I attended Inbound14 Tuesday and Wednesday. I hadn't intended to because as I wind down my practice, I'm focusing on other things. But Monday morning, I received an email from someone that I respect a lot telling me that I 'needed to be there'. So, I did. Finally, after seven years, it happened.

"Inbound", not inbound marketing. Not inbound sales. Just "Inbound".

When Mark called me in 2007, I introduced him to Dave Kurlan and Dave bought Hubspot on the spot. Did he buy a marketing tool? No, he bought a tool that was going to help him get more clients. When Frank Belzer and I were doing the Sales Development Program for the earliest Hubspot Partners, we told agencies that they needed to learn how to be direct competitors to us, meaning that their clients hired them for exactly the same reason that our clients hired us. They want more customers! When Dan Tyre and Carole Mahoney were talking about Smarketing in 2012, they were talking about sales and marketing becoming one and playing nice together. Since then, people have talked about the alignment between sales and marketing.

It's just "Inbound". It always has been. It never should have been sales vs. marketing and it's good to see Hubspot proclaim it loudly, clearly and publicly to the world.

So, what does that mean to a Hubspot Partner? Think about it. Your prospect has a choice between a Hubspot Partner that can help them identify, attract and nurture ideal prospects to be 'sales ready leads' or a partner that can do all that, plus help the prospect's salespeople engage, qualify and help their customers buy. Which will they choose? Which will deliver the better and more sure ROI.

Let me give you a couple of examples.

Mickey Baines works with colleges and universities that are trying to find more and better students. Do they want Mickey to help them with content, placement and campaigns to find the right candidates, or would they prefer him to do all that and help coach their admissions counselors on how to help the best candidates see the perfect fit.

Peter Rastello is an electrical engineer and has deep experience in the IT world. He speaks the language. When he talks to a prospect, his deep knowledge allows him to ask questions that are relevant and thoughtful. He can use that same knowledge to help his clients' salespeople nurture and close prospects that land on their website.

As Halligan says, the world is changing the way business gets done. Buyers want more. They want it all. Yes, to design. Yes, to content. Yes, to analytics, but also yes, help our salespeople help our customers.

If you want to join Mickey, Peter and the others that I've worked with to become a true Inbound Partner, it starts with a conversation, but you only have until September 30th.