Why Marketing and Sales Need to Be Besties (Not Frenemies)

Marketing and sales alignment is the game-changer that every successful business needs. In today’s world, it’s not enough to just have separate teams doing their own thing. Sales and marketing need to be on the same page, collaborating like a tag team that works together for the common goal: revenue growth. So, let’s dive into why this alignment matters and how to make it happen.

🚦 No More Guessing – Solve Real Problems

Marketing teams need to stop creating content that’s “nice to have” and start focusing on what’s really needed at each stage of the buyer’s journey.

Key to success: Make sure your marketing is solving real problems for your prospects. This means:

• Addressing buyer pains: Rather than just talking about features, focus on the outcomes. What keeps your buyers awake at night, and how does your solution make their life easier? Content that answers these questions directly is the content that converts.
• Removing objections early: Think about common objections that crop up during the sales process—whether it’s price concerns, technical doubts, or implementation issues. Marketing should have content ready to preemptively address these, ideally before they even become a barrier.
• Timely campaigns: Timing is everything. If there are seasonal trends or industry events coming up, marketing and sales should synchronize efforts to capitalize on these opportunities. For example, if sales is pushing a holiday season offer, marketing should already have a campaign in place that aligns with this push.

According to HubSpot, companies that have a marketing and sales team aligned see a 36% higher customer retention rate and a 38% higher sales win rate. This isn’t just fluff—it’s real impact on business outcomes

📋 Lead Strategy—It’s All About Quality, Not Quantity

It’s time to reevaluate how leads are being treated. No one’s got time for weak leads that go nowhere. Both marketing and sales need to work together to assess and refine the lead generation strategy. Here’s how:

• Track lead intent: Leads are not all created equal. Marketing needs to understand which leads have actual purchase intent, and which are just window-shopping. By tracking actions like whitepaper downloads, demo requests, or specific page visits (think pricing or product pages), marketing can better hand off high-intent leads to sales.
• Analyze lead disqualifications: Why are leads being disqualified by sales? Is it because they don’t fit the ideal customer profile? Or was there a misstep in the handoff process? Both teams need to work closely to understand these gaps, adjust accordingly, and streamline the process.
• Refining account lists: Not all accounts are worth chasing. Marketing can help sales prioritize high-value prospects by providing a more detailed analysis of which accounts are engaging the most or have the highest potential based on past behavior. This also means regularly reviewing and updating the account priority list—if certain accounts are no longer worth the effort, let’s focus elsewhere.

Companies with aligned marketing and sales teams are 67% more likely to see revenue growth than those who don’t take the time to sync up

🔍 Recognize and Act on Buying Signals

One of the biggest misses between marketing and sales? Failing to identify key signals that indicate a buyer is close to making a move. These signals don’t come in a nice little package—they’re spread across multiple touchpoints. Here’s what to look for:

• Engagement with high-value content: When leads start spending time with case studies, detailed product pages, or pricing information, that’s a big indicator they’re in the decision phase. Marketing should alert sales to follow up at this critical moment.
• Event and webinar signups: If someone registers for a webinar or attends an event, that’s a strong sign they want to know more. Sales should treat these as hot leads and act fast.
• Content consumption patterns: Tracking how much content a lead is consuming can be a goldmine for sales teams. A prospect who’s watching multiple videos or downloading several eBooks could be closer to a purchase decision than they let on.

Salesforce reports that 79% of leads never convert into sales simply because sales teams don’t follow up after initial engagement

.Identifying these signals early and making sure both teams follow up appropriately can prevent these missed opportunities.

💰 Marketing = Revenue Driver

The ultimate question: Is marketing really driving revenue, or just making pretty ads? Sales needs to recognize that marketing is their secret weapon in driving sales and that these teams are better when working in tandem.

• Help sales sell more: Marketing’s job isn’t just to create a pretty picture; it’s to fuel sales. Sales needs to ask, What can marketing do to make it easier for you to close deals? Marketing should be ready to provide assets, refine messaging, and adjust strategies based on feedback from the field.
• Clear communication on ROI: Sales needs to understand how marketing’s work translates to revenue. By tracking the performance of campaigns (especially ones that lead directly to closed deals), marketing can show exactly how their efforts are contributing to the bottom line.
• Shared goals: Both teams should have a clear understanding of each other’s roles and how they’re aligned to meet the same revenue targets. When marketing and sales understand that their success is tied together, you build a stronger, more collaborative relationship.

According to a McKinsey & Company study, companies that prioritize marketing and sales alignment are two times as likely to report significant improvements in sales performance

🌟 The Bottom Line

Marketing and sales need to sync up in a way that’s more than just a couple of meetings or random check-ins. When they work as a well-oiled machine, aligned on goals, strategies, and outcomes, they can crush their targets and make real impacts on the business.

In the end, the goal is simple: create a seamless customer experience that nurtures leads, closes deals, and drives revenue. With strong alignment, your marketing and sales teams will not only hit their numbers—they’ll exceed them.

What’s your current marketing and sales relationship like? Do you have any tips for better collaboration? Let’s chat below! 👇