--- title: "A Modest Proposal: Fire Your Salesman & Hire an Inbound Marketer" description: Business owners get sticker shock when they see the cost of inbound marketing for industrial…until they dig a little deeper image: https://www.thereppgroup.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/industrial_salesman-4.jpg --- [![The-Repp-Group-Logo-2025-r2](https://www.thereppgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/The-Repp-Group-Logo-2025-r2.png?width=640&height=211&name=The-Repp-Group-Logo-2025-r2.png "The-Repp-Group-Logo-2025-r2")](https://www.thereppgroup.com) Open main menu Close main menu - [Tom Repp](https://www.thereppgroup.com/tomrepp) - [What We Do](https://www.thereppgroup.com/consulting) - [Resources](https://www.thereppgroup.com/publications) Open the submenu - [Content REPPliKator](https://www.thereppgroup.com/repplikator) - [REPPliKator Q&A](https://www.thereppgroup.com/repplikator-qa) - [Partners](https://www.thereppgroup.com/partners) - Industrial Marketers Ask Open the submenu - [What Are The Seven Infrastructure Pillers](https://www.thereppgroup.com/what-are-the-seven-infrastructure-pillars) - [What Is the Digital Moat?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/what-is-the-digital-moat-framework) - [What Are Large Language Models (LLMs)?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/what-are-large-language-models-llms-what-every-industrial-ceo-must-understand-now) - [What is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)?: How AI Answers Are Quietly Rewriting Industrial Buying](https://www.thereppgroup.com/what-is-answer-engine-optimization-aeo-how-ai-answers-are-quietly-rewriting-industrial-buying) - [What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Why Industrial Leaders Need to Know](https://www.thereppgroup.com/what-is-generative-engine-optimization-geo-why-industrial-leaders-need-to-know) - [Why B2B Industrials Aren’t Using the Web as a Channel to Market](https://www.thereppgroup.com/why-b2b-industrials-arent-using-the-web-as-a-channel-to-market) - [What Percentage Should Mid-size B2B Industrials Spend on Digital?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/what-percentage-should-mid-size-b2b-industrial-spend-on-digital) - [In the Digital Age, Does a Mid-Size Industrial Need to Rethink Their Brand Message?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/does-a-mid-size-b2b-industrial-need-a-great-brand-story) - [How Will the AI Revolution Effect B2B Industrial Marketing?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/how-will-the-ai-revolution-effect-b2b-industrial-marketing) - [How Long for Online Success for B2B Industrials?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/how-long-for-online-success-for-b2b-industrials) - [Should Mid-Size B2B Industrials Deploy Marketing Automation?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/should-mid-size-b2b-industrials-deploy-marketing-automation) - [Do B2B Industrials Need a Marketing Coach or Consultant?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/do-b2b-industrials-need-a-marketing-coach-or-consultant) - [Do B2B Industrials Need a Digital Marketing Agency](https://www.thereppgroup.com/do-b2b-industrials-need-a-digital-agency) - [As an Industrial Marketer How Often Should I Update Website](https://www.thereppgroup.com/how_often_do_i_need_to_upate_my_industrial_website) - [Do Mid-Size B2B Industrials Need to Embrace AI for Digital Marketing?](https://www.thereppgroup.com/do-mid-size-b2b-industrials-need-to-embrace-ai-for-digital-marketing) - [Contact Me](https://www.thereppgroup.com/contact-me) ## Hiring an outside marketing guide...is well worth it. ![Tom-Repp-Front-page-transparent](https://www.thereppgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/Tom-Repp-Front-page-transparent.png?width=2000&name=Tom-Repp-Front-page-transparent.png) # A Modest Proposal: Fire Your Salesman & Hire an Inbound Marketer ![Tom Repp](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/a31fd2565e9302ced7f587a7d4791f5a) [Tom Repp](https://www.thereppgroup.com/author/tom-repp) Oct 1 2015 [industrial marketing strategy](https://www.thereppgroup.com/tag/industrial-marketing-strategy) ![industrial\_salesman](https://www.thereppgroup.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/industrial_salesman-4.jpg?width=267&name=industrial_salesman-4.jpg)That’s right.  Stay with me on this. Your typical, quality, industrial sales professional makes around $100,000 per year. Round numbers. I am sure you have factored in vacation time, sick time, training expenses, golf outings, technology equipment, etc.  Right? At the same time, you are watching your sales expenses go up. You are also a little queasy about what you hear on the street & read on the web; “Cold calling is dead”,  “Nobody likes interruptive marketing”,  “The trade shows don’t seem to pull in the leads they used to”, “Your buyer is 70% through the buying process before they even talk to a salesperson”.  Reading data from surveys like [GlobalSpec’s 2014 Trends in Industrial Marketing](http://www.globalspec.com/advertising/trends-wp/WP_2014MarketingTrends) confirms your gut feelings. The disruption continues. In your gut, you know there needs to be a fundamental shift in sales & marketing resources. You are just not sure where to begin. **I HAVE A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR YOU.** Remove one of your lower producing salespersons and instead outsource the $100,000 (again, round numbers) to an inbound marketing specialist or agency. Inbound marketing for industrial will improve top-of-mind awareness, [build your brand](https://www.thereppgroup.com/blog/not-possible-to-manage-your-industrial-brand-strategy_think-again) and generate marketing qualified leads for your better producers. More importantly, you are building a growth-driven strategy for the future.  If developed properly…a very predictable growth strategy. It just makes economic sense to outsource at this point. Building a quality inbound marketing effort in house would cost you a minimum of $300,000. It would take at least a year to hire and staff an inbound marketing group and get some traction with a [content/inbound](https://www.thereppgroup.com/blog/the-difference-between-content-marketing-inbound-marketing-industrial-marketers-need-to-know) marketing campaign. Time is money, right? And, frankly, most industrial business owners don’t even know the right questions to ask an inbound marketing applicant. On the other hand, you can start right way. It is your decision. [**THIS is the future of industrial marketing**](https://www.thereppgroup.com/industrial-marketing-strategy/industrial-marketing-wisdom-from-the-salty-dog-cafe/).  Want to know more about blending traditional industrial marketing channels with inbound marketing (search, mobile & social) ? 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