Let me tell you a story. It’s one that my team and I have heard about from many prospects, and have seen from almost every one of our clients to date. It’s not unique to a specific industry, though it does seem more prevalent (or perhaps just more obvious) in our manufacturing clients. This story is about a reformed marketing team’s path to success.

Earlier this week, I wrote about why inbound marketing works for manufacturing. I walked through the buyer’s journey, from discovery, to consideration, to making a decision about a solution for a problem they’re facing. In the case of manufacturing, the buyer always feels an acute need for the solution prior to purchasing; buying a huge piece of machinery is not a week-long decision. The process could take months, with input from many other decision-makers in the company.

Once a potential solution has been identified, the buyer is ready to talk to a sales professional at your manufacturing business. Here’s how a sales team enabled through inbound succeeds more often.

High-value publications and ebooks are (or, should be) the bread-and-butter of an inbound sales strategy for your B2B business. Not sure why? From a prospect's point of view, you're empowering them - the buyer - to learn more about your solution or product in a low-pressure way, while they research and educate themselves (read more about this inbound method for manufacturing marketing).

From your sales point of view, you're gathering information about the prospect's interests and pain points based on what they download, as well as receiving their contact information and more for additional communication.

As a CEO, you have a specific way of looking at your company’s success. You see the big picture: where you are, where you’re going, and how you need to get there. That view hinges on the ability to look at each facet of your business and see the value it brings to your company’s bottom line. A data-centric inbound marketing strategy can give you the data you’ve been looking for from your marketing investments.

The modern buyer has changed the sales process, and now the sales process is being redefined. Today's sellers are adapting to the modern buyer, and as a result, the mantra of "always be closing" no longer works. Today's buyers must always be helping.

Keep reading to learn how modern sellers are adapting to today's buyers, and how you can apply this to your own sales process.

SMarketing, sales and marketing alignment, is critical to your manufacturing organization’s success. Both teams are responsible for your company’s growth and success. Both can now be held accountable for their contributions to revenue, and the gap between the teams has closed. With sales and marketing working close together, it’s critical that they work well together.

Bow season is in high gear here in the midwest. The rut, the time of year when deer are most active, is in full swing, and bow hunters are scouting the woods for antler rubs, trail signs, and that elusive twelve-pointer (or sixteen-pointer!). Right now is the time when companies are setting their budgets for 2017. They’re most actively searching for solutions that fit their needs. Businesses with an inbound sales strategy have an advantage.

The thought of writing this post initially left me with a mild panic attack. After all, my audience consists of marketers, yes - but it also consists of CFOs, CEOs, and small business owners. And here I am, talking about a long-term investment strategy into your business: inbound marketing (and sales enablement, but that’s a story for another post). It’s hard enough to talk about long-term marketing plans face-to-face; it’s a whole other prospect to talk about it in writing.

The manufacturing industry contributes $2.09 trillion to the economy,  so it is no surprise U.S. manufacturers are the most productive in the world. While this figure has steadily risen since 2009, a vast majority of companies still continue to struggle with generating qualified leads.¹ Why?