A study by John Arnold and Rick Bradberry deeply examines the persistent issue of alignment between sales and marketing functions in B2B organizations. While these two functions are supposed to work hand-in-hand to drive growth and profitability, the research indicates a looming crisis in collaboration.
The scope of the study extends across multiple industries and organizational structures, giving a broad yet detailed look at the core of this issue. It explains the dissonance between what executives believe and what is actually happening within their teams.
The findings expose deep-rooted structural and interpersonal problems that, if not addressed, threaten to derail future business strategies.
Hard-hitting findings that you can’t ignore
One of the most important takeaways from this research is the sharp difference between executive perceptions of alignment and the on-the-ground reality experienced by sales and marketing professionals.
Executives think they’ve got alignment covered, they don’t
According to Forrester’s Priorities Survey (2024), 82% of C-level B2B executives believe their sales and marketing teams are aligned, with 41% of these leaders even describing the alignment as “highly aligned.” Overwhelming confidence in the state of alignment reveals a major blind spot in the C-suite.
Executives are likely basing their views on high-level coordination meetings or surface-level metrics, without delving into the daily interactions between sales and marketing teams. The assumption is that the mere existence of joint strategies or shared KPIs guarantees alignment, but the data suggests this perception is far from reality.
The ground truth, sales and marketing still don’t trust each other
In sharp contrast, Forrester’s Q2 2024 Sales and Marketing Alignment Survey reveals that 65% of sales and marketing professionals report a lack of alignment between their leaders. Professionals working on the front lines cite issues such as poor communication, siloed information, and a lack of teamwork.
Trust is a huge issue, with team members expressing skepticism about each other’s intentions and priorities.
Disparities point to a much deeper issue. True alignment requires daily cooperation, mutual respect, and clear understanding of shared goals. An absence of these fundamentals erodes any perceived alignment and ultimately undermines overall business performance.
Three uncomfortable truths about sales and marketing you need to face
Truth #1: The alignment you think exists is mostly a fantasy
There is a fundamental disconnect between executive perception and reality when it comes to sales and marketing alignment. The assumption that alignment is in place often leads to complacency, preventing necessary interventions to fix the problems at hand.
Despite the optimistic outlook of many executives, the reality on the ground reveals consistent issues like mistrust, friction, exclusion, and even credit-stealing between sales and marketing teams. Problems are often brushed aside as minor interpersonal conflicts, but in truth, they reflect deeper structural misalignments that need to be addressed.
Trust, in particular, is a recurring issue. Sales teams often feel that marketing overpromises in their campaigns, setting unrealistic expectations with customers. Conversely, marketing teams believe that sales underperforms in converting leads that have been carefully nurtured.
Truth #2: Your old alignment strategy won’t survive what’s coming
Research points to growing pressures that will soon make traditional alignment models obsolete. B2B sales and marketing are changing quickly, and the methods that worked in the past are already showing signs of failure.
The forces tearing apart your sales and marketing team
Three key factors are reshaping the relationship between sales and marketing in ways that many businesses are unprepared for:
- Technological advancements: The adoption of new platforms and digital tools has been a double-edged sword for alignment. On one hand, these tools offer advanced analytics and automation, enabling more precise targeting. On the other hand, they often deepen silos by creating specialized, tech-driven roles within marketing and sales that rarely overlap. Sales teams may be using entirely different CRM systems from marketing, making integration more difficult.
- Changing buyer behaviors: Buyers are now more self-reliant than ever, conducting their own research and coming to purchasing decisions without direct input from sales teams. This change means that marketing must take on a greater role in guiding the buyer’s journey, which can lead to friction if sales feels sidelined in the process. Traditional sales processes no longer apply in the same way, which requires marketing and sales to recalibrate their roles.
- Evolving business models: Growth in subscription models, recurring revenue, and digital-first strategies means that sales and marketing must collaborate more closely than ever before. Models demand constant customer engagement and retention, not just one-off sales. Marketing often takes the lead in these efforts, which can cause power struggles as sales teams may feel their role has been diminished.
Truth #3: Alignment as we know it is dead, so what’s next?
The final truth revealed by the research is that the future of sales and marketing will look very different from the past. Rather than pursuing traditional alignment, businesses will need to choose between four new paradigms that redefine how these teams collaborate, or don’t collaborate.
The 4 future paths for sales and marketing teams
The future of sales and marketing will fall into one of these four paradigms, each with distinct advantages and challenges:
- Siloed: In this model, sales and marketing function almost entirely separately, with limited communication or collaboration. While this allows each team to specialize and focus on their strengths, it often results in inefficiencies, as each function lacks key insights from the other.
- Assimilated: Here, sales and marketing merge into a single unit, working together to achieve unified goals. This approach can create simpler workflows but risks confusion over responsibilities, with roles becoming less defined.
- Subservient: One team dominates the other, either marketing leads and sales follows, or vice versa. It creates clear authority and direction, but it can suppress creativity and stifle collaboration between the functions.
- Proportionate: Sales and marketing maintain distinct roles but share power equally. This model fosters collaboration without sacrificing autonomy, but it requires strong leadership to manage the balance and avoid conflicts.
Key takeaways, choose wisely or risk losing control
Sales and marketing leaders face a new decision about how to structure their future relationship. The traditional models of alignment are no longer viable in the face of new pressures and challenges.
Without a deliberate choice and strategy, external factors will dictate the dynamics, potentially leading to dysfunction and lost opportunities. In order to succeed, leaders must proactively select a paradigm that fits their organization’s needs and goals.
