Observations
Four Ways Marketing Can Help Close B2B Deals (A Guide for Sales Managers)
Do you ever feel like you’re fighting alone for a complex B2B deal? You’re alone with the client, their objections, and their “internal committee.” It can feel as if you are an infantryman dropped behind enemy lines without support.
For a long time, it was believed that the role of marketing was simply to “deliver” you to that territory (provide a lead), and after that, you were on your own. That model is outdated. In a modern company, marketing is more than just transportation. It provides personal intelligence and artillery support.
Its role is not only to point out the target but also to prepare the battlefield before you arrive and provide you with precise maps (client data) and support you with firepower (content) during the “battle.”
This article was most likely sent to you by your manager. It shows four concrete ways you can use marketing’s “artillery” to close deals faster and more easily with higher value.
Marketing as “lead warming”: Talking to an Already Warm Client
Think about your typical “cold” or “lukewarm” call. The first five minutes are usually spent explaining the basics: who your company is, what problem you solve, and what makes you different from others. You’re spending your precious time not selling, but educating.
The main task of systematic marketing is to perform this education at scale for you. While you sleep, eat, or conduct other meetings, marketing content—blog posts, webinars, and research—works for you. It educates the market, highlights problems, and presents solutions.
What does this give you personally? When a client arrives at a meeting or call “warmed up” by this content, the conversation starts off on a different foot. You skip the “Who are you?” stage. The client already knows you and recognizes your expertise; otherwise, they would not have read your article. Instead, you can immediately discuss their specific challenge.
As a result, you save up to 30% of the time on each call. Your conversation becomes deeper and more substantive. In the client’s eyes, your status instantly rises from “a salesperson trying to push something” to “an expert who can help.” This is the most direct way to shorten the sales cycle and build a trusting relationship.
Marketing as an “Arsenal”: The Right Argument at the Right Time
You’ve just finished a meeting, and your contact says, “I like everything, but we need to convince our CFO and the security team.” At this point, the deal moves into the client’s internal sphere, and you lose control. Your contact is now “fighting” alone on your behalf.
Marketing’s role is to provide your ally with a first-class arsenal. You shouldn’t have to spend your evening hastily assembling a presentation or Excel spreadsheet. With systematic marketing, these “ammunition” pieces are ready to go. Need an argument for the finance team? Send them a link to an ROI calculator. Security has concerns? Provide a white paper on data protection protocols. A client asks how you are better than competitor X? Share a comparative analysis.
As a result, you save hours of time and appear to the client as a true professional backed by a team of analysts and experts.
Marketing as a “Radar”: A Signal to Act
The client has paused to think. When is the best time to call them? In a week? In a month? Calling too early will annoy them, but calling too late will cause you to miss the moment. You’re working blindly.
Systematic marketing gives you a radar. Modern automation systems track how “cooling” clients interact with your materials. Suddenly, you receive an automatic notification in your CRM: “Contact from Company X. They have been silent for three weeks, spent five minutes on the pricing page, and downloaded a case study.”
This is the perfect, concrete reason to call. Instead of a pushy “Have you decided?” your call becomes timely and helpful: “Ivan, I noticed you’ve been reviewing our materials again. Have any specific questions come up?” Your chances of success will skyrocket.
Marketing as a “Trust Builder”: Working with Reputation
At every stage, especially at the beginning, clients ask themselves, “Can I trust these people?” “Can I trust these people? Will they be gone tomorrow?” It’s challenging for a salesperson to prove the reliability of an entire company alone.
Marketing’s task is to systematically build trust and reputation before the conversation even begins. When clients see articles about you in respected industry publications, read independent reviews, or see your CEO speak at conferences, it creates social proof. This makes your job much easier because you’re not just selling a product; you’re selling a product from a known and respected company.
Sell together, not alone
Lead Warming, Arsenal, Radar, and Trust. These elements prove that systematic marketing is a force multiplier. It doesn’t just “open doors”; it helps you navigate the entire path from start to finish.
However, this system works much better with feedback. Your marketing department is a valuable resource. Don’t wait for them to guess what you need. Approach them as a client would. Say, “For the deal with Company Y, I need a case study for the financial sector.” Or, “My clients keep asking about integration with X. Can we create a clear guide about this?”
