You want a dream team, and we want that for you! 

It is never too late to evaluate or set up quarterly or annual goals. In this article we’ll commiserate about siloed teams and look at goal setting practices that work. 

A Tale of Two Siloes 

It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as sales and marketing. If you’re here it’s likely that you’ve been a part of a siloed team dynamic at some point, and you are not alone! But silos are not serving us anymore with a fast-moving market and increased competition.  

According to a 2020 report from LinkedIn, 85% of those surveyed said that “sales and marketing alignment is the largest opportunity for improving business performance today.” However, the same report states that 9 out of 10 sales and marketing professionals said, “they are misaligned across strategy, process, content and culture.”  

It's clear that teams understand the value of alignment, so what is going wrong so that 90% are reporting that they feel a disconnect? And how can companies get their marketing and sales departments out of their siloes and onto the same page? 

The answer? With commitment, perseverance, and willingness to let go of the old order your marketing and sales teams can become one all-star team with a few tools in their pockets.  

Best Practices for Creating Goals 

Goals are something that we all have in our work, personal, and family lives and can be intentionally made or present themselves naturally as life happens. When it comes to company goals there are a few best practices to follow to see results: 

SMART Goal Setting may be one of the most popular methods. In this process goals must be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Smart goals set you up for success by keeping your goals in line with what you do. Lofty goals will not serve your teams, set goals that are ambitious enough to drive your growth but not so much that you have a perpetually discouraged team. 

Another methodology is FAST Goals which are Frequently Discussed, Ambitious, Specific and Transparent. FAST Goals speaks to the communication aspect of setting goals which is especially relevant for teams that are not used to communicating so much with each other. FAST Goals hold teams accountable to each other through discussion and transparency meaning that your teams can go farther together. 

What does this look like for your sales and marketing teams? Try out these tips to create team goals and drive revenue in 2022: 

Work on goals collaboratively 

If you are struggling with siloed departments this may be bumpy at first, but if you stick it out and are willing to work on goals together it will be well worth it in the end. 

Write it down 

Holding teams accountable to goals they create requires tracking the goals and evaluating as you go, if your teams have a goal, it should be recorded and easily accessed so that teams can refer to it often. 

Communicate!  

Communication is key to goal setting and achievement, especially between teams that don’t usually collaborate. Set up regular meetings and make sure that everyone is using the same tech stack so that nothing falls through the cracks. 

Streamline Your Tech Stack 

Siloed teams tend to have their own technology and systems that have worked for them. While marketing might use Microsoft teams to communicate, sales might use Slack. Choose project management software such as Asana or Teamwork to keep everyone on task and consider moving your webpage, marketing, and CRM to a full-service system like HubSpot to ensure that your systems are working for your teams and not against them. 

Teams in siloes slow down your operations and hurt your revenue in the end. Bringing sales and marketing together to set goals fosters a collaborative environment and mobilizes your business for growth. Never underestimate the power of working together towards a common goal.