Sales and marketing are often treated as separate functions, but when they operate in silos, companies lose momentum, clarity, and revenue. This article explores the cost of misalignment, how to spot the breakdowns, and what it takes to create a unified revenue engine that delivers measurable, scalable growth.

By Mike Belin | Nacre Consulting

In theory, sales and marketing should function as two sides of the same coin. Marketing generates demand. Sales converts it. Simple.

In practice, that’s rarely what happens.

Too often, marketing teams craft messaging without input from the field. Sales teams disregard leads that don’t meet their (often undocumented) standards. The result is friction, finger-pointing, and missed targets. One team says, “We’re sending good leads.” The other says, “They’re not closing.”

At Nacre, we’ve worked with dozens of companies who don’t have a marketing problem or a sales problem. They have a handoff problem and no shared language to solve it.

The Impact of Misalignment

The consequences of misalignment are real and measurable:

• Slower Sales Cycles

  When leads lack context or quality, deals take longer to close.

• Low Lead Conversion Rates

  If marketing and sales don’t agree on what qualifies as a good lead, conversion suffers.

• Brand Inconsistency

  When messaging isn’t shared across teams, customer experience becomes fragmented.

• Wasted Budget

  Marketing invests in channels that don’t generate revenue. Sales wastes time chasing the wrong contacts.

• Team Frustration

  Morale drops when each team feels like the other isn’t pulling their weight.

These breakdowns compound over time. Misalignment doesn’t just stall growth; it erodes trust, visibility, and momentum.

Recognizing the Warning Signs

Most organizations don’t realize they have a misalignment issue until the symptoms become impossible to ignore.

Here are the signs we see most often:

• Marketing reports “high-quality” leads, but sales isn’t following up.

  This suggests a disconnect on what qualifies a lead and how it’s handed off.

• Sales is rewriting messaging created by marketing.

  If sales collateral is being changed in the field, it likely doesn’t reflect what buyers actually respond to.

• There’s one person responsible for both functions.

  When sales and marketing are rolled into a single job, often a VP of Sales & Marketing, one side usually suffers from lack of focus and resources.

• Customer pain points are not clearly defined.

  Without a shared understanding of the ICP and their challenges, messaging lacks punch and relevance.

• CRM data is incomplete or siloed.

  Teams can’t see each other’s activities, campaign performance, or lead status in real time.

Misalignment isn’t a personality conflict. It’s a systems issue and it needs a systems-level solution.

How to Build True Alignment

Alignment between marketing and sales isn’t about more meetings. It’s about shared goals, shared data, and shared definitions.

Here’s the process we follow at Nacre to close the gap between the two teams:

1. Start with the Customer

Alignment begins with clarity on the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Both teams must agree on:

• Who you’re targeting

• What their top pain points are

• How your solution creates value

• What buying triggers signal readiness

When sales and marketing speak the same language about the customer, everything else falls into place.

2. Redesign the Handoff

One of the biggest breakdowns happens at the point where marketing passes a lead to sales. We redesign this handoff by:

• Defining lead qualification criteria together

• Mapping the lead lifecycle stages in the CRM

• Building SLAs (Service Level Agreements) that clarify expectations on both sides

When a lead hits a certain score or stage, sales knows exactly what to do and marketing knows what to expect.

3. Align Messaging Across the Funnel

We facilitate collaborative workshops to align top-of-funnel messaging (campaigns, ads, content) with bottom-of-funnel conversations (sales calls, demos, proposals). The goal is a unified narrative that:

• Builds trust early

• Anticipates objections

• Reinforces value through every stage of the buying journey

When messaging is aligned, customers don’t feel like they’re being “resold” every time they talk to someone new.

4. Implement a Shared CRM and Reporting Structure

The CRM is where alignment becomes visible. We ensure that:

• Both teams are working in the same system

• Lead sources, campaign attribution, and sales outcomes are tracked

• Reporting connects marketing efforts to revenue outcomes

Without shared data, there’s no accountability. With it, the whole revenue team can operate as one unit.

5. Establish Joint Goals and KPIs

Marketing should not be measured by volume alone. Sales should not be measured by closed-won alone. Joint goals, such as lead-to-opportunity conversion, pipeline velocity, or cost per acquisition, create shared ownership.

The focus shifts from “Who’s to blame?” to “What’s working?”

Realignment Is Possible But It Requires Structure

We’ve worked with many organizations facing revenue plateaus, lead quality concerns, or inconsistent messaging. In nearly every case, the root issue isn’t the quality of the teams; it’s the lack of alignment between them.

When marketing and sales align around the customer, clarify the handoff, and operate from a shared system, the results follow. Conversion rates improve. Sales cycles shorten. Team morale lifts. And the customer experience becomes consistent from first touch to closed deal.

It doesn’t require a complete overhaul, just a commitment to collaboration and the systems that support it.

The Role of Leadership

Alignment doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It requires leadership to set the tone, structure, and accountability. Whether you’re the CEO, CRO, or COO, your job is to break down silos, eliminate confusion, and resource both teams for success.

The alternative is leaving revenue on the table and creating churn at the leadership level as teams burn out from frustration and miscommunication.

From Two Teams to One Revenue Engine

Marketing and sales don’t need to be best friends, but they must be aligned.

When they are, businesses grow faster, teams work smarter, and customers experience a consistent, high-trust buying journey.

When they’re not, even the best product struggles to reach the people who need it.

If misalignment is slowing down your sales pipeline, we can help.

At Nacre Consulting, we partner with CEOs and leaders to align sales and marketing, build custom sales playbooks, and provide leadership and revenue growth expertise that drives results.

Let’s talk about where your teams are today, and what it will take to get everyone rowing in the same direction.

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Mike Belin

Mike Belin is an Executive Growth Strategist at Nacre Consulting with over 20 years of sales leadership experience spanning industries like SaaS, manufacturing, construction, and distribution. Mike also serves as the President of the Buffalo Niagara Sales & Marketing Executives (BNSME).