“I’ve got a sales team. I don’t need marketing.”
Weird that this has come up several times in the last couple of weeks. Here are 4 reasons why you do need marketing.
- Build awareness – How do people hear about you? You’re missing out if it’s through cold calling, a website, and sporadic posts or events.
- Educate – Make your buyers better at their jobs, and they will listen to how you can help. No more sales webinars on why to buy from you.
- Nurture – Consistent (educational) communication keeps your company in front of buyers between sales calls. When it’s time to buy, you’re top of mind.
- Support – Marketing supports sales, not the other way around. That said, everything the sales team says/does will be improved with marketing input.
The best sales professionals I’ve met prioritize effort based on direct path to revenue – those A prospects with an immediate need. Marketing helps move the B (interested) and C (qualified) prospects to A prospects before and between sales calls, then supports the sales process, making it easier to buy.
If your sales team spends too much time on B and C prospects, you need more A’s. It’s time to implement or enhance your marketing program.
Hold your marketing team accountable. Set goals, define metrics, and measure results. There are many cheap tools to help you track the ROI of each marketing activity.
