Hiring a skilled, 'hunter'-type salesperson to bring your product to market sounds like a dream scenario, right? Someone who can hunt down leads, land deals, and single-handedly boost revenue. But here's the real question for CEOs, Sales Managers, and Business Owners to consider: without a strong marketing function supporting your sales team, are you expecting them to do the impossible?
Spoiler alert: you probably are. Finding such a 'unicorn' salesperson is unrealistic, and pursuing this path could lead to wasted efforts, lost revenue, and high turnover. This blog will unpack why building a robust marketing strategy is essential to supporting your sales team and how integrating sales into marketing (not separating them) results in scalable growth.
If your goal is to enable your sales team to excel, read on. You'll also discover why we believe sales shouldn't just work alongside marketing but thrive as part of it.
The Myth of the 'Hunter Unicorn' Salesperson
Many organisations operate under the assumption that an exceptional salesperson can achieve results on their own. These so-called 'hunters' are expected to bring a new product or service to market, locate ideal customers, pitch value propositions, nurture leads, and close deals. And not only that, but they are somehow expected to do this without any existing marketing support or strategic foundation.
The truth? These solo 'hunter' sellers are practically unicorns. They're incredibly rare, if they exist at all.
Without marketing tools like buyer personas, account targeting strategies, qualified lead pipelines, and nurture campaigns, even the most seasoned salesperson will struggle to succeed. A salesperson without marketing support is like a chef working in an empty pantry. No matter how talented they are, they need the right ingredients to create something valuable.
Insight: Expecting one salesperson to single-handedly wear the hat of both the marketer and the closer often sets them, and the business, up for failure.
| Insight: Expecting one salesperson to single-handedly wear the hat of both the marketer and the closer often sets them, and the business, up for failure. |
Why Sales Needs Marketing to Thrive
- Marketing Creates Awareness
Before your sales team can engage leads, your audience needs to know who you are and why they should care. That's where marketing makes its first critical contribution. Successful marketing initiatives put your brand in front of the right people, at the right time, with messages that resonate.
From online advertising to social media content, SEO-optimised blogs to email campaigns, building your audience's awareness is the first step towards creating a receptive, qualified lead for your salespeople to nurture. - It Defines Target Markets and Buyer Personas
Marketing increases sales efficiency by narrowing the sales team's focus. A clear understanding of your target audience and buyer personas ensures sales efforts are spent on potential customers who are primed for your offer.
Think about this in terms of strategy. Would you send your army into battle without a map? Of course not. The same principle applies here. A strong marketing strategy carves out the path, identifying high-priority markets, tailoring messages, and prequalifying leads to reduce friction for your sales team. - Marketing Builds the Funnel
A marketing funnel isn't just a fancy buzzword. It's the blueprint for moving your audience from awareness to interest, and then to decision-making.
Sales teams operate most efficiently at the bottom of the funnel when leads are hot and ready to convert. Who warms these leads up? Marketing does. Content strategies, automated workflows, retargeting ads, and email nurture campaigns all create frictionless pathways that prep prospects for engagement with sales. - Marketing Provides Lead Generation and Nurture
Sure, a talented salesperson can follow up with leads and nurture relationships—but generating those leads in the first place? That's marketing's wheelhouse.
Through inbound strategies like blogging, gated content, downloadable resources, and webinars, marketing generates leads that sales can follow up on. Consistent nurturing ensures that these opportunities stay engaged and conversion-ready, which lets sales teams focus on closing deals instead of wasting time chasing cold leads or prospects without intent to buy.
Sales in Marketing, Not Sales AND Marketing
Here's where many organisations go wrong conceptually. They think of marketing and sales as separate silos when in reality, sales is just one aspect of a broader marketing function.
Think about it this way:
- Marketing is the engine that drives the car, while sales is the accelerator pedal. You wouldn't expect a car to move without the engine running, and likewise, you can’t expect a standalone salesforce to deliver results without marketing driving demand.
Integrated organisations that treat sales and marketing as one cohesive team see greater synergy. Sales teams benefit from the awareness and demand created by marketing, while marketing gains valuable insights from their sales counterparts to refine and optimise messaging, campaigns, and strategies.
Achieving Sustainable Growth Through Sales in Marketing
Companies that successfully integrate sales into their marketing function unlock sustainable growth through four key areas:
- Aligned Goals: A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) definition ensures seamless hand-offs between teams.
- Defined Metrics: Success is measured by shared KPIs like conversion rates, pipeline value, and revenue growth, not individual team performance.
- Consistent Messaging: Close collaboration ensures a unified voice between the initial engagement (marketing) and the close (sales).
- Customer-Focused Collaboration: Insights flow undisturbed between marketing and sales, optimising customer experience from start to finish.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're hiring salespeople without ensuring they have marketing support, it's time to rethink your strategy. Start by assessing the strength of your marketing function. Do you have clear buyer personas, a defined target market, and a functioning lead generation funnel? If not, you might benefit from a Growth Diagnostic.
At Flipside Group, we believe that supporting your sales team starts with a strong marketing foundation.
Curious how to optimise your sales and marketing alignment?
Download our free marketing guide on how to Unlock explosive growth and learn how to build strategies that empower both your sales and marketing teams.