When Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and author  Maya Angelou said, 'When you know better, you do better,' she likely wasn't referring to inbound marketing; 

In fact, I'm quite certain she had no idea what all of this was about, however, this phrase is one I've come to appreciate over the last several years selling inbound marketing services for companies that are looking to drive more leads from their website. That's why I believe it's so important to make inbound sales a part of your 2016 strategy.

Several years ago, we operated as a public relations agency. But after spending some time reflecting on the best way to serve our clients, we realized we no longer needed to rely on media outlets and reporters to help our clients tell their stories.

Social media was a game-changer, and we began to help company after company build strong communities of evangelists that would have an even greater impact connecting with their customers than what could be done using the media. This, we believed, was the most "pure" form of PR.

We started to know better.

A few years later in 2012, we became a HubSpot partner agency. The decision to adopt HubSpot's marketing automation tools as a "way of life" allowed us to do more than acquire fans and followers. We now had the ability to attract visitors to our clients' websites and convert them into sales leads by leveraging the social media communities we had spearheaded.

No longer was our value and business proposition dependent just on an increase in engagement, but rather we became instrumental in providing actual value to our clients' bottom lines through converting leads on their websites! We knew better and started doing better. More importantly, our clients' businesses started doing better. Herein began the transformation of our agency.

In case you haven't noticed, consumers have changed the way they source information and the modern buyer has emerged. I start every sales presentation making the following request:

Google, anyone?

"Raise your hand if in the last day or two you've gone to Google to help you answer a question?" Regardless of the size of the audience, almost every hand shoots up in the air. We can all agree that search engines have become a part of our every day life.

But do you know where your organization's website ranks in search when your customers Google questions about your company â€" or even your industry? If not, you can use the Google Keyword Tool to help get you started in learning about what your customers are searching for.

So why am I so passionate about inbound sales? As the business development manager at StoryTeller, I will share first-hand my reasons.

Top 10 Reasons Why Inbound Sales Should Be a Part of Your 2016 Strategy

1. Instead of depending on cold calling and emailing, inbound marketing allows your customers to find you online, beacuse you've provided content that solves their problem or answers their question.
2. Inbound leads that seek you out online tend to know more about your company. By the time your prospect lands on your website and speaks to a sales rep, they've done half of the legwork and are typically prepared to make a faster decision.
3. Inbound marketing focuses on helping, rather than selling. When was the last time you had an appreciation for being "sold to?"
4. Inbound sales can become predictable and automatic once you have a process put in place. If you are consistent in your execution, you should see a greater number of visitors and leads each month.
5. Inbound leads cost 61% less than leads generated by outbound marketing campaigns.
6. It simplifies the job of sales and marketing, and creates greater alignment across the two departments.
7. Sales closes more deals. (Again, because "warm" deals close faster than "cold" deals)
8. Sales turnover is reduced because the sales team is making more money and doing less cold calling. (Talk about a win!)
9. Inbound marketing results in more quality traffic and more leads to your website which will impact your long-term success.
10. Unlike traditional marketing, you can measure the ROI of your campaigns much more easily.

Kathy Heil is a Partner at StoryTeller Media + Communications. StoryTeller is an inbound marketing agency based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Kathy has 26 years of sales experience in both print and digital communications. Kathy blogs about inbound marketing, business development and client relations.

www.storytellermn.com