Sales and Marketing Alignment
The long-standing challenge of aligning sales and marketing remains one of the most complex and consequential in B2B organisations. In a recent episode of B2B Marketing Futures, hosted by Joaquin Dominguez, a panel of senior marketing and sales leaders gathered to share their experiences, frustrations, and solutions. The discussion provided a practical exploration of where misalignment occurs, the frameworks that help bridge the gap, and the cultural shifts needed to create lasting change.
Host
Joaquin Dominguez , Head of Marketing at Adzact
Guests
David Flesh, Founder of DCF Consults
Ariel Zommer, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Okta
Josh Fu, VP Product Marketing at BeyondTrust
Tim Mitchell, Enterprise Director at Choreograph (GroupM)
"Where I've seen the greatest success is where everyone has a North Star they're working towards. When teams have their own KPIs without alignment, it creates a lot of drag." — David Flesh
Building Stronger Collaboration in Practice
Moving from diagnosis to solutions, the panel shared frameworks that had improved alignment in their organisations. Ariel Zommer described the importance of informal, real-time communication channels, such as dedicated Slack groups mapped to individual products. These groups not only surface common questions but also help identify key salespeople who can serve as partners in refining messaging.
She also pointed to the opportunity offered by new technologies like generative AI to scale support for sales teams, potentially creating tailored materials for different sales stages or fielding common product questions automatically.
David Flesh emphasised embedding sales representatives directly within product marketing or product teams. Having sales involved from the inception of campaigns and assets ensures that materials are genuinely useful, not just theoretically aligned. This approach means sales voices influence content creation continuously rather than being consulted only at the final stages.
Josh Fu underlined the importance of creating content that suits a wide range of sellers — not just the top performers. By incorporating feedback from new joiners and average sellers, marketing can produce resources that scale across the broader team. He also advised mining the “homegrown” materials created by salespeople themselves, arguing that these unofficial tools often reveal what messaging truly resonates with customers.
Timothy Mitchell offered a candid reminder from the sales perspective: once a salesperson masters a deck or a talk track that works, they are unlikely to change unless absolutely necessary. For this reason, marketing must focus on producing a few high-impact assets rather than overloading teams with options.
"Marketing must understand that building pipeline is a long-term nurturing process, especially for high-value accounts — it's not about quick hits." — Timothy Mitchell
Making Messaging and Metrics Meaningful
Ariel and Josh both stressed the critical role of a centralised messaging document. This resource anchors all communications, from initial sales conversations to post-sale customer success stories. Ariel described her approach of first developing a detailed messaging document for internal marketing teams, then streamlining it into a simpler, field-ready FAQ for sellers — giving them a one-stop resource for all their prospecting needs.
The conversation then turned to measurement. Ariel shared how product marketing at Okta tracks not just pipeline creation but conversion rates to closed-won deals, allowing her team to intervene earlier when deals stall. Rather than waiting for formal win-loss analysis, she proactively reviews in-flight deals to identify emerging trends and adjust messaging accordingly.
Josh agreed, explaining that alongside dashboard data from tools like Power BI and Salesforce, qualitative conversations with sales remain essential. He and his team regularly conduct manual deal reviews with account executives to uncover insights that CRM notes alone cannot provide. Both he and Ariel acknowledged the need to balance data-driven analysis with hands-on field intelligence, resisting the temptation to over-index on one at the expense of the other.
Having open, real-time feedback channels with the field not only accelerates answers to product questions, but also helps surface field champions who can support and scale your enablement efforts."— Ariel Zommer
Final Reflections: Building a Culture of Alignment
As the session drew to a close, each participant shared their final advice for B2B leaders seeking stronger alignment.
David emphasised the need to remember the fundamental goal: enabling sales to win by providing clear, compelling messaging rooted in customer value. He described product marketing as the bridge from product innovation to customer success, with sales as an essential partner at every step.
Josh encouraged marketing teams to treat their internal sales stakeholders much like external customers, recognising that repetition, clarity, and personal engagement are vital in cutting through the noise.
Ariel highlighted the importance of building empathy by immersing product marketers in sales training, onboarding, and ongoing feedback loops. Human relationships, she argued, are as crucial as processes or metrics in building trust and alignment.
Timothy closed by reiterating that alignment is ultimately about open communication. Sales and marketing must view themselves not as separate functions but as one integrated revenue team, working side by side to understand customers, craft better solutions, and drive growth together.
"Some of the most effective messaging comes from what the field creates themselves — it is real, tested, and trusted by customers." — Josh Fu
Conclusion
The discussion made it clear that sales and marketing alignment is not a project with a fixed endpoint but an ongoing practice requiring structure, culture, and humility. Misalignment stems from miscommunication, differing incentives, and siloed operations — but it can be overcome through shared goals, regular dialogue, practical collaboration tools, and a relentless focus on customer value.
As B2B organisations navigate increasingly competitive landscapes, those who invest in genuine alignment between sales and marketing will find themselves not only closing more deals but building a more resilient and agile business for the future.
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