6 tips for integrating PR and sales to increase ROI

With the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, many things have changed forever. We spend more time on video than ever before and the virtual happy hours have become the norm. But one thing has remained the same: Public relations and sales just want to get along.

For organizations that have managed to stay afloat (and for those that have thrived) during the pandemic, creating new pipelines and closing sales deals fast is paramount. PR professionals and consultants alike know executing PR campaigns to support those goals is key. But any good PR pro knows that PR can’t generate new leads overnight.

So, how do you marry PR and sales to increase ROI for your clients? Let’s start with the marketing funnel to understand where and how PR influences the sales cycle.

Moving down the funnel

PR aims to create awareness at the top of the funnel by putting your brand in front of your target audience. For example, media placements that include backlinks help boost referral, organic and direct traffic to your website. For sales teams, bylined articles and media mentions of the brand offer credible collateral to share with prospective sales leads in the middle of the funnel in the “intent” phase, where the lead is intentionally considering a decision.