Marketing celebrates an increase in leads. Sales says the leads aren’t good. Marketing points to strong campaign performance. Sales points to conversations that go nowhere.
Sound familiar?
The disconnect often starts because marketing and sales aren’t working from the same definition of a qualified lead.
At Corey Consulting, we help organizations create greater alignment between marketing strategy and broader business goals.
More Leads Aren’t Always Better
Generating 100 inquiries means very little if only a handful represent realistic customers.
Businesses should define what actually makes a lead valuable. Depending on the organization, that could include location, budget, company size, service needs, decision-making authority, timeline, or another characteristic.
Marketing Needs Feedback From Sales
Marketing data can show which campaign generated a lead, but the sales team knows what happened afterward.
Were prospects actually interested? Could they afford the service? Were they the right type of customer? Did they become opportunities or customers?
That feedback should influence future marketing decisions.
Sales Needs to Understand Lead Sources
Alignment works both ways.
Sales teams should understand where leads originate and what marketing message brought them into the pipeline. Someone responding to an educational resource may be at a different stage than someone searching specifically for a provider.
Understanding that context can improve follow-up.
Define Qualification Together
Rather than allowing each department to create its own criteria, establish a shared definition.
Document what qualifies a lead, what disqualifies one, when marketing should pass it to sales, and how sales will report what happened afterward.
Measure What Happens After the Lead
Cost per lead is useful, but businesses should also evaluate metrics further down the funnel.
Which campaigns generate qualified opportunities? Which sources produce customers? Which leads generate the greatest value?
Those answers provide a much stronger basis for marketing decisions.
Create One Growth Strategy
Marketing and sales should not operate as separate systems. Both ultimately contribute to the same objective: generating sustainable revenue.
Corey Consulting helps organizations connect marketing strategy with broader business objectives and performance. Contact us to build a more aligned approach to generating and converting opportunities.