The Sales Flywheel Has Replaced the Sales Funnel

Business evolves, and so does the sales process. In the modern sales process the role of sales is diminished and the role of marketing is more important than ever before. The reason for this is because potential clients don’t rely on sales people as the sole source of information. Instead they conduct their own initial research on a product or service they are interested in before ever engaging with a sales representative.

Does this mean that the sales representative’s role is antiquated? It is not, it just means that the prospect is much further down the line in the sales process as they have in most cases created a strong foundation of knowledge both from the internet and from word of mouth references. Then when they do engage with the sales rep they are either in need of a little more info or they need to be guided through the process to acquire the good or service they are looking to obtain. So it is a sales reps closing skills that are more in demand than ever.

So to offset the sales rep role it is imperative that an organization’s marketing strategy brings as much outreach and credible information as possible to the market and the internet. This also needs to be done without any expectation of getting a direct Return on Investment.

The reason for this is because as a prospective buyer is conducting their initial research on the internet a company wants their material to be acquired by the prospect. This enables the prospect to choose to learn the information you provided, and it gives your organization credibility since they were the ones who put it out there. This information and credibility will hopefully lead to the prospect reaching out to connect with a sales rep to learn more or move on to the next steps in the buying process.

As a person who spent their career in sales this may be a tough pill to swallow, but it is today’s reality. So my suggestion for anyone in sales to please work with the marketing department to support their efforts so they can support yours. Then just as it was true in 1992 with Glengarry Glen Ross as it is today in 2025….ABC, Always Be Closing!