Marketing and sales can often seem like siblings: They live under the same roof, but are constantly at loggerheads. This can force company executives into the uncomfortable role of peacekeeper — always a challenge. “The trick,” says Jay Lipe, author of The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses, “is to get each group to recognize their codependence while appreciating their differences.” Here are some suggestions for how to go about it:

1. Develop a common strategy. Sales and marketing can easily clash without a set of guiding principles that takes each group into account. To limit conflicts, clearly articulate where marketing and sales fit in the company’s strategic communication plan. “The company’s strategy has to be well communicated and well understood so that sales and marketing don’t head off in different directions,” says Rob Waite, president and CEO of Metal Sales Manufacturing Corp. in Louisville, Ky.

2. Bring them together. Far-flung sales and marketing personnel rarely see one another. If possible, get them to meet regularly, or have marketing accompany salespeople on important calls. Building a sense of camaraderie can help smooth over any differences. “You get angry with a stranger who cuts you off on the highway,” says Robbie Kellman Baxter of Peninsula Strategies, a consulting firm in Menlo Park, Calif. “But you’re less likely to get angry if someone you know does the same thing.”

3. Keep sales in the loop. Solicit salespeople’s input early in the marketing process, not only to help develop effective materials but also to head off misinformation. “I was once involved in developing a brochure where sales wasn’t consulted,” Lipe recalls. “Sales didn’t understand the brochure and they repudiated it in public when we rolled it out. It was embarrassing.”

4. Think customization. While it’s unrealistic to expect marketing to develop new materials for each and every sales account they work on, leave some wiggle room for customization. “One Fortune 500 client of mine designs materials with standardized text, and then leaves some sections blank,” Lipe points out. “The local sales rep can then ‘crash imprint’ customized information into these blank spaces to address an account’s unique situation.”

5. Respect how each group works. When marketing seeks to collaborate with sales, be sure the timing is right. “I once visited a poorly performing sales region,” Lipe recalls. “The trouble was, I went on the last day of a sales cycle. Nobody was interested in talking with me.” When scheduling, take into account how both groups work; after the two sides communicate, sales should let marketing finalize all marketing materials.

6. Make them accountable to the same person. Conflicts between sales and marketing are accentuated when it’s unclear who’s making the key judgment calls. “There has to be one ultimate sales and marketing decision maker,” Waite says. “The larger the company, the greater the chance of there being two or more people to answer to. It’s important to consolidate that into one position.”

7. Streamline incentives. Waite recommends implementing a common bonus program to help eliminate the feeling of working at cross-purposes. He says his firm employs a simple bonus program — total operating income divided by the same bonus percentage for both sales and marketing.

8. Track everything. Closely monitor the entire sales process, including the marketing materials disseminated to prospects (an easy job with customer relationship management software). That way, you can quickly pinpoint and address any problems that might arise with a minimum of finger-pointing.

9. Fire bad apples. Inevitably, there are those few marketers and salespeople who seem more like they belong in a professional wrestling ring than at the same company. If conflicts cannot be resolved, consider cutting someone loose. “Even a star who creates bad vibes is probably going to do more damage [than good],” Baxter says.

10. Don’t take things personally. Regardless of whether you work for marketing or sales, some of your pearls of wisdom may fall on deaf ears. Instead of blowing a fuse, chalk it up to differences in approach. As Lipe puts it, “View it like a lecture. The person listening will [decide] what information he [values] and what he doesn’t.”

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