--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started my career as a sales guy in the…" description: "\"I started my career as a sales guy in the nineties, when the funnel was controlled by the sales rep, who had all the information the prospect wanted, i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/brian-halligan-45269_careers_i-started-my-career-as-a-sales-guy-in-th_2110789.png" --- # I started my career as a sales guy in the nineties, when… ![“I started my career as a sales guy in the nineties, when the funnel was controlled by the sales rep, who had all the information the prospect wanted, including pricing and discount options. Now 90 percent of it has swung to marketing. It's self-service and you need to be very, very helpful to see…” quote by Brian Halligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/brian-halligan-45269_careers_i-started-my-career-as-a-sales-guy-in-th_2110789.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/brian-halligan-45269_careers_i-started-my-career-as-a-sales-guy-in-th_2110789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/brian-halligan-45269_careers_i-started-my-career-as-a-sales-guy-in-th_2110789.png) > “I started my career as a sales guy in the nineties, when the funnel was controlled by the sales rep, who had all the information the prospect wanted, including pricing and discount options. Now 90 percent of it has swung to marketing. It's self-service and you need to be very, very helpful to see to the top of the funnel. The game has changed a lot.” [Brian Halligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-halligan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The shift from sales‑driven to marketing‑driven funnel means prospects now expect self‑service and high‑value help early on. **In simple terms:** Sales used to control info; now marketing leads and must guide prospects. Key Takeaway Provide clear, helpful content early to capture leads. Themes marketing sales customer journey digital transformation Mood optimistic strategic Type insightful practical When to use this quote - lead generation - website UX - content strategy - pricing transparency Key Concepts buyer behavior self‑service value proposition Questions to Reflect On - How can you make self‑service more engaging? - What content best supports early funnel stages? A Different Perspective If marketing fails to be helpful, prospects may drop off before contact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Marketing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketing/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-service/) ## Related quotes > [There are three creativities: creativity in technology, in product planning, and in marketing. 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I spend 50% or more of my time with customers and employees, and I can't wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-m-mulcahy/most-of-my-career-has-been-in-sales-i-spend-50-or-more-of-my-time/) [Anne M. Mulcahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-m-mulcahy/) > [Understanding is becoming aware of the fact that civilization itself is in trouble and we have done it by overpopulating the planet, and by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/understanding-is-becoming-aware-of-the-fact-that-civilization-itself/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [We cannot allow employers in Germany to pay hourly wages of 50 cents and shift the remainder of the burden to the taxpayer. After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/we-cannot-allow-employers-in-germany-to-pay-hourly-wages-of-50-cents/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I was always looking at Helmut Newton photos with the Le Smoking suit and Stella Tennant in Self Service magazine. It was never just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-nef/i-was-always-looking-at-helmut-newton-photos-with-the-le-smoking-suit/) [Hari Nef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-nef/) > [All living organisms serve themselves, of course, but through language, we humans have the capacity to rationalize our self-service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupam/all-living-organisms-serve-themselves-of-course-but-through-language/) AnuPam > [The best form of customer service is self service. Constantly empower customers to get their own answers themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pena/the-best-form-of-customer-service-is-self-service-constantly-empower/) [Dan Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pena/) > [Selfishness draws men into a spiritual vacuum where, absorbed in self service, they shut out all others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-r-bradford/selfishness-draws-men-into-a-spiritual-vacuum-where-absorbed-in-self/) [William R. Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-r-bradford/) > [Self, service, substance is the Divine order and nothing counts until we give ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/self-service-substance-is-the-divine-order-and-nothing-counts-until/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [The ruin of the human heart is self-interest, which the American merchant calls self-service. We have become a self-service populace, and all our specious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dahlberg/the-ruin-of-the-human-heart-is-self-interest-which-the-american/) [Edward Dahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dahlberg/) > [Sex is like a gas station, sometimes you get full service, sometimes you gotta ask for service and sometimes you have to be happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sex-is-like-a-gas-station-sometimes-you-get-full-service-sometimes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I went to a massage parlor, it was self service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/i-went-to-a-massage-parlor-it-was-self-service/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [I'm stranded all alone in the gas station of love, and I have to use the self service pump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-stranded-all-alone-in-the-gas-station-of-love-and-i-have-to-use/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Brian Halligan > [People shop and learn in a whole new way compared to just a few years ago, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-halligan/people-shop-and-learn-in-a-whole-new-way-compared-to-just-a-few-years/) [Brian Halligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-halligan/) > [Just because you are the loudest, doesn't make you right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-halligan/just-because-you-are-the-loudest-doesn-t-make-you-right/) [Brian Halligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-halligan/) > [You can’t out-spend the giants, but you can out-think, out-teach, and out-help them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-halligan/you-can-t-out-spend-the-giants-but-you-can-out-think-out-teach-and/) [Brian Halligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-halligan/) > [HubSpot's CRM and Sidekick are perfect for companies that want to transform how they attract, engage, and delight prospects, customers and leads and want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-halligan/hubspot-s-crm-and-sidekick-are-perfect-for-companies-that-want-to/) [Brian Halligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-halligan/) > [You're either making a market or disrupting a market. 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It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/) Robbin Crosby > [There is so much temptation to hold on to my career even more now. To try to micromanage and dictate every little aspect. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/there-is-so-much-temptation-to-hold-on-to-my-career-even-more-now-to/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [Everything I've been through, everything I'm about to go through in my career and my life, if my family wasn't with me and didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-malone/everything-i-ve-been-through-everything-i-m-about-to-go-through-in-my/) [Karl Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-malone/) > [An image has stuck for most of my career and it isn't flattering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-fowler/an-image-has-stuck-for-most-of-my-career-and-it-isn-t-flattering/) [Robbie Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-fowler/) Browse all 6,154 Careers quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started my career as a sales guy in the nineties, when the funnel was controlled by the sales rep, who had all the information the prospect wanted, including pricing and discount options. 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