Sales and Marketing: Same Box With Different Fruits

Hello everyone, 

I would like to greet you with a long-continued comparison: the difference between sales and marketing. As someone who knows both of these structures closely, I would like to start with a question we encounter in several professional training while addressing the subject from a practical perspective and with a few unrefined, organic examples.

Question: What is “abundant” for marketers and “insufficient” for salespeople? The answer is at the end of the article, but let’s first deep dive into the details.

A Day of a Salesperson: Reflections From True Stories

Sales may seem a colorful job for a fresh pair of eyes, but it is quite a difficult and wearisome job indeed. They may seem to be traveling from city to city, meeting new people every day and living an “independent” life. However, you can understand how much patience, energy and willpower are needed for this job if you observe their life more closely.

Especially when considering the salesperson working through different cities — there is a regular pattern on a weekly basis. They set out early on Monday morning with the goal in mind of meeting as many as customers and determining a route starting from the farthest point. A planned salesperson prepares his/her route on Sunday night and sets off early in the morning.

This journey is quite tiring not only physically but also emotionally. 

Out-of-town salespeople often spend four to five days a week away from home. The emotional burden of being away from their children and spouse is added to the stress of work. I still remember a memory a sales representative told me. His child called the mobile phone “father.” When I asked the reason, he answered: “Whenever I called, my wife was showing her mobile phone saying, ‘Your father is calling.’” This is the result of misdirection in the child’s mind. These details, which may seem small at first glance, show how much sacrifice a salesperson’s life requires.

Let me explain what we mean by “travel” in sales: This is not a trip for pleasure. On the contrary, it is a process that requires constant problem-solving, and you always have something to deal with, just like a puzzle. Generally, salespeople have to do the following in a day:

• Call dealers to determine orders
• Listen to customers and manage products
• Respond to report requests from managers
• Solve invoice issues with the accounting department
• Call the production side and follow deliveries
• Try to keep up with the calls from family

And all of these occur while driving. Eating in between meetings and responding to an urgent e-mail are among the realities of their daily routine. At the end of a stressful and busy day, they close the day at a hotel room alone.

Of course not every salesperson is same. Some of them manage such challenges ethically while others may abuse them and take shortcuts. I’ve come across both types of salespeople, but there’s no need to talk too much over it since everyone shall review himself/herself. No matter what happens, it is obvious that this job requires serious discipline and an ethical mindset.

A Day of a Marketer: Deskwork or Fieldwork?

Marketing, especially in Türkiye, is unfortunately still seen as an area limited to “brand communication” or “advertising.” However, marketing is not just about creative work; it is also about establishing the whole system that will ensure the sustainable growth of a company. This includes a wider area from delivering products or services to sales teams appropriately to developing strategies that will meet customer needs.

Let’s think about an average marketer. This paragraph is the exact place where the definition of white collar term comes into play. A marketer starts the day with a coffee and reading sectoral news. S/he reviews the works of brands to follow sectoral trends and understand what’s happening. S/he also makes competitor analyses. This routine generally continues with scanning social media and sending a few e-mails. After lunch, the day continues with reporting, event organizations and agency meetings, ending with the planning of the weekend.

These apply to situations where marketing is separate from sales. But marketers who truly do their jobs don’t just sit at their desks. They conduct field visits, listen to problems of salespeople and offer solutions to the problems. Just as sitting at a desk and examining data is important, it is equally necessary to be in the field and understand real customer experiences.

Any day in the field improves the marketer and facilitates the works of salespeople. If a marketer answers the question “Why is the customer dissatisfied?” during a field visit, s/he can shape strategies from scratch. I went to field visits with several sales teams and realized that learning is a mutual concept. For example, when a sales representative told me that “the customer does not complaint about the product but the service policy,” I understood that only developing products is not a solution; we need to establish appropriate communication.

Conclusion: Details of Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing are two critical areas that complement each other but have different dynamics. Sales requires instant actions to reach goals while marketing builds the road to goals with long-term strategies. However, the collaboration of these two areas has direct impact on the success of a company. Turning back to the answer to the question at the beginning of the article: “What is abundant for marketers and insufficient for salespeople?” The answer is in the article: “time.”

With this article, I tried to open a window regarding the lives of both sales and marketing teams. In my opinion, what we should always keep in mind is that both roles have equal importance in the success of entire business. Sales and marketing are not only business processes but also the art of human relations.

Thank you.