Marketing Isn’t About Fluff. It’s About Sales.
Hands up. Who amongst you jumps out of bed every morning shouting “whoo hoo, I want marketing”?
Mmmm - I thought so! Not many of you ;)
The reality is not many people want marketing. We want sales.
Sales is sexy, it brings in revenue, it helps us grow, we ‘get’ sales.
Marketing - meh! We can do that when we have got more sales. We don’t need it (now / ever). We don’t even understand it!
I’ll let you into a secret…. the whole purpose of marketing is to help your business sales growth!
If you answer YES to any of these, read on, as marketing IS going to help you:
Would you like your sales to grow?
Would you like to have more in your pipeline?
Would you like to have your sales people (this may be you) spend more time in front of prospects?
Would you like to reduce your sales cycle and time to close?
Would you like to have the phone ring and inbound enquiries?
Would you like to increase the value of business?
Do you struggle to balance working in the business with doing sales and business development?
The list could go on…
You’ll notice all of these are sales and growth orientated questions.
What gets me up in the morning IS marketing. But it isn’t the “doesn’t that brochure look beautiful, do me another Facebook post” variety.
It’s about how marketing can supercharge sales activity to deliver business results and objectives.
One of my passions is demystifying marketing and helping people increase the efficiency of sales to drive business growth.
Awareness - the right marketing approach can play a key role in helping you convert opportunities, build credibility, and stay front-of-mind — without overwhelming your sales team.
Lead gen - while awareness is important, what often moves the needle the fastest for sales-led businesses is marketing that helps close more deals and reduce sales cycles.
In most small B2B companies, marketing’s job is simple: **to help sales succeed**.
Whether you are a small business happily growing through word of mouth, or a mid-sized company with a strategy of sales growth, you need marketing and sales working together to really make a difference.
Here is how.
Marketing builds the tools your sales team needs
AKA reducing inefficiencies and increasing success.
A marketing team (or person) that creates tailored, on-brand collateral and templates helps your salespeople spend less time building the sales decks and tools and more time in front of prospects having the right conversations.
Examples:
A standard, professional sales deck clearly articulating your value proposition and offering
Case studies and one-pagers for specific sectors or customer types
Proposal templates that tell your story, clearly and persuasively
Standard nurturing emails for sales follow-up that can be quickly tailored for the situation
Bonus: Having these assets created by marketing (instead of individual salespeople) ensures your brand and messaging shows up consistently and professionally.
2. Marketing makes it easier to position your offer
Good marketing does more than create strong collateral. It also provides the product, market and customer insights that help salespeople have better conversations and confidently explain *why customers should choose you*.
That includes:
Voice of the customer - getting under the skin of your target customer, articulating what their problems are and why they would choose you, in their own voice
Competitive analysis – understanding your key competitors, how you stack up, and what your edge is
Value proposition development – making sure you have good messaging which reflects what customers actually care about and is less centred just on products and services
Positioning guidance – knowing which parts of your story to emphasise, depending on the customer
FAQs and ‘counter’ messages - providing messaging to counter queries and resistance from customers
This gives sales the language and confidence they need to stand out and win more work.
3. Marketing understands the customer journey
Marketing will can help map your buyer’s journey and create content and support for each stage — from awareness through to decision. This not only results in better engagement and with marketing content but also makes it easier for sales to have meaningful conversations based on where a prospect is in the journey.
That’s a bit ‘marketing speak’ - what do we mean? Not all prospects are at the same stage in their awareness of their problem & need for you, or for your organisation. Some may be at the stage of making a decision about what approach to take, or choosing between you and another provider. This is known as the customer journey.
Marketing content can help ensure you are positioned with the right message at the right time to your prospects. Your sales people should then only spring into action when a prospect is ready, rather than wasting their time chasing people who are not actually prospects.
That might look like:
Blog posts or guides that educate early-stage prospects
Case studies to support evaluation
Checklists and calculators as sales-enablement content which support decision-makers internally
This means sales is not starting from scratch — and prospects are more prepared and informed when they arrive in the conversation.
