You can generate thousands of leads, launch brilliant campaigns, and even go viral.
But if the sales team isn’t closing — or if the leads aren’t ready to buy — that’s not growth. It’s the illusion of performance.
Real growth happens when marketing and sales work together, with connected goals, integrated processes, and a shared focus on revenue.
Here’s how to make that happen:
🎯 1. Set SLAs Between Marketing and Sales
SLAs (Service Level Agreements) are mutual commitments. Marketing agrees to deliver leads with specific criteria (e.g., profile, engagement level, channel), and Sales agrees to follow up within defined timelines and standards.
✅ Example:
- Marketing delivers 50 MQLs/month with defined attributes
- Sales responds within 1 hour and follows up 3x in 7 days
Result: more accountability, less finger-pointing.
🔁 2. Connect the Funnels (No Gaps Between Stages)
Many companies operate with two disconnected funnels: marketing ends at lead generation, and sales only begins with the first call. That’s inefficient.
✅ The solution: Build one integrated funnel, with full visibility from discovery to conversion and retention. Use CRMs and automation to track every step and eliminate friction.
🔥 3. Focus on Demand Generation, Not Just Lead Generation
Modern marketing isn’t about “collecting emails.” It’s about educating the market and creating buying intent.
✅ How to do it:
- Create content that answers real buyer questions
- Position your product as a solution to specific problems
- Nurture leads smartly (not just generic email blasts)
Demand Gen = higher-quality leads + shorter sales cycles.
🤝 4. Growth Requires a Consultative Sales Approach
If marketing delivers value, sales should deepen the conversation — understanding the buyer’s pain points and personalizing the solution.
✅ Best practices:
- Active listening to uncover the buyer’s real needs
- Diagnose before pitching
- Tailor the proposal to business impact, not just product features
Sales is just continuing the conversation marketing started.
📌 Final Thoughts
If you want to scale sustainably, align marketing and sales as two gears of the same growth engine.
📉 Without alignment, there’s friction.
📈 With alignment, there’s traction.
👉 Want to learn how to apply this to your business?
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