MT Magazine July/August 2025

FEATURE STORY

THE SALES & MARKETING ISSUE

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going through the process of understanding the organization’s goals, challenges, and what the resources are, that’s a red flag. “Everything has to be grounded, researched, and strategized first; the tactics come after. “The tactics need to be designed as part of a strategy that then supports objectives.” – Galbreath Know What You’re Getting The point of marketing is not just creating awareness. It is about creating opportunities that can be turned into profitable sales. So, knowing whether those opportunities are paying off cannot be overlooked. “Whether it’s selling a machine or selling a service, you have to track where that opportunity came from and what was done to influence that person to find you. So, if it’s from searching, then what are your current rankings on the search engine? What optimization is being performed so that your specified strategic keywords show up? If it’s paid media, is your paid media strategy generating not just leads and conversions but actual deals in the pipeline? If it’s efforts on social media, are you getting more positive brand awareness from those efforts on social, or are you generating leads from it? And by ‘lead’ I mean actual bodies that are qualified. “If you exhibit at a trade show, are you measuring the results 12 months later? People will say, ‘We got 140 leads.’ That’s great in the moment, but how many of those resulted in deals? Usually, the response I get is, ‘Oh, our sales cycle is so long.’ OK, but that doesn’t mean you can’t track it. Even if your sales cycle is 12 months, you should be able to look back 12 months and say, ‘Where did that deal come from?’ “It’s a way to justify the marketing spend. You have to be able to track every single interaction back to some sort of source to justify why you’re spending money in those areas.” – Milan Consistent Although some people expect instant gratification, most things of value take time to achieve. You don’t just buy a pair of Nikes and then run a marathon. “Marketing isn’t just a creative exercise with a checklist. It’s a disciplined process that needs clear ownership and sustained effort to deliver real ROI. Some companies will get impatient because they’re looking for immediate gratification, but when done right, an effective marketing program will build trust over the right period of time.” – Schell Executive Function Executives who say “I’ve got people for that” and then relinquish responsibility may have an easy go of it – for a little while. There has to be commitment. This doesn’t mean execution. It does mean understanding. This is true whether it is achieving quality or getting value from marketing. “Marketing is an executive function. This doesn’t mean that a company president should be mired in the day-to-day execution of tactics. But they have to be invested in marketing as part of the value creation process.

And without a seat at the table, so to speak, marketing will always fall short of its potential. “To be effective, marketing professionals need direct access to the president and senior leadership

team. Otherwise, you will find yourself executing tactics in a vacuum, rather than

shaping strategy with the right inputs from the right people. “So, marketing is an executive function. It shouldn’t be relegated to something that’s kind of done over here on the side. It needs to be championed by leadership to really give it its opportunity to work for the organization.” – Galbreath Maintaining Flow While marketing can be iterative – as in repeatedly promoting a particular message – and sequential – a series of actions that follow one another – it also needs to be consistent. It is not “one and done.” And while financial pressures from everything from supply chain disruptions to tariffs may necessitate spending cuts, taking a quick axe to the marketing budget may not be the way to keep business going in the not-too-distant future. going to become dry. “Whenever I train industrial salespeople, I tell them the problems that they’re facing today with their pipeline are from their actions from 60 days ago or from six months ago, something they weren’t doing six months ago. And now they’re paying the price because their pipeline has dried up. To start that up again, they’ll need a three- to six-month runway. “Some companies think they can turn off marketing, and then when they want more revenue, they’ll turn it on again. “But not only is it going to take six months to build up, but maybe their competitors didn’t stop their programs, and they kept taking market share. “It may be the fastest area to cut, but I think what people need to realize is that cutting your entire marketing budget isn’t a smart move. “Being more strategic about how you execute it is the better play.” – Milan Your Marketing. Your Market. Manufacturers interested in improving their marketing tactics through better data on markets, market direction, and customer base are invited to contact AMT Research Services. While open to general manufacturing companies, AMT membership benefits include complimentary research requests. “Marketing is not a faucet that you turn on and turn off. It’s something that has to continuously flow at some level, otherwise your pipeline is

If you have any questions about this information, please contact Gary at vasilash@gmail.com.