Oh, i love this - I've been on both sides too, actually. did commission sales for years before moving fully into marketing and digital PR. it's like living in two different worlds that somehow depend on each other 🤝
You're absolutely right: marketing sells to many, sales sells to one. And those salespeople? their livelihood is a numbers game. every objection they hear from a customer is ammunition they fire back at us - not because they hate us, but because they need better ammo to close the deal faster.
here's the thing though - it's so easy to take their complaints personally. i did too, for ages. But once I stopped hearing "you're rubbish at marketing" and started hearing "I need better tools to sell this product", everything shifted. They're not criticising you, they're flagging gaps in the messaging or targeting that make their job harder.
if the same complaint keeps coming up? look at the data. "Customers say we're too expensive" could mean you're talking to the wrong audience, not that your pricing is off. "Customers hate the quality" might be a production or returns issue, not a copy problem. "They just won't buy" is often a disconnect between what you're promising and what the product actually delivers.
And if a salesperson is just wrong? then you bring the receipts - conversion rates, focus group insights, A/B test results - and explain why their approach needs adjusting. no need to be defensive, just show the numbers.
honestly, some of the best marketing insights I've ever had came from listening to sales teams complain. they sit in the trenches every day. use it as intelligence, not as a personal attack.
and if you really can't stand the dynamic? there are plenty of marketing roles that never touch a salesperson directly - media buying, strategy, creative direction. you've got options 😊
