You talk as if Marketing and Sales were not connected and thus talk of Marketing and Sales Executives needing to work together; this is a rather old-fashioned view that sees Sales as primary and Marketing as some sort of ancillary function.

Marketing is the whole management function concerned with finding out what people want and anticipating what they will want in the future. It is then responsible for overseeing that what is produced actually does satisfy the customers needs and wants (want = how the need is fulfilled). Finally it is charged with the task of raising awareness of the product in the market and promoting the benefits of the product, and the benefits of the product over those of competitors.

All promotional efforts should strive to be measurable and Selling is just one of the many parts of the Marketing Communication Mix; which also includes Advertising, Direct Mail, Telesales, Point of Sale, Sales Promotions, Sponsorship, Public Relations, etc.. Face to Face Selling is thus part of Marketing; it is the most powerful component of all of the Marketing Communications Mix, it is thus part of the fourth 'P' of the Marketing Mix. However its use is expensive and it is therefore generally used only for high value products or large quantities of products.

A modern company will have a Marketing Director responsible for the whole Marketing function and to whom the Sales Manager reports. The idea that Marketing is something that you only do when you can't sell what you make, with Marketing simply being an aid to selling via Advertising etc. is long obsolete. A successful organization should not have allowed itself to be in the position of having to sell what it makes rather than what customers want!

Mike Cudzich-Madry,
Chartered Marketer and Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Marketing,
Sheffield Hallam University