For instance, if trade shows plays a key role in your marketing strategies, you might call prospects that you met at trade shows a few days after the show ends.

But what you could be doing is enrolling those leads into an automated email sequence that drips new information to them over the course of weeks. By the time your sales team picks up the phone, they are already ready to buy.

The value of this pairing really can’t be understated. You still have the personal meet and greet that drives home the real-world connection.

But then you add a new step that helps to educate your prospects about your company, industry, and product before you ever hop on the phone with them.