Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Separately they were great, but together they created a slice of heaven on earth. Why? Because when they danced together, their movements flowed together as one, entwined in each other's rhythms to create a picture that was greater than the two alone. In other words, every good duo consists of partners working in concert to complement one another.

It's the same in business. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the day-to-day relationship between the sales team and the marketing team. As with a pair of dancers, sales and marketing have the same ultimate objective: to work together, to play off of and enhance one another. Yet how each pursues that objective is different. Sales and marketing teams have unique strengths, weaknesses and core competencies. Yet management often lumps the two together, as though each performs the same role. The result is that, rather than benefit from each other's capabilities, they compete at similar tasks in which neither excels. As we'll find out, marketing needs to lead--defining the message--and sales needs to tailor that message to its clients.

Who's Fred, and Who's Ginger?
In order to visualize how sales and marketing can successfully interact, it's critical to understand their similarities and differences.

At its core, marketing involves both the identification of a company's brand message and the mass promotion of that message to the public at large. That promotion may come in a variety of forms: in print, online, via television, radio or other mediums.

The sales department has a similar, yet contrasting, role. The role of sales is to take the message created by marketing to potential clients and tailor that message to the prospects' needs. The salesperson is a people person, using her charisma and powers of persuasion to lead the prospect through the sale.

Dance Lessons: First Steps
As the dance begins, it's best if marketing leads. Marketing will mold and craft the company's brand, at the behest of management, and choreograph the steps to this dance. The company's name, logo, website and corporate literature form the foundation of the public's view of the company and relay the company's message. They also explain how the company might impact the prospective client's life for the better.

If there is no clear company brand or focus, sales will flounder like a poorly accompanied dancer. Without a stable partner, sales likely won't have a clear understanding of what it's selling or to whom it's selling. That's why it's important to take time to understand your company's mission and build your brand. Keeping in mind your specialties, identify your customer and choose a niche. Then direct your marketing accordingly. In other words, don't try to do the moonwalk when you're better at the mambo.

Entering into the Dance
With the brand firmly established, sales can join its partner on the dance floor. Sales is about building relationships. Marketing asks, "Who am I?" while sales asks the prospect, "Who are you?" The consummate salesperson gets to know the prospect just as well as she knows her own company. She understands the prospect's line of work, product offerings, goals and challenges, and--most important--how her company can be of benefit to that business.

• Our software is just what you need for your accounts receivable department."
• "We're the perfect home health-care agency to suit your family's needs."
• "Join our clientele: We have the right solution for consumers with low credit scores, just like you."

The successful salesperson will help the hesitant prospect overcome her reservations, step out onto the floor and join in the business relationship.

Dance With the One Who Brought You
Sales and marketing should dance together gracefully. Remember, as the choreographer, marketing creates the brand--the foundation of who and what the company is. In essence, marketing defines the company.

Sales is obligated to follow that definition to a "t." Should the sales department decide to take matters into its own hands and attempt to redefine the company in a manner contrary to the foundation of the brand, the end result will be confusion and a disservice to the customer, who will likely take his business elsewhere.

Consider a company that provides home health-care services to families with elderly loved ones who can no longer complete daily housekeeping chores. The marketing message is simple: "ACME Home Health caregivers can meet all your housekeeping needs. We'll do the laundry, wash the dishes, take out the trash, visit the grocery--whatever your loved one needs to maintain house and home."

Now imagine if a salesperson runs into a prospective client who not only needs a good housekeeper for her elderly loved one, but someone who can administer insulin injections on a regular basis. A salesperson who is staying true to the company's message will explain that this falls outside of the services the agency provides. A headstrong salesman--one who wants to seize the reins from marketing and control the company's brand message himself--might think that the agency ought to offer nursing services and could improvise: "Of course our caregivers can administer the injections. We specialize in providing medical assistance for diabetic clients."

This salesman isn't dancing with the one who brought him, and the results could be disastrous. At best, the prospect will learn that the agency doesn't provide medical care and will likely be annoyed. At worst, the ill-equipped agency might try to live up to the prospect's expectations and wind up with an injured patient and a lawsuit on its hands.

Sales has to dance in sync with the routine that marketing has already outlined. An out-of-control sales team is just as dangerous to the company as a marketing department that doesn't know what it's doing. Here are four tips for mastering the dance:

1. Always keep the brand clearly in the spotlight.
2. Hold regular meetings with the sales teams where the brand is re-emphasized.
3. Communication is key. Explain why certain products and services are offered and others aren't.
4. Give sales personnel a pop quiz about the company and its offerings. The more you pound the brand into their minds, the less likely they'll dance to the beat of a different drum.

Watching His Back
When does the dance end? Ideally, never. Sales and marketing should continue working in harmony as long as the company is in business. In order for the business to continue to thrive and survive, marketing and sales must continue to work together in a finely tuned partnership.

To return to our previous example involving a diabetic client, it's true that the salesperson can't make promises that fall outside the scope of the agency's abilities. However, what she can do is:

• Make note of the prospect's expectations.
• If the salesperson identifies a trend of prospects requesting specific health-care services, she can report back to marketing--and management--for consideration.
• If a decision is made to expand services, sales and marketing can act together to revamp the message and create supporting collateral.

In this sense, the salesperson acts as a watchman to let management know when customer demands are changing. Sales can also let marketing know when the company message needs strengthening. At that point, marketing steps in to develop materials the salesperson can use to reinforce the message she's trying to convey. This can be done through brochures, video testimonials from similar clients, blogs, podcasts and other media that marketing creates and sales brings into the field. And so the dance continues, in perpetuity.

The more sales and marketing are understood, the easier it is to see how they work in tandem while retaining separate identities. Both are critical to the success of the company. To make the mistake of thinking a company can thrive with one and not the other is to cut that business off at its knees.

Merrily Orsini is managing director and founder of corecubed, a marketing communications company that specializes in resource-rich marketing communications programs for companies that provide at-need services.