Simply put the marketing people and the sales people depend on each other 100%. One cannot say that a marketing department is any more or less important then the guys who are closing the deals in the sales department. Indeed, one would not survive a day without the other which is why in many smaller companies the account manager are responsible for both functions.

The very simple axiom of business is that in order to sell something you must first inform people that it is for sale. On the other hand, if you cannot close a deal after informing your buyer and bringing him all the way to the closing point, then all your marketing efforts were in vain. Both functions are absolutely integral to any business.

Certain sales jobs are looked down on by consumers, while marveling at the wonders of marketing departments. The glorious commercial messages that come across the TV screens of millions of households are somehow not linked to the sales people who will sell you the car or the vacation. Yet without these people, these fine tuned commercials would be a complete waste of time. Without the salesman business would come to a complete standstill.

While the practices of some sales people are what gives the whole profession a bad name, many sales guys are very much integrated marketing departments. From telemarketers to huge pharmaceutical district managers the role of the sales and marketing is the same: inform and sell. Marketing is information while selling is essentially the distribution. The concepts are linked and cannot be separated.