By Rosie O’Hara
If you’ve ever worked in or around a product manufacturing company, you’ve likely seen it firsthand—that quiet, persistent tension between the sales and marketing teams. It’s not always loud. It doesn’t usually show up in fiery emails or heated conference room debates. More often than not, it’s the subtler signs that give it away: a lead that doesn’t get followed up on, a campaign that launches without sales’ knowledge, or a quarterly meeting where the two groups feel more like competitors than collaborators.
From where we sit—on the agency side of the table—we get a wide-angle view. After more than four decades helping B2B brands grow, we know what works and, more often, what doesn’t. And one thing that’s still surprising is just how common the disconnect between sales and marketing really is.
We all know these two functions should be aligned. In theory, they’re working toward the same goal: revenue growth. But in practice, they often feel like two separate teams playing different games by different rules.
And that misalignment? It’s not just a cultural issue. It’s a business issue. A costly one.
The Real Price of Misalignment Between Sales and Marketing
Let’s talk about what happens when sales and marketing aren’t on the same page.
Sometimes the damage is easy to spot—missed quotas, stalled deals, frustrated team members. But often, the impact is more subtle, spread out across processes, platforms, and performance metrics.
Here are just a few of the most common (and expensive) symptoms we see when alignment is missing:
- Stalled Revenue: Deals that should close get delayed—or lost altogether—because leads aren’t nurtured properly or sales teams don’t have the right context to convert.
- Lead Waste: High-quality leads generated by marketing fall through the cracks when sales don’t follow up—or don’t even know they exist.
- Operational Inefficiencies: When teams aren’t aligned, they duplicate work, build separate tools, and chase different targets. Time, energy, and money go down the drain.
- Team Burnout: Mismatched priorities and unclear expectations lead to finger-pointing, frustration, and a general sense of “Why are we even doing this?”
Sound familiar?
Here’s the kicker: Most of this isn’t happening because people don’t care. It’s happening because systems, processes, and communication patterns haven’t evolved fast enough to match the complexity of today’s buyer journey.
Why This Is Especially Hard for Product Manufacturers
If you’re in a manufacturing business—especially one with a longer sales cycle and complex distribution channels—you face unique challenges when it comes to aligning your go-to-market teams.
Your marketing team might be focused on top-of-funnel brand awareness, content creation, and channel support. Meanwhile, your sales reps are navigating distributor relationships, builder incentives, or technical demos across multiple regions.
The result? Each team becomes deeply focused on their own slice of the funnel, and cross-functional collaboration starts to feel like a “nice to have” rather than a growth imperative.
But here’s the reality: In today’s B2B landscape, buyers are more informed and more independent than ever. They don’t distinguish between sales and marketing. They just want a seamless experience.
And that seamlessness only happens when your internal teams are aligned—on goals, messaging, and the definition of a successful customer journey.
The Good News: Alignment Is Easier Than You Think
Let’s be clear about something here: This isn’t a doom-and-gloom situation.
In fact, one of the most encouraging trends in recent years is the growing recognition that sales and marketing alignment is more than a buzzword—it’s a growth multiplier. And the companies that invest in it? They’re seeing real results.
Even better? You don’t need a massive reorganization or a year-long transformation project to get there.
If Tyrion Lannister and Bronn can find common ground in the middle of political chaos, or if Tony Stark and Steve Rogers can put aside their differences to save the universe, then your sales and marketing teams can absolutely build mutual respect and alignment.
Three Practical Steps Toward Better Alignment
Here are three simple, proven ways to bring sales and marketing closer together—no matter where you’re starting from.
- Align on the Right Goals (That Actually Matter). If marketing is measured on impressions and marketing qualified leads (MQLs), and sales is measured on closed revenue, it’s no wonder the two teams feel disconnected. They’re literally aiming at different targets.
The first step is to define a set of shared key performance indicators (KPIs) that both teams care about. These might include:
- Pipeline velocity.
- Lead-to-close conversion rate.
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC).
- Marketing-sourced revenue.
The key is to move beyond vanity metrics and get to the heart of how revenue is generated and sustained.
When both teams are accountable to the same scoreboard, collaboration becomes a necessity—not a favor.
- Create a Communication Rhythm That Sticks. One-off meetings and occasional updates won’t get you there. Alignment is a habit, not an event.
You need a regular cadence of communication that feels natural and actionable. This might include:
- Weekly stand-ups to flag immediate issues or opportunities.
- Monthly retrospectives to review results and discuss what’s working (and what’s not).
- Shared channels (Slack, Teams, etc.) for quick feedback loops and ongoing visibility.
But communication isn’t just about frequency—it’s about tone and trust. These touchpoints shouldn’t be about proving who’s doing more. They should be about building transparency and supporting one another.
- Co-Create a Unified Customer Profile. Sales brings real-time frontline insight. Marketing brings trend data and behavior analytics. Together, they offer a complete view of the customer.
By co-developing buyer personas, both teams can align around who the customer really is, what they care about, and how they buy.
Take it a step further by mapping the buyer journey together. Where do prospects get stuck? What touchpoints lead to conversions? What objections are you hearing in the field that could be addressed in marketing content?
Even something as simple as creating a shared “ideal customer” dashboard in your CRM can dramatically improve how the two teams engage prospects and move them through the funnel.
So… When Should You Bring in Outside Help?
Sometimes, no matter how good your intentions are, internal dynamics just make progress hard.
Maybe there’s lingering friction from the past. Maybe you’ve tried to achieve alignment before, but the effort fizzled out. Or maybe the day-to-day workload leaves little time for strategic collaboration.
That’s where a third party can be incredibly valuable.
A marketing agency that understands your industry and your internal pressures can serve as a neutral facilitator. Not a referee—but a translator. Someone who helps marketing speak sales’ language, and vice versa.
We’ve helped clients:
- Redesign their lead scoring models to reflect sales input.
- Build campaign architectures that work across the funnel.
- Implement CRM workflows that simplify reporting and improve follow-up.
- Develop messaging frameworks that both teams can use with confidence.
Outside help can also accelerate decision-making. When someone’s job is to move things forward—and they don’t have a horse in the internal race—stuff gets done.
What Happens When You Get It Right?
Here’s the good stuff.
When sales and marketing are aligned:
- Campaigns generate leads that actually close.
- Sales has better content, tools, and data to work with.
- Customer experiences feel more seamless and personalized.
- Teams are energized, not exhausted.
And most importantly, growth becomes more predictable—and more sustainable.
We’ve seen it happen, and have helped make it happen. And if your teams are stuck, we promise it’s fixable.
But alignment doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by design.
So, if your sales team is asking, “Where are the leads?” and your marketing team is saying, “We sent them already,” it truly might be time to realign.
Smarter growth starts when sales and marketing stop pulling in different directions—and start rowing together.
Ready to close the gap between sales and marketing? Let’s talk about how Miller Brooks can help your teams move forward—together..
