It’s almost axiomatic that growing revenues will require adding sales and marketing costs at the same rate. Most heads of sales and marketing believe in their bones that their teams cannot get more productive over an extended period. Teams can find cost-cutting and efficiency tweaks, yes, but not full-blown, sustained productivity gains. This is a damaging, self-reinforcing belief — and our research shows it’s not necessarily true.
3 Strategies to Boost Sales and Marketing Productivity
New research from Bain shows what the most productive companies do differently.
June 05, 2023
Yaroslav Danylchenko/Stocksy
Summary.
A study of B2B companies found that just one in 20 was able to consistently grow sales faster than sales and marketing expenses. As companies seek to cut costs in an uncertain economy, increasing this commercial productivity is a smart strategy. Research shows the three ways companies can do this are to refine the go-to-market model, turn every rep into an A player, and make sales and marketing support more efficient.
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New!
HBR Learning
HBR Learning
Marketing Essentials Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Marketing Essentials. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to communicate with your customers—strategically.