Start with your goal, not the solution.
How you ask for help goes a long way to ensure you'll actually get it.
We were having a meeting with one of our sales team. They came in and said they wanted to run webinars and publish content.
After chatting about why they wanted these things, they told us about their ambitious pipeline goals for the year.
After thinking a little bit about their goals, I wondered if what they were asking was really going to move the needle.
I shared my concerns and proposed other solutions but they were so attached with their initial idea that they weren’t listening.
The way you ask for help goes a long way to make sure that you get help.
Marketing & Sales tend to work in their silos. But if you really want to have impact, you need to work together.
For that to happen, you need to spend some time explaining your problems and avoid jumping to solutions too quickly.
Recognize they have an expertise
Marketing sounds easy. Until you need to create a strategy and execute it. Sales sounds easy. Until you have to present a product in words that speak to your buyers and negotiate a contract.
People dedicate their entire life to master their craft. These fields are highly complex and they require a deep level of understanding.
Do you think you’ve identified “the perfect solution”?
Not every problem has an easy solution. Tackling the complexity of most significant business issues can take a pool of talented people with diverse points of view. The Problem with Saying “Don’t Bring Me Problems, Bring Me Solutions” by Sabina Nawaz
It’s not because you think the solution is “webinar and content” that this is the best way to go about your pipeline problem.
The more you speak about your goal, the more they understand it and the more they can brainstorm solutions.
If you focus too much on solutions, you run the risk of missing a much better solution. And someone who’s living and breathing their field could have a better idea.
Be authentic.
If you try to depict a picture that isn’t accurate (e.g. “we’re doing great” when you’re never hitting your goals), it’s going to be hard to get buy-in from people.
It’s primary that you let others know how it’s really going on for you and what you really need. If you’re struggling to hit a goal, let others know.
Tell them that you’re struggling and that you need their help to solve a problem.
Being authentic about what you’re trying to achieve is a great way to maximize collaboration between multiple teams.
We’re just looking for ressources
The worse is when you go to a meeting thinking:
I know the solution, I just need someone to execute it
If that’s really the case, it’s probably best to hire an agency or a freelancer that you can control.
If you cannot trust that collaboration will lead to better outcomes, you probably need to execute it yourself.
What to do instead?
Start with your goal. Go into great details about what you’re trying to achieve and why it’s not working today.
Be as specific as possible about the problem. People may not understand exactly what you need.
Once the goal is clear to everyone, brainstorm about solutions and listen to others!
Say something like:
We’re really struggling with pipeline creation and we don’t think we’re going to hit our yearly quotas. We need about 5M€ in pipeline this year and we only think we can generate 3M€.
We’ve been thinking about creating a mix of event and content but would love to hear your thoughts on the best way to go about this.
When you say something like that, people will want to help you and you can get to the right solution together.
Most often, we’ve got Sales and Marketing working in their own silos. If you really want to unlock your growth, you need to work together. And for that to happen, coming with the right attitude is a great first step.