It’s a trick question, of course. You need all three.
Without lead gen you’ve got no prospects. But I don’t think anyone will argue with me that lead gen is essential.
It’s the other two people forget about. Without those you don’t have much chance of converting that lead you worked so hard to get into a sale.
Why education?
Because most B2B products (and a lot of B2C) require that the prospect learn enough about what the product or service does and how to works to appreciate the value.
Prospects need to be convinced that the product is worth the investment of their money plus the time and effort to acquire and implement it. Without that they won’t buy. (This is where your price pressure comes from, by the way. You haven’t done sufficient education about the value you deliver.)
Why credibility?
Because if they don’t believe you will deliver what you promise, they won’t buy. (Lack of credibility contributes to long sales cycles – you burn time convincing them that you will be a reliable partner.)
So how do you decide how much effort to put into each of the three areas? Stay tuned for the next post…