The practical answer
Sales and marketing friction often starts with different definitions of the customer, a qualified lead and a successful outcome. Fixing the disconnect means agreeing those definitions, clarifying handover responsibilities and sharing feedback from real opportunities. A shared process gives both teams a basis for improving performance.
Two reports can tell different stories
Marketing can be pleased with reach, clicks and enquiries while sales is frustrated with the conversations arriving in its inbox. Both can be describing what they see accurately. The problem is that their measures may not connect.
I would start by asking what each team is trying to achieve and what happens between their reports. That is often where the useful work begins.
Agree what a suitable opportunity looks like
A name and an email address do not establish customer fit. Your team needs a shared view of who the offer serves, what the customer might need and what information makes the next conversation worthwhile.
Keep the criteria relevant to the business. They might include service need, company profile, timing or access to the person making the decision. The aim is to make judgement clearer, not turn qualification into an obstacle course.
Define the handover in practical terms
Who responds when an enquiry arrives? What context should marketing pass on? What should happen if the person is interested but not ready? These questions need operational answers.
A suitable handover records the conversation, names an owner and gives the opportunity a next action. In a small business, that can be a simple working agreement. In a larger team, it may need more explicit stages and responsibilities.
Bring sales conversations back into the content
Sales hears the objections and questions that prospects may not put into a website form. Marketing can use that information to improve service pages, campaign messages and follow-up resources.
A repeated question about how the work is delivered is a reason to improve the explanation. It should not remain knowledge that only the owner or sales team holds. The customer benefits when the answer is easy to find before the meeting.
Give the teams shared measures
Look beyond separate activity totals. Consider enquiry-to-meeting movement, opportunity quality, quote conversion and the reasons business is lost. Choose measures that help the people involved make decisions.
Review the actual conversations alongside the numbers. A small sample can be informative, but it should not be presented as proof of a long-term trend. The purpose is to learn where targeting, messaging or follow-up needs attention.
Make alignment part of the working rhythm
My book, The Glue: Why Sales & Marketing Must Stick Together, centres on this connection. The practical application is a shared plan, clear ownership and a regular conversation about what the business is learning.
The RightSort commercial reset provides an example of joining the proposition, service content, website and sales activity. For another business, the starting point may be a much smaller change to qualification or handover.
Explore the work behind the thinking
Read the relevant client case study to see the commercial context and the work involved. Every business has a different starting point; a case study is experience to assess, rather than a promise of the same outcome.
Questions business owners ask
Do we need a new CRM?
Not automatically. Agree the process, information and responsibilities first. Then assess whether the existing tools can support it.
Does alignment matter without separate departments?
Yes. It matters whenever people share responsibility for attracting and winning business, even if that is an owner and one colleague.
Weekly series edition: 28 October 2026. First published on this website: 2 November 2026.