4. Marketing generates and qualifies better leads
Not many people love cold calling — and for good reason. It is time-consuming and often poorly targeted.
Marketing helps generate and warm up leads through targeted campaigns, content, and outreach strategies. Good marketing also ensures that prospects will find you when they are looking for the products and services you offer.
If prospects engage with marketing material you can start ‘warming’ them up and engaging them. Your marketing and sales team can also identify which ones to focus on (ideal customer) and which ones may not be relevant - allowing your sales people to focus their efforts effectively.
That might look like:
A search engine optimised website to ensure your business is discoverable when prospects are actively looking
Lead generation content like ebooks, whitepapers, and guides that speak directly to customer pain points
Nurture content such as regular emails and social media posts that keep you front of mind while the buyer is considering their options.
Together, these tools make it easier to generate and warm up leads, build trust, and generate real conversations with prospects who are actually interested.
5. Marketing supports focused targeting and outreach
If your business is prioritising a specific sector or customer segment, marketing can identify high-potential prospects, research the needs and challenges specific to that segment, and help you speak their language.
Marketing can also tailor the visuals, messaging and collateral to resonate more strongly with that audience, increasing your cut-through and improving engagement. That means less time wasted on uninterested leads and more time spent where it counts.
Again, this allows your sales team to have more relevant and compelling conversations — and ultimately, convert more opportunities (you can see a theme by now!).
This might look like:
Lists of relevant prospects and organisations
Deep insights into challenges and language specific to each group
Tailored messaging, visuals, and offers to increase cut-through
Specific sections on your website which speaks to those segments
The result: better targeting, stronger connections, and less wasted effort. Your marketing activity will resonate more strongly with your prospects.
There’s a multitude of reports indicating that segmentation leads to massive increases in revenue, but that’s a whole separate blog post. Or drop us a line if you want a chat about that.
6. Marketing keeps your brand and products front of mind
For many B2B tech and professional services businesses, sales cycles are long. Not every conversation turns into a deal straight away. That doesn't mean there is no opportunity. The timing might have just not been right.
In my observation many organisations don’t have the systems and processes in place to continuously keep engaged with prospects. Sales people generally aren't able to continuously stay in touch with every potential prospect they ever talked to. That is where marketing can step in to keep the relationship alive and ensure your brand and offering are front of mind when the timing is right.
Examples:
Regular newsletter
Nudge follow-up email
Case studies
Social media content
Whitepapers, e-books, webinars etc
These touchpoints should keep you present in the mind of your prospect and can be the difference between being forgotten and being front-of-mind when they are ready to buy.
7. Marketing increases brand awareness
Brand awareness might not always be the immediate priority, but it plays a critical role in supporting sales success. Brand awareness is about sales tomorrow compared with lead gen activity for sales today.
Prospects are more likely to engage — and buy — from businesses they recognise and trust. A well-recognised and reputable brand creates a sense of familiarity and credibility, helping to build confidence and reduce friction in the sales process.
Consistent marketing activity — from LinkedIn and events, to newsletters and conferences — not only ensures your brand stays visible it also build trust.
Sales-led doesn’t mean marketing is optional
For many New Zealand B2B businesses, especially those who are small-midsized and starting to grow, sales is the driving force — but marketing is what helps you scale. It’s what makes your sales pipeline more sustainable and effective.
It does not have to mean big budgets or huge campaigns.
It also should not be about just adding in a marketing person with no direction. Marketing is strategic.
Ensure you are providing leadership and clarity of the purpose of marketing to your team - this is about us making SALES.
If you are looking to grow your business and super-charge your sales activity, let’s chat.
Our special sauce is:
Working with B2B tech and services businesses
Focusing on marketing and sales together - marketing is a driver for sales growth
Understanding your business objectives
Building you a sustainable marketing machine that goes beyond stop-start
Taking action - a plan is important, but we work with you to make it happen
Get in touch
I provide leadership, support and direction for growing Kiwi tech and innovation companies as your 'fractional' (part-time) Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) - an affordable way to get senior thinking and direction for businesses.
If you could do with some help to grow your business, get in touch
Helen Shorthouse
Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)