Break down silos with Marketing Automation - Sales

Sales – Your Shortcut to the Buyer’s Decision 

This is part 1 of our blog series “Break Down Silos with Marketing Automation”. Read the introduction here.. 

Marketing Automation is often seen as a tool for lead generation – but its true value only emerges when sales and marketing work together. 

When the sales team’s real-world experience helps shape the automated customer journey, Marketing Automation becomes an extension of sales – with sharper messaging, smarter qualification, and better timing. 

How it works in practice: 

• Sales shares insights about customer needs and buying behavior
• Marketing builds automated flows that reflect those insights
• Leads are better qualified and easier to prioritize
• Sales connects with the right buyer at the right time – with better context
• Ongoing feedback from sales continuously improves the automation 
  

Three real-life examples:

"From gut feeling to smart qualification" 

Global industrial company – serving both direct customers and distributors

Sales reps needed to quickly assess: 

• Is there an active need?
• Is this the right type of customer?
• What product area are they interested in? 

They shared the questions they normally ask in early-stage sales calls – such as company size, area of interest, and timeline – and these were built into the automated communication flow. 

The result?  When sales took over, they already knew that there was a real need, what the customer was looking for and that the timing was right. 

Marketing Automation became a smart pre-qualification engine – saving time, improving meetings, and building trust between sales and marketing. 

"If you confuse, you lose" 

Financial and insurance company

“Our customers don’t understand what we’re saying.” 
 That was the clear signal from the sales team – and the starting point for a closer collaboration with marketing. 

With the help of Marketing Automation, the team began testing simpler, more customer-friendly language in their communication flows. Because results were measurable in real time, they could quickly see what worked – and adjust as needed. 

Sales feedback was used to iterate messaging on the fly. 

The result? 

• Clearer messaging
• Stronger engagement
• More qualified leads 

Sales became a valuable language ambassador – and automation became a test-and-learn engine for continuous improvement. 

"Follow the interest, not the title" 

Industrial company selling through resellers 

Sales reps began noticing something unexpected: 
The buying journey was starting much earlier than they thought – and it wasn’t the decision-makers who were initiating it. 

Instead, it was often projectmanagers or technical staff who started looking for information – long before any formal decision process had begun. 

Together with sales, marketing adjusted the automated communication to: 

• Capture the right roles earlier in the journey
• Deliver relevant content at the right stage
• Focus on need identification and knowledge-building 

The result? 

• More leads at earlier stages
• Better understanding of who influences buying decisions
• A broader base to nurture before sales stepped in 

This changed the entire approach to lead nurturing – from only supporting sales to actively preparing the ground for future deals. 

The collaboration between sales and marketing is more than just coordination – it’s a strategic key to better business outcomes. 

When sales helps make automation smarter – automation helps sales sell better. 

In the next part, we’ll explore how Marketing Automation can relieve pressure and unlock value in Customer Service – turning it from a stress point into a strategic asset. 

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