Websites are often overhyped, overpriced, and misunderstood.
Sales and marketing get lumped together in conversation, but in execution, they’re completely different functions. In episode four of Raising The Bar, Mel Strutt and Mon unpack why that distinction matters and how the two roles should work together, not against each other.
From Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) to the blurred lines in small businesses, this episode breaks down the core responsibilities, where most business owners go wrong and how to structure these roles, even if it’s all sitting with one person. If your “sales and marketing” person is spending more time making brochures than closing leads, this one’s for you.
Takeaways:
- Sales and marketing serve different goals. Marketing delivers MQLs. Sales qualify and close.
- MQLs are real people. Names, numbers, companies. Not web traffic or “conversions” with no contact.
- Don’t judge marketing by impressions or clicks. Judge it by the leads worth following up.
- BD needs prep. A good marketing team fuels BD with messaging, strategy and lead quality.
- Inbound leads save time. Without them, sales roles become bloated with admin and chasing bad fits.
- Keep KPIs separate. Marketing and sales need to report on different things to stay accountable.
- Mixing marketing and BD in one role usually fails. One always suffers, usually both.
- Use marketing to open doors and BD to walk through them. Stop asking one person to do both without support.
- Build a clear, easy handover process between teams. When marketing and sales talk, lead quality and ROI improve.
- Small business owners should do what they’re best at. Sell and outsource marketing or vice versa.
