Today’s marketers need to: Sharpen core marketing skills, including:  knowing customers and prospects, understanding the processes that are affected by a product or service, mapping the buying cycle and buyer information needs, clarifying differentiation, and developing evidence-based value propositions. A salesperson who is face-to-face with a prospect can vary his or her dialogue to accommodate the prospect’s needs and interests.  The salesperson knows the company size, location and industry as well as the prospect’s role and stage in the buying cycle.