Marketing and sales should be two halves of a single engine but frequently operate on separate tracks. While both teams aim to drive growth, how they define success, measure performance, and communicate with each other can look completely different. That disconnect creates internal tension and directly impacts your bottom line.
Recent research from Marketing Week and The Effectiveness Partnership found that B2B marketing and sales misalignment can waste roughly 20% of a company’s marketing budget.1 That’s one in every five dollars producing little to no return. The report outlines how these inefficiencies come from unclear lead definitions, poor campaign communication, and lack of follow-through. Even more striking, most senior leaders surveyed believe their teams are aligned, while frontline sales and marketing professionals report otherwise, highlighting a critical perception gap.
Misalignment between teams isn’t always dramatic or obvious. It can creep in quietly through missed follow-ups, conflicting goals, or siloed data, gradually weakening the customer experience. Let’s explore where the disconnect comes from, how to bridge the gap, and why alignment isn’t just a strategic advantage but a revenue driver worth investing in.
Table of Contents
- Why B2B Sales & Marketing Clash
- The Real Cost of Misalignment Between B2B Marketing & Sales
- B2B Marketing & Sales Alignment: 8 Ways to Build a Stronger Connection
- B2B Sales & Marketing Plan: Metrics to Monitor Sales-Marketing Alignment
- Alignment Is About Culture, Not a Campaign
Why B2B Sales & Marketing Clash
On paper, marketing and sales should be natural allies. Marketing builds awareness and drives interest, while sales converts that interest into revenue. But inside many B2B organizations, the reality looks more like a tug-of-war. Each side pulls in its own direction, believing the other is slowing things down.
One of the root causes is misaligned goals and KPIs. Marketing is often evaluated based on top-of-funnel performance metrics like lead volume, content engagement, and website traffic. On the other hand, sales focuses on deep-funnel metrics like meetings booked, opportunities created, and revenue closed. When one team prioritizes quantity and the other looks for quality, it creates a disconnect. Leads that look successful on a dashboard might fall flat in a sales conversation, leading to frustration on both sides.
Another challenge is how each team defines a “good” lead. Marketing teams might consider someone who fills out a form as sales-ready. But, sales teams want to see buying signals like budget approval, urgency, and decision-making authority. Without a shared qualification framework, leads get passed too early or too late. This lack of clarity wastes time and erodes trust between teams.
Technology should help connect the dots, but it often does the opposite. When CRMs and marketing automation platforms don’t integrate correctly, teams work from different data sets. Marketing may believe they’ve generated dozens of strong leads, while sales only sees a handful worth pursuing. Even worse, without shared attribution models or reporting tools, it’s hard to trace what’s actually working. Poor visibility leads to missed follow-ups, duplicated outreach, and campaigns that never reach their full potential.
Then there’s the feedback gap. Once marketing hands off a lead, they often lose visibility into what happens next. Meanwhile, sales teams don’t always report on why deals were won or lost. Without this closed-loop feedback, marketing can’t refine its targeting or content, and sales doesn’t benefit from campaign insights. That lack of communication turns small inefficiencies into long-term problems.
The Real Cost of Misalignment Between B2B Marketing & Sales
Misalignment is a business risk that shows up in the numbers and the buyer’s experience. When marketing and sales aren’t working from the same playbook, performance across the funnel suffers.
Missed Conversions & Slower Sales Cycles
Conversion rates take a hit when teams pass leads back and forth without clear context or qualification standards. Sales may reach out too late or not at all. On the other hand, marketing might hand off a lead before it’s ready, leading to dead-end conversations that frustrate both the rep and the prospect. This slows the buying process and creates more work for everyone involved.
Wasted Ad Spend & Inefficient Targeting
Marketing without sales feedback is like flying blind. If campaigns are optimized solely for clicks or downloads rather than actual pipeline contributions, ad dollars can go toward audiences that never convert. It becomes nearly impossible to fine-tune targeting or prioritize high-value channels without knowing what’s closing and why.
Inconsistent Messaging & Buyer Friction
Buyers notice when the journey feels disjointed. If the content that sparked initial interest doesn’t match the follow-up conversation, it creates confusion. Repeated outreach or irrelevant messaging can erode trust, making it harder for prospects to move forward. In complex B2B environments, where confidence matters, even minor inconsistencies can stall a decision.
Poor Forecasting & Revenue Leakage
Marketing might generate momentum, but it’s difficult to forecast accurately if that impact isn’t visible in sales reporting. At the same time, sales might be working leads that the marketing team doesn’t realize are engaged. Without shared visibility into the funnel, leadership teams lack complete insights, which leads to missed opportunities and underperforming forecasts.
B2B Marketing & Sales Alignment: 8 Ways to Build a Stronger Connection
Fixing the disconnect between marketing and sales doesn’t require a complete overhaul—it starts with building the right habits, systems, and shared goals. Here are eight proven ways to align both teams and keep them moving in the same direction.
