Seth posts about the problematic nature of making decisions under the 'guidance' of your marketing heroes. Point taken. You see this every day. I guess I think it's more an issue with sales than it is with Marketing. If you follow Mintzberg or Kotler or Guy Kawasaki or Jagdish Sheth, I don't know that it matters too much.

However, when it comes to sales strategy, many a disagreement can arise, especially at startups who are just defining their sales & marketing strategies, when you follow one sales type, such as Zig Ziglar, or a similarly slick figure vs. someone like Neil Rackham, who advocates a question/consultative strategic approach to selling.

Personally, my marketing heroes are:

1. Raj Devasagayam, my college marketing professor who told me that everything I needed to know about marketing I really learned in marketing 101. I prove him right every week.
2. Neil Rackham. SPIN selling & Major Account Selling Strategies changed the way I sell
3. Everyone who's featured in: "Marketing Classics: A Selection of Influential Articles" (Ben M. Enis, Keith K. Cox, Michael P. Mokwa)

Who are YOUR sales/marketing heroes?