The Big Data-Driven Business

Chapter 5How Technology Bridges the Gap between Marketing and Sales

Glengarry Glen Ross, the 1992 film based on David Mamet's play, is a cult classic among salespeople. There are a handful of great lines from the movie that are routinely quoted in sales meetings or whenever salespeople gather together all over the world.

“Third prize is you're fired.”

“That watch costs more than your car.”

“A-B-C—Always be closing.”

And of course: “Coffee's for closers.”

In addition to being one of the best films ever about the often intensely competitive environment of sales, a key element in the plot of Glengarry Glen Ross is sales leads. The salesmen complain that the leads they have been getting to sell real estate are weak. The significance of leads is conveyed through the two story lines: one of the salesmen actually steals the leads from a locked vault, and one of the leads thought to be a sure sale turns out to be a couple who have no money to purchase the real estate—they just want the company of a salesperson.

As in the movie, leads are often at the heart of the relationship between sales and marketing, a relationship that has historically been rocky—many times on account of disputes over the value of leads. Salespeople, as they do in Glengarry Glen Ross, often find that leads from marketing leave something to be desired. Marketing, in turn, feels that the salespeople fail to follow up on the quality leads supplied to them.

In this digital age, the sales and marketing teams at many ...