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There are literally millions of posts about marketing hacks and tips that will tell you how to make buyers come flocking. But most marketing discussion stops before the marketer begins selling. The online “gurus” you might give you advice around ad tactics, or their super-secret technique that will get clients lined up at your door waving their credit card. That is the job of marketing — to help an audience understand what you offer and to promote its value. Marketing gets buyers to the door.
For most businesses, though, marketing isn’t the end of the process, it is only the end of the beginning of the customer acquisition process. At some point, the timbre of the discussion between your business and your prospects changes from highlighting the benefits and rewards of working with your company to a discussion about them becoming customers. The end of marketing and the beginning of selling meet when it come time to get the prospect to commit to your business by paying you money. It’s this transition where the carefully crafted “funnel” can fall apart.
In many organizations, sales and marketing are two separate functions.
At your agency, your marketing department might develop a terrific lead magnet offer like “10 Magical Secrets to Hacking Instagram For Maximum Likes & Mega-Revenue”. Your prospect downloads your otherworldly secrets and cannot wait for Insta-fame and fortune to come their way. When the lead is handed to your intrepid business development staff, the burgeoning Instagram…
