Creating a strategic alignment between sales and marketing in such a way that the two can effectively work together to build new client relationships is the goal of this three-part video series.

Today’s “Pivot” video starts with a trend that we’ve seen in recent times – an increase in focus on a sales-led approach to marketing. In the newly created role of strategic account manager, it seems everyone’s trying to figure out how to become an expert on customers, aiming to build the right relationship with the right companies, to gain access to leads, and then to close sales. So the game has changed.

But with all this new attention paid to the sales and marketing process, it’s important that the sell isn’t pushed exclusively at the customer. Creating that alignment means knowing when it’s time to start talking to outside customers – social media, trade shows, and technology conferences – to build awareness about your startup or software product before getting in front of key decision makers.

This is especially important if your startup’s business model is new and unconventional. After all, some of your strongest formative relationships will come from someone who has never heard of your startup before. With that in mind, there are three tools that I’ve developed to help startups build that long-term-identity-building link with potential future customers and partners:

Product Marketing To Attend Trade Shows; The most productive way to build that long-term track record of brand awareness among prospects is to attend trade shows – not just to show up, but to learn about and share your company’s benefits and products. Attending one or two events a year from an interesting technology startup is a great way to learn about competitors, and then to build upon that exposure.

A Conferences Week Create Your Own Event Location; running your own event every month can be a great way to break through the “hiatus” after a promotion and before a new series launches. The key is creating exciting themes that catch your target audience’s attention.

The Lean Startup Approach To Success: Today’s Wired Startup, in this month’s “Pivot,” we’ll discuss some of the key marketing principles of lean startup – success is a process where the little things are what make all the difference, and rule breaking is how you iterate into something new and good. As a lean startup it pays to look for new opportunities, even when there’s risk involved. Start by seeing the value a new marketing channel, program, or event can bring to your business. With those new lines of thought you can move from an execution phase to a pipeline phase.