As a Fractional CMO, I get to work with a wide range of companies—some with massive brand strategies unfolding over years, and others who are just a few weeks into a campaign and already asking, Why isn’t the phone ringing?
That contrast isn’t surprising. What’s always surprising, though, is how many companies still expect instant results from marketing, as if it were some transactional engine they can switch on and off like paid media.
It doesn’t work that way.
The Fishing Analogy I Keep Coming Back To
I’ve used the same analogy for years because it resonates: sales is like fishing. Sales-driven companies just want to get out on the water and cast as many lines as possible. The thinking is, the more rods in the water, the more likely something will bite.
And sometimes, that works. But often, it doesn’t—because the fish aren’t where you’re casting, or they’re not interested in the bait, or the weather’s wrong, or someone else is already trolling that same spot with better gear. Or, you reel in a lot of fish that get thrown back.
That’s where marketing comes in. Marketing isn’t about casting faster—it’s about casting smarter. It’s about researching where the fish are, experimenting with bait, testing depth, and even chumming the waters long before a line is dropped. The best marketing doesn’t just attract leads—it creates demand.
I’m Not Against Sales Hustle—But It’s Not Enough
Let me be clear: I love working with great salespeople. Sales enablement is critical. The perfect scenario is a well-equipped salesperson fishing in the right spot, at the right time, with the right gear. But getting to that moment takes coordination. It takes marketing.
When I step into an organization that’s heavily sales-driven but new to strategic marketing, the biggest hurdle isn’t budget—it’s mindset. These companies are often brilliant at closing deals, but completely uncomfortable with anything that doesn’t tie directly to this quarter’s pipeline.
The hard truth is, if you’re only relying on outbound calls and emails, you’re burning out your sales team. Great marketing doesn’t replace them—it amplifies them.
Even the Best Fishermen Hire a Guide
Think about it. If you’re a world-class fisherman visiting unfamiliar waters, what’s the first thing you do? You find a local guide. Because even if you’ve got the skills, someone who knows the terrain is going to dramatically increase your odds of success.
That’s how I think of my role as a Fractional CMO. I’m not just here to generate leads—I’m here to study the ecosystem and give your sales team the best possible chance to land what they’re after.
And the best salespeople? They love that. They want to know what bait is working. They want insights on where the fish are biting. When marketing and sales collaborate like that, magic happens.
Why Sales-Led Orgs Struggle With Marketing
When I join a company that’s never invested seriously in marketing, I can almost predict the objections. Marketing feels soft. It’s hard to quantify. It doesn’t show up in reports the way calls and closes do. And they’re right—kind of.
Marketing doesn’t work like sales. It builds momentum, not immediate outcomes. It’s directional. But if you measure the right leading indicators, you can start to connect the dots.
Here are the metrics I use to help sales-driven organizations see that momentum in action.
Share of Voice
If people are only talking about your competitors, you’re invisible—even if you’re better.
One of the first signs a sales-driven company realizes they need marketing is when the conversation in their industry is dominated by someone else. Using brand monitoring tools, I show clients how often their brand is mentioned compared to competitors—across social, earned media, forums, and industry channels. It’s usually eye-opening.
Sales Enablement Material
If your sales team isn’t using your marketing, your investment is fighting your own strategy.
I once worked with a client where we completely revamped their brand and created incredible sales assets. But no one told the sales team. A few months later, I sat in on a demo and was stunned to see the same old PowerPoint they’d been using before we came in. It looked like it came from a high school project—and that’s how the brand came across.
If marketing and sales don’t communicate, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the collateral is. I now insist on bringing sales into the process from day one. Their buy-in is non-negotiable.
Content Velocity and SEO Momentum
Google doesn’t reward who you are—it rewards what’s shared that you publish.
You can’t rank for keywords you’re not writing about. And you can’t get inbound leads if you’re not producing useful, relevant content that people are willing to share. Search engine algorithms are one of the most sophisticated in the world, and it favors freshness, depth, and engagement.
If we’re not creating and promoting new content regularly, your competitors will—and you’ll fall behind, even if your product is superior.
Visitor Behavior Trends
High traffic means nothing if it’s the wrong audience.
One misconception I have to correct constantly: more traffic does not always mean more leads. In fact, when we start refining content to target ideal buyers, traffic often goes down—but conversion rates go up.
I focus on conversions, bounce rate, time on site, pages per visit, form completions, and behavior flows. These metrics show how well your message is landing, even before the first call is made.
Prospect Demographics and Firmographics
You don’t just want more leads—you want better leads.
Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we track how marketing impacts the type of leads coming through. Are we attracting the right job titles, company sizes, geographies, or household profiles? I’m always comparing new lead data to the company’s ideal customer profile (ICP). That alignment is a real indicator of ROI, not just volume.
Sales Attribution (Done Right)
It’s not just about what closed the deal—it’s about what influenced the journey.
This one’s a big shift for sales-driven orgs. I always build a multi-touch attribution model—because most deals aren’t closed on the first call or the last click. Was it a whitepaper download? A podcast guest spot? An SEO article? A webinar? A LinkedIn video? A local event?
When we track all these touches, we can finally see which parts of the marketing strategy are creating leverage—not just who gets credit at the finish line.
Communicating Progress, Not Just Wins
Once I start showing these leading indicators—voice share, sales content adoption, content rankings, user behavior, demographic alignment, and attribution paths—the picture becomes clear. Momentum is building.
Even if the phone isn’t ringing off the hook yet, the ground is shifting. The audience is aware. The brand is resonating. The sales calls are warmer. And conversion rates start improving.
Marketing’s Long-Term Compounding Value
Here’s something most sales-first leaders don’t fully appreciate until much later: marketing keeps working, even after the investment stops. I’ve created whitepapers and tools for clients that still bring in leads years later.
Sales stops when the rep stops calling. Marketing continues to deliver—slowly tapering over time, yes—but never falling off a cliff. That’s why your best investment is in both.
With consistent marketing strategy, you reduce cost per acquisition, improve customer retention, increase word of mouth, and make every sales call more productive.
If you’re serious about growth, it’s time to think beyond fishing as fast as you can. Chart a course, bait the waters, and get your sales team into the kind of rhythm that doesn’t just chase leads—it attracts them.
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