How to Bridge the Gap Between Sales & Marketing
In a previous post, we discussed how aligning sales and marketing teams through open communication, shared incentives, and transparent metric tracking can improve overall success. Today, we’re zooming in on specific ways healthcare marketers can support their sales counterparts and invest in their success. Strong sales and marketing alignment doesn’t just happen—it requires deliberate effort and consistent collaboration. Here’s how healthcare marketers can take actionable steps to work more effectively with their sales teammates.
6 Ways Healthcare Marketers Can Support Sales Teammates
1. Start with Active Listening
Effective collaboration begins with listening. As a marketer, one of your priorities must be understanding the challenges and concerns of your sales team. Regular, planned check-ins are essential for maintaining an open line of communication, where you can review the quality of leads coming in and identify areas for improvement. Understand what is working well for the sales team and what isn’t. Document all discoveries and downfalls—and use that information to create a shared strategy that engenders buy-in from all parties.
Active listening also means paying attention to feedback after that plan is built and initiated. Keep track of salespeople’s comments, concerns, and insights into what prospects are saying. This type of engagement will not only show sales that you’re invested in their success but will also help you gather valuable insights into refining the shared strategy.
Finally, invite your sales leaders to join interviews when you’re hiring new team members—and listen to their input! Not only does this demonstrate the value of the sales team to potential new hires, but it also gives your sales leaders a voice in the hiring process.
2. Shadow Each Other for Greater Empathy
Step into the shoes of your sales team. One of the most effective ways to strengthen the bond between sales and marketing is to truly understand each other’s day-to-day work. If you’ve never seen a salesperson in action, now’s the time! Observe their pitches, listen to recordings of sales calls, or sit in on live calls to hear firsthand the objections, questions, and concerns prospects raise.
One tactic that we’ve seen really make an impact is when marketers ask their sales teammates to “pitch” to them as if they were a potential customer. Try out different buyer personas (e.g., IT manager, CEO, clinician) to see how the story changes. This exercise works because it:
- Flips the script, allowing you (marketer) to step out of your role and see the product/service from a new viewpoint
- Reinforces the importance of both sales and marketing teammates having a firm grasp on the motivations, perspectives, and pain points of various buyer personas
- Provides meaningful insights into the language prospects use and the objections they face
After spending time immersing yourself in the sales world, invite them to shadow you as well. Walk through the platforms you use, explain the data-driven theories behind your marketing approaches, and highlight how your marketing strategy is designed to support their sales efforts at every stage of the funnel—whether that’s pre-funnel awareness or closing the deal.
3. Get to Know the Person Behind the Professional
A partnership between marketing and sales is most effective when it is grounded in genuine relationships. So, take the time to understand the people behind the titles! This can take whatever shape works for your organization’s unique setup or strategy, but here are a few recommendations:
- Make the most of conferences: Carve out time for small group or 1:1 time to hear about your sales colleagues’ career goals, personal motivators, and driving values. What brought them to the healthcare space? What do they hope to learn or achieve while working at this company?
- Coordinate team building activities: Sales and marketing often come together for yearly planning meetings but part ways as soon as the tasks are checked off. Take advantage of the dedicated collaboration time to have some fun and build stronger cross-team connections. Examples of activities include escape rooms, creative classes (candle-making, calligraphy, cookie decorating – the list is endless!), food or beverage tastings, murder mysteries, “powerpoint nights”, and so much more.
- Keep up connection throughout the year: Good partnerships are rarely sustained by interacting once or twice per year. Thanks to the plethora of virtual options available, you can strengthen relationships from anywhere! At least once per quarter, set aside time during the workday for a paid sales and marketing team lunch or even block a full day for team building!
When you get to know your teammates as individuals, it fosters trust and creates a more collaborative work environment.
4. Celebrate Sales Wins—And Recognize Their Role in Your Success
Sales and marketing are in this together. When the sales team wins, celebrate it! Recognize and promote their successes within your organization. When a sales team member closes a deal, acknowledge their contribution to your company’s growth.
Sales’ success stories are also invaluable learning tools for marketers. By understanding what’s working best for them—what messages and tactics are driving the most qualified leads—you can refine your marketing efforts. Use these successes as a benchmark to double down on approaches that resonate with your target audience.
5. The Golden Rule of Attribution
Attribution is crucial in understanding the true impact of both sales and marketing efforts. As a marketer, you should be digging deep into your lead sources, tracking how leads progress through the sales funnel, and analyzing both wins and losses. Reflecting on which leads were successfully nurtured by marketing—and which weren’t—is an excellent way to identify patterns and areas for improvement.
Take the time to assess the quality of leads and evaluate how much of (a) dollars in pipeline and (b) won contracts can be attributed to marketing. Work together with your sales teammates to identify weak points in the funnel, such as a lack of nurturing campaigns for lukewarm prospects, or maybe even a need for a more polished pitch deck. Assess all marketing materials, compare them to your goals, and take stock of the results to determine what you can improve.
6. Reflect Together
Reflection is a powerful tool for continuous improvement. Take the time to look back at the work you’ve done together—what’s been successful, and what areas need attention? By reviewing performance data, such as revenue from closed deals and lead quality, you can assess what’s working and refine your strategy to attract and convert more customers. Be sure to evaluate the entire sales and marketing funnel, from lead generation to nurturing, and from proposal to close.
Have candid conversations about what didn’t work as well and collaborate on how to address those weak points. Remember: these conversations will only be effective if everyone enters with the shared commitment to not to be defensive or point fingers. Active listening, assuming the best intent, and acknowledging shortcomings are meaningful ways to demonstrate respect and take accountability.
With a calm, continuous feedback loop between marketing and sales, your organization will be far more equipped to identify and adapt to changing customer needs.
Final Thoughts: Building Trust, Driving Results
Aligning sales and marketing is an ongoing, iterative, and imperfect process—but it’s also essential. By prioritizing communication, fostering genuine relationships, and regularly reflecting on past efforts, healthcare marketers can strengthen their partnership with sales teams. The outcomes of intentional action reach far beyond sales and marketing teams’ wins—generating a transformative impact on organization reputation and customer satisfaction.
