In today's fast-paced business environment, especially for B2B companies, aligning marketing and sales has become a critical factor for success. According to US-based research firm Gartner, organisations that align their sales and marketing functions are 2.96 times more likely to achieve their client acquisition goals. Yet, despite its obvious benefits, achieving sales and marketing alignment remains a challenge that seems impossible to conquer. The costs of misalignment can be staggering. Some 52% of sales professionals have reported revenue losses due to a lack of coordination with marketing, according to tech company Hubspot. A lack of alignment between these two vital teams can lead to wasted resources, frustrated teams and ultimately, a diminished customer experience.

For Nepali B2B businesses venturing into international markets, the alignment between sales and marketing functions has become more critical than ever before. As these companies expand beyond local borders, misalignment between these vital teams can severely impact their ability to compete globally.

The Disconnect: Why Sales and Marketing Clash

Sales and marketing often have different priorities. The Sales team goes on the ground, holds direct interactions with the audience and gains valuable insights into market demands. However, many sales professionals in Nepal have often complained that they are imposed with unrealistic sales targets without sufficient support. Companies focus primarily on numbers rather than understanding the reasons behind unmet goals. Sales teams have pointed out that the lack of critical marketing analysis and insights along with insufficient product training hinders their performance and prevents them from meeting the goals.

At the same time, sales teams are sometimes blamed when targets remain unmet, even when factors like the type of marketing campaigns run, strength of leads generated or external market conditions play a role in those outcomes. This creates a culture of blame rather than collaboration, a key indicator of a deeper sales-marketing disconnect.

While sufficient support, information and training could certainly help, they are more of a reactive solution as they do not prevent the problem. To avoid this, it is essential to understand the root cause and draft proactive measures and strategies to foster alignment.

Root Causes of Misalignment

Sales and marketing misalignment is often a result of conflicting objectives, inconsistent messaging and poor communication within the organisation. One of the primary causes is the discrepancy in their key performance indicators (KPIs). While sales teams are typically focused on closing deals and meeting revenue targets, marketing departments might prioritise metrics such as lead generation, brand awareness or engagement rates. This divergence in goals can create confusion about priorities, making it difficult for the teams to support each other effectively.

Additionally, when marketing and sales do not collaborate to ensure consistent messaging, potential clients can receive mixed signals. For instance, the marketing team might highlight a product’s premium features in its campaigns, whereas the sales team may position it as a budget-friendly solution. This leads to a disjointed customer experience and trust erosion.

Furthermore, a lack of agreement on what defines a ‘qualified lead’ is another common area of conflict. Marketing might pass leads to sales based on engagement metrics like content downloads or email interactions, but if these leads do not meet the criteria of the sales team — such as having a budget or being ready to make a purchase, sales representatives may see them as low-quality. This results in frustration and wasted effort.

Misalignment is exacerbated by poor communication around opportunities. When marketing and sales do not share information on lead progress or fail to coordinate follow-up actions, it can cause leads to fall through the cracks, resulting in missed sales opportunities and potentially damaging the company’s reputation.

The SMART Technologies Case: A Lesson in Integration

SMART Technologies, a software as a service (SaaS) provider with a global presence, found itself in a tricky situation — its sales, marketing and service teams were operating in silos, causing a fractured customer experience and leading to lost opportunities and unnecessary costs. Teams working independently with little to no cross-functional collaboration resulted in fragmented processes and inconsistent communication. The marketing team generated leads without fully understanding the needs of the sales team, while the sales team engaged with customers without leveraging insights from marketing campaigns. At the same time, service teams, unaware of customer expectations set by sales, led to misaligned post-sales support. These disconnects disrupted the flow of the customer journey, causing clients to receive mixed messages, delayed responses, or repetitive interactions, which ultimately eroded trust and satisfaction. To tackle this, SMART Technologies took a bold step and integrated all these functions into one unified commercial engine. The company did not just merge teams; it redesigned roles to align with specific buying jobs and grouped them into smaller, cross-functional units. This approach helped boost team visibility and accountability while ensuring a consistent customer experience from start to finish.

The results were impressive — year-over-year revenue jumped by 48%, lead volume surged by 50% and lead acceptance rates climbed by 35%. By breaking down silos and creating a cohesive, customer-centric strategy, SMART Technologies turned a major challenge into a growth opportunity, proving that true alignment between sales and marketing can be a game-changer for business success.

Relevance to Nepal

While sales-marketing misalignment might not seem like an immediate concern for Nepali companies, it will become increasingly critical as more businesses expand into international markets. For such companies, aligning sales and marketing will be important to drive growth and compete on a global scale. An ideal scenario would see these teams operating as a single unit with shared goals, consistent messaging and a unified understanding of what defines a qualified lead. This would enable them to craft targeted, culturally sensitive campaigns that resonate with diverse customer bases, while a streamlined handoff between marketing and sales would ensure that high-quality leads are effectively nurtured into closed deals. By breaking down silos, they can reduce operational inefficiencies, enhance the customer experience and ultimately increase their competitive edge, positioning them as strong contenders in the global SaaS market.

Strategies for Achieving SalesMarketing Synergy

Here are some proven, actionable steps businesses can adopt to drive effective sales-marketing alignment:

• Inclusivity is key to uniting the two teams from the start. Align their efforts by setting common objectives - such as a shared goal of generating X qualified leads, rather than separate targets like N leads for one team and M conversions for the other. This joint focus fosters collaboration, turning two teams into one cohesive unit.

• Flexibility is essential for maintaining momentum. As markets evolve, the priority should be building team agility. Regular check-ins, weekly or bi-weekly, help keep everyone aligned, but they are effective only with clear communication.

• Collaborative tools streamline interaction, and creating open spaces for honest, healthy discussions is essential to keep things moving forward.

• Learning is a continuous cycle of growth and evolution. Sales can share insights from customer interactions, which marketing can expand into broader brand strategies. Cross-functional projects foster deeper understanding and strengthen camaraderie between teams.

• Alignment thrives on shared metrics. Integrated dashboards offer end-to-end visibility, and joint reviews help identify strengths and areas to improve. Celebrating victories as a team deepens unity and motivates everyone to push for greater success.

Conclusion: Winning Together

Sales-marketing alignment is the proven recipe for acquiring clients and revenue growth. It allows teams to ensure that they are on the same page, taking complementary actions to achieve their targets. By fostering collaboration and creating a unified approach, organisations can streamline their efforts, enhance communication and develop strategies that resonate with potential clients.

For Nepali companies expanding internationally, this alignment is not just beneficial, it is essential. As they navigate the complexities of foreign markets, a cohesive strategy will empower them to craft targeted campaigns, nurture high-quality leads, and deliver an exceptional customer experience, optimising resource-usage. Ultimately, when sales and marketing work hand in hand, they can drive sustainable growth, increase revenue and position themselves as formidable competitors on the global stage.

(Karki is Co-founder & Tripathi is Marketing Associate at Korifi B2B, a full-service and Nepal's first full service B2B Marketing Agency working globally.)

(This opinion article was  originally published in the  November 2024  issues of New Business age Magazine.)