IMPACT Inbound Marketing Agency]
Services
TAYA

They Ask, You Answer Mastery

A coaching & training program that drives unmatched sales & marketing results.

Sales

Sales Performance Mastery

Improve the competencies and close rates of your sales organization.

Web design

Website Mastery

Web design, development & training for your team.

HubSpot

HubSpot Mastery

Everything you need to get the most from HubSpot.

AI Mastery

AI Enablement Mastery

Unlock the power of AI in all aspects of your revenue operations.

Discover how IMPACT’s services can help take your business to the next level. Book a free 30-minute coaching session Book a free 30-minute coaching session
Learning Center
Learning Center

Learning Center

Free resources to help you improve the way you market, sell and grow your business.

[NEW] The Endless Customers Podcast is now available everywhere. Learn how to earn trust & win more customers in the age of AI. Listen Now Listen Now

Register for IMPACT Live in Hartford CT, October 14-16! Register for IMPACT Live, They Ask, You Answer Conference, October 14-16 in Hartford, CT. Limited tickets remain!

Close Bottom Left Popup Offer
IMPACT Live Group

Register for IMPACT Live in Hartford CT, October 14-16!

Register for IMPACT Live, They Ask, You Answer Conference, October 14-16 in Hartford, CT. Limited tickets remain!
Kyle Bento

By Kyle Bento

Nov 11, 2016

Topics:

HubSpot Sales & Marketing Alignment
Subscribe

Never miss an episode of Endless Customers!

Subscribe now and get the latest podcast releases delivered straight to your inbox.

Thanks, stay tuned for our upcoming episodes.
HubSpot  |   Sales & Marketing Alignment

The Future of Inbound: Solving the Sales Alignment Gap

Kyle Bento

By Kyle Bento

Nov 11, 2016

The Future of Inbound: Solving the Sales Alignment Gap

This year, INBOUND 2016 has been a blast.

It has also solidified one major concept in my mind.

“Marketing and sales can no longer be considered separate groups.”

Here’s why: When we made a purchase in the past, we were attracted by marketing and educated by sales. We learn the basics from marketing, but ultimately interact with sales to determine if the product or service we chose was, in fact, the best choice.

The thing is, this has all changed.

Prospects have altered the way they buy. They're now more autonomous in researching and gathering the information they need to educate themselves on the solution to their problem. 

Inbound marketing has risen as the clear winner in educating buyers on the value of a purchase. As a result, buyers have never had more information at their fingertips.

In the past, you’d have to call a sales person to ask, “what do other people think of using your product?” or “how does your product work in conjunction with X?” Today, we no longer need to ask. Instead, we turn to the web and we figure it out ourselves.

Amazon is a perfect example of this. When buying from Amazon, do you deal with a sales rep? Why would you? You have hundreds of reviews at your fingertips which answer all the questions you probably already have. Can't find the answer to your question? Then you just ask and the community and they respond, ultimately avoiding any sales person.

Sales is Changing

I may sound like I’m saying that salespeople are no longer important, but that couldn’t be further from the case. In most buying situations, we need sales people to help guide buyers through the buyer’s journey. However, the most successful salespeople have changed the way they sell and it’s becoming the responsibility of marketing to bring them up to speed.

Key Takeaway: Marketing and Sales Need to Unify.

The most successful organizations will recognize that sales and marketing are doing the same thing, just differently. They’re both educating buyers and they need to work together at it.

We see this shift happen in the way sales and marketing products are being built. HubSpot is moving their product in the direction of being one unified platform. It’s no longer HubSpot Marketing, HubSpot Sales & HubSpot CRM. It’s one platform that buyer information transgresses seamlessly through, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

A huge takeaway from this event is that the best sellers are using information that marketing generates to customize the sales experience for a buyer (and log it in the CRM, right?). At the same time, the best marketers understand and learn from the interactions sales has with prospects. It’s how we’ll all grow.

I challenge you to be a better smarketer.

Spend some time learning how your sales team sells and start identifying areas that you can help augment their process and improve your buyer's experience.

Happy unifying!

IMPACT Live Group

Register for IMPACT Live in Hartford CT, October 14-16!

Register for IMPACT Live, They Ask, You Answer Conference, October 14-16 in Hartford, CT. Limited tickets remain!