Nobody knows the interplay between the marketing and sales departments better than Mary Shea. Former co-CEO of Mediafly, chief evangelist at Outreach, principal analyst at Forrester, and professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Mary has seen the marketing and sales relationship from a range of vantage points.
In this interview, she shares her insights on how sales and marketing can work together more effectively, why data-driven content is the gold standard, and how we should be leveraging AI. Read on for these nuggets and more.
How should marketing and sales more effectively work together to create sales enablement content?
As a Forrester principal analyst, I used to call the age-old question of how marketing and sales can work together better as the gift that keeps on giving. But today, with the proliferation and maturation of marketing and sales tools - namely those that have embedded generative AI and advanced automation - and the rise of independent buyers - the question seems somehow less relevant.
With revenue enablement solutions, marketers can see which content is moving the dial and directly impacting pipeline opportunity progression. Sellers get recommendations for which pieces of content to use, when, and with whom, and they have a digital feedback loop within these solutions' workflows to direct feedback to content marketers.
My biggest advice for marketers and sellers is to embrace the technology solutions their organizations have implemented. If your company does not have one of these platforms, advocate for one.
Just because great technologies are available doesn't mean human interactions are unnecessary. Relationships in business and life matter. Even in this virtual/hybrid world, marketers and sellers should meet up, break bread, share what's working and what's not, and together, uncover transformational ideas for creating engaging and impactful content.
How are you using AI? How should we be using AI?
I use AI every day, and I love it! Leverage it for your day-to-day work, and it's a complete game changer. I use AI apps to map out research projects and find relevant data points. And now, I use it for copy editing. I no longer need an editor to review my writing before I hit the publish button. That dramatically shortens the idea to publication cycle.
As a CEO, I used it to understand which opportunities in the pipeline were tracking and which were at risk. These AI-generated insights helped me identify where to put personnel and financial resources to drive the best business outcomes and better understand forecast efficacy. Sales reps should use AI to help them construct emails and social media posts and do quick deep-dive research on relevant industry topics. Reps focusing on top-of-the-funnel activities can use AI to create highly personalized channel-specific messages and put them into sequences. On the marketing side, AI is rewriting how we generate demand. AI can be used for campaign optimization, lead nurturing, qualification, and more.
What's the biggest misconception about content on LinkedIn today?
The biggest misconception about LinkedIn content today is that it's solely a professional business networking platform. While it serves that purpose, I increasingly see content that blurs the lines between professional, personal, and political themes. People share cancer diagnoses and recovery journeys, experiences with burnout, adventures as digital nomads, and even political perspectives that were once considered taboo for the platform.
Just as COVID blurred the boundaries between work and personal life, LinkedIn has evolved into a space where the definition of "professional content" has become more fluid and inclusive of the entire human experience.
What's the best piece of content you ever created and why?
I would say the best piece of content I've created is my most recent piece ;-)
But to give you a more serious answer, there is one research note I'm particularly proud of: the prescient 2018 Forrester report titled "The B2B Consultant Reigns in the 21st Century." In this report, I envisioned a future where B2B sales teams would be significantly smaller, with sellers partnered with innovative technologies like AI and advanced automation. These sellers would provide more consultative value, work three to four days a week, and earn great money.
Seven years later, we're seeing many of these predictions come true. Technology-enabled go-to-market teams are nimble and efficient. Chief Revenue Officers now must be conversant in innovative technologies and know how to leverage them personally and for their sellers.
Last month, Bill Gates appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, saying that professionals must prepare for a three-day work week. It's happening. It's here. Professionals who skill themselves up and embrace human-machine collaboration today will be well-positioned in the future to enjoy rewarding careers while having more time for family and personal pursuits.
Do you have a philosophy of content?
Absolutely!
The most valuable content for me is built on primary quantitative data and qualitative insights. Data is the scaffolding from which all else flows.
Great content should be provocative - it should tell the reader something new or spark ideas for further discourse. When I was an analyst, the value to clients wasn't that we got every "call" right; it was that our research pushed readers to think differently or challenge the status quo. Anything that expands mindsets or disrupts conventional thinking delivers real value.
And finally, because I'm also somewhat pragmatic, it needs to offer actionable advice or a high-level roadmap for moving forward, should the reader buy into your ideas.
Thanks, Mary! Look for more insight on content marketing in The Hook. Subscribe now.