The “Sales Dilemma” at Marketing Agencies (Sales Vs Creative)

I’ve been working with Digital Marketing Agencies for over 15 years, operating a small consulting firm that helps businesses develop and execute digital strategy since I was a teenager (I can prove that, I was on the news yo!), and now am the Vice President at Agency Media, one of Vancouver’s top Digital Marketing Agencies (My opinion) which is a part of the Westlund Group of Companies.

One thing anyone who has worked with or worked at a Marketing Agency is familiar with is the concept of “Overpromising and Underdelivering”.

My personal opinion is that Marketing Agencies have had it “too good, for too long” over the last 15 years and businesses know they need them to execute. It created Agency models that were built to bloat, become the biggest organization they could be and not always focus on value. That being said, I work with some of the biggest Agencies in North America and there are good ones out there. There are agencies delivering more value than I can sometimes believe when I’m in conversation with leaders at their companies. But there are a lot of Agencies who have no business acumen and don’t understand operationally what a $50,000 marketing budget means to a small to medium sized business financially.

Internally there often seems to be some sort of divide between operations\production and the sales team. And this isn’t just felt by staff at the Agency, client’s also become very aware throughout the process of executing on a project when they have been sold something that doesn't align with what the team can actually execute.

Example. You can be sold on the fact that a website will revolutionize your business, but those with knowledge know that it is the central part of a digital eco-system but not the only piece of the puzzle.

How can you avoid this leading an Agency? I’ve learned a lot over the last few years and one thing I can say is that you absolutely, without a doubt need to value your staff equally. Your web developer and photographer matter just as much as your sales staff, and your sales staff matter just as much as your executive team.

The other, probably equally component to this is culture. Often agencies hire junior staff, or even sometimes long time marketers, and the culture of sales needs to be appreciated across the team. Without sales, you don’t have a business. Without a business, you don’t get your paycheck. Understanding how hard a sales job actually is, is just as important as a sales person understanding how difficult it is to develop a website.

I have conversations with friends in the industry regularly, and leaders at agencies across the world often, and staff often complain about sales people. “They sold something we can’t even deliver”.

Culture is everything.

How did that happen? Yes, your sales staff wants to get sales. That’s how they earn a living. And it can be a damned good one too. But how were they able to sell something that is an imaginary product or service?

Your sales team needs to be able to approach your operational & creative staff. Conversations need to happen. Within reason, of course. I won’t get into managing a sales team, because that’s not where my expertise is, but I will say just like the psychological behavior of any human being, if you make things too easy, the brain doesn’t want to work too hard and it will take advantage. Challenging sales staff with respectful questions about their process and thinking is a great way for them to learn. It also provides you with an opportunity to learn something as well. Just as I have questioned web developers, designers, seo’s, database administrators, and campaign specialists about their processes and logic has helped both them and I over the years.

No sales system is absolutely perfect in any business, and that’s definitely applicable for Marketing Agencies. The work we deliver is often complex, it requires a lot of brain-power, and businesses are approached daily by competitors, overseas scammers and a ton of others about how they can deliver better work for them more affordably.

The last thing you want is a divide in your company. You need to align sales staff with operational & creative staff and be committed to the outcome. And in this industry I’ve learned the outcome needs to be providing businesses with real value.

The only way to create this environment is by continuously working on your culture.

Just like any team I’ve been a part of, knowing each other on a personal level and appreciating everyone’s knowledge is the only way a team can perform at optimal levels. You don’t have to be best friends out of the office, but you need to have fun together and you need to appreciate each other.