Playbook
The difference between marketing and sales is the difference between fishing with a net and hunting with a spear.
The Fishing Analogy
Marketing — The Net
You're outside the water. You cast, you wait, you hope.
You're outside the water
You cast a wide net and wait
You attract fish to come to you
Success = many small catches over time
You don't choose which fish you get
It's passive — set it and let it work
Scale by casting more nets
Sales — The Spear
You're IN the water. You see a fish, you go after it.
You're IN the water
You pick a specific fish and go after it
You approach the fish directly
Success = fewer but bigger, intentional catches
You choose exactly which fish you want
It's active — you do the work every time
Scale by adding more spearfishers
What Counts as What?
If you're not sure whether something is marketing or sales, ask: “Am I going to the fish, or waiting for the fish to come to me?”
🎣 Marketing Activities
🔱 Sales Activities
Common Mistakes
Calling Instagram ads 'sales'
That's marketing. You're casting a net. Sales is when you DM someone specific and follow up until they invest.
Thinking posting on Twitter is enough
Social media is a net. It attracts attention. But unless someone on the sales team follows up with interested people directly, those leads die.
Salesperson 'working from home' all week
A salesperson who isn't physically in front of prospects is not selling. Follow-up calls from home are fine. But the primary job is face-to-face.
Marketing team doing sales team's job
Marketing brings awareness. Sales closes deals. If marketing is also doing follow-ups, cold calls, and presentations — you don't have a sales team.
Segment Strategies at a Glance
Which approach is primary for each segment? Click any segment for the full playbook.
The Bottom Line
We've been throwing nets for too long. Nets are important — they build awareness, they attract inbound leads, they keep the brand alive. But nets alone don't close ₦2M deals. Nets don't walk into a CFO's office. Nets don't present at an alumni dinner. Nets don't follow up 5 times until someone says yes.
The shift is simple: keep the nets, add the spears. Marketing continues doing what they do. But now we also have people in the water, going after specific fish, every single day.