Home » News » Travel DAZE Exec 2024: Journey Beyond’s Alicia Triggs and Justine Lally share 12 tips to bring sales and marketing closer together

5 June, 2024

Travel DAZE Exec 2024: Journey Beyond’s Alicia Triggs and Justine Lally share 12 tips to bring sales and marketing closer together

Edited by Travel Weekly

Travel DAZE Exec 2024 kicked off with a bang on Tuesday thanks to a fun presentation from sales and marketing aficionados Alicia Triggs and Justine Lally from Journey Beyond.

Titled ‘Sales and Marketing – The Ultimate Frenemies’ the session poked fun at the age-old rivalry between the two departments and how business can turn the friction between them into something special.

A fun and engaging way to being proceedings the duo kicked off by addressing the stereotypical conversations that the employees have about the other department, of which data shows are 87 per cent negative.

“Marketing has all the f****n money,” joked Triggs, the executive GM of sales and partnerships at Journey Beyond.

“How many BDM’s can you put on the ground with the type of budget marketing has?” she continued.

Journey Beyond’s executive GM of marketing and product Justine Lally returned serve with a few sales cliches and questioning whether or not her colleague drops into Country Road on the way to client meetings.

“If you’re not meandering around a major shopping mall then you’re at some exotic sales conference, again!” Lally said.

Jokes aside, Travel DAZE delegates were taking note as Triggs and Lally shifted gears to highlight how these two foes of the workplace can work together and to a common goal.

To do so, it’s important to understand what makes a great marketer and what makes a great sales person.

Understand what’s happening in the market, the understand the revenue targets they need to achieve. How to get that customer all the way through the customer journey… they balance their long and short term goals,” Triggs said.

“We are exceptional listeners, we’re also great negotiators. We have great product knowledge concentrating on revenue growth, passion in product is absolutely critical,” Lally commented.

How do you close the gap between sales and marketing

Collectively both parties have to be focused on driving revenue and while some marketers would prefer to be want to be talking about brand awareness, loyalty and campaigns, both must be aware they are driving revenue.

Alicia and Justine’s top 12 tips on bringing sales and marketing closer:

Background – sharing information, making sure it goes into plans and strategies
Plans aligned – never submit or finalise a plan without sharing with each other and aligning goals at a certain time of the year
Share results – not just the good ones, coming up with solutions to poor results
Defined relationship – in a longer term and strategic level but also annually (e.g. a sales and marketing conference to define who is doing what and how the other team can support.)
Build personal relationships – proven to boost workplace moral and positivity
Value feedback – take the time to bring colleagues in at different stages along the process and do it early!
Safe space – disagree in private! Create a space where sales and marketers can ‘have it out’ in private so they can present to clients in unison.
Be prepared – take the time understand each others positions before a meeting so you’re on the same page.
Disciplined communication – open and honest discussions means less friction between the teams.
Joint task forces – for challenges and opportunities, get cross sections of both teams and align them to projects.
Shared passion – if sales and marketing are running to different finish lines, they are going in total opposite directions.
Present together – attend meetings together that one another may not need to be in but can provide or take insights to/from.

Why is it important?

When sales and marketing work together, it improves the guest or client experience and sets the right expectations and consistency throughout the entire brand journey.

It also ensures strong brand reinforcements at all touch points which in turn leads to faster sales cycles, better revenue and conversion results, cost efficiencies, innovative strategies, competitive advantages and creating a better workplace culture!

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Alicia Triggs Journey Beyond Justine Lally Sales VS Marketing Travel DAZE Exec 2024