Aligning Sales and Marketing for Better GTM
Strategies
Susan
Macomber
Go-to-Market Advisor
Fullcast
Amy Osmond
Cook, PhD
Chief Marketing Officer
Fullcast
Why Does Sales and Marketing
Alignment Matter?
Only 30% of sales reps say that their sales and marketing teams
are strongly aligned. (HubSpot)
39% of sales reps want to be better aligned with the
marketing team on goals and strategy. (HubSpot)
59% of sales reps say that the leads they receive from
the marketing team are high quality. (HubSpot)
Sales teams that align with marketing are 106% more likely to say
that they are performing better than their sales goals for the year.
(HubSpot)
Highly aligned companies grow 19% faster and are
15% more profitable. (Forrester)
30%
39%
59%
106%
19%
Revenue Operations:
Bringing Sales and Marketing Together
RevOps is the center of excellence through which
marketing and sales can align on strategic,
operational, and tactical levels.
Moving forward with a unified vision, strategy,
and customer-centric approach bolsters . . .
● A positive customer experience
● Increased revenue
● Customer retention/reduced churn
● Effective capacity planning
● Strategic resource allocation
Why Alignment Is Critical
● Organizations with aligned sales
and marketing achieve 36%
higher customer retention and
38% higher sales win rates. (
ZoomInfo)
● Misalignment leads to wasted
resources, poor lead conversion,
and missed revenue
opportunities.
● Common goals between sales
and marketing drive pipeline
growth and customer
acquisition.
Service
Level
Agreement
(SLA)
Shared
Goals and
Objectives
Marketing
Knows
Which leads to sell to
Whether cold leads are
being nurtured by
marketing
How to approach sales
meetings
Which leads are
opportunities
Which leads to avoid
wasting time with
Which leads to
market to
Which leads to nurture
How to segment leads
Which sources and
content perform best
Which leads convert to
opportunities
Sales
Knows
A detailed report of each
lead
Which leads to pass
to sales
Key Benefits of Alignment
67% better at
closing deals when
sales and marketing
agree on lead
definition. (Marketo)
67% 19% 208%
208% more
marketing-
generated revenue
with aligned teams.
(HubSpot)
Aligned companies
grow 19% faster
and are 15% more
profitable.
(Forrester)
Communication and Collaboration
● Regular cross-functional
meetings ensure that both
teams stay aligned.
● Open feedback loops—sales
gives feedback on lead
quality, marketing on
campaign effectiveness.
Integrated tech stacks enable
shared data between teams.
Use CRM, marketing automation,
and GTM planning tools to align
data.
74% of organizations using shared
technology and data have improved
alignment between sales and
marketing. (Review42)
Connect Tech Stack and Leverage
Data
for a Unified GTM Strategy
● Sales and marketing
collaborate on high-
value accounts.
● 87% higher ROI from
ABM strategies. (ITSMA)
Align through Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
Align on Customer Personas and ICP
● Both teams must agree on
who the ideal buyer is.
● A shared understanding of target
customers drives unified
messaging.
Sales
Rep
Sell!
Find Products
Configure Orders
Add Discounts
Generate/ Send
Quote
Forecast
Manage Pipeline
Manage Customer
Sales Ops
Administrator
Add Products
Add Config Rule
Forecast
Define Quoting
Metrics
Analyze Pricing
Quoting
Sales Enablement
Channel
Sales Rep
Market and Sell
Find Products
Fregister Deals
Sell Value-Added
Services
Product
Manager
Maintain Product
Knowledge
Manage Config Rules
Support Deals
Analyze Competition
Finance
Manager
Set Pricing and
Discount Tiers
Process Exception
Discounts
Monitor Attach Rates
Support Deals
Create an Integrated Customer Journey
○ 89% of buyers choose vendors
offering relevant content at each
buying stage. (Forrester)
○ Seamless handoff between marketing
(awareness stage) and sales (decision
stage).
Joint Effort
○ Sales input helps marketing create
high-impact content.
○ Marketing enables sales with up-to-
date materials: battle cards, case
studies, etc.
Shared KPIs and Metrics
1. Set common goals (e.g., revenue targets, MQL to SQL conversion rates)
2. Use an SLA to set expectations for lead quality and conversion times
Align on Attribution Models, Compensation, and Incentives
○ Use multi-touch attribution to credit
both sales and marketing for deal
closures.
○ Incentivize collaboration with shared
bonuses for revenue or lead
conversion goals.
○ Aligned incentives drive
teamwork and joint ownership
of success.
○ Accurate ROI tracking helps
refine GTM strategies.
Key Takeaways
1. Alignment is key to scaling GTM efforts,
improving lead conversion, and maximizing
revenue.
2. Leverage shared goals, data, and tools to
ensure seamless collaboration.
3. Automate as much as you can! AI is here to
stay. Allow your team to work on strategy
instead of tasks.
SaaStr Annual 2024: Aligning Sales and Marketing for Better GTM Strategies with Fullcast

SaaStr Annual 2024: Aligning Sales and Marketing for Better GTM Strategies with Fullcast

