Make sure you’re equal then make yourself different. So goes one marketing mantra which has stuck with me over the years. Make yourself different so that you can be remembered, so you stand out from the crowd, so – when it comes to that buying decision – you’re not only on the short-list, but you’re the one the rest want to equal and better. That is marketing’s job – to get you on the list and hopefully to the top of it.

Take your bucket of prospects and slice it into 3.
Slice 1 is going to do something, they will buy something eventually. How can marketing help? It can contribute to the deal by providing the case for accelerating the rate of the project and of course making sure you’re on the list.
Slice 2 might do nothing at all, just never will.
And slice 3? That’s the challenge and the fun. These are the ones that need teasing, nurturing, persuading. They may need to know they’re not alone, that they’re doing the right thing and that the benefits will out. They need to have confidence that the project is the right thing, before they even start to wonder who is the best placed vendor to help them. Help these people and you’ll be top of the pile when they do come round to making a decision.

Some might think that it’s just a matter of time for suspects and prospects to flow through the funnel. Marketing knows different.