I’ve often had trouble expressing, or keeping clear in my mind, the difference between marketing and sales. Seth Godin (Chris Kerr’s neighbor- one likes to think he picked up this chestnut over coffee at the Hastings Center Restaurant) puts it in the simplest terms:
“Marketing tells a story that spreads. Sales overcomes the natural resistance to say yes.
If you don’t pay the salesforce (because you go direct, or you go free), then who is going to do that for you? The only answer that occurs to me is, ‘your users/fans/customers.’
This means that a critical element of any strategy that ditches the salesforce is to figure out how you will empower and encourage your customers to take their place. Easier said than done.”
(via email from Kerr, originally posted to Seth Godin’s blog)