The new lead generation shifts your methods as a marketer from “talk about your dumb product” into “empower the users.”
(That, by the way is the nugget of this whole piece.)
The lead process used to be “beat people with information until your sales person closes them.” Now, it’s a little bit more about relationships with products and companies. Look at Dell’s Digital Nomads. They are all about helping out a certain niche of prospect. They’re not selling. They’re equipping. It’s perfect. It’s exactly what I’m talking about.
I'll add to this with one comment. Sales people talk about bringing value to their prospects, becoming "consultative sales people". Marketers need to make a similar shift. Prospects would rather google up a solution and issue a PO than be called on by sales people. The latter will never go away, but the former can be enabled in a much better way. Great post Chris.