How PR supports sales – and why they need each other

Sales and PR often sit in different parts of a business. They’re run by different people and measured against different targets, so it's easy to think of them as completely separate disciplines.

But the reality is they’re closely linked: PR does a lot of the groundwork that makes sales conversations possible. And it keeps working quietly in the background, supporting the customer journey through the sales funnel long after the first meeting has happened.

From cold opens to closing the sale

Not convinced? Consider the difficulty of a cold approach to a new prospect. Good PR puts your business in front of the right people before your business development people ever write an email or pick up the phone. A well-placed piece of trade press coverage, a speaking slot at an industry event or a mention in an awards shortlist are all chances for a prospect to hear about you before you call them. More than that, they provide BD with reasons to make contact that don't feel like cold outreach. In specialist, technical sectors especially, linking to a sector-relevant thought leadership piece by your MD carries far more weight than a generic unsolicited email.

Further along in the sales journey, PR is an invaluable way to reduce the groundwork needed to win business. When a prospect’s already seen you quoted in a trade title, or read thought leadership from your senior leaders, they already know you’re credible. It means BD can spend calls and meetings focused on commercial conversations, and less time on proving they have a right to be at the table.

Discover how Resonates helped CallTower reach and connect with customers when entering the UK market.

For a sales conversation to progress from a pitch to new business, it needs backing up with evidence. Case studies, press coverage, award wins and thought leadership pieces all serve as collateral. They’re the ideal material to leave behind after meetings or send after a call, and a ready answer to questions about who else you’ve worked with and why you or your products are right for this job. In other words, PR and marketing collateral give business development an evidenced track record on which to build their pitch.

Staying visible with a regular PR heartbeat

Sales cycles can be slow, with relationships usually developing over at least several weeks or months. A lot can change in the gaps between touchpoints, so ongoing PR activity that results in coverage, conversations or LinkedIn visibility keeps your business front of mind while a prospect is weighing things up elsewhere. At or near the close, PR can be a critical tool to maintain momentum without pestering at a point when contacts can be hard to reach. Here it reminds prospects what you can do, exactly when they’re considering how their potential partners stack up.

There’s a similar point to make around credibility – especially important for major infrastructure projects where budgets can be big, and mistakes costly. Reputation matters for securing this kind of business, and a partner with a visible, well-evidenced track record feels a safer bet than one asking to be taken on trust.

Learn how Resonates helped Cleafy articulate its technical differentiators and business benefits in ways that landed with banking executives.

What can sales do for PR?

So far we’ve focused on the benefit of PR to sales, but in truth the two work best as a loop, with each sharing information that helps refine and improve the other. Once a deal is won – or lost – BD knows more than anyone about what worked and what didn’t. They can feed back on which case studies got picked up in the meeting, or any content or coverage that was already on the prospect’s radar. That’s vital information for the comms team, allowing it to refine and target the approach to make sure it's driving the pipeline.

Always, business won and contracts delivered are gold for PR – providing the kinds of projects, testimonials and success stories that will drive the next round of coverage, hopefully fuelling a continuing cycle of growth. For that to succeed, the whole process needs credibility – the one constant that every piece of PR is looking to build.

Every successful project is a proof point that helps attract new customers and drive existing ones to repeat their business. PR’s focus is to get your people and their work into the spotlight, and let them help open – and continue – sales conversations for you.

What can PR do to raise the profile of your business among its prospects? Ask Resonates, a Saline Group company specialising in PR, comms and marketing for marine, energy, and green transition businesses.