In the pre-internet era, you tried to attract and close sales primarily by convincing potential customers of the superiority of your offering. This was "Outbound" methodology in the classic sense. It sought to grab a potential customer's attention and close a sale by pushing the quality and value of the product.

The days of Outbound's primacy are long gone and the methods, whilst still in use, are much less effective. The connectivity and social interaction of the internet have led to the ascendancy of "Inbound" marketing and sales techniques.

Rather than placing product quality and value at the forefront of a campaign, marketing and sales teams today attract and close customers with a story, an experience, and the promise of a lasting relationship that affirms customers' core self-image and taps into their need for connection. In a fundamental shift, Inbound methodology speaks first to the qualities and values of the desired customer, rather than the quality and value of the product itself.