7
In the last decade, sales processes have been further disrupted by digital marke ng and advances in
ar ficial intelligence and machine learning. These tools help sellers target and reach more qualified
buyers, more quickly. Some sales organiza ons, though, have been slow to adopt these more
sophis cated strategies, relying s ll on tradi onal outbound cold-calling. Ul mately, though, stagnant
sales growth will inevitably kill those outdated, increasingly ineffec ve approaches.
To support sales efforts, marke ng prac ces have also developed over the last century from primarily
print and billboard adver sing, then radio and television. Digital marke ng began to emerge in the
early 1970s with a hint of what was to come when a Phoenix law firm posted an ad in 1994 across
thousands of internet news groups, and spam was born. By 1995, the advent of search engine
marke ng enabled targeted messages.
Between 2000 and 2003, inbound marke ng emerged, empowering consumers to self-guide their
educa on of products and services. Email marke ng picked up speed in 2010, and social media
exploded, forever changing how businesses and brands market and communicate. The evolu on that
followed became more nuanced with internet speeds to be er support video and robust omnichannel
content tailored for custom audiences.
7
