Is sales and marketing alignment something you know when you see it, or is it objectively defined, specific and measurable? We recommend the latter of course and have a suggested starting place for companies not yet getting what they want from these two highly interdependent functions.
Is B2B Lead Creation really that complicated?
Leads are the common intersection of marketing and sales. Marketing creates them (and we believe qualifies them up to Sales Ready status) then Sales converts them into qualified pipeline opportunities and ultimately into closed new business.
How do you get there?
| First | Mutually define a Sales Ready lead |
| Second | Decide how many Sales Ready leads must be created each month |
| Third | Set a shared target % for how many Sales Ready leads convert to qualified pipeline opportunities |
| Fourth | Agree on the target % for how many qualified opportunities close as new wins |
Start measuring the effort and begin looking for opportunities to improve your results over time. (How long your lead generation and sales cycles last will suggest how quickly you can begin evaluating results and making modifications.)
When Marketing and Sales share in defining leads and goals then both teams have skin in the game from above the funnel all the way through the sales pipeline. Later, when you tie financial incentives to achieving the goals, everyone will feel mutually committed to the shared success.