A Field Guide for Manufacturers Who Want Sales and Marketing to Win Together
In sales-led companies, marketing is often treated as a sidecar.
Something you add later. Something that supports trade shows, prints brochures, maybe posts on social media now and then.
But those days are over.
Today, the most successful industrial companies treat Sales and Marketing as one unified team—a Revenue Team. They’re not separate silos. They’re two functions working toward the same goal: helping your customer say “yes.”
And the secret to building that team?
Involve Sales in your content strategy.
Not as an afterthought. As a partner.
Involve Sales in Your Content Strategy
Your sales reps are on the front lines.
They hear every objection.
They know why deals stall.
They know what engineers don’t understand, what buyers keep getting wrong, and what questions come up every single time.
In short: they know what your customers really care about.
But most content strategies are built without them.
Which is why most content ends up unused.
When marketing works with sales, instead of guessing from the sidelines, the game changes.
You stop creating noise.
You start creating content that actually helps close deals.
What Happens When Sales and Marketing Collaborate?
1. You Get Better Topics
Instead of writing random blogs, you answer real questions your customers are already asking—like:
- “What affects lead time?”
- “How do I avoid scrap in this geometry?”
- “How do I justify the price to my sourcing team?”
This is content your reps will want to use. Because they helped inspire it.
2. You Create Tools for the Middle of the Funnel
Most manufacturers think marketing is about getting attention. But the real wins happen after a lead enters the pipeline.
Think:
- A PDF that helps your buyer explain specs to their engineer
- A blog post that clears up a tolerance concern before it becomes an objection
- A video walkthrough that makes your buyer look smart in front of their team
This isn’t top-of-funnel fluff. This is real-world enablement.
3. Content Adoption Skyrockets
Sales teams don’t use content they didn’t help create. Period.
But when they’re involved—when it reflects their language, their stories, their process—it doesn’t feel like “marketing.” It feels like a tool.
And they use it.
In emails. In follow-ups. In spec reviews. At trade shows.
That’s when content becomes a force multiplier for your sales process.
Involve Marketing in Your Sales Strategy
Alignment is a two-way street.
If Sales should help shape content, Marketing should help shape how it’s used—by being invited into the sales process itself.
Too often, marketing is treated like a request center: “Make me a flyer.” “Build a landing page.” But when marketing sits in on pipeline reviews, quoting conversations, and account strategy meetings, they start to spot opportunities your sales team might miss.
Like:
- A simple one-sheeter to support complex specs
- A post-quote email workflow to stay top-of-mind without chasing
- A case study or testimonial tailored for a hesitant industry
- A visual guide to help a sourcing manager explain technical value to non-technical leadership
Marketing doesn’t replace the rep.
They amplify the rep.
The more insight marketing has into how deals are won, the more effective your entire sales process becomes.
How to Build a Sales-Marketing Feedback Loop
You don’t need a fancy system to make this work. You just need to start talking.
🔄 Step 1: Build a Content Intake Process
Once a month, ask your sales team:
- What questions did buyers ask this month?
- What objections came up in your calls?
- What content do you wish you had to send?
Capture those answers. That’s your editorial calendar.
🎙 Step 2: Interview Reps Like Experts
Your best blog post may come from a 10-minute call with your senior rep.
Ask them to explain a spec, a process, or a customer win. Record it. Transcribe it. Turn it into content. Let marketing do the polishing—but let sales bring the truth.
🧰 Step 3: Build a “Content Toolbox”
Don’t just post your new content on the blog and call it a day.
Package it up.
Label it by use case (Before Quote, Objection Handling, Spec Review).
Distribute it directly to sales. Show them where it fits in the buying journey.
🧪 Step 4: Treat Content Like a Product—Iterate
Ask your reps:
- “Did you use this?”
- “Did it help?”
- “What didn’t land?”
Revise. Replace. Improve.
Your marketing should evolve just like your quoting templates or inspection protocols.
This Isn’t a Shift Away From Sales Leadership—It’s an Upgrade
If you’re a sales-led company (and you probably are), this isn’t about flipping the script.
It’s about reinforcing it.
You’re not handing control to marketing. You’re giving marketing the insight they need to make your sales team more effective.
When Sales and Marketing work together, they become a Revenue Team:
- Shared goals
- Shared wins
- Shared language
That’s not just alignment. That’s acceleration.
Ready to turn your Sales and Marketing into a true Revenue Team?
Schedule a discovery session with The Right Horse.
We help manufacturers create content systems that actually serve the sales process—because they’re built with the people who live it.
