Running a business is the "Roots & Wings" is a podcast I co-host with David Solomon to share insights on strategic growth for small to mid-size business owners and leaders.
This episode kicks off with a common question "Marketing before sales or vice versa?".
To answer that, we first need to clear up what marketing is, some misconceptions, how it relates to strategy, brand, and sales, and how businesses can leverage it to drive growth.
What is Marketing?
I often simplify with business owners that at its core, marketing is about getting attention and generating leads. Many business owners mistakenly think of marketing as just outbound efforts—a push strategy aimed at reaching customers. But marketing is just as much about pull strategies. When done well, it’s inbound: your brand, message, and value proposition draw customers to you. It’s not just about pushing out messages; it’s about building relationships and turning your brand into a magnet for future opportunities.
As the saying goes,
Finance identifies where the money goes; marketing identifies where the money comes from.
Marketing defines the pathway to profitability by building a steady stream of leads and growth opportunities.
How Marketing, Strategy, Brand, and Sales Connect
"Strategy" is the backbone of your business. It is, in our definition, making deliberate choices on how to win customers better than the competition. We've discussed this in a previous blog: What Sets Strategy Apart. It's also about solving the right problems right, not the wrong problems right! Once you’ve outlined your strategy, marketing comes into play to drive attention and create opportunities.
*Sales* is the process of closing the deal. Marketing warms up potential customers, building trust, educating them, and creating positive experiences. The sales function then takes those relationships across the finish line.
"Brand" ties everything together. A strong brand makes marketing and sales easier because it inspires trust. Companies that invest in building their brand perform better throughout the funnel, often requiring less reliance on aggressive outbound tactics. To build a successful brand, focus on four key elements:
Promise
Consistently Keeping That Promise
How People Experience You
Future You
In my work with business owners and leaders, I often encounter below roadblocks and let me clarify:
Misconception: Marketing is a Cost Center
One of the most common misconceptions is that marketing is just a cost center. Many see it only in terms of ad spend and lead generation costs. But in reality, marketing is an investment in your future. When you invest in building your brand, you reduce the need for aggressive push marketing because your reputation starts working for you.
Think of the brand as a “goodwill” line item in your company’s valuation. Companies with strong brands consistently outperform those that don’t and research supports this. According to a 2024 Harvard Business Review study, companies that place marketing at the core of their growth strategy significantly outperform their competitors. High-growth companies invest, on average, three times more in marketing than their peers.
Growth Isn't Linear - It's a Spiral
Many business owners think growth follows a straight, upward line. In reality, growth is more of a spiral, with ups and downs that require constant adjustments. This is why it’s important not to get too strict about sequence during your strategy-defining phase.
For example, you don’t need to have all of your R&D (Research & Development) complete before you start selling. In fact, selling before building can provide vital insights that improve your final product.
Avoid Communication Pitfalls
Often, there’s a disconnect between the leadership team and the marketing function. The same Harvard Business Review study showed that when CEOs and CMOs in the same company were asked about the role of marketing—whether it was brand building, customer experience, digital growth, or sales support—half the time, they gave different answers. When the leadership team isn’t aligned on what marketing’s role should be, it becomes nearly impossible to execute a cohesive strategy.
How Early Growth-Stage Companies Can Leverage Marketing
1. Define Marketing’s Role: Decide what you want from marketing. Is it about building the brand, driving leads, creating customer loyalty, or all of the above? Without clarity, your marketing efforts will be scattered.
2. System, System, System: The best marketing is systematized. Create repeatable processes for lead generation, nurturing, and conversion to ensure consistency and scalability.
3. Balance Strategy and Execution: The marketing leader should play both a coaching role in defining the strategy and a tactical role in getting things done. It’s not enough to strategize; you have to execute.
4. Marketing Should Understand P&L: For the business to grow, marketing leaders need to think like business leaders. That means having a sense of profit and loss and keeping tangible results front of mind.
5. Measuring Your Marketing Efforts: Small business owners often tell me one of the reasons they don't know how to work with Marketing is because they don't know how to measure performance. Here are a few KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) I recommend starting with:
"Number of leads" generated by each event or campaign.
"Cost per lead" to understand the efficiency of your marketing spend.
"Conversion rates" to measure how well leads are moving through the funnel
*Cost per acquisition" to see the overall cost of converting a customer.
"Lifetime value of a customer" to understand the long-term impact of your marketing efforts.
"Customer churn rate" is the percentage of customers lost during a specific period.
"Average Order Value" (AOV) to track the average amount a customer spends per transaction, helping you understand purchasing behavior and identify opportunities to increase revenue per sale.
Of course, performance tracking should be customized to fit each business's needs. For example, I work with wealth management firms, and we track the average holdings per client as a starting point.
Marketing is the Core Driver of Growth
Marketing isn’t just an isolated function—it’s a strategic driver of business growth. By aligning your marketing efforts with your overall strategy, building a strong brand, and creating clear communication across your organization, you’ll set your business up for long-term success.
And remember, the companies that succeed are the ones that see marketing not as a cost but as an investment in their future.
Book a discovery call and start building the foundation for your growth today!