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Sales vs marketing? đ¤
In B2B companies that I've worked in over the years was mainly driven based on SLG (Sales Led Growth) rather than PLG (Product Led Growth). In PLG companies you mainly have Product & Marketing driving the growth whereas in SLG-based companies it's heavy on sales.
In SLG companies, marketing would own mainly KPIs on inbound up to the point of a meeting being booked and then rarely spending resources beyond that point.
Whereas sales have always owned mid to bottom funnel and the outbound motion (cold emailing, cold calling etc.) in full unless marketing decides to sponsor an event. That's where our product Salesforge comes into play on outbound.
What's your personal experience? Do you have currently in a startup a person dedicated to marketing and then separately a person dedicated for sales? Or does one person do the whole go-to-market motion being a small team?
Also, my observation when it comes to the community is that we have here in Product Hunt a lot more marketing people than sales.
Most salespeople spend time either on LinkedIn, Reddit or Slack communities I find. What's your take?
Final thought
Is Product Hunt mainly for marketing folks or?
Launching next week: https://www.producthunt.com/prod...
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@olenabomko should! :) Based on my experience, the struggle is real. Usually requires a well-funded company to have this in place. When you're lean and mean, it's hard to pull this off.
@olenabomko they were lucky to have you. Product Marketing is a tough role. Not many folks are good at it.
I've worked as a marketer in several B2B industries where the sales lifecycles are really long (think of 12-18 months to close deals). In this SLG context, sales and marketing have to work hand in hand from outbound campaigns to the closing (with events driving most of the marketing efforts).
In B2C, it's a bit different as most MQLs are driven by consistent inbound efforts (content, community building, etc.). The sales team here works only on the bottom of the funnel. It's probably because the conversion window is shorter.
To answer your final question, I feel like that most people in PH have a marketing background.
@steve_lourdessamy yeah, I'm just surprised to rarely ever meet a sales person on here.
It's an interesting topic, in my personal experience, I've seen a mix of dedicated marketing and sales roles, as well as individuals who handle both aspects of the go-to-market motion in smaller teams. As for Blocks team, we don't have a separate sales person, cause there's no need for it yet.
For those looking for sales-focused communities, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Slack are definitely popular platforms. However, Product Hunt can be a great place for salespeople to gain insights into new products and understand how they can benefit their sales strategies.
Best of luck with your upcoming launch!
@darya_antonyuk I love your take on what's the value for sales people to spend their time here.
It's fascinating to see the ongoing debate between sales and marketing. While marketing creates the initial interest, it's the sales team that carries that momentum through conversion. It's truly a symbiotic relationship!
I am doing Marketing, Growth and Sales part in Bizzllet. It can really be doing sales. Especially outreach. How do you approach outreach and make results? By going full auto mode or by social selling?
@andriyuh There are 3 co-founders at Salesforge. I do everything apart from the product so I have no choice, but I do a bit of everything right now. Reddit, PH, Slack communities, cold email, LinkedIn etc. When it comes to outbound, only email scales. For example today I've activated a 6K+ campaign. You can't do this sort of scale on LinkedIn and you have to be strategic about every channel. Scale only without sacrificing on quality.
In some cases, startups have separate teams or individuals dedicated to marketing and sales. This allows for more focused efforts in each area. However, in smaller teams, it's not uncommon to see one person handling the entire go-to-market motion.
Regarding your observation about the Product Hunt community, I agree that it seems to have more marketing-oriented professionals. However, I believe that Product Hunt can be valuable for both marketing and sales folks alike. It's a great platform to showcase products and gain exposure to a wide audience.
As for where salespeople spend their time, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Slack communities are indeed popular choices. These platforms offer opportunities for networking, sharing insights, and engaging with potential customers.
Sales gets you through the door, marketing keeps you in the room. Launched a SaaS tool last year and this balance has been key.
I've been into sales, and now I'm more into video marketing. Sales focuses on directly selling products or services to customers. It involves interactions like prospecting, negotiating, and closing deals to generate revenue. Marketing, on the other hand, involves broader strategies like creating awareness, building brand reputation, and generating leads. It sets the foundation for sales by attracting and nurturing potential customers.
@franksondors Video marketing provided me with the platform to pursue my passion for video, editing, and content creation.
I think it depends on account size, too. You don't want sales for small lifetime value and you can't market your way to whale size deals - that's like winning the lottery.
Good marketing is if you promote your product in a way that there is no need for sale!
Launching soon!
I feel like in a startup ecosystem - both sales and marketing tend to exist under the same roof as those teams (if its more than one person) need to be in lockstep on every resource / direction decision.
Let's not forget that the end goal of both sales and marketing is revenue generation. Healthy discussions around 'sales vs marketing' can only lead to better strategies that maximize ROI for businesses.
This is very interesting @franksondors. I've worked in both SLG and PLG companies, and it's very compelling to see how different organizations approach the sales vs marketing dynamics.
In my experience, having individuals focused on their respective areas allows for better specialization and effectiveness. However, none of that matters if there's no collaboration and teamwork.
Some products work better with a SLG strategy and some work better with a PLG strategy but when it boils down to it, if the sales and marketing teams are not in constant communication and willing to work together, no strategy will be effective.
Congratulations on the upcoming launch of Salesforge - it sounds like a great tool!
I think it also depends on your product. Some service based products rely more on the marketing side, whilst physical products rely more on the sales team. To be successful you would have to incorporate both strategies.
I do agree with you - PH is mainly for marketing folks.
Goodluck with your Launch soon!
I personally think marketing is more about getting them in the door (say TOF marketing) and sales is more about nurturing and closing (say MOF and BOF).
That said, I think product led growth is a modern way of growing a software business because founders have realized that users hold the power and if they can we can adjust the product according to the feedback from the user they will be able to grow faster and achieve PMF too!
Currently I am working as a marketing head/co-founder at a new startup so I handle the marketing and sales side of things majorly!
Hey đ
In my experience, SLG companies tend to have more of an aggressive approach, with sales teams often being the frontline warriors. They are the ones building relationships, understanding client needs, and tailoring pitches.
When comes to marketing, as you rightly pointed out, often focuses on the top of the funnel activities.
On the other hand, PLG companies have a more organic growth trajectory. The product speaks for itself, and marketing plays an important role in creating awareness and driving engagement. Sales teams in such setups often come into play for upselling.
In startups, especially in the early stages, it's common to see one person wearing multiple hats. The founder or a core team member might handle both marketing and sales, given the limited resources. However, as the startup scales, specialisation becomes crucial for efficiency.
Sales professionals get attracted towards platforms like LinkedIn and Reddit where they can network. Product Hunt, with its product centric focus, would attract a more marketing-focused audience.
Cheers,
Kosala
I have a theory that great PLG companies should be structured differently from traditional SLG companies.
I think PLG companies would benefint greatly from breaking down the traditional structures and create truely cross functional teams, including product, engineering, and marketing in a single team.
In this scenario each team would then own their own set of business objectives.
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