The recession has had a massive effect on B2B sales and marketing – but not just in the obvious ways. Yes, companies are buying less and projects have been cancelled or put on hold, but research by TAS into the B2B sales cycle, quoted on the Inflexion Point blog uncovers some surprising facts.

Despite the recession, successful sales cycles are getting shorter. Essentially companies are only going out to the market when they have a clear idea of what they want and the signed-off budget to proceed. So time from qualifying a prospect to signing the deal has reduced by just over 23 per cent. The flipside of this is that if the sales cycle drags on, the opportunity is more and more likely to turn to dust, wasting time and effort.

Where does this leave PR and marketing? I’d say it strengthens the overall part they play in the sales cycle. Prospects are doing due diligence and research before they call you, so you need to ensure you are providing consistent information to them across the whole marketing mix. Get into the publications they read, make your website relevant, have a strong presence in the right digital channels and keep this up on a sustained basis.

With the sales cycle moving from a marathon to a sprint preparation and warming up prospects is even more vital. This is absolutely where integrated PR and marketing delivers, and careful investment here will reap major benefits further down the sales process.