Sales vs Marketing: Why You Need Both for Growth with Shannon Kinney

Most small business owners wrestle with the same question: is it a sales problem or a marketing problem?

I recently recorded our very first Sales as Service LIVE office hours - and Shannon Kinney, Founder & CEO of Dream Local Digital, joined me to dig into exactly that. Shannon brings more than 30 years of leadership experience building scalable digital strategies for brands like LinkedIn, Google, eBay, and Microsoft. Since founding Dream Local Digital in 2009, she’s helped thousands of small businesses and media companies develop marketing strategies designed to grow and scale.

If you’ve ever asked yourself, “Do I need more leads, or do I just need to get better at closing the ones I have?” - this conversation will give you a clear way to answer that.

Key Takeaways

• The simple way to know if you have a sales problem or a marketing problem - and why the fix is rarely “do more of everything”
• Why marketing generates attention, but sales is what turns that attention into revenue
• The risks of relying only on referrals and inbound interest (and how to break the waiting game)
• Practical first steps to build consistency without a full sales and marketing team
• The small, repeatable actions that keep your pipeline full month after month

Learn more about Shannon:

• Dream Local Digital
• LinkedIn

Sales as Service Challenge — Join Now!

This week, run a quick 30-day audit to find out if you’re facing a marketing gap or a sales gap:

Look back at the past 30 days:

• How many new leads or opportunities came in?
• Where did those leads come from?
• Of those leads, how many converted into paying clients?

Diagnose the gap:

• Low new leads? That’s a marketing problem. Time to revisit your audience, offer, or messaging.
• Lots of leads, low conversions? That’s a sales problem. Focus on follow-up, qualification, and guiding prospects to a decision.
• Stuck waiting on referrals or the occasional inbound? That’s not a growth strategy. Make space for intentional, proactive outreach.

Run this audit monthly and use what you find to focus your efforts where it matters most.

✨ Share your audit results or next step with the hashtag #SalesAsService so I can cheer you on.

• DM me on LinkedIn or Instagram!
• Join us for the next SAS LIVE Office Hours Event!
• Check out the LinkedIn Lead Generator to learn how to turn simple daily actions into real conversations with potential clients.
• Grab your free 5-Minute Sales Audit for a quick scan to show what’s working, what’s not—and one thing you can improve right away.

Tam Smith is a Sales Growth Strategist and founder of Studio Three 49, where she helps creative agencies and service pros ditch feast-or-famine cycles with sales systems that actually feel good to use.

With 15+ years in sales leadership, Tam’s work focuses on building genuine relationships, crafting smart outreach strategies, and creating consistent client pipelines—no pressure tactics required.

She also hosts live Sales as Service Office Hours, where she shows up as the perpetual student—sharing what she’s testing, learning, and uncovering, while answering real questions about sales and sustainable business growth.