Are you thinking of switching to a holistic inbound marketing approach for your clients?

Despite the fact that not everyone knows straight off the bat what ‘inbound’ really is – and to an outsider, it might sound like just another fad or trend – inbound is a complete methodology that combines so many fragmented marketing techniques they’re likely using already.

But how do you sell inbound marketing to clients or colleagues who aren’t entirely sold on a term they’ve never heard of, or don’t understand? If all they want to hear about is SEO and PPC, we’re going to give you some tips on how to sell inbound below. 

Talk about what it means to them 

Instead of focusing on selling inbound, focus on the challenges your clients/colleagues are facing and how a more holistic approach can help. 

Your clients/colleagues have probably already noticed the recent shift in buyer behaviour, and that their customers are now much more informed about their products and services than ever before. People no longer want to be sold to – instead, they want to go away and do their own research, in their own time, before coming to a decision. 

Show them the stats

Of course, proving you understand your clients/colleagues problems will demonstrate trust, but it won’t mean they’re sold; you need some trustworthy, solid statistics to back it up. For instance, telling them that 57% of the buying decision is usually made before a customer even contacts you is a great argument for a holistic inbound approach. And 67% of the buyer’s journey now happens digitally – that’s why inbound marketing is so important to businesses going forward. 

You can even use HubSpot or other marketing platforms to find case studies on similar businesses to show real-world examples of how other businesses have used inbound techniques to encourage major business growth. And if they don’t adopt an inbound approach soon, they might find themselves having to play catch-up later on.

Let the figures do the talking

As you know, inbound marketing is also one of the cheapest and most effective forms of marketing, and typically costs 62% less per lead then traditional outbound techniques. For instance, so many businesses these days are relying on PPC and referrals just to get enough leads every month to scrape by. Telling them that they could get potentially double the leads – for less – practically speaks for itself.