Poor quality leads and a broken lead process are warning signs that sales and marketing are not aligned.
Over the years I have witnessed the intersection point between sales and marketing to observe many of these 'canaries'. Here are the top ten signs that sales and marketing are mis-aligned:
- Wrestling in the Office. Sales and marketing settle their differences like cro-magnon men or women.
- Rental Lists as Leads. Marketing refers to accounts and contacts on rental lists as 'leads'. Any marketer who indiscriminately parrots this term from list vendors should be sent back to B2B marketing school.
- Inquiries as Leads. Marketing categorizes an inquiry as a 'lead'. A responder is just that: someone who is interested in your offer and may not be evaluating solutions.
- Multiple Definitions for a Lead. Marketing and sales can't agree on a single definition of a qualified, sales-ready lead.
- Recycling Marketing Messaging for Sales. Dragging-and-dropping a message from a marketing brochure or website does not satisfy the needs of inside and outside sales for precise, distinct and succinct messaging.
- No commitment from Sales on Lead Handling. Once marketing hands off a lead to sales there is no agreed upon course of action for lead engagement, lead reporting or lead recycling.
- Fuzzy Sales Lead Feedback. The reports from sales are full of emotion but not facts. Leads are tossed aside with little detailed feedback as to why the lead did not meet the lead criteria.
- A Qualified Prospect Calls Back. A lead who is expecting a call from sales, never receives contact. The lead re-contacts your organization to find out when someone will call.
- Leads Generated by Marketing are Not Factored into Quota. Sales does not count on marketing-sourced leads to achieve their quota.
- Marketing is Measured on Inquiries or Responses. Marketing is measured on activity metrics, rather than results metrics.
What signs do you see that cause you concern about sales and marketing alignment? What would you add to the list?
