A while ago (you can check the archives), we had a big discussion here about marketing vs. sales... What is one, what is the other, and how do they differ?

Ries and Trout (the authors of "Positioning") seem to support the view that "marketing" is the act of getting your brand into the mind of your prospects.... Getting your brand in there, and holding a position. It's not "sales" directly, simply a way of taking up "mind-space" in your target market....

On the other hand, we can say "sales" is the act of actually making the sale! Which means, giving people a strong hard-to-resist offer, convincing them of all the benefits if they buy, giving them reasons to "buy it now" (not tomorrow or next week), etc.

I think there's been a bit of a "break" between the direct marketing industry, and more "standard" marketing because of this. Much "standard marketing", if I can call it that, focuses on trying to get a place in people's minds. On the other hand, direct marketing has a tendency to focus on getting sales NOW! It's less concerned with positioning.... At least that's my impression. It's simply a "marketing" approach vs. a "sales" approach....

However, I think Jon Spoelstra (author of "Marketing Outrageously") is right - BOTH are important! And in reality, most successful products have people which do both - marketing AND sales - though the "marketers" and the "sales" people could be from different companies (for example, automobile manufacturers tend to build the image, and car sales lots get people to "buy it now")....

Any thoughts on this? :)

- Dien Rice