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True Alignment between Marketing and Sales: A Distant Dream, or an Impending Reality?

by Lindsay

On September 20th, kasina hosted 21 marketing executives from 15 asset managers at its 2nd annual Marketing Executive Roundtable in New York. The day's conversations covered a wide array of issues, including the optimal structure for a marketing team, the creation and promotion of value-added programs, and the difficulty of measuring the success of marketing initiatives. The one topic that seemed to be at the forefront of everyone's mind, however, was driving alignment with Sales.

At the beginning of our Roundtables, we always ask each attendee to share with the group one topic he or she is most interested in exploring. At least half of the attendees mentioned that they consistently struggle to work effectively with Sales, and were looking for advice on successful techniques from other firms. While kasina frequently cites fostering collaboration between the different distribution functions as an important goal for asset management firms, it was still surprising to me to see such a high level of interest in one topic.

A few Marketing teams are taking proactive steps to improve their working relationships with Sales, including:

• Increasing interaction: Many firms cited the effectiveness of co-location (having Marketing and Sales in the same building, on the same floor), and participation in weekly/bi-weekly calls or meetings.


• Establishing points of contact: Some firms have a dedicated resource that serves as liaison between Sales and Marketing.


• Deepening understanding of strategic issues: Ensuring that Sales sees Marketing as a strategic partner, rather than just an executor, was a key theme. Many marketing teams are now requiring that managers travel with wholesalers on a regular basis, to gain greater insight into what is happening in the field and what collateral would actually be useful to and used by Sales.

While it is encouraging to see this issue become more of a priority for asset managers, most firms are still not doing enough. For example, among the fifteen firms at the Roundtable, only two currently have dedicated Sales liaisons, and less than half have instituted policies requiring Marketing team members to travel with wholesalers.

These and other relatively simple tactics for improving the level of collaboration between Marketing and Sales have made a big difference at certain firms. It's our hope that the lively conversations at this year's Marketing Executive Roundtable serve as a call to action for those firms that have not been as proactive on this front, and we're looking forward to hearing about progress firms have made by the time of next year's event.