I was extremely fortunate to have KTL send me down to Atlanta, Georgia for one of Microsoft’s largest conferences, Convergence. Here I was able to really understand concepts involving both marketing and sales that pertained to us as partners using the solutions we not only implement and sell, but use in house as well. My knowledge grew with many of the sessions provided, but one stood out from others. Not because it was more technical or that I learned something specific that I have been wanting to learn more about; it was that this particular session put a retrospect on what KTL’s Director of Sales and I deal with on an everyday basis: the connection and dependence between our two departments.
The session was just as my title indicates: a marriage counseling between the sales and marketing departments. At first, I thought, “how is this going to be beneficial?” and without a doubt, was thinking that I should have picked a better session and where was the nearest exit to make a quite escape. Fortunately, I didn’t leave. In fact, what happened next was more than I expected.
Our presenters were great. They made everything more interactive and “forced” us to participate with those sitting close to us. Conversing with two ladies that were seated beside me, I was able to understand the sales point of view, the IT point of view, as well as comparing it to my point of view, marketing. Although, our sales and marketing departments within KTL have an extremely close connection and communicate on a daily basis as well as meeting on a scheduled weekly basis, it’s always helpful to understand a different view point. In this case, I learned about other companies. We learned how various companies view what a specific lead is; what a qualified lead is to sales and then to marketing; how IT can help mend and build bridges with solutions to achieve greater value between the two departments; and how to overcome obstacles that may interfere with the overall success of a company based solely on these two departments.
It was extremely eye opening to hear others in a situation that was similar to ours, but yet still in the preliminary stages of figuring out how to overcome those obstacles. I also found it eye opening that many of our “hiccups” in KTL result back to the understanding and functionality of CRM and how we use it in house. Although we are currently going through and making large leaps into improving our functionality within CRM, it made me thankful for our solution. Many of the companies who I was speaking with didn’t have this solution. They used more ‘homegrown’ methods and were in the process of deciding if they should switch over.
Learning not only from other companies on their processes, how they view certain aspects, and how they calculate ROI was definitely an eye opener. This session wasn’t informative from a speaker stand point but from an interactive situational stand point. Although the information I took from this doesn’t seem super valuable to an outsider, but it has made me appreciate Sales and our relationship that we have made thus far.
If you want to know more about this session or about CRM and the benefits it has given KTL’s sales and marketing departments, please feel free to contact Elizabeth at emoris@ktlsolutions.com or by calling 301.360.0001
ELIZABETH MORIS | Marketing Coordinator
Elizabeth is responsible for the development and management of KTL’s marketing department while designing and overseeing marketing operations and campaign planning. With her creativity and design background, Elizabeth maintains KTL’s branding efforts, marketing plans, social media marketing, and performance improvement strategies. She also manages the consistency and fluidity of different collateral mediums making sure KTL’s main image and goal are continuous. Her specialties include graphic design, content editing, event planning, tracking analytical data, public relations, integrated marketing, social media marketing, and print and web design. Elizabeth is proficient in Adobe Suite and Microsoft Office. She attained a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communications and Commercial Design from Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA and a Master of Arts in Publication Design from the University of Baltimore in Baltimore, Md.
