Sales and marketing are supposed to work together, but in most companies, they don't. Not to the level your revenue actually needs. In this episode, I sat down with Mark Kapczynski, co-founder of Kontrol Media and author of Everyone Sells, to talk about practical, sometimes unconventional ways to get these two teams pulling in the same direction.
Why Sales and Marketing Still Don't Work Together
- Traditional marketing was built around brand awareness, not revenue. That history still shapes how a lot of teams operate today.
- Marketing budgets are getting cut because leadership now expects marketing to prove its impact on revenue, not just visibility.
- Sales and marketing need to see each other as one team working toward the same goal, not two departments with separate scorecards.
Give Sales and Marketing One Shared Goal
- Most companies still measure marketing on traffic and awareness, while sales is measured strictly on closed revenue.
- Mark says both teams need a shared goal tied to revenue, whether that's new logos, higher customer lifetime value, or overall revenue growth.
- Marketing pay structures need to change too. Straight salary with a small year end bonus doesn't give marketers the same stake in closing deals that commission gives salespeople.
Meet on the Pipeline Two or Three Times a Week
- Sales and marketing can't just hand off leads and hope for the best.
- Mark recommends meeting regularly, two or three times a week, to review the pipeline together.
- These meetings should cover what made one lead higher quality than another, and what's holding up deals that are stuck.
Track the Metrics That Actually Matter
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV) should be shared numbers between sales and marketing, especially for enterprise deals.
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) shows whether marketing's paid spend is actually working. Mark looks for four to five times return.
- Time to close and number of touch points are also worth tracking together.
Let Marketing Support the Close, Not Own It
- Marketing shouldn't be responsible for closing deals. Contracts, legal terms, and pricing sit outside their lane.
- But marketing can stay involved right up until the customer gives a verbal yes, supporting the salesperson the whole way.
Use What Marketing Is Already Great At
- Marketers are natural storytellers. Salespeople tend to be more transactional and want to close fast.
- Marketing can help build trust and consistency across every touch point, so a prospect hears the same story from sales, marketing, and leadership.
- Nurturing is another area marketing can own. Not every prospect is ready to buy today, and marketing has the tools and patience to stay engaged until they are.
The Big Takeaway: Everyone Sells
- Mark's core message ties back to his book, Everyone Sells. Every person in a company plays a role in the sales process, not just the sales team.
- When only one department is expected to carry the entire revenue goal, the business underperforms.
"Sales and marketing are peanut butter and chocolate. They have to work well together, otherwise you just have two silos going two different directions with two sets of goals." — Mark Kapczynski
Resources
Sponsorship Offers
- This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.
With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.
- This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.
Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.
- This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.
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Credits
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