Leads and sales
Why do marketing and sales blame each other?
By Doug Taylor and Jake Mayell, Co-Founders · Last reviewed 16 October 2026
Because every handover between the two teams loses something, and nobody is responsible for the handovers. Leads arrive with half their story missing, quotes wait for someone to remember them, and the reason a deal was lost never gets back to marketing. One agreed route from first enquiry to signed order, with one set of definitions and numbers, ends the argument.
Marketing and sales blame each other · 1 min
The problems in this area
Why does sales say the leads are rubbish?
Because forms, event scans and bought lists let half-complete leads straight into the CRM.
Why aren't our quotes chased, and why is the forecast a guess?
Because the quote lives in a folder, the conversation lives in an inbox, and the win only shows up when the order lands, so the forecast becomes last year plus a bit.
82%
have no single view of their sales pipeline
What the video says
Marketing hits its lead target. Sales misses its number. Both teams have the figures to prove the other one is the problem.
A lead reaches sales with half its story missing. A quote goes out and waits for someone to remember it. A deal is lost, but the reason for the loss never gets back to marketing.
Every handover between the two teams loses something, and no one person is responsible for the handovers.
So the forecast is built on hope, and the board hears two different explanations for the same quarter.
The answer is one agreed route from first enquiry to signed order, with both teams working to the same definitions and the same numbers.
Marketing and sales stop arguing about whose figures are right when there is only one set of figures.
So where does the route break first for you?