Marketing and sales are not the same. Formal definitions of each function are listed below:
Marketing: According to the American Marketing Association Board of Directors, “Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and process for
creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offeringsthat have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
Selling: According to Dictionary.com, the verb “selling” is defined as “1. To engage in selling something. 2. To be on sale. 3. To offer something for sale. 4. To be employed
to persuade or induce others to buy, as a salespersonor a clerk in a store. 5. To have a specific price; be offered for sale at the price indicated. 6. To be in demand by buyers. 7. To win acceptance, approval, or adoption.”Related:
Looking to Raise Assets? Avoid These Top 10 Detours on the Road to AUMMarketing refers to the process of creating and communicating a brand, the firm’s story and its offering(s). Sales refers to the physical presence of a firm in front of, visually or vocally, the target audience, with a focus on closing business.When firms separate marketing and sales, the resources may be deeper as they are by design more dedicated, but often they don’t work well together. Managers must consider how they will accomplish efficient and effective marketing, and how they will accomplish efficient and effective sales concurrently.Whether the answer is a single resource to do both, or a combination approach, it is important to acknowledge that marketing and sales are different, yet must work seamlessly together to
put the firm’s best foot forward.
