Marketing and sales can often seem like siblings: They live under the same roof, but are constantly at loggerheads. This dynamic can force company executives to play 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.” You should also consider these suggestions from the new FuelNet Smart Paper Effective Sales Techniques: How to Sell in Boom Times or a Recession:

• Develop a common strategy. Sales and marketing can easily clash without a set of guiding principles that takes each group’s concerns 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.

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• Bring them together. In some companies, 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.”
• Keep sales in the loop. Solicit salespeople’s input early in the marketing process, not only to help develop effective materials but also to avoid 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.”
• 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.
• Make both departments accountable to the same person. Conflicts between sales and marketing are accentuated when it’s unclear who is making 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.”
• 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.

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