…Particularly If You’re a Freelancer
Seventy %.
That’s how a lot of a shopping for determination is already made earlier than a prospect ever talks to an organization. Marcus Sheridan highlights this in his guide They Ask, You Reply, referencing research that present simply how a lot of the gross sales course of occurs lengthy earlier than a salesman picks up the cellphone.
And it’s not only for B2C. The stat originated in B2B analysis, the place shopping for cycles are lengthy and costly. It doesn’t matter in case you’re a one-person store or a multinational, it’s the identical sample.
Assume again ten years. In case you’d requested how far alongside individuals had been of their determination earlier than contacting a enterprise, the frequent guess would’ve been 20-40 %. At the moment? It’s 70 %. And in one other decade? It may be 80, 90, possibly even 100. At that time, gross sales would possibly simply present as much as signal the paperwork.
So, right here’s the robust query: if a lot of the determination occurs earlier than gross sales is concerned, which division truly drives income — gross sales or advertising and marketing?
The reply is clear. It’s advertising and marketing.
And but, when firms tighten their belts, which division will get reduce first? Advertising and marketing. After they’re able to develop once more, which division do they rent…
