Part 7 of the series: A B2B CEO’s Guide to Navigating the COVID-19 Revenue Reality

Experience has shown that when sales and marketing are aligned in a strong partnership, they deliver more profitable revenue growth. I have seen this theory in action in subscription businesses, advertising businesses, and tech solutions companies, to name a few. And, if you have read all of the blogs to this point, you now have some insights about how to create this powerhouse one-two punch to effectively conquer your marketplace.

That said, your sales and marketing teams are looking for more than just a hearty handshake (well, in a non-pandemic idyll), pat on the back and recognition in the company newsletter as a reward. In good times and in bad, one motivator always tops the list – compensation.

To achieve true sales and marketing alignment, you will need to back up your vision with the appropriate type of compensation system to support it. Sales compensation is always tied to revenue performance. That is not always the case with marketing compensation. While the marketing function likely will have additional goals, sales and revenue performance must be a key component of the mix.

In some companies, the head of sales is often established as the sole owner of the revenue line, and they look to marketing as an internal supplier, rather than a partner. However, based on personal experiences and observed successes, it is clear that in higher-performing organizations the head of sales and the head of marketing operate with shared revenue accountability.

In the shared responsibility configuration, each leader brings a unique perspective to the table, and as a team, they grow the business. Often, the head of sales may not really understand the new and different ways that marketing can help achieve business goals. However, if they understand that their marketing partner is being measured on sales/revenue goals as well as other goals, there is a stronger tendency to collaborate and listen.

A couple of specific suggestions:

• Ensure a reasonable percentage of the head of marketing’s compensation is aligned with sales and business goals. I personally have been in roles where between 65 and 100 percent of my compensation was directly tied to business financial goal attainment — of which sales/revenue was always a major portion.
• Ensure your head of marketing is directly connecting marketing goals to business/sales performance goals, while still rewarding individuals for their respective functional performance. In some cases, the deeper you go into the marketing organization, the harder it will be to tie functional excellence directly to revenue. That being said, more marketing functions can and should tie a portion of their teams’ bonuses and performance ratings to business results, rather than just marketing metrics. Data supporting this point of view was shared in a 2017 TrackMaven Marketing Leadership Survey: “Almost 61 percent of marketers say their primary objective is to increase sales; however, only about 23 percent base employee compensation on revenue or closed business.”  

In this regard, your head of marketing needs to cascade business goals, including revenue, to each function of the marketing team in a way that makes sense for each marketing team member.

In our final blog, we will examine how to motivate your aligned sales and marketing teams for innovative thought during the prolonged impacts of the pandemic.