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What's the difference between marketing and sales?

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 : )

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Question added by rrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Date Posted: 2013/04/23
سوسن بادع مسير الخزاعى
by سوسن بادع مسير الخزاعى , مديره قسم , زارة التربيه

البائع من يمارس عمليه البيع بالاليه الاعتياديه للموجودات التى يتولى بيعها لكن التسويق او المسوق هو الذى يقوم بعمليه دراسه الواقع وفهم متطلباته والسعى لمعرفه السلع انواعها ومصادرها واسعارها ومدى ملائمتها لهذا المجتمع وكيفيه التغيير والتنويع والاخذ والعطاء والخ من الفعاليات العاليه الاهميه والبيع جزء من تلك الفعاليات

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 . 

 

Amr Yahia
by Amr Yahia , Senior Business Development Manager , Torjoman

Thank you for this good question,,,, Actually many differences have been discussed and elaborated here and there, BUT perhaps there is one main and very clear merit for marketing makes it distinguished: Marketing starts from the early beginning, from Zero level, or the No Product Level, where marketers sit to watch markets and spot a need to be satisfied, then and after taking all planned procedures, they present a new product.
AT this point Sales team comes and starts their mission.
So briefly we can say that Marketing roles starts before a product exists, while the product is being created and after the product is created and delivered to markets as well.
While Sales role starts after the product is there.
And as Peter Ferdinand Drucker stated, if marketing job is done perfectly, Sales will be spontaneous outcome.
Nonetheless Sales role is very vital and important for marketing, sales people are more close to customers, Sales Team daily experiences with customers, reports and notes can be used as a renewed source for innovation and ideas for new products and integrated strategies.

Mohamed Hendy
by Mohamed Hendy , Commercial director & Co- founder , The matchers

i believe who works as sales and Marketing Manager is dreadful person, simply from few GM point of view, sales Manager the guy who bring money to the company and the Marketeer who spend it!! but in fact the Marketeer did spend the money but to increase a lot of things like leads, Brand awareness..
ect , and the sales is responsible for the sales cycle.
if i had GM doesn't know the different between both i would go through to explain the two phases funnel - Marketing Funnel: Awareness Consideration Conversion Loyalty Advocacy - Sales Funnel: Leads: Generation Leads Qualification Closure Portfolio Management CRM

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.

PRADEEP MEHRA
by PRADEEP MEHRA , CEO , Angel international Inc.

Marketing and Sales are two very distinct job function although they are very much inter-dependent on each other.
While marketing is aimed at long terms goals where as sales pertain to short term goals.
Marketing can be called as a foot-board for sales.
It prepares the ground for a sales person to approach a consumer.
Marketing as such is not direct and it uses various methods like advertising, brand marketing, public relations, direct mails and viral marketing for creating an awareness of the product.
Sales are really interpersonal interactions.
Marketing means generating leads or prospects.
Once the product is out in the market.
Sales involves one-on-one meetings, networking and calls it is the task of the sales person to persuade the customer to buy the product.
Well, sales means converting the leads or prospects into purchase orders.
Thus marketing is to generate business and sales is to close the business generated and in simple terms marketing is like the brain and sales is like arms of a human body.
They are two very two distinct components of business and revenue generation process for the company.

Marketing involves all activities that are targeted towards making the first and hopefully lasting awareness about a product or a service with the customer and Sales involves all activities to get the customer to go out and actually buys that product / service.

همام عبدالله الخطيب
by همام عبدالله الخطيب , Marketing Manager , • Love TO Teach Edutainment Tools

Simply you should mention to him if he want to stay in the market long term and with lasting evolves, he should start work in marketing mind, and not just as department but as all company orientation, and if he want to stay in market just for few years watching his competitors exceed him, sales mind is good.

Manjula Sampath
by Manjula Sampath , Admin Cum , VV Enterprises

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...

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