26/06/2025
Pitching to Marketing and Sales teams - How to get them both on board
Who should you really be pitching your next big idea to, the marketing team or the sales team?
The default, of course, would be the marketing team; that’s where the main connections are with the creative sector. The truth is, though, if you want your idea to progress, you do need both teams to be bought in to your proposal.
Sounds a little strange thinking that you need the sales team on board?
Absolutely, it might feel strange; however, when you move on to bigger projects, there are more people involved in budgets and decisions. You have to start thinking about the bigger picture and not just the creative.
For clarity, sales and marketing are not rivals; they are two departments working together and also in parallel.
Marketing builds brand awareness and attracts attention
Sales takes that interest and turns it into revenue and long-term relationships
That is the simplified version and gives an initial overview of their place in the business. Their goals are different, they do things at different speeds, and their KPIs are completely different.
Take marketing for example; their team is thinking about brand growth and market positioning.
Sales always has its eye on the deal to fulfil its targets. They also spend a lot of time managing customer expectations.
Let’s look at a real-life example to see how things might work with both teams:
You have an idea to help the marketing department with a new product campaign. Marketing might get all excited about building an emotional connection, which will help long-term brand value. That would be a great start.
But sales will instantly say, “Will this help me close more sales this quarter?”
If it doesn’t, expect some resistance and a few internal discussions.
This is the juxtaposition you have to navigate, where one team is getting the foundations laid whilst the other wants to deliver performance. The sweet spot is when their worlds come together and everything syncs perfectly.
The input from sales is so important because they know what messaging actually works. They know where there could be any pushbacks from their customer base and how it actually drives customer decisions. Ignore these insights and it might have a lasting effect on what you are trying to achieve.
For example, if you’re building a campaign around a product feature that sales knows customers don’t understand or they don’t need, you are throwing a spanner in the works that they don’t need and making it harder for them to do their job. This is the advantage that the sales team has, being privy to real-time feedback.
Another important reason why you should be aligning your ideas with the sales team is that the head of sales is also a senior member of the business and has influence on budget decisions. They will sometimes have the final say on what gets approval to go ahead.
Marketing might measure success with brand impressions and engagement rates, which are all important. However, sales are looking for revenue growth, higher conversion rates, and shorter deal cycles. If your idea doesn’t map to those outcomes, even indirectly, it’s going to be a tough sell.
Most marketing ideas eventually reach the customer via the sales team. Whether it’s a new product, a rebrand, or a product brochure, this has all come from the sales team interacting with them.
So…they have to understand everything and, more importantly, believe in it. They should also be fully briefed and ready to know how to use it.
If the sales team isn’t up to speed and confident, there is a big possibility the communication and sales will break down. They won’t expect to just receive a new slide deck and get on with it; there would have to be clear briefings and buy-in before they use it out in the wild with their customers.
With all that in mind, here’s how to simultaneously pitch to sales and marketing.
Always lead with a value proposition that benefits both teams; for example:
Marketing - the content will increase high-quality leads.
Sales - better leads will facilitate higher conversion rates.
Try to link your ideas to solid numbers
Creating marketing assets is the fun part; however, you will need to give some projected gains that they will bring to the sales team on the ground. Will it help with retention and attention?
Solve existing problems for both sides
Sales teams need their lives to be as easy as possible so they have the most productive time with their customers. They don’t need extra pressures. If you can convince them that you can help their team sell quicker and smarter, you might just get them on board a lot quicker.
Involve both teams as early as possible
Getting one side to sign off sounds like you are halfway there; however, without both sides being happy with your proposal, you are nowhere near. The most efficient strategy is to get both sides to sign off in unison to avoid any internal challenges down the road.
In most cases, your initial point of contact is the marketing team. They are the ones who have invited you to collaborate on the project. They work closely with you to develop the concept and ensure that they have all the necessary ideas and reasoning to proceed. Once it is clear and strategically sound, then it would be a good idea to get the sales team to have a look over and make sure they are 100% happy and on board. If they have any doubts at all, you will have to iron out these obstacles and make them fully confident with the way everything will run.
If you want your ideas and work to have an impact, it’s not just about creativity or the impact it has on the marketing team. It is about connecting people together with a common goal and making the whole experience as easy as possible for everyone.
Would love to know how you have navigated this tricky situation and share what has worked for you in the past and how you tackle it?
