---
title: Has the Way You Engage With Your Prospects and Customers Changed?
description: To do inbound, you must be inbound. Be the kind of person your prospects and customers want to engage with first, then worry about the sale.
image: https://www.toddhockenberry.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Inbound%20quote%201-2.jpg
---

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###### Posted by [Todd Hockenberry](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/blog/author/todd-hockenberry) ● Aug 17, 2021

# Has the Way You Engage With Your Prospects and Customers Changed?

To do inbound, you must be inbound.

I wrote that in our book [Inbound Organization](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/inbound-organization?utm_campaign=Industrial%20Executive&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8G09HKKg8UDmu_i6qaejQWwiot4r43wxhBB7XGdLv55tpYArt3fCR3CRIZq7v2UnGN49Av) three years ago, and it is more relevant today than ever. 

![Inbound quote 1](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Inbound%20quote%201-2.jpg?width=300&name=Inbound%20quote%201-2.jpg)To me, it means that inward growth precedes outward growth.

Even in terms of marketing and sales efforts.

You do not just need more activity, but you need your people to be more effective with the work and effort they put in now. They need to be doing the right things, not just the things they can do.

Do your customers and prospects really need another blast email? A qualification call? A product-driven pitch? A check-in call asking where they are with the quote you emailed?

I doubt it. They need you to be there, listen, be humble, show some empathy, and try your best to understand their issues and how you can help them navigate the world today.

As a leader, you must teach, train, coach, and mentor your team to develop these competencies and disciplines and not just focus on technical skills.

- Be helpful
- Show empathy and genuine care for your customers
- Think about them first and then about your need to have them buy something
- Ask/question/listen
- Customer-focus mindset - put others first, really care, be positive
- Be available when they need and want you to be there
- Be humble

The world has changed a lot in the past few months and it will continue to change in ways we cannot predict. What we used to do is not going to work with stressed out, over-worked, and hesitant people.

Mark Schaeffer, a well-known marketing expert, recently told me that he does not trust that any marketing data from pre-2020 will be relevant to buyers today. I agree. Too much has changed. What is normal now? 

We should all take a long hard look at our marketing and sales approaches, with a large dose of humility, and ask if the way we talk to and engage our prospects and customers is really how they want to interact today.

[![New Call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/68380/f691d8b0-0bf1-46e6-8f29-1c9ec1a63cdd.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/68380/f691d8b0-0bf1-46e6-8f29-1c9ec1a63cdd)

 Topics: [Inbound Organization](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/blog/topic/inbound-organization), [Marketing](https://www.toddhockenberry.com/blog/topic/marketing)

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