Marketing vs. sales

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

Somebody asked me on a podcast recently what the difference was between marketing and sales.

I have always had a hard time explaining it quickly, but this time I had an answer I didn't want to forget.

Sales generates immediate revenue, whether that's Kickstarter, or book sales, or launching a course through a sales page. Sales initiatives drive direct sales and are all about immediate ROI.

Marketing is brand awareness than drives down the cost of acquiring future sales. This might be guest blogging, or hopping on a podcast, or doing a strategic partnership, or even certain ad buys that don't lead to a sales page. Sales from marketing come indirectly.

The more people know, like, and trust your brand, the less you will have to convince them to buy your next product, and you can convert them to sales much more quickly and cheaply.

Russell Brunson once talked about how producing a single marketing video reduced his cost per registration from $150 to $50.

Even…