Why Positioning Does Not Make the Jump From Marketing to Sales

Welcome to Season 2! In today’s episode, I explore why positioning fails to make the jump from marketing to sales in many companies, and what common misconceptions and mistakes in positioning work should be avoided.You will learn: * Why sales teams often lack a deep understanding of positioning and its importance in the sales process.* Communicating value and positioning product consistently across all sales calls, even for new sales reps.* What happens when marketing creates positioning without consulting sales, leading to disconnect between the two teams.* The disconnect between sales teams and marketing teams, as marketing decks often don't account for the need for discovery and objection handling during sales calls.* Two common unspoken objections in sales pitches: pricing and change management.* Common challenges in transitioning positioning from marketing to sales, including inadequate decks. * In enterprise and B2B deals, multiple stakeholders involved in a deal can lead to multiple pitch decks, making the process more complicated.* Customizing pitch decks for the champion, with a focus on resonating with their needs and concerns, rather than trying to address the objections of other stakeholders in the deal.—If you want to skip ahead: (0:01) Positioning in B2B marketing and sales. (4:25) Sales strategy and customer understanding. (8:55) Why marketing and sales positioning often doesn't align. (13:18) Sales pitches and unspoken objections. (18:00) B2B purchase process and positioning for sales. (23:24) Customizing sales pitch decks for different personas. —Connect with April Dunford and learn about practical positioning that accelerates marketing and sales: Work with April: https://www.aprildunford.com/contact April’s newsletter: https://aprildunford.substack.com/ April’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprildunford/ April’s Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/aprildunford/ April’s Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aprildunford April’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@positioningshow—Get April Dunford’s books and audiobooks: “Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It”“Sales Pitch: How to Craft a Story to Stand Out and Win”Amazon US: https://amzn.to/49l0ZRY Amazon Canada: https://amzn.to/4ac9hgt Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3vosDzQApple Books: https://apple.co/3xihSzGoogle Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=%22April%20Dunford%22&c=books Barnes & Noble: