Marketing-Initiated Sales

Earlier this year, Forrester Research published a study titled, B2B Marketing Trends and Predictions For 2012. In it, Jeff Ernst and his colleagues predicted a significant investment increase in marketing automation technology with 19% of B2B organizations planning to implement marketing automation this year, and another 17% expanding their usage.

This should not come as a surprise. The ROI of marketing automation technology has exploded in recent years. The total cost of investment has been steadily falling while the quality and volume of leads being passed to sales has been steadily rising. Individualized lead-nurturing that once required the time-intensive care and oversight of a sales executive can now be conducted by a well-managed automated marketing program.

For a startup ready to launch its sales effort in earnest, merely hiring a first dedicated sales executive could be a costly mistake. Consider how much time and cost is involved using the conventional cold-call-to-closure process to get even a first prospect to the same point in the buying cycle as a marketing-qualified lead. Before hiring that first dedicated sales executive, startup executives should consider investing (or increasing the investment) in marketing first based upon what the metrics dictate as the best investment allocation between sales and marketing. The same analysis should be conducted whenever considering any increase in the sales headcount.

Some B2B firms have taken the science of inbound and automated marketing to its logical conclusion. These firms only increase the sales headcount when the volume of marketing-qualified leads indicates there is an additional full quota of business to be won. As an added benefit, the flow of marketing-qualified leads serves as a strong indicator to guide how sales territories should be divided.

Despite the growing advantages of automated marketing, many firms that would benefit most from a higher investment in marketing still hold to convention and invest in higher sales headcount. When sales fall short of budget, the performers at the tail end of the bell curve often bear the blame. The assignment of blame often justifies reinvesting to restore the headcount rather than redeploying the investment into marketing.

In the end, the market is quite Darwinian in awarding those firms that invest wisely while punishing the firms that do not. Fortunately, firms can adapt. And Forrester’s report indicates many firms are indeed adapting.

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