Ventarketing meetings are an essential stage for the integration of the marketing and sales teams. In them, topics ranging from the attraction of the lead to the closing of the sale will be discussed and aligned.
One of the essential points of a company’s Ventarketing strategy is the alignment meetings between Marketing and Sales.
At the end of the day, it is through them that you will guarantee that the two teams are really walking towards the same objective, following the points defined in the SLA.
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But it is very common that some of these meetings stop happening or are incredibly unproductive. Especially because, because it is the alignment between two teams, in some cases people take the opportunity to point out mistakes and “wash dirty clothes”.
For this reason, there are some good practices that can be applied by companies of any size or segment, and that improve the harmony between the two teams without any of those involved wasting their time.
Before we begin, everyone needs to understand the purpose of this meeting.
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Contrary to what many imagine, the Ventarketing meeting is not a time when the Marketing team talks about what it is doing and the Sales team tells how the month is.
Much less a space to put conflicts between the two teams on the table, which also should not exist, since both work with a common goal: to make the company sell more.
But it is very common for these meetings to become a true ring in which Marketing and Sales are accused of problems with the goals or claim the work of people from the other team or even their own.
This is because, in theory, everyone knows why this meeting exists. But not everyone is aligned with their goals.
A Ventarketing meeting is the time when the two teams discuss the problems of the sales process – from attracting leads to closing – and come to a conclusion together.
This means that, although in many moments one team has questions about the other, those questions will be asked with a single purpose: to reach the common denominator that is beneficial for both, and mainly for the company and the customers.
That is to say: it is not a meeting of problems but of solutions!
Appoint a person responsible for the meeting
The first point is that the meeting must be coordinated by someone, usually by the Ventarketing professional.
After all, not only will you be the primary stakeholder, you will also be the most knowledgeable person about the two teams, bringing focus and clarity to the discussion.
But in case your company does not yet have that specialized professional, you can start by delegating a manager, who can be from either team, as long as it is internalized with the main numbers and processes of both.
Document what is being said
Another important point is to document what is being said.
Not only in Ventarketing meetings, but it is very common for people to discuss, come to an incredible conclusion and:
- or do not put anything into practice out of habit;
- or forget what was agreed.
For this reason, it is important that at least one person write down the main points discussed and the agreements made, and document everything in the Ventarketing SLA.
Otherwise, they may possibly be wasting time for not applying what they decide, or for having rework to review points that had already been resolved.
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Demand that everyone arrive prepared
Another fundamental point!
When all people do not arrive lined up and prepared, individually and as a team, it is very common for internal problems to override issues of common interest, taking up too much time from the meeting.
Therefore, this cannot be the only time when those responsible for the sales team sit down to talk, nor the marketing team.
Whether at meetings for each team, or fifteen minutes before the Ventarketing meeting, they should take time to align internal issues.
And if possible, bring common discussion points to the meeting that interfere with everyone’s work, and not just the life of a salesperson, for example.
For those isolated cases, we can cite our next good practice,
Don’t wait until the meeting to deal with all the problems
Imagine that the process of passing opportunities to the sales team through your CRM is wrong. Or that in Marketing, all the sites have fallen from the network, and consequently, lost various opportunities.
You don’t have to wait until the meeting for those things to be resolved. Mainly because, in many cases, that can take days or even weeks.
We recommend that meetings be held at least once a week, but regardless of this, there are problems that need an immediate solution, and you cannot wait until the next meeting to solve them.
Whenever a problem appears that impacts everyone’s work routine, whether a single seller has any questions, send an email or schedule a personal conversation with your Ventarketing manager,
This, in addition to making your meetings more productive, will prevent you from having harmful and irreversible consequences for your month of sale.
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Have a script
Another important point is to have a script. This stage may seem a bit boring, but the script will ensure that we don’t forget any points that need to be worked on.
It can be simple, dividing the meeting into updates , Marketing considerations, Sales considerations and new ideas. No problem.
It is only important that they have a separate time so that no major aspect of the alignment between these two parts is lost.
In addition to that, write down throughout the meeting all the problems you find, regardless of which team you are.
In the end, you will not remember everything at the time of the meeting, so it is important to pick up the points that can be discussed throughout the week, and then discuss them with everyone.
Bring the right people
This is essential.
In the end, two big problems can happen here:
- Having too many people, who shouldn’t be there, and who made the meeting more unproductive. The more people in a meeting, the more likely you are to lose focus.
- Having people who do not impact the decision-making power of the teams, which will make all the measures taken fall when the person who must approve them arrives.
This is why it is so important to have key people, who are they?
- The person responsible for Ventarketing
- Sales Managers
- Marketing managers
- Responsible for the operation of the two teams
Yes, we know that not all companies have a structure like this.
But the question here is to have representatives from both teams and, at least, one person responsible for that alignment, and that it is not necessary for him to be a coordinator, as long as he has sufficient autonomy to meet and work with the two teams.
Focus on problem solving
This is valid for any meeting, but especially the Ventarketing meeting.
Because, especially in the implementation of this alignment, the problems are going to appear and there will be many – you have no idea.
But we don’t want to take away the momentum but bring you a mindset that focusing on the problem will not be the solution , and that every effort in this regard will be worth it.
So whenever you notice people talking for a long time about the same issue, without reaching any conclusions, you have a few options.
- Question: “Ok, we already understood the problem, now, does anyone have a solution?
- In case the solution does not come, schedule a meeting with the people who can solve the problem.
- Suspend the discussion and send an e-mail to everyone, so that at the next meeting they bring solutions.
Ensures everyone has a chance to speak
Another very common mistake: either only the Marketing people talk, or the meeting is dominated by the sales team, and in the end no one gets anywhere.
Understand that the two teams are on equal terms, regardless of whether there are 10 people from Sales and one from Marketing at the meeting, or vice versa.
And in addition to that, more than once keep in mind that you have the same objective, which is to come up with the best solutions to make the company sell more.
Therefore, there is no more important team or person in this meeting, and with this, everyone should have the right or duty to participate, raise their points, give opinions and solve problems.
Make sure this is a safe environment where people feel free to give ideas and are respected for it.
Finally, a Ventarketing meeting is not a place for:
- Solve personal problems inside or outside the teams;
- Solve specific CRM, monitoring and related problems;
- Make a “break” at work and not reach any conclusion;
- Just talk about numbers and not come up with new ideas and solutions;
- Inflating the ego of one person or team to the detriment of the work of the other;
And as difficult as it may be at the beginning, over time people will end up picking up the pace that you have stipulated in conducting the meeting, this will be increasingly productive and will bring better and better results.
