Sales vs Marketing

Developers should learn sales skills when working in roles that involve client interactions, such as solutions architects, technical evangelists, or startup founders, to effectively communicate value and secure business meets developers should learn marketing to better understand user needs, communicate the value of their technical work, and contribute to product success in competitive markets. Here's our take.

Sales

Nice Pick

Developers should learn sales skills when working in roles that involve client interactions, such as solutions architects, technical evangelists, or startup founders, to effectively communicate value and secure business

Pros

• It's useful for freelancers or consultants who need to pitch services, negotiate contracts, and manage client relationships
• Related to: customer-relationship-management, negotiation

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Marketing

Developers should learn marketing to better understand user needs, communicate the value of their technical work, and contribute to product success in competitive markets

Pros

• It is particularly useful for roles in product development, startup environments, or when building customer-facing applications, as it helps align technical decisions with business goals and user expectations
• Related to: user-research, data-analytics

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Sales is a methodology while Marketing is a concept. We picked Sales based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Sales wins

Based on overall popularity. Sales is more widely used, but Marketing excels in its own space.