The terms inbound sales and inbound marketing often go hand-in-hand. But anyonewho has worked in a company with designated sales and marketing teams knows the two don't always go hand in hand at all. The places where inbound sales and inbound marketing diverge can be a detriment to a company's bottom line if divergences aren't handled or supported effectively.

The phrase "inbound marketing" places all of the emphasis on marketing. That's a shame because inbound methods are as much about sales as they are about marketing. In fact, you could say inbound is really all about the sales because closing the sale is the ideal result of the hard work we put into our marketing strategy.

Before the internet, consumers relied more on salespeople for information about products and services. Today, it's a whole new ball game. 

Saves time - Check!

  Saves money - Check!

  Minimizes work loads - Check!

Yeah, yeah - you've heard it before. A CRM system is the be-all-and-end-all of qualified lead generation and online marketing. But, will it pick up the dry cleaning? Because that's when you'll finally sign up, right?

Feeling a bit dismayed about lagging sales stats? Don't let discouragement get the best of you.

Most likely, the right information isn't getting into the hands of your most qualified leads when they're most likely to spring into action.