But only a handful of distinctive styles have emerged within the leadership ranks of each of these disciplines. And the two groups of styles are different. Understanding those differences is key to figuring out what makes them tick and how to work effectively with each other.
In the case of sales and marketing, however, there is another important factor in achieving alignment. It's that there are major structural differences between the two disciplines which overlay the personal differences of their leaders. Their corporate charters, cultures, competencies, work activities and compensation models are distinctly different. Even though as members of the same organization they share similar goals, the differences in personal style between sales leaders and their counterparts in marketing can lead to challenges in getting them to work well together. Misunderstandings, incompatible processes, and conflicting priorities can sabotage the overriding interest in success they hold in common.
The personal differences of their leaders are often compounded by these institutional differences. But a measure of insight into the character of those leaders can be instrumental in developing an approach to successfully align the two disciplines.
One useful way of differentiating individual leadership styles is through the use of archetypes – personality prototypes initially advanced by Carl Jung in the early 20th century. Understanding someone's archetype not only helps explain their perspectives, but also their motivations. In aligning sales and marketing, understanding the archetypes of their respective leaders is a critical first step in figuring out to get them to work better together.
Among sales leaders, three archetypes are particularly useful: Thinker, Blamer and Junkie.
The Thinker is reflective – focused as much on the how and why as on the results. They want to understand the process, how it impacts their team, and when they can expect initial results.
Blamers, on the other hand, believe their teams are already doing the best they can – within the available resources. When Sales misses its revenue objectives, Blamers point to others, most likely marketing.
For the Junkie, it's all about the thrill of the deal. Anything that slows down the hunt or the deal frustrates them. They believe Marketing doesn't understand that any activity that does not produce ready-to-close leads is a waste of time and precious resources.
Identifying the sales leader's archetype helps his or her peers understand their view of the world and how to approach them with a new idea.
Like Sales, Marketing is also part process, part art, part science. As in Sales, Marketing has three distinctive leadership archetypes. We call them Egoist, Strategist and Tactician.
The Egoist's focus is on branding and shaping mindshare. A master storyteller, the Egoist has a flair for media relations and public speaking. As leaders, however, Egoists are usually neither detailed nor process oriented. They delegate. In the right environment, an Egoist can galvanize a company to achieve significant accomplishments. But their lack of interest in the details of enabling sales is a significant barrier.
The Tactician is the opposite of the Egoist. Detail-oriented and goal-directed, the Tactician's focus is on making sure that all parts and programs are functioning optimally. However, Tacticians, lack the ability to understand the 'bigger' picture and adjust to it. They need help to identify new trends and develop strategies in response. But tacticians are natural partners in sales and marketing alignment, which fits their desire to optimize processes and results. The third marketing archetype is Strategists, who balance strategy with tactics. They are adept at evaluating company and market strategy, aligning the two, and then actualizing the strategy. They frequently involve other groups, including sales. Strategists delegate to cross-functional teams and rely on metrics to manage results. Strategists are strong proponents of sales-marketing alignment and often help bring that about.
For every combination of archetypes in a company's sales and marketing leadership positions, there are strategies of approach, emphasis, expectation, and mindset which can be used to bridge those differences. And the place to begin is by looking at the issue at hand through the prism of the other individual's archetypical world view.
Thanks to Christine Crandell - Outside the Box / Blogs Forbes
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