Why Sales and Marketing Alignment Must Come from the Top

By Matt Heinz, President of Heinz Marketing
It’s one thing to talk about a revenue-responsible marketing department at the sales kick-off.  It’s fairly common these days to have sales and marketing leaders agree to common objectives.
It’s quite another thing, of course, for these two teams to know how to work together on a Tuesday.  True alignment between sales and marketing doesn’t happen at sales kick-off, it happens via the tactics, processes and habits that connect the two groups on a daily basis.
And for most organizations, that isn’t about your next campaign.  It’s a culture change.  Culture changes take time and require alignment at the very top of the organization.
If sales and marketing alignment isn’t an executive priority, it simply won’t stick.  Revenue is a team sport, not assigned to sales only.  But if creating alignment isn’t supported by the company’s leaders, it simply won’t have the stickiness and longevity it needs