The buzz 1: “The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” (Tom Fishburne, Founder, Marketoonist).

The buzz 2: “Marketers need to build digital relationships and reputation before closing a sale.” (Chris Brogan, CEO, Owner Media Group)

The buzz 3: “Companies that speak in the language of the pitch are no longer speaking to anyone.” (The Cluetrain Manifesto, 95 business theses, 1999 – 2000)

For years, sales organizations have understood the need for a new way to engage prospects and customers – particularly since traditional rolodex-dependent cold-calling was producing dismal results. Why? Buyers are demanding a personalized, customized, and integrated experience along the total customer journey.

Yet at the same time, Marketers have been reluctant to embrace a new way of engaging customers – always throwing out the “volume” argument. Who is right?

If sales teams are having real success with the “digital engagement” model, why are Marketers so resistant? What information / data / knowledge will help Marketers embrace this new paradigm? How can Marketers support their sales team counterparts for their collective success?

We’ll ask Steve Watt at Seismic, Sarah Goodall at Tribal Impact and Charrele Robinson-Brown at SAP for their insights on what it will take for Marketers to change their mindset, skillset and potentially, their toolset, on Marketers’ Reality Check: Your Digital Presence Quotient *DPQ*.