Sales and Marketing Alignment

Here is what we typically see:

Marketing: We spent £8,000 and generated 1,000 SQLs. Sales only converted 100 of those into opportunities and closed just 30.

Sales: We don't have enough leads. My reports say we converted 50% of the leads we accepted.

So what does the data tell us? Usually they're both right — to an extent. But their definitions are not aligned. A typical scenario is that of those 1,000 SQLs generated:

• 250 might have been for territories without coverage, so the CRM didn't assign them.
• 200 were marked as duplicates (because the prospect engaged with us twice).
• 350 were rejected by Sales as too small, too early in the sales cycle, etc.
• Leaving 200 accepted by Sales.

RevOps should really be the bridge here, and address the underlying issues:

1. Clear definition of terms such as SQL, to include sales criteria and territory definitions.
2. A lead tracking dashboard for Sales & Marketing: a single view of SQL follow-up, with conversion rates, mandated rejection-reason fields, time-to-follow-up KPIs, etc.
3. A new process to deal with out-of-territory enquiries.