  • 1.
    Aligning Sales andMarketing for Better GTM Strategies Susan Macomber Go-to-Market Advisor Fullcast Amy Osmond Cook, PhD Chief Marketing Officer Fullcast
  • 2.
    Why Does Salesand Marketing Alignment Matter?
  • 3.
    Only 30% ofsales reps say that their sales and marketing teams are strongly aligned. (HubSpot) 39% of sales reps want to be better aligned with the marketing team on goals and strategy. (HubSpot) 59% of sales reps say that the leads they receive from the marketing team are high quality. (HubSpot) Sales teams that align with marketing are 106% more likely to say that they are performing better than their sales goals for the year. (HubSpot) Highly aligned companies grow 19% faster and are 15% more profitable. (Forrester) 30% 39% 59% 106% 19%
  • 4.
    Revenue Operations: Bringing Salesand Marketing Together RevOps is the center of excellence through which marketing and sales can align on strategic, operational, and tactical levels.
  • 5.
    Moving forward witha unified vision, strategy, and customer-centric approach bolsters . . . ● A positive customer experience ● Increased revenue ● Customer retention/reduced churn ● Effective capacity planning ● Strategic resource allocation
  • 6.
    Why Alignment IsCritical ● Organizations with aligned sales and marketing achieve 36% higher customer retention and 38% higher sales win rates. ( ZoomInfo) ● Misalignment leads to wasted resources, poor lead conversion, and missed revenue opportunities. ● Common goals between sales and marketing drive pipeline growth and customer acquisition. Service Level Agreement (SLA) Shared Goals and Objectives Marketing Knows Which leads to sell to Whether cold leads are being nurtured by marketing How to approach sales meetings Which leads are opportunities Which leads to avoid wasting time with Which leads to market to Which leads to nurture How to segment leads Which sources and content perform best Which leads convert to opportunities Sales Knows A detailed report of each lead Which leads to pass to sales
  • 7.
    Key Benefits ofAlignment 67% better at closing deals when sales and marketing agree on lead definition. (Marketo) 67% 19% 208% 208% more marketing- generated revenue with aligned teams. (HubSpot) Aligned companies grow 19% faster and are 15% more profitable. (Forrester)
  • 8.
    Communication and Collaboration ●Regular cross-functional meetings ensure that both teams stay aligned. ● Open feedback loops—sales gives feedback on lead quality, marketing on campaign effectiveness.
  • 9.
    Integrated tech stacksenable shared data between teams. Use CRM, marketing automation, and GTM planning tools to align data. 74% of organizations using shared technology and data have improved alignment between sales and marketing. (Review42) Connect Tech Stack and Leverage Data for a Unified GTM Strategy
  • 10.
    ● Sales andmarketing collaborate on high- value accounts. ● 87% higher ROI from ABM strategies. (ITSMA) Align through Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
  • 11.
    Align on CustomerPersonas and ICP ● Both teams must agree on who the ideal buyer is. ● A shared understanding of target customers drives unified messaging. Sales Rep Sell! Find Products Configure Orders Add Discounts Generate/ Send Quote Forecast Manage Pipeline Manage Customer Sales Ops Administrator Add Products Add Config Rule Forecast Define Quoting Metrics Analyze Pricing Quoting Sales Enablement Channel Sales Rep Market and Sell Find Products Fregister Deals Sell Value-Added Services Product Manager Maintain Product Knowledge Manage Config Rules Support Deals Analyze Competition Finance Manager Set Pricing and Discount Tiers Process Exception Discounts Monitor Attach Rates Support Deals
  • 12.
    Create an IntegratedCustomer Journey ○ 89% of buyers choose vendors offering relevant content at each buying stage. (Forrester) ○ Seamless handoff between marketing (awareness stage) and sales (decision stage). Joint Effort ○ Sales input helps marketing create high-impact content. ○ Marketing enables sales with up-to- date materials: battle cards, case studies, etc.
  • 13.
    Shared KPIs andMetrics 1. Set common goals (e.g., revenue targets, MQL to SQL conversion rates) 2. Use an SLA to set expectations for lead quality and conversion times
  • 14.
    Align on AttributionModels, Compensation, and Incentives ○ Use multi-touch attribution to credit both sales and marketing for deal closures. ○ Incentivize collaboration with shared bonuses for revenue or lead conversion goals. ○ Aligned incentives drive teamwork and joint ownership of success. ○ Accurate ROI tracking helps refine GTM strategies.
  • 15.
    Key Takeaways 1. Alignmentis key to scaling GTM efforts, improving lead conversion, and maximizing revenue. 2. Leverage shared goals, data, and tools to ensure seamless collaboration. 3. Automate as much as you can! AI is here to stay. Allow your team to work on strategy instead of tasks.

Editor's Notes

  • #8 Having real-time feedback loops and tools that allow you to adjust your GTM strategy on the fly can make all the difference in keeping both teams aligned and adaptable
  • #9 A unified tech stack is key to alignment. You want to incorporate both processes and tools that bridge the gap between sales and marketing by keeping the entire GTM strategy in sync. It's critical that your GTM strategy is data-driven and flexible. Using integrated platforms help ensure that data is shared across teams and that adjustments can be made in real-time as markets shift.
  • #13 Using tools that bring transparency to shared KPIs allows both teams to stay aligned on progress and revenue targets, reducing friction.
  • #14 Companies that align around a shared attribution model are better positioned to scale their GTM efforts and accurately assess ROI from both teams. When quotas are set correctly based on territory potential and capacity, both sales and marketing teams are better aligned toward shared success.