Rocky roads are a particular dislike of mine. Not the cake type, they’re actually a favourite. I mean actual rocky roads. They’re uncomfortable and so uneven. You get thrown all over the place and spend the entire time worrying about bursting a tyre or breaking down. Recently I had a similar experience when trying to sort my car insurance. My call was moved between departments again and again, and every time I had to explain all over what my issue was. It shouldn’t have to be such a struggle! So, we started thinking about what methods we use to make our transition between departments as smooth as possible for every customer. I think it’s particularly important when moving from Marketing to Sales, so let’s focus there..

The Barriers 

There’s an age-old feud between Sales and Marketing, which often stops communication in its tracks. If you want to create an effective transition between the two teams, this misunderstanding will need to be broken down. Everyone is aiming for the same goal anyway. Align your focus and discuss everything related to the leads funnel, regardless of whether Marketing or Sales governs each section. 

The Understanding 

With discussion comes understanding. Everyone in your Sales and Marketing teams should at the very least be aware of the role each team have to play. Ideally, each team will share their differences in understanding of customers and the buying processes. Through shared knowledge, everyone will be running on the same track. Your leads will no longer be given contrasting information with every person they speak to.  

The Alignment 

The shared understanding is in place, look at turning this into action for the handover. Identify alignment points where each team comes together with a shared interest for the customer. This may be with the systems both teams use, a similarity in processes, or even your definition of the end goal. Utilising pre-existing similarities will form the base blocks from which to build.  

The Handover 

This is the most important moment. When a lead is finally qualified from Marketing as an MQL, ready for Sales to take up the reins. Your lead is ready to engage, don’t lose their trust and interest now. Agree on what criteria is required to make this pass over as smooth and frictionless for the customer as possible. Ensure that the relevant lead information, previous action and communications are turned over to your Sales team. Give them the head start on converting a lead to a prospect, and onto a customer.  

The transition phase is often a time when customers are let down and lose faith in a company. Put in place methods to avoid falling into this trap. From day 1, right through to day 586 and further, it shouldn’t be obvious to a customer how many departments they’ve been through. You want them to feel like the entire process has gone without a hiccup.