Research shows sales teams ignore 80% of marketing leads.
In this article, our Founder and MD, Vera, explores the root cause of the disconnect and offers a solution to help move forward.
Turning leads into real pipeline is rarely straightforward. For many organisations, generating value from leads feels more like guesswork than a calculated process. In my 15 years as a leader in the Salesforce ecosystem, I've seen this struggle firsthand. And almost every time, the root cause is a fundamental disconnect between sales and marketing.
This friction is a tale as old as time. During board meetings, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) points to the sheer volume of leads they’ve generated, while the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) counters that those leads lack the quality needed to close a deal. And stats reaffirm it. Research suggests that half of sales time is spent on unproductive prospecting, with sales ignoring as much as 80% of marketing leads that come in.
The solution isn’t merely a technology fix, but a complete shift in mindset. It requires both departments to operate from a single, unified playbook with a shared, definition of success.
When sales and marketing align, businesses are 67% better at closing deals. Though it may seem complicated, the pathway to achieving this isn't a maze, but a logical, three-part framework.
The first and most critical step is for leadership to forge a single, shared definition of a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). The reason for this is that the disputes between sales and marketing are a direct result of not having this definition. The distinction between a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is at the heart of the friction between sales and marketing teams.
The CMO and marketing team are often judged on the volume of MQLs, while the CRO and sales team are judged on sales and margins, which rely on the quality of SQLs. By aligning on what constitutes an SQL, management can resolve this disconnect and provide a shared goal for both to work towards.
A SQL is more than just a contact in a database. It is a prospect who has demonstrated genuine interest, aligns with your ideal customer profile, and has the clear potential to become a long-term client.
The entire management team, including the CEO, CFO, CRO and CMO, must agree on a precise set of criteria for what constitutes as a SQL. This definition should remain unchangeable and include the prospect's business needs, level of engagement, and potential for a lasting relationship.
When the SQL becomes a shared truth, you get the foundation for all future alignment. This is the most critical step in the process. It is the strategic blueprint for success. Then in order for it to work, marketing goals and compensation need to be defined around the measurement of the SQL production. This will sharpen decision-making, streamline marketing and give a single goal for commercial collaboration.
With a unified definition in place, the next step is to architect a seamless, data-driven process that ensures every lead is properly qualified from the start. The initial point of data capture, often a web form, is critical. The information collected here is what empowers the sales team to effectively validate, rate, and prioritise opportunities.
While conventional wisdom prioritises short forms for higher volume, our data shows a different reality. One client, for example, intentionally added more qualifying questions to their form and saw no change in their submission rate, but a significant increase in the quality of the leads handed off to sales. This provided the sales team with the precise information needed for better preparation and a higher probability of conversion. This data becomes the single source of truth for cross-team alignment. But, don't forget to respond quickly. Data shows that you’re 7x more likely to qualify a lead if you reach out within an hour, compared to waiting just one more.
Once the shared definition has been established and the lead capture process formed, the final and most crucial step is to embed this new reality into the organisation's technological infrastructure and incentive structures. This is where you move from theory to practice, ensuring the definition from Step 1 is consistently applied.
Salesforce makes this process easy by allowing the creation of custom fields and a standardised conversion process that ensures the agreed-upon criteria of the SQL are consistently applied. We advise an independent arbiter, such as the Chief Growth Officer (CGO), to be tasked with resolving any lead disputes, ensuring a consistent and objective application of these new standards.
This is where technology becomes the CMO and CRO greatest ally. When they commit to the SQL within Salesforce, organisations can dramatically improve forecasting accuracy and predictability. This newfound predictability eases internal pressure in individual teams and strengthens executive relationships.
The benefits are evident at every level. For sales teams, the payoff is immense: a pipeline filled with higher-quality, pre-qualified leads, a drastic reduction in time spent on unproductive prospecting, and the ability to focus on closing deals. For marketing teams, the result is greater purpose and demonstrable value. Their efforts become more targeted and effective, and their success is tied directly to revenue outcomes, not just lead volume.
Ultimately, this frees up valuable board meeting time, shifting the discussion from internal friction and missed goals to more strategic topics, like market positioning and long-term growth. This is the impact of alignment. Businesses are no longer plagued by internal conflict. Instead, they are focused on a shared path to scalable success.
If you're interested in following the process outlined in this article, then download the lead generation checklist.
If you need help with lead generation, arrange a call with our Salesforce consultant.
