The 5 Tensions Keeping You From Achieving Predictable Pipeline Nirvana

By Matt Heinz, President of Heinz Marketing – Originally posted on Demandbase
Leadership is about solving problems and building consensus. What’s working well already gets less attention, for better or worse. So when we invited B2B chief marketing officers to join us for breakfast with Demandbase in three cities last month, we talked less about their successes and more about their challenges.
Many of the same themes emerged in each conversation. And what struck me is how each of these themes revolved around a key internal tension. The key word in that last sentence is “internal”. Although we can’t generate sales pipeline and results without external production, the key challenges facing CMOs today were primarily about managing internal obstacles, disagreements and tensions.
Here are the five core tensions we identified:
1. Tension between intent and interest
Just because someone downloaded your white paper doesn’t mean they want a demo. Just because they didn’t want a