Diving into Marketing + Sales = Revenue Powerhouse

When the pressure is on, it’s easy to point fingers. But the highest-performing teams double down on trust. During the Demand XChange session, Marketing + Sales = Revenue Powerhouse, we heard from marketing and sales leaders who aren’t afraid to admit where the hard work lies.

This panel features a candid, practical conversation about what it takes to be a revenue powerhouse: functional key performance indicators (KPIs) that ladder into the shared revenue goal, cross-functional trust, and building systems that support—not sideline—collaboration.

Here’s what stood out from each speaker, plus insights from their full conversation:

Avoiding the blame game with Drew Neisser

Drew Neisser, Founder and CEO of CMO Huddles, opens the session by saying what many go-to-market (GTM) teams are feeling: it’s a tough time to win new customers and retain them. Budget cuts, shifting buying committees, and the Wild West of generative AI have made an already complex sales landscape even more unpredictable. Stress levels are high—and so is the risk of sales and marketing turning on each other and finger-pointing, which is exactly what you don’t want.

Instead of falling into the all-too-familiar blame game, Drew argues that this climate calls for tighter collaboration. Every deal on the table matters, and when teams are disjointed, even the warmest lead can slip through the cracks. The most resilient organizations are aligned philosophically and in the weeds together, sharing context and solving problems as one team.

Shared metrics aren’t enough—you need shared conversations

Let’s talk about the illusion of alignment. It’s easy to assume that if marketing and sales agree on definitions, dashboards, and KPIs, they’re fully in sync. But in practice, alignment without regular, candid dialogue tends to fall apart fast.

Later in the session, Drew emphasizes that true partnership is built through consistent conversations—especially when things aren’t going well. When teams talk often and honestly, they surface roadblocks faster, adjust strategies sooner, and build real trust. Without that human layer, all the data in the world won’t fix a disconnect.

Key takeaways:

• Alignment is about communication and agreement on vernacular.
• Frequent conversations are essential to maintaining real trust and agility.
• Sales and marketing must partner deeply to convert every viable opportunity.
• The current GTM climate is high stakes and high pressure—misalignment is costly.

Making it easy for sales to say yes with Kelly Hopping

For Kelly Hopping, CMO of Demandbase, effective sales enablement is all about building trust through consistency. Sales teams won’t keep using unreliable tools or data. If it slows them down or doesn’t deliver value right away, they’re out. That’s why marketing’s job isn’t just to surface insights—it’s to package them in a way that feels seamless, useful, and actionable to sales.

At its core, it’s about respecting how salespeople work. Rather than trying to force new behaviors, the most successful marketing teams find ways to plug into the existing workflows of the sales team (including customer success). When marketing meets sales where they are—with the right intel at the right time—it removes friction and boosts adoption. And the more aligned that delivery feels, the more likely sales will trust the signals and act on them.

Sales alignment starts with smart account selection

One of Kelly’s standout points later in the session is that alignment doesn’t begin in a dashboard—it begins with which accounts you’re targeting and why—AKA, total relevant market (TRM). If marketing and sales aren’t on the same page about who you’re going after and the engagement strategy, no campaign or tool will save you.

During planning cycles, teams should work closely with sales to agree on priority accounts. That shared focus creates a natural feedback loop: sales gets better insights, marketing gets clearer signals, and both sides are more accountable to results. It’s a win-win that only works when campaign planning starts with joint decision-making, not handoffs.

Key takeaways:

• True alignment starts with shared decisions about which accounts to target and why.
• Sales teams won’t adopt tools that disrupt their workflow or lack immediate value.
• The easier you make it for sales to engage with your work, the more trust you’ll build.
• Marketing must deliver insights that are simple, timely, and embedded in sales processes.

Planning in lockstep with Bryan Law

Bryan Law, CMO at SentinelOne, makes it clear that alignment doesn’t happen in the heat of execution. It’s forged during planning. For Bryan, that meant starting the year with deep collaboration between his marketing org and the CRO’s team—getting clear on priorities across geographies, verticals, segments, and even specific accounts.

Both teams—marketing and sales—were aligned top-down, creating clarity from strategy to execution. By investing in up-front alignment, they avoided confusion later and ensured everyone was placing the same bets and chasing the same outcomes.

Shared goals aren’t enough—share the metrics, too

Later in the session, Bryan points out that true partnership also means agreeing on how success is measured. It’s not enough to say “we’re working toward the same goal” if marketing and sales are being held to different standards.

By aligning on core metrics early—before campaigns are launched or outreach begins—Bryan’s team ensures accountability and builds trust across functions. When everyone knows what they’re responsible for, how success is tracked, and what matters most, the result is a shared scoreboard.

Key takeaways:

• Shared goals are good, but shared metrics and mutual accountability is where it’s at.
• Aligning on accounts, regions, and segments ensures consistent focus across teams.
• Effective GTM planning starts with cross-functional collaboration—not siloed strategies.
• Top-down alignment across leadership and their teams prevents disconnects during execution.

Winning (and losing) together with Allison Metcalfe

Allison Metcalfe, CRO at Cloudinary, brought the sales point of view to conversation and cut straight to the heart of what real marketing and sales partnership looks like: mutual curiosity, shared goals, and zero tolerance for siloed wins. When both teams are deeply invested in each other’s success, it shows—in the quality of pipeline, in the conversations at revenue meetings, and in how teams respond when things don’t go as planned.

She points out that the most effective GTM organizations don’t stop at tracking pipeline stages—they care about what’s happening before pipeline even forms. When marketing leaders talk about winnable pipeline and sales leaders care about early-stage conversations, it signals a healthy, collaborative culture.

Curiosity isn’t optional—it’s foundational

Allison stresses that curiosity isn’t a soft skill—it’s a requirement. When marketers stay engaged in what happens after the handoff and sales keeps an eye on what’s driving early interest, it leads to smarter strategies and stronger results.

Teams that ask questions, share insights, and care about the full funnel—not just their slice—end up building more than pipeline—they build relationships, too.

Key takeaways:

• Curious teams uncover issues faster and adapt together.
• Real alignment requires mutual curiosity across marketing and sales.
• Success at any stage of the funnel should be a shared priority, not a handoff.
• Wins don’t count unless both teams hit their goals—there’s no such thing as a solo victory.

From blame to boost: take your sales-marketing partnership to the next level

The truth is, sales and marketing alignment isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s mission critical. When both teams truly own the pipeline together, communicate openly, and integrate their workflows seamlessly, revenue growth follows naturally. The toughest challenges become manageable when everyone’s pulling in the same direction.

It’s time to break down silos, build trust, and turn every opportunity into a win.

Ready to turn your team into a true revenue powerhouse? Dive deeper and get the full playbook now.