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If you are marketing and sales manager in a company, and this company has been appointed new general manager, , but had no knowledge of the difference between marketing and sales! How you can explain to him in nice and easy way that difference : )
The most fundamental difference between these two concepts is that sales is more focused on transforming the product into money, whereas, marketing is not only associated with price, but also the planning of the product, packaging, promoting, the distribution of the service or product and then the selling.
Marketing-focus is on the customer (meeting and satisfying the needs and wants of the consumer)
Sales- focus is on the product (increasing profit through sales maximization)
It is a very big problematic . In early stages of my career , I was a regional sales director . I was very successful by numbers and sales results . When I have participated to promotion assessments , my mindset and skills set have been measured and professionally analyzed . Then I have been informed that I was not a sales person but I was a very typical strategic marketing and brand management profile . During my MBA studies , I have learnt that the marketing mind and sales mind are extremely different . Marketing is a science born in USA and sales is only one of the results of all marketing efforts . Marketing covers everything : before production , production , launching , communicating , sales and after sales . So marketing skills set and selling skills set are extremely different . In USA and in Europe marketing department and sales department are most of the time separated . But the differences between sales and marketing are being still misunderstood in developing countries . Marketing is strategy setter and is in very close collaboration with sales . Sales executes the strategy set by marketing . So the one who markets and the one who sells can not be the same person . These two functions should work together but they are not close as function . The positions of "sales and marketing responsible ,marketing and sales manager " are created by some companies in order not to hire a marketing manager and a sales manager . In fact there is no such a position . ( sales and marketing manager). The relationship between sales and marketing is similar to R&D and Production . If you are being offered a " sales and marketing management" position , kindly refuse it . It is a sales position in reality . A genuine and professional marketing person knows very well that she /he can't be a sales and marketing person simultaneously . It's a cost cutting policy of a small / medium size company .
Marketing finds the "customer insights " , chooses the product to market , define the target markets , sets the branding strategy , sets the communication strategy , predefines and manages the annual budget , defines all brand standards and selling standards , tries to find "the blue ocean" , sales works together with marketing , ensures feed backs from potential customers and makes "the closing" and brings money to the company . Marketing prepares all the "stage , atmosphere and ambiance " for sales , invites or forces the customer to product , sales carries the product to customer and executes the sales closing process . Sales is not involved in after -sales phase , it's marketing's responsibility to handle all after sales efforts . Sales considers the process for a short periods of time but marketing must consider every aspects of the business process with a long term vision . Sales executes the selling process but marketing never sells by himself . Marketing prepares the product /service /idea and makes it "sellable" but does not sell . Sales considers the selling strategy set by marketing and makes the final and magic touch for closing . Marketing should consider also profit ratio , reputation , market share , the competition conditions ...if business results are not as predefined , it's first marketing departments responsibility to check the executed strategy .
In very simple words, sales can be termed as a process which focuses or targets on individuals or small groups. Marketing on the other hand targets a larger group or the general public.
Sales is a part of Marketing.
Marketing is that we are bringing awarness to the customers that we have this product.. Its actually promoting our products....
Sales is that what we sell the product to the customer with direct conversation and product... And fullfilling customer needs...