1) Set a Shared Revenue Goal
Instead of focusing on separate KPIs, unify both teams under a common outcome: revenue growth. Metrics like “marketing-sourced pipeline” or “marketing-influenced revenue” help clarify marketing’s impact on the sales cycle and keep everyone accountable for the same results. A shared dashboard makes this progress visible and encourages collaboration around what drives business.
2) Define Lead Qualification Together
One of the most common breakdowns happens at the lead handoff. By co-creating a clear framework for what makes a lead qualified—using definitions like MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead), SAL (Sales Accepted Lead), and SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)—both teams can better time and tailor their efforts. Frameworks like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) or CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization) can help shape criteria in a valuable way for both sides.
3) Create Service-Level Agreements (SLAs)
SLAs give structure to your alignment. For example, marketing commits to delivering a certain number of qualified leads each month, while sales agrees to follow up within a set timeframe—like one hour for inbound leads. These expectations should be visible, measurable, and monitored in your CRM. Feedback loops should be in place to catch issues before they become patterns.
4) Hold Regular Sales & Marketing Syncs
Consistent communication is the glue that holds alignment together. Weekly or biweekly syncs provide a forum to discuss lead quality, campaign performance, upcoming initiatives, and process breakdowns. The key is to keep meetings structured with shared agendas, clearly assigned action items, and open space for candid feedback.
5) Use Closed-Loop Reporting
Once marketing hands off a lead, the loop shouldn’t close. Marketing needs visibility into which lead sources are generating closed deals, which content supports conversion, and what objections are coming up in sales conversations. Sales can use the same data to prioritize outreach and sharpen messaging. Closed-loop reporting connects early engagement to end outcomes, helping both teams improve.
6) Co-Create Sales Enablement Content
Content isn’t just for brand awareness. Marketing should support every stage of the funnel with tools that help sales close deals faster. Think battle cards, objection-handling one-pagers, industry-specific slide decks, and customer success stories. When sales has input in content creation and easy access through tools like Highspot or shared drives, they’re far more likely to use it.
7) Align on Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
For high-value accounts, alignment is essential. Marketing and sales should collaborate on target account lists, coordinate outreach timing, and share insights on engagement signals. When both teams work together, combining personalized ads, email campaigns, and direct sales outreach, it creates a seamless experience for the buyer and a more decisive shot at conversion.
8) Connect Your Martech Stack
Tech silos are one of the most significant barriers to alignment. Ensure your CRM and marketing automation platforms are fully integrated. Share reporting tools like Looker or Databox, so everyone sees the same data. Real-time alerts from tools like HubSpot or Drift can help sales engage prospects at the right moment, while shared insights give marketing a clearer view of what’s working.
B2B Sales & Marketing Plan: Metrics to Monitor Sales-Marketing Alignment
Tracking alignment needs to rely on actual data. These metrics offer a clear window into how well marketing and sales work together. When reviewed regularly, they reveal what’s connecting, what’s breaking down, and where to improve.
| Metric | Why It Matters | Target Benchmark | What to Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| MQL to SQL Conversion Rate | Measures handoff quality | 20–40% (50%+ for high performers) | If low, definitions may be off |
| Sales Follow-Up Time | Lead response speed impacts conversion | <1 hour (inbound), <24 hours (outbound) | Slow follow-up kills warm leads |
| Marketing-Sourced vs. Influenced Revenue | Shows marketing’s impact beyond leads | 30–60%+ pipeline influence | Validates marketing’s strategic role |
| Lead Velocity Rate | Indicates future pipeline health | 10–20% MoM growth | Ensures marketing keeps pace |
| Sales Acceptance Rate | Measures lead quality and sales engagement | 75%+ SAR = good alignment | Low SAR means misalignment or disengagement |
| Closed-Won Rate from MQLs | Evaluates full-funnel effectiveness | 1–5% for complex B2B sales | Flat trends suggest nurture or timing issues |
| Sales Content Utilization Rate | Assesses enablement content value | 50–70%+ active use | Low usage means content isn’t landing |
| Win/Loss Feedback Frequency | Drives ongoing improvement | Monthly or per-deal | No feedback = no progress |
Pro Tip: Use these metrics in a shared dashboard to create transparency and accountability. Review them monthly as part of your alignment meetings and look for trends, not just snapshots. That’s how you’ll uncover what’s really moving the needle.
Alignment Is About Culture, Not a Campaign
Fixing the divide between marketing and sales isn’t about launching a single initiative or running a one-off workshop. It’s about building a culture where collaboration is part of the everyday workflow. Alignment comes from shared goals, clear definitions, and consistent communication—not just tools or tech.
Start with small steps. Define what a qualified lead looks like together. Agree on follow-up timelines. Set shared revenue targets. Then, build from there, using regular check-ins and performance metrics to guide your progress.
When marketing and sales work as one team, the impact is immediate. Buyers get a more seamless experience. Campaigns perform better. Revenue grows. And the business becomes more agile, more confident, and more competitive.
Ready to close the gap between your marketing and sales teams?
Sagefrog helps B2B companies build alignment that drives real revenue growth. Contact us to learn how we can support your strategy from first touch to final sale.
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