Sales Blames Marketing. Marketing Blames Sales. Revenue Suffers.

If your SaaS sales and marketing teams aren’t aligned, you’re losing deals—period.

The age-old debate we have all heard: Marketing says sales doesn’t follow up on leads. Sales says marketing sends bad leads. And leadership is left wondering why pipeline isn’t growing fast enough.

The result?

• Wasted budget on marketing campaigns that don’t convert. 
• Bloated customer acquisition costs as deals take longer (or never close).
• A pipeline full of stalled or unqualified leads that sales reps don’t trust.

With mid-year reviews approaching, revenue teams need to fix misalignment now—before leadership starts slashing budgets.

Read more below as we break down our best practice recommendations on how to get sales and marketing on the same page, close more deals, and finally turn demand generation into revenue.

1. The Cost of Sales & Marketing Misalignment: What’s at Stake?

Misalignment isn’t just an internal issue—it’s a direct revenue killer.

• 50% of B2B sales go to the vendor that responds first. (Source: HubSpot, 2024) If marketing hands off a lead and sales doesn’t follow up within hours, that deal is as good as lost.
• Only 27% of B2B leads are actually sales-qualified. (Source: Forrester, 2024) Sales reps waste hours chasing leads that should have never been passed to them.
• Misalignment costs companies 10%+ of annual revenue. (Source: Gartner, 2024) That’s millions in lost deals for growth-stage SaaS companies.

An unFair Advantage: Companies with strong sales-marketing alignment see a 208% higher marketing revenue contribution. (Source: MarketingProfs, 2024)

So why does this keep happening?

2. Where Sales & Marketing Break Down (And How to Fix It)

The Problem: Marketing and sales operate in silos—using different tools, different KPIs, and different definitions of what makes a “good lead.”

Marketing’s View: “We generated 2,000 leads last quarter.”
Sales’ View: “90% of those leads weren’t ready to buy.”

When there’s no shared definition of qualified pipeline, every dollar spent on demand generation is a gamble.

How to Fix It:

Have the teams collaborate to create a shared definition of a sales-ready lead

• Work with sales to define lead scoring rules based on intent signals, job titles, and behaviors.
• Ensure marketing isn’t just optimizing for MQLs—but for leads sales can actually close.

Fix the lead handoff process

• Leads shouldn’t sit in a CRM for days. Automate instant sales alerts when a high-intent prospect engages.
• Use AI-driven routing to assign leads to the right reps based on fit and priority.

Hold both teams accountable to shared KPIs

• Instead of marketing celebrating MQL volume, focus on pipeline value generated.
• Instead of sales blaming lead quality, measure speed-to-contact and conversion rates.

An unFair Advantage: Companies that align sales & marketing shorten deal cycles by 24% and close 36% more pipeline. (Source: LinkedIn, 2024)

3. Why Customer Acquisition Costs Keep Rising When Sales & Marketing Don’t Align

If sales doesn’t trust marketing’s leads—or marketing doesn’t support sales with the right content—customer acquisition costs skyrocket.

Where Acquisition Costs Get Out of Control:

• Marketing pays for clicks that don’t turn into customers.
• Sales spends hours chasing bad-fit leads.
• Deals stall because prospects don’t get the right follow-up content.

How to Fix It:

Use CRM automation to track and measure lead movement

• If 80% of marketing leads never make it to an opportunity stage, find out why.
• Track where leads drop off in the sales cycle—and fix gaps with content, nurture, or better targeting.
• Marketing teams should be tracking lead quality frequently to ensure advertising dollars are being well spent

Align content strategy with the sales cycle

• Sales needs more than case studies—they need objection-handling decks, competitive battle cards, and industry-specific insights.
• Marketing should be creating content that helps close deals, not just generate leads.

Reduce lead waste with intent-based targeting

• Instead of chasing low-intent leads from broad paid search terms, invest in LinkedIn ABM, retargeting, and sales-validated ad audiences.
• Use intent signals from Bombora, 6sense, or first-party CRM data to reach accounts already in-market.

An unFair Advantage: Companies that fix marketing-sales misalignment see 33% lower customer acquisition costs. (Source: Demand Gen Report, 2024)

4. The Sales & Marketing SLA: How to Keep Both Teams Accountable

Fixing alignment isn’t just a one-time effort—it needs to be hardwired into how sales and marketing operate.

How to Set Up a Sales & Marketing SLA (Service-Level Agreement):

Marketing commits to:

• Generating SQLs, not just MQLs
• Providing targeted sales enablement content
• Ensuring lead scoring and qualification match sales expectations

Sales commits to:

• Following up on all qualified leads within 24 hours
• Logging deal progress and objections to refine marketing targeting
• Providing feedback on lead quality (not just complaints)

An unFair Advantage: Companies that implement sales-marketing SLAs generate 34% more revenue. (Source: HubSpot, 2024)

Fix Sales & Marketing Alignment Before Mid-Year Reviews

If sales and marketing aren’t aligned, customer acquisition costs will continue rising, deals will keep stalling, and leadership will start cutting budgets.

Define sales-ready leads → Align lead scoring with sales expectations.
Fix the lead handoff process → Automate routing & alerts to avoid wasted opportunities.
Track pipeline impact → Measure revenue contribution, not just MQLs.
Invest in sales enablement → Give reps the content they need to close deals faster.

Contact unFair Advantage to fix sales and marketing misalignment before it costs you more deals.

FAQ

Why do SaaS sales and marketing teams struggle with alignment?

Most teams operate in silos—using different KPIs, definitions, and tools. Marketing focuses on lead volume, while sales focuses on pipeline value and conversions.

How does misalignment impact customer acquisition costs?

When sales doesn’t trust marketing’s leads, pipeline slows, costs rise, and conversion rates drop. Fixing lead quality and follow-up reduces acquisition costs.

What’s the fastest way to fix sales-marketing alignment?

• Define shared KPIs (pipeline impact, not just MQLs).
• Automate lead handoffs so sales follows up faster.
• Align content strategy with sales needs.

How do SLAs help with alignment?

A Sales & Marketing SLA ensures both teams commit to shared goals—marketing delivers qualified leads, and sales follows up within a defined timeframe.