Talk to any sales person and they are quick to say that they are also in marketing. Of course it is a fine line between marketing and sales in some markets. I have had the opportunity to bridge sales and marketing for ONESwim. I have been able to help man the booth for about 20+ trade shows. My first experience in ‘sales’ was at 14 when I went to my first trade show. With 5 staffers in our booth I thought I could avoid ‘selling’ but we were slammed and I was thrust into ‘sales’ within the first hour in the booth when I was dealing with drunk swim coaches. I learned the difference between marketing and sales that first night in our booth. I have since enjoyed learning more and more about different sales methods and processes. I enjoy attending trade shows now and know that the first key is to know your product better than anyone else in the room and love it completely. Selling is a rush when you are passionate about the product and the company. We had regular meetings with our staff and my sister was in charge of ongoing sales. We routinely tried new ideas and ways to help her grow sales. Over the years we dialed in the sales methods that worked for the company. We constantly rebuilt our marketing systems and tools to support those sales methods as the point of nearly all businesses is really ‘sales’ and marketing must drive sales. It is easy to get lost in the process of marketing and loose track of the NEED for sales. My goal is always to make sure that marketing is designed to drive sales as well as brand awareness.
Mallory Tilson 