Lead Generation - How Software Marketing Can Bridge The Knowledge Gap

It's the classic question asked both by marketers and the software companies employing them: How much knowledge is needed? How much do you need to know for successful software lead generation?
At first, it sounds like common sense. If you're going to promote an ERP software solution; generate interest for it; and qualify sales leads, then you need to know about the product itself. That might only be from the marketer's perspective though. For those who develop and actually deal with the heavy, technical work of business IT, how sufficient should that knowledge be?
This conundrum actually goes both ways:
For marketers - Getting the general idea can be insufficient when it comes to answering the questions of those who have more knowledge than the information presented. They might not be able to answer and thus, lose their power to influence your market.
For vendors - They suffer the opposite problem. While marketers struggle with giving too little information, they struggle with giving too much of it. Having all that software expertise doesn't necessarily clear things up for your prospect. In fact, too much tech jargon is only going to stir up the confusion already spinning in their heads.
That's why, contrary to popular belief, marketing still has a place. The challenge for both is to define a balanced level of information. You should have already guessed that given how lengthy the sales process can be in B2B transactions. That's one of the defining differences between it and its B2C half. Information needs to flow a little bit longer and at a much higher (as well as more specific) volume.
Now as to how you're going to strike this balance, both parties should have these respective objectives:
For marketers - Be it outsourced or in-house, they should try to understand the things about your product that matter most to your target market. The don't necessarily have to learn everything but they do need a firm grasp of what your target market is involved in and how they can relate it to your enterprise solution. Using that knowledge, they should present a message that really sparks their interest and generates more helpful feedback. It should also be relayed back to you so you can gain more insight.
For vendors - You shouldn't be too demanding. Instead, you and your salespeople should use the feedback gained from marketing and apply it to the rest of your organization. How much further can you take the data that marketing has acquired? Are the needs, described by the prospects they've interviewed, within the capacities of your software solution? All the while, don't forget what your marketing has defined as the bottom-line for your market.
Just because jacks-of-all-trades are masters of none doesn't mean they're utterly useless. Specialists themselves don't survive long in unfamiliar environments. The solution is to work together and as always, use teamwork to help cover up for what the other lacks. Use the feedback you've gained from marketing and then expand upon it while making sure your marketers can bridge the knowledge gap between you and your clients.