Why & How to Align Sales and Marketing Teams for Funnel Optimization Success

Thank you to Chris Hays for joining GTM Innovators to discuss this critical topic. I've recapped our discussion but you can view the full episode on YouTube, https://youtu.be/RnQXNyUegy4?si=d-lVVwKgmpTgIgA_

To listen to more GTM Innovators podcasts visit, https://www.gtminnovators.com/

Aligning Sales and Marketing Teams

The Why is simple... you grow faster and more efficiently. You create a better customer experience. Data has proven this over the last decade but here's a few stats, dated but relevant, just in case your Exec team or Board needs them:

1. Highly-Aligned organizations see a 32% year-over-year revenue growth. Less aligned competitors saw a 7% decrease in revenue (Source: Aberdeen).
2. Highly aligned companies are 15% more profitable?(Source: Forrester).

The How has been the elusive element of this equation for decades... let's dispel a myth that Chris and I discussed since org structure is often stated as a "main reason" for misalignment. Even when sales and marketing report to the same leader, there can still be friction between the two teams. If you have a single leader (Chief Business Officer, COO, President) leading the full GTM, you still need to actively work on staying aligned. But, this single leader does become the galvanizing force who helps teams work through friction points, prioritize resources and set objectives.

And, objectives are the key to aligning... you need shared vision & goals for each part of the funnel like the % of pipeline each team/role type will contribute then the number of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) needed, the conversion rates from MQL to sales qualified lead (SQL), SQL to Pipelined Opps and finally revenue. The big unlock for companies I've been at and learned from is having a shared system to track funnel metrics, discuss how to optimize each conversion point across the funnel and actively improve your GTM efficiency together. This shared execution enables you to maintain alignment by providing visibility into what's working across the funnel and shows you how each team is contributing to your mutual success. #OneTeamOneGoal

As an example, the marketing team may aim to generate 500 MQLs per month. Meanwhile, sales targets a 25% conversion rate from MQL to SQL to hit their pipeline targets per month. With a shared reporting system, both teams can monitor progress and collaborate as needed to hit their aligned goals. Marketing can adjust campaigns to increase quality MQLs, while sales focuses on improving conversion rates through prompt, personalized follow-up.

Evolving Sales and Marketing Technology for Efficiency

In the past, sales and marketing technology landscapes were fragmented. The proliferation of specialized point solutions led to complex "Frankenstacks" that didn't integrate smoothly (kudos to Chris Hays for dropping this term on me during the podcast. I love it and have used it many times when talking to peers). This made processes cumbersome and reduced visibility into the funnel.

Now, we're seeing consolidation and tighter integration of sales and marketing technologies. This integration aims to improve efficiency by connecting previously disparate systems. When evaluating technology, assess the cost/benefit tradeoff between retaining a mix of best-in-class point solutions versus shifting to an integrated suite. Consider both short-term productivity gains and long-term platform flexibility. It may be best to have a point-solution for a critical aspect of your process but in other places a "good" functionality in a platform may be better than a "great" point solution where you'd add cost & complexity to managing the techstack without getting material gains in your business metrics.

Optimizing Lead Follow-Up for Faster Conversions

Outcomes are the name of the game for why you align Sales & Marketing and the techstack too. A key outcome is pipeline generated and one thing that Chris & his former ZoomInfo team know for sure is that when it comes to sales lead follow-up, speed matters. Quick, personalized outreach after a lead is submitted boosts conversion at huge rates. You should aspire to leverage technology to empower a 10min or less follow-up time for anyone requesting a demo to book that meeting and for non-demos get a nurturing email out to better qualify them while directing them to more educational content.

Your follow-up to a lead is a tone setter for the prospect experience so use "secret shopper" tests to evaluate Sales response time and quality. Submit demo requests and complete lead forms to track how quickly and effectively you / the secret shopper is contacted. The goal for non-demos should be having less than 10% of leads receive no response (hopefully the unqualified contacts that aren't true leads) and less than 30% taking over 1 day to get a response from Sales / BDR. Promptly reached leads are more likely to convert to sales qualified leads & opportunities. Follow-up outreach should provide personalized value focused on that prospect's needs while also capturing data for your qualification process.

Balancing Personalization and Scale for an Optimized Approach

Personalization helps drive conversions, but manual customization doesn't scale. Start with a scalable initial message, then customize only where truly needed to balance efficiency and personalization. Vary personalization efforts based on where a lead is within the funnel.

For colder leads higher up the funnel, focus on more general, scalable outreach. For hotter leads nearing a deal, apply more tailored personalization. Use data like lead scores to determine the optimal tradeoff between scale and customization for your sales process. The goal is maximizing the impact of personalization without sacrificing efficiency.

Leveraging Technology for Sales and Marketing Innovation

Multiple technologies exist to accelerate sales and marketing innovation when strategically leveraged. Marketing automation and intent data allow for more targeted, automated nurture campaigns but there are also emerging personalization solutions worth testing within this campaign flow too, like Air Traffic Control — Grow Pipeline With Existing Content that helps you connect the right content to the right person. As you streamline your outbound campaigns, you need to make sure Sales is aligned & ready to qualify each lead source uniquely so make sure your Enablement platform helps Reps master the expanding product portfolios narratives with the warm leads coming their way to improve productivity. Finally, as Chris shared, consider looking at Lead recycling tools to maximize conversions by automatically following up with previously unqualified leads.

The key is selecting and implementing the right technologies for your needs and processes. When identifying potential sales and marketing tech, focus on where it can drive specific productivity, performance, or innovation gains. Maintain a mindset of continuous improvement rather than complacency.

Continuously Optimizing Processes Over Time

As strategies evolve and new technologies emerge, it's important to re-evaluate processes set up in the past with a critical new eye. Identify areas that may not be optimized for the current sales and marketing environment. Then, make incremental data-driven improvements to boost performance.

Avoid complacency and assumptions that existing workflows are fully optimized. The world moves fast, so what worked well last year may now be outdated. By continually optimizing based on fresh data, sales and marketing teams can stay aligned on the best processes for driving success today.

If both Sales & Marketing stay in this growth mindset, you will constantly being helping each other to optimize your results and celebrate your successes along the way.