How to Align Sales & Marketing
Marketing and sales teams often struggle to get along. There are a lot of reasons - some good, some bad - but one of the most fundamental is that they live in two different realities. Sales tends to be highly attuned to revenue, not least because of performance-based compensation, while marketing tends to have lots of cross-functional responsibilities and more room to be creative.
But the truth is, you can’t afford to allow marketing and sales to operate out of sync. A lack of alignment costs your business money. It creates friction for your team, and for your customers - and friction is a deal-killer.
So how do you get your marketing and sales aligned?
In this blog, you’ll learn 7 actionable tips for how to align sales and marketing.
These recommendations come from three industry experts who have spent a significant portion of their respective careers supporting alignment:
Dana Owens, case study strategist and founder of Next Level Copy.
Jill Clark Fulmer, revenue enablement consultant and founder of Elemental Revenue.
Kinsey Wolf, growth marketing consultant and founder of The Lane Collective.
We discussed all of these tips (and many more) in October’s Growth Roundtable conversation, which you can watch for free here.
Let’s jump in:
1. EMBRACE THAT YOU CAN’T GROW SUSTAINABLY WITHOUT ALIGNMENT.
It’s impossible to scale if marketing, sales, and customer success aren’t on the same team. This involves understanding each other’s strengths and challenges.
2. ALIGN AROUND SOMETHING YOU CAN AGREE ON: THE CUSTOMER.
As we shared in last week's roundtable, the easiest place to start is with something everyone can agree on: the customer. Get your teams to agree that they're there to take care of the customer, and then you get to focus on how you do that differently - but together.
This is also the guiding principle behind any growth strategy: your customer is key. As founder of The Lane Collective Kinsey Wolf says, “Your customer is your North Star.” Start building alignment by agreeing on this simple belief, and open a conversation around how to add value at every stage in their journey, from first contact to renewal.
“If you don’t believe that your business’s mandate is making your customers’ lives better in some way, then alignment isn’t going to happen. But if you do embrace this idea, alignment is simply about inculcating this belief so that you can actually grow better. ”
3. A GREAT EARLY INITIATIVE IS TO COLLECT CUSTOMER STORIES.
Capturing and sharing customer stories within your daily workflow is a great way to elevate the voice of the customer and get all teams working toward the same goal. These customer success stories, or case studies, can support both marketing and sales goals.
4. EMBRACE SALES ENABLEMENT.
Sales enablement requires early and constant collaboration between marketing and sales. This not only equips the sales team with tools and materials but also enables them to connect genuinely with customers while staying on-brand.
“The cost of the misalignment is missed opportunities. For example, a salesperson might uncover a potentially awesome messaging opportunity, and they won’t pass it off to marketing. And vice versa, marketing might uncover a new market. But if that line of communication isn’t open, neither team will have any idea that they could take the ball and run with something new.”
5. ENSURE LEADERSHIP SUPPORT.
The alignment should start at the top, with the C-suite setting the tone. Shaming, blaming, or tension between leaders will hinder your ability to align the rest of the department and ultimately hurt your closed-won rate.
“I’ve worked with probably 20 companies on this, and about 75 percent of the time, the CRO or the head of sales is saying one thing and the CMO or Head of Marketing is saying another, and it trickles down. We need to drop that, quick. Ultimately, we’re all just trying to do the same thing different ways. If we can get on the same page, we can realize really fruitful opportunities.”
6. LEVERAGE DATA TO ENHANCE STRATEGY & CELEBRATE WINS.
It’s essential to highlight customer wins using data and success metrics, but it’s also important to analyze internal performance data to improve your strategy. Work collaboratively to develop a clear picture of your conversion rate through the customer journey, including fallout.
It can also be helpful to define what success looks like for both teams and ensure everyone is on the same page. This could mean agreeing on what constitutes a qualified lead, setting shared revenue targets, or aligning on brand messaging across all platforms.
All of these types of data can be shared internally to celebrate wins, build consensus, and encourage progress.
7. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO VALUE.
Ultimately, the goal of each department in the company is deliver value to the customer at every stage in their journey. Encouraging each member of your team to think about their work through this lens can ensure that alignment is built and maintained.
With these insights, you can work to improve alignment between sales and marketing.
If you missed the live session, the recording of our roundtable on aligning sales and marketing is now available. Dive deep into actionable strategies and real-world insights from industry leaders. Learn how to dismantle silos, inspire teamwork, and maximize your brand's potential. Watch the recording and empower your teams with the knowledge to achieve remarkable synergy.
Want a quicker download? Get a free, sharable PDF of these insights today.
