Chapter 3
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
We’ve all heard about the great sales and marketing divide (cue the dramatic music).
There are webinars, events, blogs, and LinkedIn posts on how to bridge the gap. But it shouldn’t be that hard. Achieving true “smarketing” is possible with the right plan. And with all go-to-market teams working together, your event gifts will stand out from the pack.
Brainstorm Gift Ideas Together
“Sales needs to be involved as early as possible,” says Corrina.
We recommend kicking off your event planning process alongside your sales team. After all, reps are the ones in the weeds talking to prospects and customers every day. Tap into their knowledge to come up with creative gift ideas and themes you may not have considered otherwise. “When I’m ideating on an event, I always get sales feedback,” shares Corrina.
For example, if you’re planning regional events and have reps located in those cities, they can help you come up with great local gift ideas. We chatted with a marketer planning an event in the Midwest. She wasn’t from the area, so she leaned on her sales reps to find the coolest and most exciting local products. She ended up giving out Garrett’s popcorn at the Chicago area event, and got amazing feedback from attendees!
If you’re hosting a small and intimate prospect event, your reps can help you tailor the gifts to each attendee. You could give wine to the happy hour fan, snacks to the foodie, or candles to the homebody – the options are endless!
Involving your sales team in the event gifting process from the beginning also ensures they have buy-in. More bought-in reps mean higher chances of a successful event.
Call Me, Beep Me, if You Want to Reach Me
Keep the Lines of Communication Open
“Leaving sales out of the event post-mortem process is a big miss,” says Corrina.
After the event is over, continue the conversation with your sales team. Talk with them about what went well and what didn’t. Were the gifts well received? What was the booth experience like? Did the speaking sessions resonate with attendees?
Having a cross-functional conversation after the event ends also increases visibility. And transparency helps the sales team understand how much work goes into every event detail.
With more frequent and regular communication, you can become BFFs with your sales team (or, at the very least, make sure you’re on the same page).
Corrina “hopes sales and marketing alignment is no longer a keynote topic at conferences,” and we couldn’t agree more!
