Why Sales & Marketing Misalignment Hurts Growth

On paper, sales and marketing should be two sides of the same coin: marketing generates interest, sales converts it into revenue. But in practice, teams often chase different goals, use different data, and operate on different timelines.

The result?

Leads fall through the cracks because handoff processes aren’t clear.

Prospects get mixed messages because sales and marketing target different audiences.

Pipeline suffers because metrics don’t ladder up to shared revenue goals.

Frustration builds because the teams are essentially speaking different languages.

Left unchecked, these issues don’t just slow growth—they erode trust between the very teams meant to drive it.

The Five Plays That Fix Misalignment

The good news: misalignment is solvable. Influ2 identifies five core “plays” that consistently bring sales and marketing back into sync.

1. Create Shared Revenue Goals

Instead of separate KPIs (like MQLs for marketing and win rates for sales), align both teams around pipeline and revenue. Shared goals create accountability and collaboration.

How to apply it: Run a joint workshop where both teams define what success looks like, and build a shared dashboard everyone can access.

2. Agree on a Unified Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

When sales and marketing chase different audiences, campaigns fall flat. Defining a single ICP—based on data from your best customers—keeps both teams targeting the same buyers.

How to apply it: Analyze your most successful accounts, then document and circulate that ICP so every campaign and outreach is anchored to it.

3. Streamline the Lead Handoff

The warmest leads can cool quickly if they’re not followed up fast. Clear definitions of when a lead is “sales-ready,” plus SLAs for response time, keep momentum alive.

How to apply it: Use intent signals (like ad engagement or repeat visits) to trigger notifications. Automate workflows so leads don’t languish in limbo.

4. Clean Up Data and Connect Your Tech Stack

Nothing slows alignment like messy, siloed data. If sales and marketing are working from different versions of the truth, missteps are inevitable.

How to apply it: Audit your CRM, clean duplicates, and ensure integrations between tools are seamless. Set a cadence for ongoing data hygiene.

5. Speak the Same Language

What does “qualified” mean? When exactly is a prospect considered “engaged”? If those answers differ by team, confusion will follow.

How to apply it: Create a simple internal playbook defining key terms, stages, and processes. Review it quarterly as your business evolves.

How to Measure Alignment

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. To hold yourselves accountable, track:

Warm-up audience: contacts marketing has touched but sales hasn’t.

Broken hand-offs: leads prioritized by marketing but not followed up.

Cold outreach audience: contacts sales chases that marketing hasn’t supported.

Shared audience: prospects engaged by both teams.

Aligned hand-offs: prioritized leads that receive timely follow-up.

Monitoring these metrics helps you spot problem areas (like too many broken hand-offs) and prove the ROI of alignment over time.

Final Takeaway

Sales–marketing alignment isn’t a one-time project. It’s an ongoing discipline that requires shared goals, documented processes, clean data, and continuous measurement.

The payoff is worth it: higher win rates, stronger pipeline, and a better buyer experience.

If your teams are still struggling to sync, start small. Choose one shared metric, clean up one process, or create one unified definition. Build momentum, celebrate wins, and keep pushing alignment forward—because when sales and marketing work as one, growth follows.

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