It seems to me that there is a lot of confusion between "marketing" and "sales" in the business environment. Judging from the job postings and requests for proposals that come my way, there is a tendency to lump the two together, probably because resources are limited. Companies end up looking for a sort of holy grail: someone who can successfully fill both roles, either as an employee or as a contractor.

In every instance that I know of, the person or company hired for these "double whammy” positions or projects is more sales-oriented than marketing-oriented. That's not a bad thing. Sales, after all, is the engine that generates revenue. The problem is that this scenario robs companies of the business benefits that real, honest to goodness marketing provides.

The difficulty is that what makes a great salesperson rarely makes a great marketer (and vice versa). Sales focuses on doing only those things that will lead to producing revenue, and ignores activities that don't have a direct bearing on getting to a signature on the bottom line. Sales is by necessity short-sighted, looking to the next month, the next quarter, or maybe stretching into the next year, but no further. The name of the game is filling the pipeline and moving prospects through as quickly and effectively as possible.

Marketing is a longer-term activity than sales, and generally is oriented more toward context that content. What I mean is that marketing seeks to enhance the company's position in its business niche through a variety of means, many of which can be more nuanced than a salesperson can tolerate. A successful marketing manager has a mentality that crosses creativity with good project management skills; put such a person in a sales role, and chances are high they will fail.

To clarify the differences in the two functions, I'll try some metaphors:

-- Marketing is bowl, sales is the fruit. -- Marketing plows the soil and lays down the fertilizer, sales sows the seeds and tends the plants. -- Marketing is the coach, sales is the star athlete.

In all three cases, the qualities that make one role work are very different from the qualities that comprise the other. Trying to get both sets of qualities in one person or contracting firm is likely to result in hybrid that doesn't perform either function well.

Here is my suggestion: If you decide that you need to get some "sales and marketing” assistance, stop and think for a moment. What specifically do you want to achieve? Answer this question, and then seek EITHER sales OR marketing assistance, not both in the same breath.

To get you started, here are some possible answers to the question:

-- You want to bring more business in the door as soon as possible. (Sales) -- You want to increase recognition of your company and its offerings in the marketplace. (Marketing) -- You want someone to staff your trade show booth who can talk to attendees and collect qualified leads. (Sales) -- You want someone to manage your trade show booth and make sure everything goes smoothly. (Marketing)

I could go on, but I have hopefully made the distinction clear enough. And given you food for thought that will help you get the most out of both your sales AND your marketing resources!!